Motorcycle Alabama

So who is Chuck Palahniuk and what does he have to do with me riding to New Brunswick, Canada?

You can Google him and read about him but you won't know what he has to do with me and this trip. You'll have to stick around to the end of the ride report to find that out.

The who and the what of the whole affair....

Me
Mulley
Lincoln
Darrin

We left Birmingham around 9:00 Saturday morning, July 22nd...........

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I had no idea at the time - couldn't have known it at the time - but it all started in April of 2016 on the ride to Key West. Specifically while enjoying drinks and food with good friends at Mallory Square in Key West, Florida.

And it all ended with the pic below.

The details?

Well.......... those will come as I find the time and mental state-of-mind to tell the whole story via the ride report.
Stick around if you want to. No guarantees, but I'll do my best to make it worth your time.



(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4294/36270358856_695e6f8456_z.jpg)

Fight club!

Quote from: Nice Goat on August 01, 2017, 12:27:23 PM
Fight club!

Yep. He wrote Fight Club which has nothing to do with me and the trip.
Stick around.  I'll get to it............

The road trip to Key West was great. We rode from Birmingham to Key Largo in one day, then spent the full next day enjoying Key West.
I loved Mallory Square. I think it was my favorite part of the trip.

We watched this guy ply his trade and watched the sun set. It was a really, really good time.




Fast forward a few months. I called Mill and bounced the idea off him. The subject had come up briefly while I had been riding with him in Idaho in late 2015. In early August of 2016 I met him in Anchorage for a week of riding in Alaska.
It was yet another fantastic trip.
We rode a lot and saw some really, really cool stuff. We got to go to Seward and Delta Junction and Valdez. We rode the Denali Highway and saw the Alaska pipeline and glaciers and loads of other neat stuff.

We ate fresh fish on the waterfront in Seward.


(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7574/28851214206_c7e8af13e7_z.jpg)



Fast forward another few months. Mulley called me and extended an invite to go with him and a group others. In January of 2017 I was riding in Baja, Mexico. Yet ANOTHER awesome trip. We had a blast! Great riding, great guys and some great food. Despite dining at some really nice establishments along the way, I think the best food I had the whole trip was the fresh sashimi we had. Fish Mulley and I caught on a 1/2 day fishing trip was prepared by the crew we had booked our trip with and it was absolutely fantastic.

(https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2774/32890203651_5fdb3c739e_z.jpg)


On Tuesday, January 31, 2017, Mulley and I boarded the 737 that would carry us home from Baja. He had the window seat.
The plane taxied to the runway. Very soon the takeoff roll was behind us and we were headed home.

I stuck my earbuds in and listened to some music.

I was daydreaming, thinking about how good the trip had been. How fortunate I was to have been able to make the trip and enjoy all the good times.

And then...... then I got to thinking a bit more.....

Hmmmmm........

April of 2016 I had been in Key West.
August of 2016 I had been in Alsaka.
In January of 2017 I had been in Baja.

There had been great times in all places and I had enjoyed some very fine food in all three locations.

So the seed had been planted in Key West. It had been watered in Alaska and Baja. And it was on the flight home from Baja that it had sprang to life.

"I've been to Key West (SE), Alaska (NW) and Baja (SW). I'm going to Maine (NE) to eat lobster."

BOOM! That was the initial plan in my mind. Maine for lobster. 

I didn't mention it at the time but a few months later a few messages were sent and soon enough the group was set.
(Two others - Scott and Tony F had planned to go, but in the end, life events dictated they could not make it.)

And so it was, that I, Lincoln, Mulley and Darrin would be headed NE.

Initial plan had been Maine, but heck, you can't be THAT close and not go the little extra distance to spend the night in Canada and eat their lobster instead!

This guy tells a good story!!! :)

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Quote from: speedfire on August 01, 2017, 06:31:06 PM
This guy tells a good story!!! :)

Thank you. I hope this one doesn't disappoint.


The initial plan had been ride to Bar Harbor, Maine, eat lobster, then ride back in a general easterly direction to cross into Canada, spend the night in Toronto, come back into the states at Buffalo or Detroit and make our way back home.
The ride would be called "The Maine Event".

I laid out a rough route and it all looked good. Except for one problem....

Mulley and I got to discussing it all one night and closer scrutiny revealed a fly in the ointment: Time.

We would not have enough time unless we committed to longer days than we wanted to. So, the plans changed. We'd skip Bar Harbor, opt for Portland and ride into Canada from Maine and spend the night there, then backtrack a bit until we turned off for a different segment for the ride back home.

We poked around the web looking for a place that might strike our fancy when we came upon Saint Andrews, New Brunswick. I found this video and the deal was sealed.  We'd be headed to Saint Andrews for a night on The Bay of Fundy and some Canadian Lobster for dinner.

https://vimeo.com/137926119

I was jazzed. Really excited and counted the days until we would be leaving.


Saturday morning the 22 of July found the four of us meeting at Jack's in Springville for breakfast. As is the norm, I arrived early. It's something in my blood I guess.

And as is the norm, Mulley arrived last. I joked with Lincoln and Darrin that Mulley lived the closest but he'd be the last to arrive. But he made it and we all had breakfast. It was soon after breakfast when Mulley realized he did not have his credit card. He rode back home, fumbled around in his truck, found his credit card then rode back to Jack's.
We left a little later than planned but it didn't matter. We had about 1,250 miles to cover between then and Sunday evening. What difference would a few minutes make in the whole scheme of things?

None.


The four bikes.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4355/35927340920_9c26ef7a53_z.jpg)


My bike waits patiently.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4299/35927360650_daf77bfddd_z.jpg)


Darrin waits patiently.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4308/36279603076_e086b631bc_z.jpg)


Lincoln waits patient but fumbles around with something while doing so.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4373/36279601016_358b98ca71_z.jpg)

With Mulley arrived back on the scene we rolled out and hit I-59 North. Our first stop would be Rising Fawn for some gas and something to drink.

We rolled through Chattanooga and Knoxville and sometime later we were in Abingdon, Virginia, eating lunch at Hardee's. I had 2 soft chicken tacos and a small order of chicken fingers. Their chicken fingers are really good. Jam up good.

It was hot Saturday afternoon. At each stop I would put on my jacket, zip it up and pour cold water down the front and back to soak the inside and provide cooling while riding. It works pretty well. Mulley did the same thing.

On we rode. As the shadows grew long and day turned to night, we ran into rain. Not extremely heavy but far more than a gentle shower.

We decided to call it a day at Winchester, Virginia. We stopped and ate at Outback then got two rooms for the night.

I showed about 685 miles for day one.

I slept a good sleep that first night.

Sunday morning found us up and going. The weather looked more promising.


(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4369/35488249554_de6f9bc963_z.jpg)

You know, the front end of the 1st Gen Versys is really kinda ugly. It's my bike and I can freely admit it. The front end is ugly.

But for me, when it comes to the 650 V, function trumps a pretty face and from that standpoint, I think it's a good looking bike. Besides, when I'm sitting on it rolling down the road, I can't see its face so what difference does it make to me at that point?

None.

"You know, the front end of the 1st Gen Versys is really kinda ugly. It's my bike and I can freely admit it. The front end is ugly."

