Maine Adventure Trail (MAT) Part 1

[Brick]

Whoa!!!!!!!!!! Damn!!! That ended up being quite an "experience" for sure.

Bummer you had to go through all that!!

[bldrman]

Boy, my heart goes out to you in dealing with the infection! I can't believe they didn't give you something to at least calm your nerves up front. I had surgery about 14 years ago to enlarge the openings to my sinuses, because they weren't draining. The did not put me under, because the procedure was done so close to the brain, and they wanted feedback if they probed too far. They did give me something to put me in a relaxed state however.

I hope that you have gotten the rain and pain out of your system, and will have smooth sailing in Carolina! Syd

[CliffC]

Good luck with the "complaint". After being crippled I was given two meal tickets for the Chop House in Kingsport. One god awful year later my wife drove me two 500 mile days to Omaha, NE with me on a cushion in the back of a van all the way. There I underwent "hopefully corrective surgery". As the dude there said, life will not be the same. He was right, but thank him it was better, way better. Oh yeah, I also got a three hour very interesting film of the procedure, and I had to promise not to sue with it. Wealth Care rules no matter who passes the bills. Hey, I'll got to lunch with you.

Now back to topic, glad you guys got in a couple of great days of dual sport.

[BlueRidgeGal]

Sorry to hear about your sinus issues. Hope you get to feeling better soon. I am also glad that you are married to a gentle, loving nurse (bet you are glad of that too).

[PYG RYDR]

Yes very fortunate that Flo is packing my nose twice/day-quite a challenging task!

Preparing to leave Dairy Queen Friday morning:

Break time on Hogback Ridge Road:


Sweet Springs Road near Paint Bank:


Saturday before the rain on National Forest 85:


National Forest 85-to the right=West Virginia; to the left Virginia:


And a parting shot of Jim saying he is going home to avoid the rain, cold temps and snow:

[PYG RYDR]

Yesterday, I received a letter regarding my complaint. After a formal investigation of the facts, the supervising MD of the ENT department apologized for lack of treatment for my pain. He acknowledged my treating intern/resident did not adequately treat my pain. A reprimand dispensed and the MD supervisor will use my example to teach other interns/residents. The hospital seemed to take the issue seriously.

My nose continues to heal. Still packing it twice a day, but the pocket is almost closed-so little packing material getting stuffed and the packing procedure to end soon. Yeah!!!

Jim and I are tossing dates around to resume our DS route north from Harrisonburg, VA to Coudersport, PA. At least that is our plan....

[CliffC]

What, no meal tickets for dinner from the hospital?? Things have indeed gotten tight. ;-)) Very glad that you are healing well, and that riding is back in the picture soon. CC

[TN2Wheeler]

Well Galen is all well now and there's no snow predicted for PA next week so we're going to take up where we left off a few weeks ago in Harrisonburg, VA. We're leaving from Sparta on Monday. I have the bikes all preped and packed and as soon as Nancy gets home we're off to TriStar. Road Trip! Oh, in case you're wondering, she won't be taking her SV on the MAT part.

Jim Randall

[TN2Wheeler]

Home again. 1900 miles since last Friday. Outbound to Coudersport, PA we rode approximately 60% unpaved roads. Some high speed gravel, some standing on the pegs rocks, some after dark dodging critters (including a BIG black bear) and a little 1st gear "John Deere" thumping through mud, rocks and running water while pushing aside the limbs from overgrown trees and bushes. Followed that with two 300 mile days of rural pavement back home. It was just excellent.

Galen and I travel well together and Rick's route worked great. Only once did we emerge from the forest on what was claimed to be private property. But we didn't get "caught" so no problem ;-)

My new-to-me, somewhat modified DR650 was the perfect tool for the job. Not too big, not too small... as Goldilocks might say it was just right. It simply did what was required from grunting along in mud and rocks at walking speed to 30 miles of I-99. It's a trooper!

Not many pictures but here are a couple.










Jim Randall

[PYG RYDR]

Great trip w/Jim!

Excellent DS riding w/ mixture of gravel roads, double-track and asphalt connector roads. Thanks to Rick Giddish, Master Navigator, who designed this route!

More roadkill on this trip than I can remember from past rides. Lots of dead squirrels, groundhogs, possums, raccoons, couple of deer and cats, and many snakes.

Live animals included one huge black bear, one huge rattlesnake, of course turkeys, deer, squirrels, one black racer, two snapping turtles-up high on the mountain, one copperhead and numerous black snakes, including this one:


A rocky section of VA double track:




Jim at break time:


To be continued...