042215   042224

On the Laurentian Mountains ride
Jerry Jeff Ken and I camped in Quebec
with late night rain
relentless rain swamped Jeff’s tent.
Shaking hands all around in the morning
Jerry Jeff and Ken decamped for a sunny ride home.
Laurentians soaked my summer gloves
a low-mileage day cold and wet.
A motel in Chicotimi helped to dry me and the tent
morning precipitation waned as I gained momentum
Rt 170 down a mountain 
twisting beside the churning brook
riding in a natural groove.
St Simeon has a store with snacks and tickets to cross. 
After cruising around the Gaspè 
through Sainte-Anne-des-Monts to Percè Rock
after a couple beers and cigarettes at a motel
I left early before travelers got the road
peacefully zipped coastal to Campbellton
kept going along Rt 17
kept going to Grand Falls and Rt 2.
At Woodstock with an idea of the day
dark purple weather roiling the west 
the border guard at Houlton waved me through.
120 miles to Bangor
sleepy to Augusta Portland and Portsmouth
Rt 101 and home by 9
fireworks crackled and boomed
it’s Independence Day