About 438 km (272 miles)
In order to shakedown our packing list and methods for packing the bikes, we wanted to meet up for a few weekend camping trips before we left on The Trip. Unfortunately, I'm using every bit of my vacation (from this year, a week from last year, and two weeks unpaid) just to take The Trip - there isn't an hour left over for anything else. So, we made the most of the Memorial Day long weekend in the US and met up in Maine for three days of riding and two nights of camping.
I'd been busy all week with some repairs to my bike, including repairs to my repairs. (That's another story.) Instead of leaving work early on Friday like I'd once hoped, I left Saturday morning with the aim of meeting Dad at the Sebasticook Lake Campground sometime between 2 and 3. Having packed and loaded the bike Friday night, I got a much needed good night's sleep and left at a leisurely 9:30 Saturday morning.
The riding was good, and uneventful. I'd wanted to throw the bike around some familiar curves on 123 a little east of Alstead, but I was stuck behind a slow pickup truck through my favorite local twisties, so that particular section had to wait for the trip back in a few days. Still, the bike felt fine even loaded down, and even with the new battery I was carrying for Dad unbalancing me to the right.
I made my way across Vermont and New Hampshire on smaller routes, but opted for making good time once I hit I95 in Maine. I pulled off into Saco (near Old Orchard Beach) for lunch and gas, where a Dairy Queen caught my eye (stomach?) with the promise of actual flame broiled burgers and yummy onion rings. The rub? This Dairy Queen only serves ice cream. I briefly consider eating several ice cream treats for lunch before deciding to get gas then decide on lunch. I head next door to a gas station that has a Subway inside. The rub? They have absolutely no seating inside or out. I could easily sit on the curb out front to eat, but I wasn't looking forward to a sub anyways so I decide to eat at Clif bar and roll on. Damn you, Saco.
View Memorial Day Weekend - Saturday in a larger map
The rest of the trip is pretty uneventful, although my new earplugs bothered me quite a bit and I arrived feeling wind blown and with a bit of a headache. The girl at the campground's check in desk tells me my Dad's already there, and that the fees are taken care of. She appears extra careful to remind me the campground has a strict 5 mph speed limit. I s l o w l y make by way to our campsite to find my Dad laid out on his new Therm-a-Rest Neo Air, beside the picnic table.
After chatting about our rides and recent bike mods and repairs, we setup camp. We head to the grocery store to get food for the weekend, including a vegi stir fry for dinner. Unfortunately, I somehow pick a brown rice that takes 40 minutes to cook. That wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't also forgotten the accessory for my JetBoil stove that lets you place a pot on it. Without that accessory, we had to hold the pot over the stove, while stirring the rice for over 40 minutes, so it wouldn't burn, . I = rice fail. Eventually, dinner was yummy.
We threw a disc around until dark, during which time my father discovers, learns, and nearly perfects the flick. I honestly can't remember seeing someone learn it as fast as he did. We should find pick-up games across North America! We had a small fire, left 2/3 of the wood for the next night, and turned it. I was happy to be in a tent, even with all the RVs around, and man is that Neo Air a comfortable ultra-light sleeping pad!
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