2017 Ride to Maine for Lobster!

Brad rode 5,860 miles for fresh lobster!

Brad logged 5860 miles from Utah to Maine to get a lobster dinner his year!

There were two goals of the 2017 NoWhereRide. The first was to go to Maine for lobster - accomplished! It was cheaper to buy a two lobster lunch instead of eating a single lobster. These lobsters were fresh and tasty. This was our second trip to Maine for lobster and the fantastic Bay Haven Lobster Pound in Cornish was hands down the best. We had all the fixings. It felt as if we finished a Thanksgiving feast. Brad would have fell asleep on the bike if the roads were not so curvy. We had an intense but brief COLD rain shower on the ride from

Cornish, Maine

Cornish to North Conway, New Hampshire that kept him awake. Brad usually dozes off using cruise control on the long stretches of road out west. During our annual rides we generally skip lunch to keep Brad awake and alert on the motorcycle.

The second goal of the ride was to set up base camp in one small town for a few days taking day trips - mission accomplished! We enjoyed this concept very much seeing more of a region. By the time we left Anarundel, Maine people were becoming familiar at the grocery stores and people recognized us while at a restaurant 75 miles from base camp. It felt like we were able to experience the community. In years past we'd get ideas to visit places of interest from people we meet at at ma and pa restaurants. Usually those places were hundreds of miles away. We would ride hundreds of miles seeing awesome sites but also passing some not so familiar sites. The "set up base camp and make day patrols" allows us to become more familiar with smaller regions. This base camp and day ride concept allowed us to get local input for not only points of interest but for restaurants and scenic routes. We will try it again with a Midwest town next year.

Left boot 13 years old; right boot new!

Ride mission New Boots. It seems that Bill's motorcycle requires a repair each year during the annual motorcycle ride. One year the gear linkage broke while in freezing temperatures of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The linkage break led us to an adventure to find a hotel and repair the shop. One year the engine seals broke in Montana after the bike sat in storage in Illinois for three years while Bill was stationed in Japan. Usually we stop for tire repairs; flat tire in Kansas (saved us from a tornado but tempted some creep in an LTD), and more rear tire replacements throughout the years. Once the soft tread on a motorcycle starts to get worn it wears really fast given the loaded down bike, heat of the pavement and long duration rides.

Last year Bill replaced his rear tire and brakes. Yes this happened during an annual ride. So we had confidence the bike and tires were in good shape for this years ride. They were, Bill's 14 year old riding boots were not in good condition. The soles began crumbling off just as quickly as the tires would wear down to the fabric. The soles were wedge shaped causing knee pain when walking. They were fine for sitting on the bike and stopping for traffic signs. So started the mission to get replacement boots. Bill pledged to get new soles but on the old boots when he returned home. So we asked a few new friends where we could find a leather boot vender. During our lobster lunch we see the lawyer who we met at Bentleys. An inquiry about leather boots resulted in directions to North Conway, New Hampshire and a shop called BootLeggers. The northeast has different styles of boots than we are accustomed to. Bill tried on a pair of logging boots. These boots has a thick heal and we were told many locals like them for riding. They were water proof and comfort. Mission accomplished- Bill rode out of New Hampshire wearing his new logging boots.

North Conway, New Hampshire

Base Camp: Our base camp was at Bentleys Camp Ground in Arundel, Maine. Bentleys is more than a campground. It is a bar and grill, motel and campground for tents and camper trailers. The camp sites on the property are within walking distance to the bar and grill. We discovered Bentleys about seven years ago in 2007 when we made a detour after Bill's bike went into a slide with bald tires in the rain. So we stopped at Bentleys to find a bike shop to get a new tire. The staff at Bentleys told us where to go for a bike tire and even called the shop to see if it was open. The bike shop was closed for the day so we stayed the night at Bentleys and got a new tire the next morning.

We enjoyed staying at Bentleys because we went on day rides and returned to camp where we cleaned up and was able to walk to food and the bar or entertainment area.

Bentley's 1939 Indian Scout Racer 45 c.u.

The food menu offered some good dishes. There were at least three different bars in the bar restaurant area. There was different entertainment each night at Bentleys. One night was open mic night where local bands played two songs each as they rotated thru the night. This produced a diverse crowd present to dance and cheer for their locally known bands. A wide variety of music too. I thought I saw a John Lennon look alike. One band looked the part and tried to play Led Zeppelin with less than desirable results. It was a fun night.

