Yesterday my soul mate, riding partner and wife (if you didn’t get that, she's all one person) went for a ride. We headed west out of Bangor on US Route 2 all the way to Skowhegan, then turned south on Route 201, went east on Route 139 out of Fairfield, and finally picked up Route 202 in Unity which we took back to Bangor for a total of about 120 miles.
We had coffee and a donut at Tim Hortons in Skowhegan to break up the ride. I can confirm that the apple fritter was delicious. As my readers already know, I am not a very experienced motorcyclist, but Burgie (nickname for reasons that will become obvious later in this blog) has even less time in the saddle. When we ride, I worry. Probably more than I should. I spend a lot of time looking in my mirrors, but today I found that my glances per minute diminished as the ride continued. I almost forgot about her during the last quarter of the ride. It could be that I was tired, but I hope that it was because I had become more confident in her abilities.
Now I would like to report on the quality of the various roads we traversed. Keep in mind that these grades are relative to Maine highways, not highways in other parts of the country. If you visit Maine, particularly in the spring, you’ll see what I mean. I’ll go by sections, as road quality varied greatly. Section 1, Bangor to Herman on Route 2. I’d give this section a B+. It was pretty solid with few areas of concern. Section 2, Hermon to Newport on Route 2, C-. This section was pretty bad. Watch for cracks and potholes in this section. There isn’t much of a shoulder at all. Be careful. Section 3, Newport to Skowhegan on Route 2, A-. This was the best stretch by far. Much of this segment should be rated A, with wide, smooth road surfaces and broad shoulders. However, there are a few short stretches with minor issues. Section 4, Skowhegan to Fairfield on Route 201, B. I enjoyed the wide road surfaces and generous shoulders, but winter has taken it’s toll and there are some pot holes. Section 5, Fairfield to Unity on Route 139, D. Avoid this section of road. Enough said. Section 6, Unity to Bangor on Route 202, B+. This road is a joy with plenty of hills and valleys. The road is wide, and for the most part the surface is smooth. It’s a great alternative to taking I-95, much more interesting.
Easter Sunday set record high temperatures, shattering the old record. The thermometer crested out at 77°F. This is an absolutely unbelievable temperature for early April in central Maine. The vegetation is easily two weeks ahead of schedule.Today Burgie and I went for a 50 mile ride, south out of Bangor on Route 1A, though Hamden,
Winterport and Frankfort, to Prospect where we turned east on route 174. When we reached the Penobscot River we visited Fort Knox, no not the one with the gold, the other one. Henry Knox was a revolutionary war general, and a dang good one at that. Good enough that they named a couple of forts after him. I’m pretty sure that artillery was his thing, but this is a good example of why you should take information found on the internet with a grain of salt. I am sure that road was good, no reason to complain.Why would Fort Knox, with all of it’s cannon be perched on banks of the Penobscot River. It turns out that in about 1839 Maine had a border dispute with Canada, which time was a part of Britain. The good citizens of central Maine envisioned the British Navy sailing up the Penobscot to sack Bangor. So in 1844 they set out to build a fort to prohibit that from
happening. The dispute was settled before the fort was finished so it sat uncompleted. Then the Civil War broke out and the good citizens of Bangor envisioned the Confederate Navy sailing up the Penobscot to sack their fair city. By the time it was completed, engineers had discovered how to rifle cannons barrels to improve their accuracy and effectiveness and the Civil War was over anyway. The beautiful fort, built of Mt Waldo granite, was rendered obsolete. However it still makes for a great state park, a wonderful place for a picnic or the destination of a motorcycle ride.We crossed the Penobscot Narrows bridge to Bucksport where I treated Burgie to a senior coffee
at McDonalds. Burgie complains that all she ever gets on our excursions is a senior coffee. Sometime I’ll have to spring for a happy meal or something.We returned to Bangor via Orrington and Brewer on route 15. Also a good road but there are a few spots where Old Man Winter took his toll. Are Mother Nature and Old Man Winter an item? For some unknown reason I enjoy the ride from Buckport to Brewer much more than the opposite direction, Brewer to Bucksport. Burgie agrees. That seems kind of strange, why would that be?
