Miles: 369
Breakfast was at Judy's. I don't quite remember why we had chosen this spot but it turned out to be ok albeit in a slightly seedy area. The breakfast place had a full service bar and there were several people taking advantage. It opened at 6:00 so we were getting an early start. We rode north through Dover-Foxcroft and stopped along the Piscataquls River at Low's Covered Bridge. There was a little picnic area on the river and the morning sun made a nice picture. We continued north and stopped in Greenville which is on the very southern end of Moosehead Lake. There we parked next to the Katahdin Steamboat where it is berthed providing cruises on the lake. It was built in 1914 at Bath Iron Works and is the oldest vessel afloat built at BIW. It served as a tourist boat until 1938 when it was converted to a towboat and lumber hauler staying in service until 1976. It was restored and has reverted back to its tourist roots. Had the boat been open to touring I think we would have done that, but it was not even 9:00 so no one was even around. We continued north along the lake and stopped in Rockwood in view of Mt. Kineo. We had the place to ourselves out on the man-made island where the Kineo shuttle docks and there were some Adirondack chairs so we moved them to the edge of water and we sat for while to soak in the scenery. After half an hour or so, it was getting a little more busy so we felt it was time to move on and we rode west along the Moose River where there are many cottages and cabins in what looks to be a really nice place to spend a summer. We had stayed in Jackman back in 2000 so we thought we would take a quick detour and ride through downtown. We found the motel where we stayed back then and it is no longer in business and looks abandoned. Jackman would be the northernmost point of trip and we were now heading south on US201 towards our lunch time destination. We planned to stop at Kennebec River Brewery which is located in the Northern Outdoors HQ. This place has it all; rafting trips, snowmobile rentals, ATV rentals and a nice resort with a brewery located inside. We had lunch and enjoyed a pint. We really didn't want to leave, but it was nearly noon and we weren't quite halfway. We stopped along ME16 on the Carrabassett River which seemed very low on water. We didn't stay long, just to stretch our legs after lunch. I wanted to get to Mt. Washington to ride up to the top so we needed to get moving. Steve had ridden to the top previously but it would be my first time. We arrived to the road leading to the top before 5:00 so we had plenty of time, and the ride to the top was quite fun. However, once we got to the top it was very windy and very cold. I knew the reputation of Mt. Washington of being very windy, but it still took me by surprise. We walked around and took the traditional pictures but didn't stay all that long. Coming back down was even better than going up as the view was much better. Once to the hotel we walked down to Sea Dog Brewery and had to have one last lobster roll. It didn't seem as good as the others but we were happy to have one.