I concur, but it sure is fun to ride. :)

Waiting on more story please.....

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Awe Yeah Boi!! Here we go with another great story about some pretty cool guys!!

Looking forward to the rest of this one!

Quote from: Fencejumper09 on August 02, 2017, 07:55:23 AM
Awe Yeah Boi!! Here we go with another great story about some pretty cool guys!!

Looking forward to the rest of this one!

Hmmmm..... more pressure to deliver....

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I'll go ahead and throw this out there as a teaser.

There are a few places in this world I have been that I never, ever want to go back to.

Quevedo, Ecuador is one.  The country of Ecuador is a great place. The city of Quevedo, Ecuador is not.

Los Angeles (the entire greater LA area) is another. Stupid place in my book. All the people and traffic. Like somebody tried to stuff 10 lbs of flour into a 5 lb sack.   And succeeded.

Two more...... Newark, NJ and The Bronx, New York.

It's about 30 miles from the west edge of Newark until you hit I-87 and are headed north, free and clear, with The Bronx behind you, fading fast in the rearview mirror.

Careful plans had been made to get us through this area with as little hassle as possible. No need to exit the interstate. Just blow right by and continue on towards Portland, Maine.

But lots can go wrong in 30 miles.





And it did.

I am Jack's impending sense of doom....

Quote from: Nice Goat on August 02, 2017, 11:37:00 AM
I am Jack's impending sense of doom....

Applicable in this instance? Yes. And a reasonable guess as to the relevance of Chuck Palahniuk,

But the tie-in is purely coincidental in this case.

Quote from: Brian A on August 02, 2017, 11:15:58 AM

Quote from: Fencejumper09 on August 02, 2017, 07:55:23 AM
Awe Yeah Boi!! Here we go with another great story about some pretty cool guys!!

Looking forward to the rest of this one!

Los Angeles (the entire greater LA area) is another. Stupid place in my book. All the people and traffic. Like somebody tried to stuff 10 lbs of flour into a 5 lb sack.   And succeeded.

Yep, MOST of the Los Angeles area is a PISS pot as far as riding goes but there are some really great roads up in the hills and canyons. One or two are sort of famous. ........but I am sure they are patrolled a bit moore heavily now then when I was there in the late 80's.




Thanks to the interwebs and a certain YouTube channel. ;)






BTW, the mountain roads east of San Diego. .........going up and over ..............von debar.

Sunday morning was nice. The rain had moved out and it looked like it was going to be a good day. We ate breakfast in the hotel, had several cups of coffee and then got ready to roll out.


Lincoln, getting ready.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4359/35523607554_809ae297dc_z.jpg)


Lincoln's bike, plus mine and Darrin's.
The guy in the background appears to be crying, but I think he probably just had crusty morning eyes and was working to get himself better vision.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4420/36222428351_bc5e78b8ce_z.jpg)


And soon we were on the road. This is what was planned for the day. The bright red line shows us starting in Winchester, Va (just off the bottom left corner) and ending in Portland, Maine.

Both of those events did in fact occur. We left Winchester, Virginia and ended the day in Portland, Maine.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4404/36359384525_d7a5b42c38_z.jpg)

On Sunday we rode in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine.............. and New York............... and..................

New Jersey!

We stopped for gas and a short break along the way.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4333/35523610704_81eb9929df_z.jpg)


We stopped for lunch in Easton, Pa. I seem to remember it was the last exit before entering New Jersey. In any event, it was our last stop before crossing into NJ. We ate at Subway then prepped to leave.

Darrin strolling to his bike.  ( I think that is a piece off somebody's car lying in the parking lot)

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4348/36222419191_8d5655b98d_z.jpg)

As Lincoln and I were getting ready I joked (but was serious) about the comments I had made earlier.

I do not like Newark. I am sure there are some fine folks that live there and call it home. I am sure there are some positive things Newark might have to offer. That's all fine and dandy.

But, I do NOT like Newark.

The interstates are the worst I have ever been on, both in layout and in quality of the road surface. The single worst pothole I have ever hit was in a rental car on the interstate in Newark. I didn't hit a pothole so much as I drove off into and then back out of a small crater. How it did not pop the tires on that rental car, I still do not understand. It really was brutal.

The layout of the interstate system.......

There isn't any.

It's as if somebody, some time in the distant past, grabbed a handful of cooked spaghetti and dropped it in the middle of a table and said "There. There is your road system. Figure out a way to make it work." 

I guess in a way it's like the written Chinese language. If you know it, all the characters make sense. You can understand. But if you don't know the characters then it's all just a bunch of lines arranged in some seemingly random way.

Crooked lines in this case. But to the same effect. (and this is but a small sample)

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4407/35962526650_1c10bd1a0c_z.jpg)

So anyway, back to my joking/serious comments to Lincoln.

"I do not want to stop anywhere in the state of New Jersey. I do not want to wind up in Newark. In any way, shape, form or fashion. I don't even want to slow down as we pass through New Jersey and by Newark. I want to get through there, on to the other side of New York City and headed north towards Maine."

HA HA HA HA HA!! The joke was to be on me (actually all of us.)

We pulled out of the Subway parking lot and hit the interstate. Mulley was in the lead and had my GPS track on his Garmin. I had it on mine and we all had Portland, Maine in our devices as the day's destination.

None of which would make one bit of difference once we hit the greater Newark area.

This. This is what we had. It was well thought out, planned and should have been at least marginally within the realm of being seen as reasonably possible to execute.

Nope.

Not a chance.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4418/35962526220_9945b90bde_z.jpg)

The unmitigated disaster that was to be our journey in, around and through Newark, New Jersey, USA lay just a few miles and a few minutes ahead.

And there it was, right there in front of us.  Newark.

Mulley was in the lead but it wouldn't have mattered had anyone else been in that spot. I don't believe Newark discriminates nor picks favorites.

I honestly believe the wheels came off at the very first split in the interstate system. We took the wrong split. You'd think it would be so easy. We are all reasonably bright, educated guys. Many, many miles of riding all over North America and some additional riding in a few international destinations. We had prearranged routes and tracks running on nice GPS devices.

Didn't matter.  We went the wrong way.

The Interstate signs should all just read something like this:  "I-95 North Ahead. Pick a lane. You might get lucky"

One really neat thing about the Newark interstate system: If you make a mistake you need not worry, there will be another opportunity in about 10 seconds to make another mistake and before you know it, you have no clue where you are.

The GPS is constantly saying "Rerouting".

At one point in time I remember seeing a sign along the lines of "Last Exit before Holland Tunnel".  I think it was Holland Tunnel. Might have been Lincoln Tunnel. But in any event, a ride through the tunnel into Manhattan was not on my "To-do" list that day. We exited.

Maybe it was then. Maybe it was some other time. I honestly do not know. It was all, the whole thing, one miscue after another. Despite my desires and my attempts at proper planning, execution had failed and we were on the surface streets of hot, congested Newark, New Jersey, USA!

What a treat!

(Darrin pic)

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4437/36222423361_bf39d1ca4c_z.jpg)

We couldn't help but laugh and joke about it. The one place I had NOT wanted to be was EXACTLY where we were!
All part of the experience and nobody got the least bit bent over it. We just laughed about it and plowed ahead.

