Day #50
Saturday September 29, 2007
Twin Mountain, NH to Farmington, ME
126 miles today (24,466 – 24,592)
10,025 miles total
1 new state today: Maine
28 states total
I slept pretty fair until about 3AM when some “critter” on the Kabin roof woke me up.
Don’t know what it was but it hopped around for 20 minutes or more. I've never seen a moose...could it be???? (NO! I didn't really think it was a MOOSE! Maybe "meese"...)
1 new state today: Maine
28 states total
I slept pretty fair until about 3AM when some “critter” on the Kabin roof woke me up.
Don’t know what it was but it hopped around for 20 minutes or more. I've never seen a moose...could it be???? (NO! I didn't really think it was a MOOSE! Maybe "meese"...)
The temp dropped to 45 degrees last night. My little electric heater helped keep it comfortable, nice and toasty. I could take a good look around now that it was daylight. Riding in “moose country” after dark was not high on my “things I like to do” list! I visited with one traveler this morning who lives in Maine. He told me that over the last 20 years he has hit 9 deer and 2 moose. Again, that does not instill me with confidence as I journey into the far northeastern corner of the USA. Will just have to be extra diligent about watching for them.
After I left camp about 9:30AM, I rode 1 mile to gas up and make a picture of the Twin Mtn. post office. Then I rode 9 more miles to the Mt. Washington Cog Railway Station. I wouldn’t ride again until after 3PM. The Cog Railway Train was built in the 1930’s (I think) as a way to get people up Mt. Washington in a safer manner. I purchased my ticket and had to wait an hour for the noon train going to the top. I bought a cup of coffee and took a seat out in the lobby just watching people. Eventually, a couple on bikes pulled in and we got to visiting (of course!). He grew up in Madawaska, Maine and of course was intrigued by my whole journey. His father still lives in Van Buren, just 13 miles from Madawaska. I think the couple lived in Boston, MA.
After I left camp about 9:30AM, I rode 1 mile to gas up and make a picture of the Twin Mtn. post office. Then I rode 9 more miles to the Mt. Washington Cog Railway Station. I wouldn’t ride again until after 3PM. The Cog Railway Train was built in the 1930’s (I think) as a way to get people up Mt. Washington in a safer manner. I purchased my ticket and had to wait an hour for the noon train going to the top. I bought a cup of coffee and took a seat out in the lobby just watching people. Eventually, a couple on bikes pulled in and we got to visiting (of course!). He grew up in Madawaska, Maine and of course was intrigued by my whole journey. His father still lives in Van Buren, just 13 miles from Madawaska. I think the couple lived in Boston, MA.
He asked me to call his dad when I got to Madawaska. I agreed.
The ride up Mt. Washington in the refitted passenger car, pushed by “the little engine that could” was over an hour long. The weather was pleasant when we boarded, even the sun was peeking through every now and then. But, as we climbed to the top, things began to change, and drastically. We were shrouded in clouds, or fog, and the wind began to get up a little. When we stepped off the train at the Mt. Washington observatory, the air temp was 32 degrees, and the wind was blowing steadily between 50 and 62 mph! Zoom in on the weather station photo above. I thought it was going to knock me down. It was really amazing! The train was there at the top only 20 minutes, but enough time to get souvenirs, coffee and a trip to the bathroom.
The ride up Mt. Washington in the refitted passenger car, pushed by “the little engine that could” was over an hour long. The weather was pleasant when we boarded, even the sun was peeking through every now and then. But, as we climbed to the top, things began to change, and drastically. We were shrouded in clouds, or fog, and the wind began to get up a little. When we stepped off the train at the Mt. Washington observatory, the air temp was 32 degrees, and the wind was blowing steadily between 50 and 62 mph! Zoom in on the weather station photo above. I thought it was going to knock me down. It was really amazing! The train was there at the top only 20 minutes, but enough time to get souvenirs, coffee and a trip to the bathroom.
Some folks had driven to the top, and others (college age kids?) had actually hiked! The trip back down was a lot quicker and the weather was MUCH warmer at the bottom. However, I never did get comfortably warm again while riding yesterday. Wearing my half helmet contributed to that, but I wanted to experience a little more of the northeast scenery.
Once I left the rail station about 3PM, without lunch, I made my way to US 2 where I followed it out of New Hampshire and into Maine. I wanted to make Bangor, but it was just much further than I thought. I asked the driving time at 3 different stops and got about the same answer. I’d ride an hour, ask “how long to get to Bangor” and hear “oh, about an hour.” After 2 hours I quit asking! US 2 here was in bad shape for the most part. It appears some construction is getting started to straighten it out, widen the shoulders and make it a much better road.
Just outside Mexico, ME, about 5:30 PM, the odometer hit 24, 567 miles which was the 10,000 mile point for me on this trip. 10,000 miles on day #50…pretty neat. I’ve actually done a little more than that, 300-400 miles, but they were running errands in West KY when I was there in late August and early September, so I don’t count those. I’ve already got to start thinking of somewhere to get my next 4,000 mile service done on the bike. I’d like to get south of Wash. DC, but I’ll just have to see how the next week goes.
I finally pulled off for the night in Farmington, ME at the first place I saw. I was cold and I didn’t want to ride in the dark again…in “moose country.” I headed to dinner down the road at a truck stop. I had a great meal and rode back in the dark, but it was less than half a mile, so I wasn’t too concerned.
Tomorrow I hope to make Madawaska, Maine, corner #2 of my “2007 Four Corners Tour.” From there it’s south along the eastern seaboard to FLA!
Once I left the rail station about 3PM, without lunch, I made my way to US 2 where I followed it out of New Hampshire and into Maine. I wanted to make Bangor, but it was just much further than I thought. I asked the driving time at 3 different stops and got about the same answer. I’d ride an hour, ask “how long to get to Bangor” and hear “oh, about an hour.” After 2 hours I quit asking! US 2 here was in bad shape for the most part. It appears some construction is getting started to straighten it out, widen the shoulders and make it a much better road.
Just outside Mexico, ME, about 5:30 PM, the odometer hit 24, 567 miles which was the 10,000 mile point for me on this trip. 10,000 miles on day #50…pretty neat. I’ve actually done a little more than that, 300-400 miles, but they were running errands in West KY when I was there in late August and early September, so I don’t count those. I’ve already got to start thinking of somewhere to get my next 4,000 mile service done on the bike. I’d like to get south of Wash. DC, but I’ll just have to see how the next week goes.
I finally pulled off for the night in Farmington, ME at the first place I saw. I was cold and I didn’t want to ride in the dark again…in “moose country.” I headed to dinner down the road at a truck stop. I had a great meal and rode back in the dark, but it was less than half a mile, so I wasn’t too concerned.
Tomorrow I hope to make Madawaska, Maine, corner #2 of my “2007 Four Corners Tour.” From there it’s south along the eastern seaboard to FLA!
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