14 July 2017
This was going to be a shorter day, and get me to the starting point of the actual ride.
I laid out a couple of options using my usual tool (Garmin's "Map Source"--no longer supported, but I'm very familiar with how it works), then thought to go modern and dropped the two endpoints into Google Maps, which generated its own route and informed me that "This route includes toll roads." I didn't remember there being any in Maine, zoomed in, and discovered that the chunk of I-95 between Portsmouth and Augusta costs $7 to drive on.
Fortunately, my route took me up US302/202 to Augusta, and then I-95 to Newport, there changing over to SR11, where I'd mostly stay for the rest of the day. (It often shared the roadbed with other named/numbered routes, but I knew...)
I find Maine traffic frustrating. Given the speed most folks drive, I conclude that speed limits are strictly enforced; with rare exception nobody drives more than +5, and many stay under whatever's posted. And I did see more 'enforcement' presence than I have been (or maybe I'm just hyper-aware). And the speed limits! Much of the route I was on (except the freeway sections) was posted at 50, rarely 55, and if housing density increased to one every half mile, dropped to 40, then 30, and 25 through 'town,' usually for a couple of miles. Give me Texas!
The weather was pleasant, though, bright sunshine and hovering around 80 most of the day; a welcome contrast to yesterday's gloom.
Eventually I got up to Fort Kent and the Canadian border, and headed east for 20 miles to Madawaska. I'd called last night for reservations at Martin's Motel, since I wasn't sure when I'd get in and didn't want to be denied--it's a homey place with creaky uneven wooden floors, but clean and friendly.
As I was walking to the nearby grocery store, I heard a Ducati pull in, and wondered if he was on a similar quest. When I got back, he was still chatting up the proprietress, so I went to the lobby and joined in--he was mostly a local, had been up on the Gaspe Peninsula with a few riding buddies, but didn't want to go all the way home.
As that conversation wound down, I asked if it would be possible to do some laundry, and she immediately offered to move the motel's wash into the dryer so I could do mine. Nice! (Same thing happened in 2010 when Boyd and I were here...)
Motel: $61.04
Groceries: $16.52 (including energy bars to eat during the day)
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