Day seven, bar harbour, maine to farmington, maine

Monday dawned bright and sunny but with an 8.30 departure we were at a very acceptable riding temp of about 24 degrees which stayed with us till late afternoon when it snuck up to 28. Today’s route was a combination of the Maine chapter of the best motor cycle rides in New England book, as well as Mr Google as to scenic byways in Maine.

As a result we had a very good cross section of what Western Maine had to offer the motorcyclist who has an aversion to traffic and a love of roads with shag all traffic.

So we retraced our route back to Ellsworth, then rode across to Bangor, then took the ME15 up through Dover-Foxcroft to Greenville, picnic lunch at a wee public beach on the Lake at Greenville, then rode up the side of Moosehead Lake……gorgeous ride….. to Rockwood, A very slutty boutique wee hamlet on the lake, along past Brassua Lake and Long Pond to the wee town of Jackman. We had a coffee at Jackman, 17 miles south of the Canadian border then headed south on ME 201, the Old Canada scenic byway. Just south of the village of West Fork, the road hugs the edge of first the Kennebec river and later the edge of Wyman lake, meaning you are riding along the water in excess of 100 kms. Real nice riding. 400 kms today in total. We have probably seen more of western Maine today than a lot of the locals! Did I say I like Maine.

Couple back roads with trees hugging the sides of the road and a hideously rough road surface, keep us awake as we rode into Farmington from Madison, destination the Comfort Hotel couple kms south of town, a cut above what we have been in for the last 5 days, very nice. Few lengths in the pool and a bbq tea and we’re ready for tomorrow’s ride into the White Mountains of New Hampshire.