And were soon back on the interstate.

To add a further element of delight to the experience, these interstate roads are often toll roads. At some point in the debacle we came to a toll booth. Unmanned. Just machines and empty booths and a little button to push to get your ticket.

Yep. You guessed it. My little button, no matter how many times I pressed it, the result was the same: a blank stare on the part of both me and the ticket-spitter-outer machine.

Nothing.    No ticket.    Screw it.    I pulled way from the hibernating ticket machine with no ticket on an interstate road that I wasn't certain even took me where I wanted to go in a city I had not even wanted to slow down in. Things could, and would, continue to go downhill.

Darrin was behind me. Same thing for him.  No ticket.

Mulley and Lincoln had hit a different booth. Their machine had been awake and friendly towards them. They both had tickets.

We all pulled away from the toll booth area. Our next opportunity for a mistake smacked us in the face about 10 seconds later. 

There's an exit ramp onto some other interstate looking road! Let's take it!
Doesn't matter where it goes 'cause we don't know where we are going!

I do not remember how it came to be but we all came to an abrupt halt on the shoulder of that exit ramp. The exit ramp we had just split off onto immediately split again for yet another opportunity to play Roll the Dice. We discussed right vs wrong for a minute or so and Mulley, still in the lead, sped away. Nobody else followed. We realized he had (Surprise!) chosen the wrong way.

He had taken the right fork and we needed to go to the left fork. Interstate traffic buzzed by and there was one of those concrete island things, a few inches high, that are found where roads split. It's like a little slice of cement pie that serves to help define the two options.

Our desired option was on the other side of one of those little cement pieces of interstate pie. No worries. We were on motorcycles and when you gotta go, they will go.

And so we did. A gap in traffic, whack the throttle and it's just a hop, skip and a jump over the piece of cement pie and we are on the proper road.

Problem was, Mulley was long gone. Somewhere. Headed in the wrong direction.

The three of us stopped again.

Mulley and Darrin both have fancy Bluetooth gadgets in their helmet. They can listen to music and... make phone calls.

Darrin called Mulley.  I wasn't privy to the conversation but as Darrin related it to us after the call was over, Mulley had found himself approaching yet another toll both. Apparently his sense of direction was good enough that day to let him know that passing through that toll booth would have him committed to going way the wrong way.

A venture through the median offered a solution to that problem and so Mulley availed himself of the opportunity, crossed the median and found himself on the same interstate we were on, just 5 to 10 miles behind us. Darrin told Mulley we would ride a little further and stop and wait for him.

I was in the lead.

We came to the other end of the section of road that was the toll road that I did not have a ticket for. I explained to the lady.......

"Me and the guy behind me. We pushed the button over and over. Both of us. At the blah blah blah booth. No ticket.
No ticket."

Sorry. I'll have to charge you the maximum.

"What!? Your machine won't give me a ticket and because it won't work I have to pay the maximum?"

Sorry sir. $14.50

"$14.50 to ride about 4 miles of interstate? That's the most expensive 4 miles I had ever traveled in my life."

She smiled. I paid the $14.50 and waited on Darrin to do the same.

When Darrin had talked to Mulley he had told Mulley we would ride a bit further down the road and wait for him and that is what we did. As we started across the bridge over the Hackensack River I pulled off onto the wide shoulder where we three stopped to wait.

Mulley rolled up a few minutes later.

We had a few laughs but by golly Newark was behind us. NEWARK WAS BEHIND US!!

But we were not out of the woods yet. Not by a long shot.

We had reasonably thought Sunday afternoon would be a good time to traverse the Newark/New York area. We would miss the busy commute times and busy day traffic of the work week.

Yes. Sunday afternoon should be a good time.

We found out later

Just.
How.
Wrong.

we had been.

Keep it coming Brian, great storyline man.

I used to have a Ninja 650r.  Same engine as your Kawi V.  Maybe you could do a review on your bike one day or hit me with a PM on your thoughts on it.

Quote from: Bamagator on August 04, 2017, 10:25:24 AM
Keep it coming Brian, great storyline man.

Maybe you could do a review on your bike one day or hit me with a PM on your thoughts on it.

Thank you. Appreciate the positive feedback.

I will be throwing in some comments/assessments of the 650 V later in the ride report.

I told ya'll Brian tells a good story!!!  :)

Brian, I'm rolling laughing at your last post. I drove thru NJ a few years ago in my car, and I experienced almost the same exact things with the interstate, GPS, toll roads/booths, etc.etc
If I remember I paid around  $40.00 in tolls that trip. It was the stupidest thing ever.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

regarding the tolls in NJ, they are all on the roads leading out of the state, you can get in for free, but they charge you to leave.

Quote from: norton73 on August 04, 2017, 03:18:20 PM
regarding the tolls in NJ, they are all on the roads leading out of the state, you can get in for free, but they charge you to leave.

But it IS the best money you will spend the whole trip.  ;D

Quote from: springer on August 04, 2017, 04:29:21 PM

Quote from: norton73 on August 04, 2017, 03:18:20 PM
regarding the tolls in NJ, they are all on the roads leading out of the state, you can get in for free, but they charge you to leave.

But it IS the best money you will spend the whole trip.  ;D

Springer beat me to the punch.

This is a GREAT thread. Thank you for sharing.

Quote from: JBMFT on August 04, 2017, 06:45:42 PM
This is a GREAT thread. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks. Your name and a comment you made came up during the ride. It was at the end of day two. I don't know why but for some reason my left butt cheek was killing me. It hurt real bad. Right on that boney pointy thing. Didn't bother me at all any other day, but at the end of day two I related my situation in this manner.......

"Reminds me of when we rode to Key West. We were on the way home and had stopped to eat when JBMFT made a comment that I found really funny then, but fits my situation perfectly now. 'Guys. Mentally I am OK. Really. Fine. But my ass...... It's dying.'"

That was me at the end of day two. But no more butt cheek problems for the rest of the ride.

Ah yes.... Day two.....

We were all back together. Sitting in the edge of I-95 over the Hackensack River.

It would have been fairly reasonable at that point to have thought we were out of the woods. To have thought that missteps and misdirection and discombobulated navigation were all in the rear view mirror.

It would have been reasonable to think that the were back on track and were headed for smooth sailing now.
And I think that is how we felt.


We were wrong.


We all thumbed our starter buttons and jumped into the flow of traffic.

We were "back on the road". And the good thing was, we were on the correct road. The road we wanted to be on: I-95 headed for the George Washington Bridge where we would cross out of New Jersey and into New York.

It was at our next stop, on after we had cleared New Jeresy, that we would learn why we had run into the sea of humanity (in the form of untold numbers of automobiles) that we would encounter a few miles ahead, at the GW Bridge toll booth.

Traffic flowed somewhat smoothly for a few miles until we got close to the toll booth and the bridge. At that point it became a full fledged traffic jam with cars stopped, cars creeping and cars edging bumpers everywhere to get from one lane to another. It seemed like there was no merge area to go from more lanes to less lanes. It wasn't a smooth transition.

