Last Ride

Woke up with the compelling feeling that it was time to go home. Mixed feelings because I had contemplated that this might be my last ride. Getting older and it just might be the time to hang up my boots and quit while I'm ahead. Some sadness, but it was a great ride through some of the best roads throughout New England ... with the best riding friends ever, Joe and Paul. If you're going to quit riding ... you might as well go out on top. I'm thinking ... do it right and finish it off with style!




The morning was indeed beautiful!!! Rolling hills and crisp, clear weather ... Joe took the lead as he was approaching 100,000 miles. Appropriately he hit 100,000 miles in a curve ... somewhere in the West Virginia mountains on a curve! We stopped and marked the spot, took some photos and reminiced about what a great journey it had been.







We traveled some great motorcycle roads!!! Many of the roads I remember from past CBX rallies in Marlinton ... 28S, 39, and that narrow and twisty connecting road down to Clifton Forge. One last run on 43 over to Bedford ... a final "iced mocha" and snack at McDonalds ... and a run down 220 in the cooling weather of the evening.














The sun was setting in Winston-Salem and soon we were home. Thanks Joe and Paul for all the great memories ... it was a great ride!!!

Hey ya'll watch this ... !!!

Grand Canyon of PA

What a day!!! The heat finally blew out with the rain last night. We must be livin' right. No more haze ... just crystal blue sky and perfect temperatures. Left Elmira just following the GPS. It took us over some great roads into Pennsylavania and on to the Grand Canyon (of PA of course)! It was a narrow and twisty road up to a ridge overlooking the canyon. Talked with some Harley guys from NJ about the best motorcycle roads in the area. Eventually we decided to just follow the route we had planned on the GPS.

Paul and I had been on these roads on our Nova Scotia trip, so we knew they were good. 141 was a great motorcycle road ... particularly when we got to route 44. There we met a local Harley rider who obviously knew every curve, all we had to do was follow. He tried hard but couldn't lose us. When we got to Renovo we stopped for gas. My GPS stopped working and Joe "if its in front of me I'm passing it" Busby, took the lead. When we came up on a Corvette I knew they had no chance ... Joe blew them away on the twisty stuff. We had the best riding day yet ... twisty roads, low traffic volume, and perfect weather.

The day ended in Grantsville. Clem and I used to come to the Amish restaurant here when we were in graduate school at WVU. Joe, Paul, and I had a great dinner and talked about the great roads we traveled today. Joe is 50 miles short of 100,000 miles on his Honda ... looking forward to accomplishing that milestone tomorrow!

New Tires

We left Utica amid cooler weather. Wore the Aerostich today as we rolled through southern New York state. A beautiful agricultural area ... wheat and corn fields and dairy cows. The roads were great too, rolling hills and gentle sweepers. The towns we went through were interesting ... downtowns with numerous shops and beautiful old buildings. Saw an Amish farmer with plow horses out in the field ... we were riding in a postcard!

Stopped for lunch in Corpening and noticed that Paul's tires were almost gone ... better search for new ones. We spent the rest of the afternoon at CNY Motorsports getting tires. We looked at several bikes and eventually decided on matching Gold Wings!

When we returned to the road we headed to Ithaca and on to Elmira. Stopped for the night with black skies overhead. Got into the hotel just before the big rain drops hit. Looks like pizza delivery for dinner! Life is good on the road ...

Adirondaks

We left the hotel in search of the ferry across Lake Champlain. Got there just in time to ride on and the ferry left immediately! Wow ... this day is getting off to a great start! They had some plastic chairs on board and we had the best seats in the house ... right up front with a cool breeze right off the lake. Life is good ... Talked with a couple of college students leading a group of high school kids on a bicycle ride from New York City to Montreal.

Getting off the ferry we immediately missed the lake breeze ... it was another day in the heat. Rode without the riding suit today (very Harley-like) ... I may become a Harley rider yet!

Went through Lake Placid and had lunch a our new favorite lunch stop in the heat ... McDonalds. We can fill our Camelbacks there with ice and it's always cool inside.

