No photos to share today, as this was just a day for pushing on home.  We awoke to a steady drizzle in St. Johnsbury, VT, which made for a slow and difficult ride into Gorham, NH; Francis continued to struggle with visibility through his faceshield and required frequent stops.

We arrived at the McDonald’s in Gorham around noontime and decided to wait out the rain over lunch.  One of the great things about McDonald’s (everywhere, I’m told) is that they all have free wi-fi.  I was able to access the internet on my phone and looked up the weather radar, which showed two cells of rain moving over Gorham and western Maine, with a gap inbetween.

This gap motivated Francis to try to make it home before the second cell arrived, and once the rain let up he was unstoppable, traveling at or above the speed limit almost non-stop for the two hours it took us to get home.  So, I don’t know what to make of this — my best guess is that, for Francis, scooter travel is not a means to arrive at a destination, but a process to be enjoyed.  And for him, rain makes the process un-enjoyable, and so in that situation he just twists the throttle and goes.  But if the weather is good, perhaps he is just in the moment, and the destination will come to him whenever it arrives.

I don’t know.  I guess I should strive to be more like Francis, just enjoying the moments as they come instead of worrying about getting there.  In any event, it was a good trip — safe and uneventful travel through some glorious scenery.  For anyone looking to plan a trip, US2 and NY11 are two of the nicest motorbike roads I’ve ridden — rolling rural farmland with plenty of mountains, lakes and river views to enjoy.  Sure, the interstates are faster; I guess it’s just a question of whether you want to be more like Francis or more like me.

Thanks for following on this trip; I have some great photos to post of the tall ships coming into Portland Harbor from last week, so stay tuned!