Lincoln and I wound up next to each other, inching along, and watching the wad of vehicles ooze forward. We both asked ourselves and each other:  "WHY? Why would anybody choose to live in such an environment?" I know there are people who are born there and live their lives in the big city environment, but there are also people who choose to move there. People who WANT to live there. I guess its all a matter of personal preference and what suits you. For the record, this doesn't suit me.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4409/36234659982_44c6baf717_z.jpg)


We paid our toll ($15.00) and cleared the toll booth and rode across the GW Bridge.

Construction on the GW began in 1927 and it opened in 1931. It is 4,760 feet long. The Port Authority website says the GW is "The Busiest Bridge in the World". It really is a pretty spectacular thing.


What we found out later on was that we had hit the GW Bridge at the worst time of the week. Tons of folks leave the city (NY) for the weekend and then the hoard all comes pouring back in on Sunday afternoon. So the four of us, along with countless locals returning from a weekend away from the city, made our way across the state line mid-bridge and were then in New York.

The whole road situation was again all discombobulated. Exits and merges and just a plethora of options for which exit/road to take that would, inevitably, be the wrong one.

To his credit, Lincoln seemed to be the one who had a better handle on things with his GPS routing. He jumped into the lead spot, we took an exit, went back toward the bridge, then took the next exit and were FINALLY headed in the direction we wanted to be going, on the road we had decided wanted/needed to be on.  Traffic was flowing smoothly and we could all breathe a collective sigh of relief.

The traffic hassles of the day were behind us. Things were going smooth now and we were headed towards Portland, Maine.

I graduated college in May 1993, and my first duty assignment as a brand new Naval officer was Newport, Rhode Island.  The first time that I crossed the GW bridge was about 2:00am sometime around June 1993.  I timed it that way to avoid traffic around NYC.  What I didn't know was that they do most of their construction/repairs at night.  I was forced off the bridge to detour through the Bronx ... at 2AM in a convertible red Camaro ... with all my belongings stacked to the roof ... and everybody on the street corners watching me intently like lions watching a gazelle.  I ran a red light when one of them started walking toward me.  As bad as your bridge crossing was, I am glad that you didn't have to see the Bronx at night!

This NJ stuff is going to give me nightmares.

Quote from: Nice Goat on August 06, 2017, 10:20:52 AM
I was forced off the bridge to detour through the Bronx ... at 2AM in a convertible red Camaro ... with all my belongings stacked to the roof ... and everybody on the street corners watching me intently like lions watching a gazelle.  I ran a red light when one of them started walking toward me.  As bad as your bridge crossing was, I am glad that you didn't have to see the Bronx at night!

Well, we didn't have to experience The Bronx at night but I did have to on a previous work trip.

I almost incorporated that experience into this ride report because it was even more info that would establish my credentials as one who wished to never revisit the place.

In short the work trip - about 2 years ago - was every bit as big of a mess as this trip. In Newark I was repeatedly on the wrong interstate, separated from the one I need to be on (which was just the adjacent lane) by a concrete divider. There were 2 or 3 individual number roads, all sharing the same road bed, but separated by dividers or guardrails. I would have to drive by my exit because I could not shift to that lane.

Later that afternoon I had to drive over into The Bronx to work at Bronx Lebanon Hospital. (It's the one where a doc carried a gun into the facility a month or so back and shot a coworker or two then killed himself.)  I won't detail the hassle that was trying to find place to park. What a firggin' nightmare.

The worst of the affair came sometime after dark when I was trying to get myself OUT of The Bronx. Traffic was very busy, I was in an unfamiliar area. One that was not the kind of place you'd ever want to take the family for vacation.

I wanted to turn left across oncoming traffic when a gap in traffic appeared. I mashed the gas pedal hard and then, in an instant, I saw a short black guy, in a black sweatsuit with a black hood right in front of me walking in the crosswalk.  I do not lie when I say I was just a few seconds from plowing right over him. Not just hitting him. I mean on the gas, plowing over him.  I slammed on the brakes. He paused and looked at me and kept on walking.

It was after that, when I was back in Newark trying to make my way to my hotel, that I hit the bomb crater pothole.

So I was 100% serious the whole time when I said I did NOT want to find myself on the surface streets of Newark or The Bronx.  But as fate would have it, both occurred.

And while I cannot say with 100% absolute certainty, I am pretty sure that at one point in time we were on our motorcycles at the very same intersection where I almost flattened the guy in my rental car a few years earlier.

Yes. I was very, very glad to be past New Jersey and The Bronx area. Very glad indeed.

Everytime i'm driving in NYC at night I have visions of this....

Not far after putting The Bronx behind us we found ourselves on the Saw Mill River Parkway. It is a 39 miles stretch of highway that was a welcome relief to the hassles we were leaving in our wake. We were back to actually making some decent time.

Before long we exited and stopped to buy gas and a snack. Must have been an uppity little suburb because in the course of 10 minutes or so I think we saw three different exotic autos. Ferarri and Lamborghini I believe they were.

Lincoln and Darrin get ready to head out.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4384/36369846876_8767e60dfe_z.jpg)

So does Mulley.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4376/36369853676_7a382abbca_z.jpg)


Soon we were back on the road and heading NE.  Next stop was near Willington, Ct. It was pretty warm and I seem to remember dumping some water down inside my jacket again at this stop.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4346/36369862826_440f42f8e5_z.jpg)


(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4422/36278350321_45daa20e7c_z.jpg)


My cockpit for the 8 days.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4398/35607146023_d303dab1bd_z.jpg)

The time stamp for the photos at this stop show 5:30 pm. We were about 185 miles from Portland (about 3 hours if you believe the GPS) so we were in pretty good shape time-wise.

On we rode. We stopped once again about dark to buy gas and have a snack. The next stop was in Portland. We ate dinner at Sebago Brewing Company then unloaded our stuff and retired to the comfort of our rooms at The Double Tree Inn.

We had covered somewhere between 1,300 and 1,400 miles since leaving home the previous morning. 1,300 - 1,400 miles in two days is not THAT many miles but when we considered the debacles of Newark and The Bronx, and several other toll booth/toll roads that didn't get mentioned and quite a few traffic snarls here-and-there, I think we all felt like we had made decent time.

There is something a bit satisfying about saying we ate breakfast in Birmingham Saturday morning then jumped on our motorcycles, rode NE and ate dinner the next evening in Portland, Maine.

Yeah. That's a pretty cool thing.

Tomorrow morning we'd head out to cross the US/Canada border into New Brunswick.

It had been a long day and once again, I slept a good sleep.

I've been out of town for work this week but am back now and have a few minutes to add another installment.

Monday morning arrived on the scene bringing with it a good bit of clouds. A check of the radar showed a mix of light rain and some heavier rain in our general area. Nothing too heavy. Nobody sweated it either way. We all had rain gear if we needed it.

We had breakfast in the hotel and got all loaded up and ready to go.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4427/35691156183_f7af837f62_z.jpg)


I found myself then, later on in the trip and still today, very happy with the 650 Versys. More on that later.
It is a fine bike even if it is ugly in the face.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4406/36102845100_f6bc6baf80_z.jpg)

We all rolled a block or two down the street to fill up our gas tanks. As had been the case a few other times, a random person would speak to us and strike up a conversation. Always centered around our motorcycles/trip and the Alabama tags. I remember at this gas station a fella looked at my tag and looked at me and then asked "You really from Alabama?" I told him yes and explained we had left Birmingham Saturday morning and had dinner in Portland last night. He shook his head and said something that indicated he was either impressed or thought we were crazy. I can't remember for sure which. It was probably a bit of both.

