Later Summer Rides

Though still looking for a proper name, the Triumph Riders of Maine have been busy riding in groups of two to five bikes. Mother Nature has provided us with spectacular conditions over the last several weeks and we've been out frequently taking advantage of the opportunity.
I participated in two great rides this weekend. Saturday we headed out to Corinna, Maine for breakfast. The breakfast ride has become a popular venue. This ride was pretty straightforward. We set out on US 2 to Newport, the we headed north on state highway 7 to Corrina for breakfast. Dang it I can't remember the name of the establishment and I've visited twice in the last two weeks. It's Barb's something or other and is found at the intersection of state routes 7, 43 and 222. The food is good, the atmosphere casual and the theme is to support our troops and honor our veterans. This restaurant attracts locals, motorcycle enthusiasts and ATV riders as there is a popular trail nearby,
We headed home on state route 222 towards Bangor. We stopped at Rowell's farm stand and loaded up with fresh vegetables. Then we back tracked a bit and went south on Horseback road to US 2. As we approached Bangor we rolled in to Bangor Motor Sports and perused the merchandise. The CTX700 bike by Honda looks good.
The entire route offered great pavement, no concerns at all, and the weather was spectacular in spite of a cool start.
The group was small on Sunday. In fact it could be no smaller and be called a group. The spectacular, cloud-free morning led us to Schoodic point. Schoodic is the Acadia experience without the crowds of Mount Desert Island. Chases's Restaurant in Winter Harbor provided an opportunity for a short break that involved a coffee and a home made donut that was still warm. As always there were no crowds and the scenery was unequalled.  The sea was calm the sunshine bright. Pavement was good most of the way the excepting being state route 182. I had recently received a report that this section of road had received a new layer of asphalt. Not! It was bumpy, very bumpy. The views of Tunk Lake and Tunk Mountain were spectacular but I would not recommend this stretch of road until the DOT goes through with a paving machine.

BLOBS ?????

Yesterday I went out for an early morning ride with 3 friends who also ride Triumph motorcycles. It was a sight to behold, three Bonnevilles and a Thunderbird. The ride was a classic from Bangor south to Winterport and then across to Brooks where we had breakfast at Ralphs's Cafe. What something so good is doing in Brooks, Maine is beyond me (no offense to Brooks, Maine). The pavement was all good and so were the people.

Our intent is to make the ride a regular activity once a every week or two. We are talking of a Facebook page. But what to call ourselves? Bonneville Lovers Of Bangor?

Odocoileus virginianus

Yesterday my friend (lets call him the Captain) and I went for a ride. Capt'n rode motorcycles in the old days but had a several decade long lapse until a month ago when he did the MSF beginners course and bought himself a Triumph Bonneville. His skills have improved markedly in this short month. Our goal was the lunch counter at the Enfield General store.

We left Orono and headed up route 16. He chose the ride and the large number of bumps in the road that we encountered north of state route 43 made me question his judgement. As we turned on to state route 116 the surface improved. 116 is a quiet road, less travelled than other N-S routes in the area. It parallels the Penobscot river and goes through the woods. We saw very few cars as we rode the 24 miles between Old Town and Howland, I think we actually saw more motorcycles.

 As we were approaching Howland I noticed a relatively large white-tailed deer at the side of the road. I had no way to communicate with Cap. He braked abruptly and the doe crossed the road in front of him. Tragedy averted. I wanted to yell out that they always come in groups but I knew he wouldn't hear me. Just then a second deer leapt out of the woods and right in Cap's path. I thought he was going down. It was a very close call, but he saw the second deer all the way and avoided it.

Be careful out there!

Odd Circumstance

It's been two days since I've been on my bike and it's summer. How odd. Now the weather hasn't been great, but it's not horrible! There has been a chance of rain, but it really hasn't rained. This would have never stopped me in the past, what's going on?

An Old Friend

The other day I was browsing Craigslist as I'm prone to do. Most of the time I'm really not looking for anything, it's just a habit. I came upon an advert for a 2008 Honda Shadow Aero 750 that promised a picture. Clicking on the link, a beautiful Aero appeared that looked very familiar, like an old friend. I studied the picture, a black and white Aero with red pin stripes, sissy bar and rear rack, Cortech saddle bags, and Kuryakyn grips. It looked something like this.

So far so good but something wasn't right. It was that Memphis Shades windshield, I don't remember that.

