Another wet day...

We left Gorham in New Hampshire heading north to make a loop up to the northernmost parts of the state  under a heavy cover of cloud. We looked forward to a cooler day because of the cloud.

About 15 minutes into our ride it started to rain, and it was obvious we would need our wet weather gear. I stopped under some trees so we would have some shelter as we dressed, and just as well, for without that cover we would have been quite wet before we got into our gear, which rather negates the point of putting it on.

We rode to Lancaster where we stopped during a break in the rain to check our maps. As we did, a rider on a KTM rode up for a chat, his jeans absolutely soaking wet, but his spirits were undampened. He had lived in Washington State, so was quite used to riding in rain. Indeed, he said he would rather ride in wet weather than windy.

From Lancaster the road tracked along the Connecticut River to Colebrook where we stopped for brunch.

We continued north on route 102 to within a stone's throw of the Canadian border at Stewartstown. Nine miles further we reached Pittsburg, the most northerly point on our ride today.

We returned to Colebrook via route 145 and struck east to Errol. This road was some of the best riding with open sweeping corners. We pretty much had it all to ourselves, and enjoyed it to the extent the rain and road conditions allowed.

We are so far north the roads freeze in winter. Any water that gets down into in the bitumen freezes and literally pushes the road apart, letting more water in when the ice thaws. Every freeze/thaw cycle exacerbates the damage. An interesting observation is that the worst cracking seems to track down the middle of the vehicle lanes. I suspect the heat from vehicles engines and exhausts may add to the sun's warmth during the day to thaw the ice along the centre of the lane, after which it re-freezes at night, exacerbating the damage on a daily basis. Maintaining roads up here is a never-ending task.

We stopped for a break in Errol and bought icecreams. The store we were in had 4 or 5 separate areas dedicated to different products. There was the food store, a Honda/Suzuki/Yamaha dealer, a camping store, a fishing tackle store, a furniture store, and a gunshop. That was stocked with enough guns to equip a small army, as well as hundreds of bows and cross bows.

Nine miles from Errol we crossed the border into Maine. We passed through the towns of Newry and Bethel before finishing our day's travel at a motel halfway between South Paris and Norway (but it didn't look anything like Holland). By the time we arrived around 3:30 pm it had stopped raining and our wet weather gear was becoming unbearably hot. It was good to get off the road.