We pulled out of the parking lot and jumped on the interstate headed for our border crossing. Mulley had the lead.  We had not gone too far, maybe 30 minutes or so, when Mulley lead our group off an exit ramp and we pulled off on the side of the road. He had pressed a few buttons on his GPS and found we could ditch the interstate in favor of a backroad route that would allow for a bit more immersion into the local scenery and small towns. We opted for that route, ditched the slab and headed off down the two-lane highway.

It was a good call. My only disappointment was this: While we were still riding down the interstate I had been looking at the time/distance until we hit the Canadian border. I could already see that we would cross over into Canada almost exactly 48 hours after we had left breakfast at Jack's. In my mind that would be a "cool factor" but all-in-all, nothing to fret over.

The ride on the highway was a lot more pleasant. We had a few sections where we would be close enough to the coast to see the ocean, but never rode directly on the coast. No rocky shores or scenic vistas, just small towns along the coast.

We stopped further on for gas and a snack. Your average little country convenience store. Could have planted it back home in north Alabama and it would have been right at home.

The two women who were working, one older and one younger, were very friendly. I'm apt to strike up a conversation with a fence post and soon found myself engaged in conversation with them. I asked about the winter weather and we talked about that and a few other mundane topics. Nothing important. Just talk. The kind of talk that reinforces your experience and belief: Despite there being a lot of really rotten people in this world, when you slow down, get away from the hustle and bustle of many big cities, you often find there are many, many people who are friendly, warm and welcoming.

They were doing just what I do. They were living their life. Doing their thing. Not causing problems for society at large. More than willing to talk to someone from another part of the country who expressed genuine interest in them and their life. Somebody who joked around, showed them some respect and said "Please" and "Thank you."

Somebody for whom they could pull out a cell phone and show a pic of a really big snowfall from the prior winter.

They were two nice people. I wish I had asked permission and had my picture taken with them.

I got this picture instead.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4351/36102850120_a95824044b_z.jpg)

Soon it was kickstands up and we were headed for the border. Somewhere along the way we crossed this bridge.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4421/36362581881_c2c0530d4b_z.jpg)

It was a neat thing. I'd have enjoyed a visit to the observation deck at the top of one of the towers but time didn't allow for it.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4410/36499718915_e234c00fa1_z.jpg)


(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4363/35691084553_96331cd281_z.jpg)


Wasn't long until we were there: The US/Canada border. The guy at the border crossing booth took us each, individually. Darrin was first and I think Mulley next, then me, then Lincoln. It was anticlimactic. He took my passport, asked for my tag number and asked a few questions. Guns? Alcohol? blah, blah... "No sir."
He asked me when was the last time I had been in Canada. I paused a moment, scrunched my nose in thought and answered "Uhhh... it was about 25 years ago."  He stamped my passport, handed it to me and said "Thank you sir. Enjoy your trip."  It was as if he knew when I had last been in Canada. Maybe he entered my name in their database and it showed I had been there about 25 years ago and when I confirmed that, all was cool.

Darrin took this pic of me and "Ugly Face" at the border crossing.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4343/36102853580_72b8c60728_z.jpg)

Once we were all in Canada we rode a mile or so into the small town and stopped for lunch. Cool little place. I believe we were the only patrons at the time.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4411/36500491885_3b720c7b67_z.jpg)

Lunch was good. It was a "fish hamburger". I enjoyed it.


(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4383/36363302491_1bf5a54864_z.jpg)


The lady working was nice and I enjoyed my first meal in Canada in about 25 years. We finished lunch and got back on the bikes and pulled way from the curb. Our final destination was not too far away.

I was just about to pester you on when we would get the next post and when I'm gonna see that bike review.   8).  Keep em coming.

Quote from: Bamagator on August 11, 2017, 04:22:48 PM
I was just about to pester you on when we would get the next post and when I'm gonna see that bike review.   8).  Keep em coming.

Here is a thread on the Versys 650. You'll find details there. Additional comments regarding the experience on this trip will come later in the RR.

Thx

http://bamarides.com/ride/index.php?topic=1954.msg16869

I have not abandoned the RR.

I had to fly to Toronto, drive to London, Ontario, work, then reverse the travel to come back home.

I hope to get some more updates posted in the next few days.

Don't worry, we aren't going anywhere!

With our lunch at Kelly's on King - Pub and Eatery in Saint Stephens behind us we were back on the road headed to Saint Andrews.

It was about a 30 minute ride to Saint Andrews.

Saint Andrews was founded in 1783 by United Empire Loyalists, folks who had been loyal to The Crown in the colonies during the Revolutionary War. Many civilian and soldier loyalists fled to Canada after the signing of The Treaty of Paris. Once there, it wasn't long before they petitioned the government to be allowed to adopt the British legal system they were familiar with instead of the French system that was then in place. The successful petition eventually lead to the predominantly English speaking sections of Canada while Quebec maintained its French pedigree. We sometimes forget that Canada's history, much like America's, is fairly recent history compared to many nations and peoples across the globe.

Saint Andrews is a cool little town. Lot's of old buildings and history that we didn't have the time to peruse and enjoy.

We rode to a spot off a side street where we could take a few photos.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4334/36677856866_c8c4f76f69_z.jpg)


This is where I took my obligatory standing-on-the-bike pic.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4294/36270358856_695e6f8456_z.jpg)


We rode a bit further down the road and stopped for a few pics at the lighthouse.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4391/36554810582_6b94e6e966_z.jpg)

We rode a bit further and stopped at a spot that would give us access to walk out onto the flats that would be underwater when the tide rose. There was a lady walking her dog when we stopped and got off the bikes. She stopped and struck up a conversation. She was a nice lady who would talk the ears off a donkey. She seemed to know everything there was to know about the area and was more than willing to tell you all of it. I entertained her barrage of info for a few minutes then discreetly slipped away, leaving her to further educate Mulley and Lincoln.

I remember I chuckled a little when it popped into my head that she was the equivalent of a human Wikipedia for info on Saint Andrews and the people and everything else you could want to know. And since she was out walking her dog, I thought of her as "Walkapedia".


Ms. Walkapedia, Lincoln and Mulley.


(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4416/36328801790_ec6e255a6a_z.jpg)


Lots of rocks and the ground was of coarse sand. Not muddy at all really. Very firm footing so walking was easy.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4403/36328807020_78cccb3e6d_z.jpg)


Looking back toward the lighthouse (and our hotel which cannot be seen in this picture).

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4419/36585391251_1fb9bd0450_z.jpg)

My feet in the water, in Saint Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4407/36677867366_69d7a4d5a7_z.jpg)

I got a small Zip-Loc bag and put some sand in it. I had done the same from both side of the Baja Peninsula. I dried the sand and have the samples in small plastic bottle for keepsakes. I wish I had done the same at Key West and Alaska. I do not kid when I say not having samples from KW and Alaska gives me the itch.....

Wasn't much longer before we were back on the bikes for the mile or two ride to out hotel.

