Christmas Ride

Who says you can't ride Motorcycles in Maine in December? Not me. In fact here's a picture that proves I was riding, and that it was near Christmas. Look very close at the background and you will see Christmas decorations in the windows. This was taken on Center Street in Bangor. OK, it may not hold up in court, but why would I lie about something this important?

Seriously, it was a great day. When I got up around 6 it was already over 40 degrees out. There was a lot of frost, and it was windy, but I knew it would be a great day for a ride.

I don't think the temp went much above 45, but with the wind the roads thawed and dryed up well before noon. I knew around 1 would be my best shot. So at one, off I went to Stevi's new house and visited with them. That reminds me, I can't wait to take Isabel for a motorcycle ride! (After her Dad takes her of course). So , I visited with Stevi and David for a few minutes then took off downtown. I was hoping Stevi would come downtown and take a picture of me riding by the Christmas tree, but she was very busy moving. Hopefully there will be a few more warm days before they take the tree down. Can you guess want I want to do for next years Christmas Card?

When all is said and done, I stole a little extra riding time in Maine. People always say "it's to cold to ride a motorcycle". And I always reply, you wouldn't hesitate to ride a snowmobile in weather like this? Snowmobilers have no problem dressing up and taking off for an entire day in much colder temperatures. As long as the roads are clear whats the problem? You do have to remember that riding in the cold weather is much different then riding in warm weather. Most noteably traction. Cold tires on cold pavement don't offer anywhere near the traction they do when it's warm. You have to be extra careful. Drop your speed a little and be very delicate with your cornering, starting and stopping.

The wind, thats another thing people talk about a lot. I often hear "Isn't it to windy to ride?". Here's what I have to say about that. If you hop on a motorcycle on a day when there is no wind, beofore you know it you are heading down the interstate with a 70 mile an hour wind hitting you right square in the face! Thats what it's all about! "In the Wind". So, if the wind is blowing a 40 mikes an hour (a pretty stiff wind), and you go with the wind at 70 miles an hour, then you are only getting hit with a 30 mile an hour wind. Of course if you go the other way it's 100, but let's not go there! Just turn around.

Have a nice day everyone.

Another Sunday Ride

Troy came with me this time. I met him at his house around noon and we set off for Castine, via Bucksport. We stopped and saw Dave and Ellie, they were just about to eat lunch on their boat docked at the Bucksport Bay. We were there just in time to watch an Oil Tanker come in and dock. Two tug boats guided it in. It was a lot of fun to watch. At first we didn't think it could fit under the bridge.

From there we left and headed towards Castine. I guess it was big ship day. We only stayed for a few minutes in Castine. Snapped a few pictures, then headed back for Bucksport. It was an awesome day. Must have been close to 80, but not humid, so it was very comfortable. I stopped on the way out of town to take a picture and almost lost part of my hundred dollar Harley Glasses, arrgggg! I rummaged around and found it, then we were on the road again.

We stopped at Crosbys Drive in restaurant and had some cheese burgers, then headed home.

A Sunday Ride

Marsha and I had a nice day on the Harley. We traveled 130 or 140 miles. I was coming up to my 1000 mile service appointment and I didn't have 1000 miles yet. We have had so much rain and so much stuff going on that I haven't been able to get to many miles. Things seem to be calming down now. So we took the day and followed the front wheel.

We went through a bunch of towns that neither Marsha or I had ever been to. Our first stop was in Exeter Maine. A first time experience. It's was a beautiful day. There was blue sky everywhere, with the exception of one big dark rain cloud. I tried to go in directions that took us away from the cloud but the more I tried it seemed like the closer we got to it. Almost like it was anticipating my moves and keeping one step ahead of me. We never did get hit by rain, but we could see puddles that let us know it had been there just before us. At our first stop we watched a bird taking a bath in one of the puddles.

Our next stop was at a store somewhere. I'm not even sure where, all I remember is a sign that pointed to St Albians. Instead of going in that direction we took a left and somehow ended up on Route 2 in Newport. We cut back up and went all the way to Parkman. In that area we found the coolest covered bridge. We stopped and took some pictures. After we left there we hit construction. The road was SO BAD it was unbelievable. I've been on motocross tracks that were smoother. We made it though. Then we headed back for home.

Somewhere, north of Corinth on 15 I think, we hit the coolest thing. A tractor grave yard. I don't know why I was so intrigued with it. Somehow it appealed to all my senses. It was full of old tractors that reminded me of my grandfathers Farmall Cub. I'm sure there must have been one here. The smell of fresh cut hay was in the air. It was really weird, a field full of junked out equipment, some new equipment, and somehow it was surrounded with this feeling of calm. Somehow I also got the feeling that it was an artistic gold mine too. I attempted to capture the moment with pictures. All I had was a little cheapo 2 meg Kodak and I tried my best to capture the feelings. I'm just not there yet. I can't make a picture feel. Maybe it's just because I was there.

We wrapped up the day with dinner at the Country restaurant in Corinth (East, West, South, one of those Corinths). Sure wasn't fancy. Just good food and friendly people (and Air conditioning).