Cold Feet, Blue Skies and a Warm reception

Leaving home on Wednesday morning to begin the long-awaited Solo Freedom Tour, was for me, an exhilarating moment. Over a year and a half of planning had finally come down to heading north from Cape Cod across the Bourne Bridge and turning off of State Road 25 onto 28 north prior to mile marker #1 and the southernmost entrance to Interstate 495. Keeping true to my plan of only traveling on the backroads of America would not be easy but in the end would prove to be the only path to take in what America believes and thinks about Freedom.

Dozens of hours have been spent creating detailed maps of each leg of this trip with a database full of average MPH, fuel consumption, heavy traffic areas and estimated arrival times for each progressive destination. Let's just throw all of that out for now. As I continue on this journey, I will discover, as I already have in the first four states, that Freedom has no boundries. That statement includes a simple left or right turn of the handlebars at any given intersection or fork in the road.

Have you ever driven through a large city without accelerating onto an onramp? Take the backroads. Stop along the way and say hello to someone who you will more than likely never see again in your life!

Boston, MA as seen through the full face helmet at slow speeds was a treat. We are usually buzzing into town to meet friends or go to a movie with a tight schedule. In fact, everywhere I look, people are in a rush to get to some place they are currently not quite at. I totally understand how we get caught up in the rat race and can't seem to find the time to relax and meet a stranger along the way.

So, I got a little side tracked in the North End of Boston because I was on a mission to get close to the U.S.S. Constitution for the first official picture on this tour. That did not happen, due to a suspicious military guard at the entrance to the Navy Yard that houses Old Ironsides. I can see why; a man with slightly long hair, driving an old black motorcycle approached the gatekeeper with several bags attached by bungie cords and a cargo net wanted to just leave his vintage ride next to the shack and walk in to take a couple of pictures. The troll said no. In fact, he stated I should leave and leave now. I did as he requested and probably drove around Charlestown for over 10 minutes before I could convince my GPS to lead me out of this uncharted territory and onto US-1 North.

I followed US-1 north to Portland, Maine for a quick visit with Ric and Alex. Ric's offer for me to stay there for the night was very tempting, but I was booked at the KOA campground between Augusta and Gardiner Maine. I arrived at the campground around 10:00PM and it was completely silent, once I shut off Mozi and walked up to retrieve the map which Barbara promised she would tape to the office door. I recognized my name on the map with arrows and sharpie lines to lead me to "Primative Campsite T1".

After getting my bearing and discovering that my site was downhill from the office, I decided to just pull in on the clutch lever and coast down to my spot, guided by only an LED flashlight to be as stealthy as possible, allowing my fellow campers to sleep through my late arrival. The only sound was the crying of a loon on nearby Pleasant Pond.

Park Mozi, remove the cargo net and bungies, set up a tent which I have never seen set up except for the picture on the L.L.Bean website, place everything else in the tent and cover Mozi for the night. It was quite late, but I sat up reading for about 30 minutes with the netting tent fabric between me and the sky. The weather forecast predicted an absolute clear sky and temps in th lower 60's. Everything seems perfect until I finally climbed into my sleeping bag and realized I did not yet purchase padding of any sort and... I was in a gravel site.
 
Goodnight, Johnboy...


The view from the tent in the morning exposed a canopy of trees, complete with squirrels and birds.

I still could not hear any kids chasing each other, dishes clanging or the expected crackling of a hardwood fire with bacon sizzling. I wondered what time was it? 8:15AM and as I turned to look thru the door of the tent, I was amazed by the sun peeking around this tree.

Then, I turned to look at my neighbors and the wide variety of tents further down the road.

Yeah, just me and my belongings?

No neighbors?

No one to say hello to?

No sharing a cup of coffee with someone who brewed it as I was sleeping?

I really needed coffee!!!!!!!!

I began to pack my bags and perform all of the usual tasks:

Check Mozi's oil, gas, air pressure and random bolts which are subject to the vibrations of the engine.

I was ready to roll on down the backroads of Maine just as Ray and Fay arrived in the office. I stopped by to say hello and pay for the campsite. I was also hoping for coffee. There were two empty glass pots in the coffee brewing gizmo. I wasn't going to ask for a pot to be brewed, therefore, I had a nutritious breakfast which included a 6pack of Oreos and a Diet Rootbeer. 

Mozi on down the road to Freedom...