We got checked into our hotel which was a nice place that backed up to the Passamaquoddy Bay which is a bay off the Bay of Fundy. So I guess technically we were not on the Bay of Fundy, but seeing as how it's all the same water, the differentiation was a mere technicality in my mind.

The view off the little deck from our hotel room.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4421/35915163463_4a71deff58_z.jpg)


The boats were anchored far from the shore and pier. There were a few small tenders here and there that would presumably be used to get folks to and from their boats. Perhaps some folks swam out when the tide was high, but I really kinda doubt it.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4339/36554813352_f2c0f99637_z.jpg)

As you can probably tell by the pics, the weather was grey and overcast for the most part. After showering and changing clothes we walked down the sidewalk, headed to a restaurant that had been suggested where we would feast on lobster.

It drizzled rain, but nothing too bad.

I stopped in what appeared to be a main intersection and took pics in all four directions.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4401/36677893036_5f3144d109_z.jpg)


(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4435/36585378431_2c6d7bb79e_z.jpg)


(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4396/36585374911_18f8b1bf5b_z.jpg)


(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4438/36677876816_485ef1b5b4_z.jpg)

We walked out onto the pier where we saw this sign. That's quite a swing from low to high tide.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4437/36677899416_b3570453b5_z.jpg)


It was a short walk to the restaurant. Once there, one of the truly, legit most amazing coincidences (if that's the right word) in my life was waiting.

Sometimes things happen that you would think could/would NEVER happen. Not in a thousand years.

But they do.

Nice cliffhanger man.  Glad you guys got to hit pause after the fast and furious approach up there.

The tide at Fundy....another incredible spectacle of nature.  WTG fellers.

We walked the short distance to The Gables Restaurant. It was a nice place. Kinda cozy and quaint feeling. Definitely nothing like what you would feel in a chain restaurant or other large establishment.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4438/36620429161_518994e110_z.jpg)

Once inside, we put our name on the books for a table for four. It would be a short wait while our table was cleared and prepared. And it was during these few minutes that the crazy bizarre thing happened. At least it seemed crazy bizarre to me.

I walked over to the corner of the bar near the front door/waiting area and took a look at the guest book. The little book that folks sign just to say "Hey. I was here."

My jaw dropped. The last entry in the book was from a couple who were there from.............................

You guessed it:  Birmingham, Alabama.

I simply could not believe it.

I asked the girl (employee) standing nearby "How often do folks sign this book."  In just a minute or so I learned that the couple from Alabama had just left 5 minutes before we walked in. She said that she had commented to one of her coworkers that they never have anybody from Alabama visit. I told her we were there from the Birmingham area, did not know the folks who had signed before I did, and it was just sheer coincidence that both parties happened to be eating there the same night while visiting from Birmingham. She seemed pretty impressed by the coincidence. "What are the chances?" we both asked. And particularly so when she commented they never have anybody from Alabama visit.

I looked back many, many pages through their guest book and saw not one person from Alabama.

Yes folks, sometimes fact truly is stranger than fiction.

I present to you Exhibit A.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4382/35925075164_4af1915ddb_z.jpg)

Once at our table I joked with the others that had the couple still been there it would have been easy to find them. Just stand up and yell "Roll Tide" and watch for the reactions.

Dinner was outstanding. We all had lobster and it was very good. Deserts were awesome. The whole experience was worth the 1,500 mile ride to get us there.

Before

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4430/36712421656_85d735ffd1_z.jpg)


After

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4387/36589735722_5971a619b2_z.jpg)

The view off the back deck of the restaurant

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4441/35925082374_6225160dfa_z.jpg)


With our bellies full we made our way back to our hotel. We stood out on the back deck and talked for a few minutes. It was nice. Nice to be in Canada on a motorcycle trip with three good friends.

I was in a room with Lincoln that night. We slept with the sliding door onto the deck left open. It was somewhere around 1:30 or 2:00 when I woke. I could hear the water. Small waves breaking.

I got up and looked out the door.  Although it was dark, it was easy to see the water was all the way up to the sea wall now.

It was nothing of monumental significance. I had been there and seen the huge tide swing that gives The Bay of Fundy its claim to fame.

That and $1.50 will get you a cup of coffee at a fast food joint.

But, I had seen it after having ridden there on my motorcycle from Alabama, with three good guys. Another experience that reminded me how fortunate I am and how, in my opinion, there is no better way to see the world than on a motorcycle.


Back in bed I fell asleep again, listening to the lap of the waves on The Bay of Fundy.

Wow.... I kinda feel like I owe my BR friends an apology.

I have been sidetracked with a lot of different things lately and have neglected to return here to finish the story.

There remains a lot to be told.

Lincoln's chain.

Pennsylvania Turnpike in POURING rain (most uncomfortable I have ever been on a motorcycle).

Rain. Rain. Rain. And some more rain.

A man. In a small car. Hits a deer.

And the matter of Chuck Palahniuk............   Just what did have have to do with all this anyway?

I'll try to be back over the next few days.  I need to finish this one.

Chuck is talking to me again.

So yeah.    I need to finish this one.

As is my norm, I woke up early. The air was cool as a result of us having left the door facing the water open all night. For a few minutes I relished the comfort of the bed.

There was no more sound of waves lapping not far outside the back of our hotel room.

I got up and walked out onto the little deck facing the water. The water had come and gone during the night. Had I not awoke somewhere along the way and walked out in the dark to see the water up to the sea wall, I'd have missed the fame of the tidal swing of the Bay of Fundy. As it was, it was less than spectacular. Perhaps it would have been more impressive had it taken place during the day and done so at 5 times normal speed. But no worries, the primary goal had been lobster dinner in Canada and from that perspective, it was a resounding success.

Morning. From the deck off the back of our hotel room.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4431/36779362612_9880903503_b.jpg)

And looking generally southwest from the same vantage point.


(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4357/36779370782_cf34051838_b.jpg)

It wasn't long before we were all showered and outside loading up for Day 4.  We rode a few blocks down the road for breakfast at Lumberjack Cafe. It was good food with another view of the water. Workers were up and at it. Not sure what the project was but it appeared to be some type of repairs or reinforcement of the waterfront.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4378/36762951096_69df30348a_b.jpg)

After breakfast we made the turn a block down the road to ride out onto the pier for a few pics.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4496/36753535244_6a741daf1b_b.jpg)

Well Saint Andrews, it's been real, but time to hit the road. 

I did a snip of my SPOT track when I got home. This is much of where we would ride on Day 4.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4510/36793347513_ba4f0a1bbf_b.jpg)


We rolled out of Saint Andrews for the short ride back to the border to cross back into The States. The border crossing into Canada had been a fairly non pretentious event. A small booth with a guy inside who checked our passports and, in my case at least, wished me well. The border crossing back into the states was a bit different.

It was a big, fancy looking place, with several lanes, only one of which was open that morning. Didn't matter because there wasn't much of a line. 

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4462/37415892136_725c0728af_b.jpg)

Mulley rolled up first and a minute or so later motioned for the rest of us to pull up. The Border Guard worker guy said he had asked if we were all together and when Mulley answered "Yes" he decided to deal with us all at the same time. He was nice. Nice in a professional way. You could sense that he was serious but he wasn't intimidating. He did seem a bit incredulous when he asked to verify that we were from Birmingham and had entered Canada yesterday and were leaving today. When we told him we rode there to eat lobster I think he kinda thought we were, I don't know... "crazy"? But after a few minutes and a few questions he sent us on our way.

