The Maine wind is legendary. You can see it in the angled flights of eagles and ospreys, and in the blown away hairdos of sea captains in 1900s oil paintings of the Maine coast. The wind is why this coast is so treacherous for sailors… and motorcyclists. Leaning into the curves was ill advised in the inconsistent, gusty conditions we encountered there. I had to constantly remind myself to lower my shoulders away from my ears as I rode imagining that my lowered shoulders might just lower my center of gravity, even if only psychologically.
We rode from Hermit Island to Yarmouth to stay with my college friend Seth and his wife Brandi. The short ride took us around almost-always-windy Casco Bay, one of Maine’s many picturesque, historic bays. Like much of the New England Coast, Casco Bay feels old. It was named in 1525 and settled in 1620s by Europeans, but evidence of ancestral Wabanaki (People of the Dawn Lands) dates back 2000 years. Artifacts from earlier peoples have been found in the area that date back over 4000 years.