Traveled through Saranac Lake and incredible beauty ... deep lakes amid the majestic beauty of the mountains, that's the adirondaks. The roads were among the best we've encountered on this trip ... great scenery, low traffic volume, and enough curves to make it interesting. Just remember to slow for the towns. We repeated the drill many times 55, 45, 35 ... 25 and crawl through town. We knew the local police would be collecting revenue so we were careful ... saw a few flashing blue lights and stopped cars and bikes ... fortunately it wasn't us!

Spent the night in Utica, NY. Found a street party ... Saranack Thursday Nights! Wow, how cool is that? A great band and met a lot of local people having fun ... all in all another great day!!!

Joe's a 49er!

We left Wiers Beach this morning wth high hopes to ride the best that New England has to offer ... the Kanc!!! The Kancamangas Highway has a great reputation and we were looking forward to the ride. Of course it was hot ... and did I mention the heat? It was hot!!! But there was some great scenery ... however with the traffic I can't rate itmore than 2 Harleys :^) We did however find a good road off the Kanc ... the Bear Notch Road. Low traffic volume, good elevation change, and moderately twisty. All in all one of the best roads so far ...

Joe had one state remaining to have ridden in 49 ... when we crossed into Vermont we celebrated right there by the side of the road!

We were headed for Burlington to spend the night. The good news is that the Ben and Jerry's factory is on the way! We had fun choosing between Cerry Garcia, Chunky Monkey, and the new flavor Phish! Ben and Jerry's is a great story ... who would have thought that you could get rich making ice cream? Why didn't I think of that?

In Burlington we checked in the Comfort Inn and went straight to the pool ... it was extra refreshing since we were extra hot. After the pool we rode into town in search of dinner. Since it was so hot ... Paul and I decided to not put on our riding clothes and helmets. It's a calculated risk we were willing to take in the heat. We were feeling pretty good until I noticed that everyone we saw on a motorcycle was wearing a helmet! At the next red light we discussed our dilema and it was about that time that we also noticed the flashing blue light ... we were had! Fortunately the cop was nice about it and reminded us that Vermont does indeed have a helmet law! Joe rescued us and went back to the hotel and retrieve our helmets so we could ride home. Thanks Joe!

Dinner was at the American Flatbread Company ... wood-fired pizza! Doesn't get any better than that!

Childhood Memories

Paul and Dick returned to places that they visited during their childhood ... and that was a long time ago!!!

Bar Harbor to Wiers Beach via the Rangely Lakes—a long and hot day. Left Bar Harbor in comfortable temperatures, but the heat soon crept in. Had fun on the dirt road diversions that were a part of the construction zones along the way … sort of reminded us of the Alaska trip!

Went through the little town of Weld. Dick used to go there with his father and fish for trout. I have many good memories of driving to Maine with our family in the 51 DeSoto. We stopped by the lake and took a photo. Thanks Dad for teaching me to fish ... !!!

The Rangely Lakes were beautiful! We were following a road recommented on motorcycle roads.com. The scenery was spectacular but the road surface was frost heaved and cracked with pot holes that limited our speed. Saw moose signs ... but unfortunately no mooses! Too hot ...

We eventually found a road that made it all worthwhile. 113 along the Maine/New Hampshire border was narrow, twisty, and car-less! 35 miles through a cool tunnel of green foliage.

Wiers Beach was our destination for the day. Paul used to come here in the summers with his grandparents. We found the cabin and took a photo! Wiers Beach is the site of a major motorcycle rally on beautiful Lake Winnipesaukee. Thousands of bikers were here just two weeks ago … fortunately we missed it!

Acadia National Park

Had an easy day today. Slept late and went to the local breakfast place for blueberry pancakes! Sat at the counter and watched the cook work the grill ... he was fast and good!

After breakfast we headed for Acadia. Went to Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, and Cadilac Mountain.

Joe and Paul also went to the far end of cove. Dick went to town and had a Clam Roll, Sweet Potato Fries in the pier. A gentle ocean breeze and a spectacular view completed a most memorable day!