I always resist the coming of the late fall season, because I know that all the things I really like to do (golf, paddling, riding the Burgman) must soon be coming to an end for six months due to the impending cold and snow. Maybe that makes me appreciate those final outings more, I’m not sure. But I do know that, for me at least, once the thermometer drops below 40F, it becomes too cold for me to enjoy riding, even with my heated jacket and the heated grips and seat on the bike. And, for sure, if there is an early-season snow or ice storm which requires sanding the roads, the riding season is done right then and there, because loose gravel in the corners is a formula for crashing (in case you’re wondering why, turning the bike requires leaning it, which alone reduces traction; compromised traction on top of loose gravel equals even less traction, until you risk the wheels sliding right out from underneath you when you try to turn).

I do, of course, try to push the season along as far as I can, because it really brings me down to back the bike into the garage, plug the battery tender into it and walk away for six months. And this year, I was able to keep going until Thanksgiving Day, later than usual which is always a bonus and a gift. But, looking at the post-Thanksgiving weather forecast, showing the temperatures hovering in the high 30s starting the day after the holiday, I knew I was done. There is a procedure to follow when putting the bike away for the season, not too difficult, which requires adding fuel stabilizer to the gas tank and then riding several miles to ensure that it mixes thoroughly with the gas, and flows completely through the fuel lines to protect the entire system from fuel degradation over the winter. Once that is done, all that’s needed is to empty out the underseat compartment and the dashboard storage cubbies, replace the goods inside with dryer sheets to keep the mice out, and then to back the bike into its winter parking place and plug in the battery tender. So, with the Thanksgiving meal finished and the stabilizer added, I looked for a place to ride and settled on the Twin Bridges over the Androscoggin River between North Leeds and North Turner.

I accessed this spot by riding to ME-106 through Leeds and then picking up ME-219 West to North Turner. It’s called “Twin Bridges” because the road passes over Lovewell Island in the center of the river, resulting in one bridge to the island, and a second one immediately off of it to carry the road on to North Turner. There is a boat launch here, well-marked from the road, with a small parking area. Once parked, one can visit lovely old True Cemetery to the right of the parking lot, and/or hike left down a short path to the boat launch below the falls. Alternatively, one can walk straight ahead to a massive boulder overlooking the river itself.

When I visited on Thanksgiving Day, I was quite confident that I had already taken photos of the cemetery and so did not stop to photograph any of the picturesque old tombstones. I regret to report that now, as I write this post on New Year’s Day, no such pictures can be found. So, suffice it to say that it is a lovely old cemetery worth a stop if you are passing through the area.

What I did photograph was the river. There is a fine rapid here, which I believe to be canoeable most of the summer season, and which I have always wanted to run but have never attempted. The boat launch, of course, is located below the rapid in the pool beyond the drop, just to the left of the photo below.

This view is from the gravel beach from which you would launch your canoe below the falls:

The majority of the rapid appears above. Below can be seen the falls from the boulder above the falls, adjacent to the parking lot, looking into the westering sun:

This is a lovely, restful spot with the sound of the rushing river to accompany a picnic or to provide a respite from a ride toward North Turner and on over Streaked Mountain to the Norway/South Paris area and the western mountains of Maine. I suppose I would not consider this spot a destination in itself, but it would certainly be worth a stop if one happened to be in the area, or — for me — as the highlight of an hour-long ride when I want to get out on the bike but not spend all day. And it was the perfect spot to visit during my last ride of the season. Now, as the thermometer plunges toward zero on this frigid New Year’s night, all I can do is hope for an early spring!