“The thing about passion is, you don’t summon it, either you have it or you don’t”
– Anonymous
By today, (day 6) we wake up naturally, no alarm clock needed, our bodies, mind and soul has now fully adapted to the task at hand, we are a well oiled riding machine adapted to the ride and to each other, like a Roman soldier of the past. We have either survived the fight for another day, or our ordeal has turned against us. There’s no in between. We can easily sense all our surroundings even on unfamiliar roads. The bike is now accustomed to us.
And so it was that on the morning of September 20, 2022, we woke up in Portland, Maine to a fifty percent chance of rain compared to 100% yesterday. The other riders didn’t fare up as good as I did in their Klim motorcycle four seasons ride gear.
One had the rain work it’s way in and down the helmet inside to his first layer then continue on down to the skivvies. Teri riding pillion had the rain falling on her lap like buckets and John was aiming for puddles to ride through on the dirt sections of the road construction. I on the other hand was wearing the ultimate ride machine gear.
My BMW Triple black jacket and matching rain jacket; rain tunnel tested, of course. For bottoms i wore Frog Toggs, the cheapest known to man for riding in wet weather gear. And yea, they work. After the ride is over. Throw them away, like Harbor freight tools for wet weather.
Today we parallel the US/Canadian border as we head towards the town of Island Pond. We stay at the Essex House and Tavern for the night and our planned lunch destination is the Wilderness Restaurant located in Cole-brook, New Hampshire.
The ride to the Essex House included some dry patches of roads, twice we stopped and ate apples under a tree, watched the Canadian geese nearby and chatted about the fall colors and such. Only the simple conversations and things in life now like how do people around actually survive the winter and/or make a living. Johnny Apple seed certainly walked through this parts in days gone by.
We actually saw kids for the first time waiting for a school bus. Two actually. One was a chubby little girl about six or seven. It actually scared the shit out of me seeing that kid alone on the same roads I described to you on day one; a two lane asphalt road, double yellow line down the middle.
Only this time they painted a white line on both sides. Then about eight feet in both directions a solid forest of different colored trees with trunks no larger than possibly a mans fist.
And then a while later a kid on an ATV giving us the high five of seeing motorcycles. We probably made his day as I did another kid the other two missed waving to. This kid more resembled a tree, as she stood perfectly still, barefoot, with a brown blanket over her head, down to her bare feet flashing me a peace sign with her tiny little fingers. That one was probably skipping school today as she was not yet ready for school.
By definition, we all enjoy and seek adventure, are all willing to take great risks and unafraid to change our lives up, even if just a little, to experience something different.
We are just happy to wander within the boundaries of our own continent on some of the most beautiful countryside in the world. A little adventure is the key to our mental and physical well-being. We are stoking our passion for motorcycle riding in our somewhat aged years.
In 1775, New Hampshire became the first state to declare its independence from England. The first American in space, Alan Shepard, was born in Derry, New Hampshire. His historic flight was made in 1961. The first private citizen in the history of space flight was Christa McAuliffe, a Concord school teacher.
More to follow.
Trawlercat Personal Blog Chronicles 