Thanksgiving Day

It was only last Sunday, four days ago, that I rode to Bucksport and beyond on the NT named Scarlet. Highs were in the mid-fifties and it was sunny, barely a cloud in the sky. I took the back roads which is now my favorite way to get there from Brewer. As I prepared to head for home, I stopped at the Bucksport Dunkin Donut shop for two pumpkin donuts, perfect for an afternoon snack for me and my sweetie.


I'm glad I took that ride. Yesterday we got our first serious winter storm. Sure we got snow at Halloween, but it was only an inch or so and it was gone in a day or two. Yesterdays storm brought eight to ten inches. As the road surfaces were still warm, there was a lot of melting at the bottom and the driving was treacherous. Needless to say, Scarlet didn't make it out of the garage, and unfortunately probably won't for four months or so.

It's that time of year when there is no golf, no fishing and worst of all no rides on Scarlet. Sounds like time for indoor projects.

November 13

November 13, Bangor, Maine. Doesn’t strike you as an ideal time and place for a motorcycle ride, does it. Well, it wasn’t bad.

I got some yard work done in the morning, raking oak leaves. The scarlet oak in the front yard was given to me many years ago by my cousin George. It was a tiny, little twig of a tree, temporarily planted in a coffee can so we could haul it from Ohio to Maine. Unfortunately George passed away, but the tree is thriving and I still think of him from time to time when I look at it. It’s always the last one to shed it’s leaves and though there are still a few clasping the branches, the great weather suggested to me I should get a jump on the raking. I rake by hand, no blower or fancy leaf-picker-upper attached to a tractor. I do it the old fashioned way, and believe it or not I enjoy it. Must dredge up some distant memory or feeling from the past.

I called my friend Alex from Belfast early in the morning and planned a rendezvous at the Bucksport Dunkin Donuts at noon. I took the back roads, though this time I didn’t lollygag. These quiet back roads weren’t as deserted as they have been maybe because churches were letting out. I reached my destination about twenty minutes early and Alex was waiting. We nursed our coffee and caught up. Alex is a talker so I mostly listened. We then decided to head out on the road for a little spin. Castine was our destination but we planned to keep an eye peeled for a diner or similar style eatery. They ride was pleasurable but a wrong turn got us back to Bucksport a little earlier than planned. We were approached by the Bucksport police while loitering in the parking lot in front of the Subway. Turns out he was just curious about the bikes. Alex has a burgundy NT700 just like mine.

From there it was on to Verona Island and then across the Penobscot Narrows bridge. Just Barb's in Stockton Springs was our destination. I had a hankerin’ for fried clams, but the $17.50 asking price pushed me in the direction of fish and chips. Lunch was great, but the sun started getting low in the sky, which means the deer will be on the move and the temperature will start to drop. We parted ways and headed for home thinking about our next ride, maybe in April?

The Halloween snow storm dampened our spirits here in Vacationland but we got off easy. More than a week has passed and many of our southern New England friends are still without power. The heavy wet snow, up to several feet, brought down tree limbs which in turn brought down power lines. A minor catastrophe.
All we really had to contend with was a little inconvenience for a few days, salt and gravel on the roads. Since then we have been experiencing Indian summer. So the motorcycle is still out, as is Suzie’s Honda VLX. Have I mentioned what a great ride it is? This 600 (actually 583 cc) engine is a V-twin that puts out a smooth 38 horsepower. It’s a pleasure to ride and therefore I took it on the back roads to Bucksport.
The leafs are long gone from the trees, at least the few that had any color this year. Without clouds, the brown oak leafs stand out against the cerulean autumn sky.
I like the back roads. No outside agencies dictate the pace. There is a speed limit, but no one prowls these deserted roads to enforce it. I like the roads because you can go as slowly as you want, no one to hold upl. One can therefore take all the time required to study the surroundings.
These past several weeks the rides to Bucksport have been pleasurable but cool. The Dunkin Donuts has been an important stop. A hot coffee, maybe a pumpkin donut and some time to linger at a table in the corner and warm up. Yesterday the coffee break was outside in the sun, on the retaining wall near the propane tanks. We don’t need no stinkin’ heated building on a day like that.
Stopped at a few cemeteries I passed along the way. The correlation of willow and urn motifs and slate tombstones continues to hold true.
I arrived home at about 4PM on this first day after daylight savings time ended. By then the sun was already approaching the horizon and the temperature in the long shadows began to plummet. I wouldn’t have wanted to be out there any longer. The fall riding season is definitely coming to an end, but it was great to get out there and take advantage of one of the last fleeting opportunities.