I contacted the seller with no intent to make a purchase, something else I'm prone to do. I said the bike looked very much like my old bike, the one I traded in when I bought the NT700. “Did you at the windshield after the purchase?” I asked. 

The next day I received a reply form someone named Crystal. Yes, she did get the bike at Bangor Motor Sports where she learned it had previously been owned by someone who worked at the University of Maine. The Memphis Shades windshield was her acquisition. 

If you’re looking for a midsize cruiser, there is one available in Bangor, Maine at a reasonable price. I can vouch for it being a good bike, at least for the first half of it’s life. 

A Sad Day

Yesterday I preformed the annual job known as putting a bike up for the winter. The days have been getting shorter and the temperatures cooler. With the change back to Standard Time, sunset it due at about 4:15 PM tonight here in the great State of Maine. The next time we will have a longer day will be in mid-February and the warming of the atmosphere will be slow to happen. I think Mother Nature is trying to tell me something.

I'd gone for a short ride Thursday and encountered an area when it had recently rained. I stayed dry but Bonnie really got filthy so yesterday I spent an hour in the morning giving here a cleanup. Fenders, tank, rims, spokes, windshield, the whole shooting match. She looks pretty good if I must say so myself. I then added 4 ounces of fuel stabilizer and rode off the the nearest gas station and topped her off. It's likely that the three mile ride back to base got the stabilizer and gas well mixed. So it was into the garage and up on the center stand. I waited a bit for the pipes to cool. Then the tender was plugged in and the cover went on. Sleep tight little Bonnie, enjoy your hibernation!

A ride to Stonington

Of the possible eight riders for our trip, four showed up. It was somewhat unsatisfying when two of the four needed gas within 25 miles. Don’t people know enough to gas up before a ride? In addition to that inconvenience we encountered the aftermath of a car accident and some road construction and both delayed us. Other than those two minor distractions the ride was good.

We checked weather.com before we left, so we set out knowing that there was a chance of rain. The radar showed a narrow, well-defined band of rain that was slowly moving to the east and was due to pass through during our ride. It wasn’t raining at the prescribed meeting time so we set out. We headed south from Bangor on the west side of the Penobscot River. We crossed on the Penobscot Narrows Bridge. In Bucksport we picked up route 15, followed it though blueberry fields and wooded terrain all the way to Stonington. Most of the roads were two lane highways with little traffic and decent surfaces. Though there were occasional glimpses of sunlight, it was mostly overcast and breezy. As we crossed the suspension bridge onto Little Deer Isle and the causeway onto Deer Isle we encountered our first bout with rain. The drops were sparse so we push on as it was only 10 miles to Stonington, a good decision.  

We entered the town under gray skies. The clouds were low and the sea was calm. The harbor was strangely beautiful in a subdued or surreal way, you had to look at it a bit to grasp it. Stonington probably gets it name from it’s many granite quarries, one of which is still active and the harbor is home to a small fishing fleet. When we entered the Fisherman’s Friend restaurant there were very few patrons but it was crowded when we left. We all had seafood. It was good, very good, almost too good for the likes of quarrymen and fishermen.

As we enjoyed our lunch we heard the rumble of Harley Davidsons followed by a dozen “bikers” entering the restaurant. They were mostly couples out for a Saturday ride. The hosted seated them at the far side of the restaurant and our only interaction was a brief greeting, “be careful, ride safe”, as we left. While waiting for our checks, there was a second rumble, much longer and much louder, than the first. Outside we found a large throng of cycles and riders dressed in pirate gear. The two cruisers in our group drew little attention but the FJR 1300 and my NT700 drew some stares. I think they were baffled by the NT. At that moment I wished I’d ridden the Bonneville. I could have been the center of attention, but alas I didn’t want to ride it in the rain, a good decision because it had just begun to sprinkle. 

I donned the waterproof liner to my jacket and we headed for home. As our bikes climbed the hill heading out of Stonington we could see that the light rain, a minor annoyance, would be short lived. Looking to the sky, the cold front had a very sharp edge separating the clouds from clear blue skies. Before we left the island, we experienced bright sunshine. We took a slightly different route home, but the ride was more of the same, fun roads and little traffic. With only 20 miles to go we stopped to make a plan and get gas. I informed the group that I would peel off from them to take a more direct route home for the last few miles. As we prepared to leave a young boy maybe 8 or 10 years old came over to look at our bikes. He was soon joined by his little brother and grandmother. The older boy was really taken by my NT, perhaps because it was red. I finally got the attention I so desperately needed, someone did like my bike after all!