We backtracked across eastern Maine. Lunch was at a pretty cool sandwich shop in Brewer, Maine. It was a walk up place where you ordered your food and then ate at one of the outside picnic tables or carried the bag of food to eat in your car or take it with you and eat it wherever.

* I decided to spend a few minutes on Google Maps to see if I could find the place where we ate lunch. I didn't remember the name of the place but had a rough idea where it was. I found it.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4502/37464148921_93effbd3cc_b.jpg)

After lunch we passed through Bangor and headed on west.  We were almost dead center North-South as we exited Maine.  It was mid afternoon when we arrived in the Shelburn / Gorham, New Hampshire area. We stopped for gas and a snack.

There we got to see another of countless examples of people and things I have seen all across the land that leads me to shake my head and think "Yep. And people make fun of the south." Appeared to be Meth heads. Bickering and acting sketchy. Crazy girl. Crazy guy. A police car pulled in. He talked to them a few minutes and calmed the situation.
Whatever their issue was, it wasn't mine or ours. I ate my snack and drank my Monster and we decided to ride out to the entrance to the park for Mt. Washington.

Mt. Washington is the highest peak in the NE United States and at 6,288 feet it is approx 400 feet off the 6,684 feet of Mt. Mitchell which is the highest peak east of the Mississippi.

Mt. Washington's claim to fame:  on April 12, 1934 the Observatory atop Mt. Washington recorded a wind speed of 231 mph.
The only wind speed ever recorded to exceed that was in 1996 in a tropical cyclone in Australia. (These records do not include wind speeds measured during a tornado)
Now for me, I can't even imagine being on top of Mt. Washington and stepping outside to be greeted by 213 mph winds.

When we got to the entrance to the park we found out the temp at the top was in the 20's and the wind was blowing. We decided against the approx hour ride to the top and opted to return back to town and find a place to spend the night.

We stopped for a photo op in front of Town Hall. Unfortunately some guy pulled up in an old red pick-up and park behind my motorcycle. But I have expert computer skills and was able to remove the truck from the picture. You can hardly tell it was ever there.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4374/36142115723_b53b5ed75a_b.jpg)

We rode a few miles back out of town and got rooms at The Town and Country Inn and Resort. It was a neat place. Not a chain hotel. It had  an "old school" feel to it.

http://townandcountryinn.com/our-history-2/


We rode back into town for dinner and then back to the hotel.

It was here I believe that Lincoln discovered his chain was loose. He was (justifiably) a bit confused and maybe a bit concerned. He had adjusted it properly before leaving home and it didn't show any signs of abnormal wear. Within a few minutes he had it adjusted back to proper tension.

It was a good night's sleep. breakfast the next morning was in the hotel restaurant. Good food and good service.

And then we were on the road for Day 5. It was to be a very nice day.
Nice riding.
Nice weather.

All good. Except for the fact that Lincoln's chain would see its last full day on the road.

A little surprised breakfast in the white north didn't consist of lobster and eggs!

Hey I've got a couple of pictures that need a little photshop work, could you use your extensive skills to remove ex-girlfriends!! :lol-049:

Quote from: Fencejumper09 on October 03, 2017, 07:13:05 AM
Hey I've got a couple of pictures that need a little photshop work, could you use your extensive skills to remove ex-girlfriends!! :lol-049:

My work is only of the highest quality. And accordingly I do not work cheap. You might consider some of the free online Photoshop services.

https://www.boredpanda.com/funny-photoshop-james-fridman/

Day five was to be a good day. The weather was nice and the scenery was pretty good too.

I wonder if anyone has noticed?  I haven't posted many pictures of the scenery (other than Saint Andrews). Mulley summed it up pretty well.

Paraphrasing him: It was pretty, it just wasn't scenic.

And that is it in a nutshell. So far, once we got north of Virginia, the scenery had not been.... well... very "scenic". Kinda reminded me of NE Alabama. Lots of rolling hills with trees covering everything. No big vistas at all. Not to say it wasn't enjoyable and pretty. We were all enjoying the ride, just nothing spectacular from a photo standpoint.

Anyway, moving along....

This was most all of our route for the day.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4475/36834612123_b702e2b405_b.jpg)

We were long since off the interstate and were riding back roads and two lane highways. The day was filled with small towns, one after another. Each seemed to have its own identity. I enjoyed passing through the towns. In my mind, I imagined scenes like this if it had been winter.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4450/37472790252_e99088acc0_b.jpg)

You could really tell it would be a remarkably beautiful place to visit in the fall or winter. As it was, with us just passing through, and all the mountains and hills covered in green foliage, I believe we missed out on much the area has to offer. I bet it would be a great place to make a destination and spend 3 or 4 or 5 days just riding around, visiting small towns and enjoying what I believe would be some beautiful fall or winter scenery.

And the architecture. WOW. I have never, ever seen so much Second Empire Victorian architecture. No don't go getting all impressed, thinking I knew what kind of architecture it was that I was looking at and so impressed by.  I had to come home and Google it to find out.

Think about the Munsters and Munster Mansion.

https://www.google.com/search?q=second+empire+victorian&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi_ov-EqtjWAhVD5SYKHa0IAvcQ_AUICigB&biw=2048&bih=915

Seems every small town had houses built in the style. They were very impressive and really added to the feel of being in a different place.

We stopped for a snack in Pettyco Junction, Saint Johnsbury, Vt.  Darrin got to talking to the folks who ran the place. They have friends in Greenville, Al.
Darrin took this pic.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4467/23651443178_a2ea35e1bc_b.jpg)

We rode on. Passed through Montpelier, Vt.
More two lane roads and more small towns. 

At some point we rode one stretch of road that went up and over a decent sized "mountain". Nothing like a Colorado mountain, but a nice view none the less.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4480/23651443088_df56be930d_b.jpg)

Lunch was in Bristol, Vt.

I loved this stop. A very cool little Vermont town. We ate at the restaurant on the corner.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4457/36834618093_dfb8e96758_b.jpg)[/url]

Bike pic.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4462/36834619093_8cc3e3a04f_b.jpg)

Back on the road.  We crossed in to New York. It was a wee bit breezy.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4463/37455861186_4130e2c239_b.jpg)


Upstate NY is like a different world compared to the area around NYC. Upstate is much like rural Alabama or any of a number of other SE states. Lots of farming.

And cattle. Mostly dairy cattle. Lots of dairy cattle. And then some more.  And man oh man was there ever a righteous funk in the air.

On we rode. More miles of two lane highway through pretty, rural upstate NY.

We ended the day in Utica.  We checked into a hotel and made ready for dinner. It was just a hop-skip-and-a-jump to a really nice steak place. The food was great and my gut was bloated. I was stuffed.

So, we ended the day in Utica, but Lincoln's chain had actually ended the day sometime earlier. The final pronouncement would not come until we had stopped for the day in Utica.  It was beyond hope. Hard to believe a chain died so quickly, but it did.

It was now missing some rollers and the link pins were exposed where the rollers were missing.