There was an 80s rock band who were the main band for another night. These performers were in costume and changed costumes at each break. Really entertaining and fun atmosphere. There was a country western performer one night that attracted a large crowd. He got most of the audience engaged and dancing too. Each evening the crowds were very different. Early one evening we were surprised at a much older crowd- senior citizen older. It was a birthday party for a young lady turning 82! The band catered to this group of senior ladies and their birthday party. Every other song was ladies choice where they combed thru the crowd picking a man to dance with. Bill became a favorite for one classy senior. These gals were referred to a Q-tips. Skinny and white tops like a Q-tip!

Day Ride Old Orchard Beach. We rode north until we were just south of Portland. Then turned toward the coast and discovered Old Orchard Beach. A cool breeze was blowing off the waves as they crashed on the beach. There were no people in the cold water but many small groups gathered on the beach enjoying the sunshine and open sandy strip of beach.

Day Ride Lunch at New Brunswick via Biddeford and Saco Maine: During this day patrol we rode thru the town and noticed a cemetery with dates of the 1800s etched into many of the grave stones. The towns of Biddeford and Saco date back to the 1600s. We ended up at Old Orchard Beach south of the boardwalk at the Brunswick sports bar-hotel for

lunch. We ate lunch on the beach looking directly at the ocean and seeing the local volleyball teams play. There was a huge pile of firewood on the beach for a bonfire. Nice place to visit during the day and night. The pier boardwalk has a carnival area enjoyable for kids and adults. Hotels, restaurants and shops all along this area of Orchard Beach, this was the tourist area.

During our day rides Brad noticed that there were dozens of ice cream shops throughout the eastern Maine towns. The ice cream must be really good for ice cream shops to be so abundant in this cooler or cold climate area. So we had to discover which shop served the best ice cream. After asking a few people we narrowed our selection down to the “Fielders Choice.” This ice cream shop was well known for their sundaes. The names of the sundaes were baseball themed such as the Closer, the Slider, and Muddy Cleat to name a few.

After our visit in Maine we rode west through Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and into West Virginia. We rode in two and a half days of rain. Both our rain suits leaked at the seams to the point that our pants were wet. Brads feet were soaked. His boots waterlogged. We stopped at a hotel and spread our wet clothes and gear out along the room, cranked up the heat and let it start drying. We ordered a pizza for dinner and got some much needed rest.

The next morning most of our clothes were dry except Brad’s boots. Brad and Bill are both Marine veterans and know all to well the unpleasant feeling of warm dry feet in cold wet boots. Brad grabs the pizza box from the trash, pulls out his pocketknife and begins to cut the pizza box into insoles for his boots. He said the pizza box inserts worked great! Improvise.

Brad's Dry Pizza Box Boot Inserts

We met Bill’s childhood friend, Scott, who taught Bill how to ride a motorcycle. They were in elementary school when Scott had an old Suzuki RM50. Scott sat Bill on the dirt bike and told him to let out the clutch when he was ready to go. Bill revved the throttle, popped the clutch and nearly crashed into the back of Scott’s Dad’s truck. They had years of fun on that RM50. We were glad to meet Scott in Nutter Fort for lunch. Think that was funny, you should have heard Brad tell jokes and stories (true stories as usual) while we were at Franklins.

Nutter Fort, West Virginia

Brad was on a roll; he was like a professional standup comedian. People in the bar laughed so hard their eyes were watering. We had a great night there with the after work regulars and a couple celebrating a birthday. This was one of the highlights of the trip.

Bill and Brad rode west into Indiana together before parting ways. We found the oldest bar in Centerville Indiana – perhaps self-proclaimed, the Brown Jug on Historic Route 40. The regulars welcomed us with stories and many laughs. Brad went west and Bill went east. Bill rode route 50 from west to east across the entire state of West Virginia. The eastern side of the state is comparable to the Tail of the Dragon in Tennessee. The twisty turns up and down the mountains are similar. The biggest difference is potholes! Bill was lucky enough to ride over eastern route 50 in the rain. He went onto ride Skyline Drive before going home.