NorthRaven's Adventures from the Road, Track and Trail: Moosehead Maine ride

Moosehead Run
Total Miles 280mi
Midcoast to Frenchtown (Kodajo) 140mi
Frenchtown to Midcoast 140mi
Start time 0730
End time 1500
Temperature26F-39F
Weather conditions—Sun to Clouds to SNOW. Snow showers in the afternoon
Road conditions.
Dry then wet snow covered, then wet salt covered, some ice in places

Moosehead lake is one of the many beautiful places in Maine. It is one of the largest lakes east of the Mississippi and is largely unspoiled by development. It does however have a unique past from log runs to world class, turn of the century resorts. Greenville, a town located at the most southern point of Moosehead Lake is the highlight town of the region. The town sports all types of activity from Float Plane charters in the summer to snowmobile rentals in the winter.

The ride today was one of the last “big rides” of the season as I just got hit with a $1000 car repair bill and my attempt at heated gear…well read on.

The day started off typical. I had the pre-ride heebee jeebies. Good thing as it keeps me alert and aware I’m not invincible. I managed to forget my wallet so I had to make a return trip home, finally I got underway. The roads were slightly icy so it was slow going at first until I got up into Unity, and Detroit. The roads by that point were dry and clear. I hit Rt100 through Newport and picked up an ATV trail up into Corinna from Newport (it is a BMW GS after all). While going down the ATV trail I realized I was flying through frozen puddles making a sound similar to breaking glass!!! Once in Corinna I hit the road again towards Dexter..remember Dexter Shoes?

It wasn’t until Guilford that things started to get interesting. For one, I felt like I was on fire……I WAS ON FIRE!!!!! Apparently the snowmobile grip heaters that I had stuffed into my riding gear shorted and started to catch on fire. Fortunatly I was able to pull the plug and get the fire out before any real damage occurred. Unfortunately the jacket still smells like melted plastic. In addition to the hot side I had been watching a cold squall line for about a half hour over Greenville and figured it would have moved out by the time I arrived……nope. I managed to hit the snow dead on, Being the first snow of the season I was mesmerized and paranoid at the same time. The snow was piling up on the roads; visibility was about 50’, the bike was handling loosely but confidently just as well. My body kept tightening up and I needed to consciously loosen up to maintain control. Eventually I made my way into Monson and got a cup of coffee.

I talked to the nice guys at the store for about 20min and enjoyed a hot coffee. They made it clear that they thought I was nuts but I just laughed it off and said that this was the best time of year to ride. No tourists, no lines, clear roads. Monson is an interesting town in that its biggest industry is slate/shale. No other town in the area uses it, only Monson. It seems like every driveway and side road if paved in crushed shale. To each their own I guess.

I managed to make it to Greenville shortly after leaving Monson. Initially I had figured I’d stop at Greenville, but decided to go all the way to the northern terminus of legal motorcycling…Frenchtown. The roads north of there are paper company owned and due to a lawsuit resulting from some moron who was following a logging truck on his bike with no helmet or face protection and got hit in the head by a rock that was thrown up.

I stopped at the terminus had the token cup of hot beverage. On the way back I decided to stop and take a look at a old military jet crash site that had been dedicated as a memorial. Unfortunately the road was well packed snow and ice. I started down the road but noticed that it was heading downhill…with ice. Having lived in Maine long enough, I realized quickly that it was not a good choice. Yeah I might have made it to the crash site, but I sure as hell would not have made it back home without help. I decided to turn around and on the way back to the road, I hit a iced incline doing about 5-6mph, the back of the bike spun around on me and we both ended up on the ground. The fun part was getting that pig upright while standing on ice!!!!. I managed to get going again and learned the advantage of outriggers on snow/ice. Once on pavement again I headed towards Greenville to get an actually HOT beverage to bring up my core body temperature. I got my coffee, a sticker and a shirt, and then headed home. It was an overall uneventful ride except when I decided to take the same ATV trail home, I hit a bump a bit too hard, bottoming out my shocks and giving me an oil shower as my fork seals blew out!!! I managed to get home anyways, and the seals are on order…….ap

Photos