Nothing could be done that evening, so we all retired knowing tomorrow morning we would be working on a solution to the Triumph Chain Delima.

It was to be a challenge beyond what anyone would have reasonably expected.

Been busy the last few days. I hope to be back tomorrow evening with another post. In the mean time......

Lincoln's chain. Wow.

It would be like trying to find a double die Lincoln penny.  https://www.thespruce.com/1955-double-die-lincoln-penny-4022936

We would wake to rain. We would ride in rain that morning. We would ride in torrential downpours before all was said and done.

I would stand there that morning in Utica, New York, under the awning of the hotel, looking at the rain. And I would think back to waking in a hunting cabin in very rural Marengo County Alabama in the early 80's.



Life has its own way of giving you a gift every now and then. A gift you have to be open and ready to recognize, and then accept with a smile on your face.

We would pull out from under the pavilion and ride into the rain.

And I would be smiling.

We woke to rain.

We all showered and met in the lobby for breakfast and then made our way outside under the awning thing where you stop to unload your car or van or motorcycle or whatever.

It was here I thought about deer hunting in Marengo County 30 odd years ago. It was a cement block building smack in the middle of several thousand acres. No electricity or running water. There was a propane heater which we would fire up in the early morning. The heater would be lit by whoever was the first willing to climb out of the sleeping bag an hour or so before the sun first started to show itself in the far southeast horizon. It was always cold and while you didn't want to get up, you knew you had to. Unless you planned to stay in bed until mid-morning and not go hunting.

And that is why I thought about deer hunting and that cement block cabin in Marengo County.

Climbing out of a warm sleeping bag to go light the heater.
A bone freezing ride of a few miles on the three wheeler or four wheeler, 45 minutes before sunrise.
Walking out from under the porch in the rain to go sit in the woods in a tree stand.

All of those things were things which, taken as an individual stand alone event, would not be all that enticing. But all were part of the experience.

I would never get to be 20 feet up a tree, 30 minutes before day break, in absolute dead silence, and get to see the very first hint of daylight on the horizon had I not done what it took to get me there.

I would not have seen the hawk fly right past me on its way to grab a quail  on the ground about 30 yards away.
I'd have missed seeing the A7 Corsair come skimming over the tree tops, low enough that I could see the pilot looking out of the window.
I'd have never killed the nice six point as it ran through the woods 50 yards from me.
I'd have never been able to experience my buddy slip off the foot log, fall into the water about thigh deep and say "Well, at least I don't have to worry about getting wet now."

I would have not have seen the world of life in the woods wake up and start its day, going from dead silence in the dark, to a symphony of bird and animal sound, as it does every day, even when nobody is there to appreciate it.

I would not have been absolutely alone in the middle of the woods had I not done what was necessary to get me there.

And so it is with riding in what some would describe as "adverse conditions". I guess, technically speaking, rain is an "adverse condition". But mostly so if you choose to see it that way. Fortunately - for me at least - the four of us didn't seem to take issue with the rain. It was part of the experience and, as is often the case, you walk away with memories that would not have happened had it been a clear and sunny day.

it's all a matter of perspective.....

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4443/37605523001_26c435671f_b.jpg)


And so it was that we would ride in the rain. But before that.....

Lincoln's chain. We HAD to find him a chain. We began calling any and every motorcycle place we could locate in the Utica area. Lincoln's chain was one of abnormally long length. I don't remember the exact link count, but whatever it was, it was beyond "normal".

We might as well have been calling around asking if anybody had an unopened copy of The Beatles Abbey Road album.
Nobody had squat. At least nothing that would help us. I guess places don't stock stuff so much stuff anymore when everything is "I can order it and have it here for you...."

Calling to ask about an unopened copy of Abbey Road a chain for Lincoln's Triumph

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4509/37573159082_4147f7e020_b.jpg)


We tried finding two chains and a chain break and master links so we could make one chain out of two.  No joy.

Until finally! We struck gold. It wasn't too far so Lincoln felt OK with the ride to get there.

So we rode out of the parking lot and made the 10-15 minute ride to TNT Sport Cycle in Whitesboro, NY. Small shop. Pretty much a dirt bike place but they had what we needed. We milled around while one of the guys installed the chain. Did a fine job and charged a very surprisingly reasonable price. Not much more than what you could have ordered it for and done it yourself. If you are ever in the area and need a chain, or other item, start with the guys at TNT. Good folks!

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4484/37556619756_3e9a5e6559_b.jpg)


(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4482/37573127092_8e8f7da715_b.jpg)

With a new chain installed on Lincoln's bike and a round of handshakes and "Thank You"s taken care of, we were back on the road.

More small towns and two-lane roads. The rain become spotty and less intense. By the time we stopped for lunch it had pretty much stopped. Lunch was at Quincy Square Diner in Deruyter, NY.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4506/37556613026_fa360961d3_b.jpg)

A small greasy spoon place just like what you'd find in any small town in Alabama.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4477/23752699328_20ff496831_b.jpg)

Lunch for me was a Turkey Club with fries. It was fine eating.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4456/23752704258_1e985f51df_b.jpg)

Back on the road, the rain eventually gave way to sunny skies.  We made our way to Ithica and stopped for gas and a snack. We struck up a good conversation with 5 or 6 municipal workers who were there for the same reasons. Super nice guys who enjoyed asking about our trip. We shared stories back and forth and had a bunch of laughs. They made the suggestion that we invest the time to ride out to see Taughannock Falls.  And so we did.

at 215 feet, it is the highest single-drop waterfall east of The Rockies.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4493/37573136892_e4e2b45168_b.jpg)

We headed SW. We had about 150 miles left for the day.

We were on a two lane highway, rolling hills through rural farm land.  Mulley was in the front. We topped a little rise and about 1/4 - 1/2 mile ahead we saw a small car slowing and just drifting over into the oncoming traffic lane. The car was just beginning to go uphill on a small rise which meant it was pretty much blind to oncoming traffic until any cars topped the small rise. As we got closer the car had stopped and  a man stepped out and slowly walked to the front left quarter panel and rested his arms on the hood with his head hanging down.
I immediately thought the guy  was having a heart attack. Mulley stopped right near the car. I rode on up to the top of the little rise and stopped my bike and turned on the flashers. I then trotted the 50 yards or so back down to the car.

The front end of the little car was bashed in. He had hit a deer. We had never seen the deer but there it lay, off the side of the road, dead as a wedge in a ditch. The man was OK. Mostly shaken up by the event and the air bag deploying in his face. A few cars stopped and with nothing more to do, we said Good-bye and were back to logging miles.

It was a very nice afternoon ride. Nice scenery and good roads.

We got to our stop for the day: Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. It was a nice town.  We checked into a hotel and rode a few miles back into town for dinner.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4468/37556611336_d6e2b23eaa_b.jpg)

We ate at Stella A's Bar and Grill. It was Mediterranean restaurant. Greek and Italian mostly if I remember correctly.
I love Greek food. It is one of my favorite ethnic foods. Stella A's has some fantastic Greek food. We ordered a few appetizers to share. My meal was great!

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4489/37573145452_db0b26835b_b.jpg)

After dinner we rode back to the hotel. It had been a very good day. One of my favorites so far I think.

Day seven was not too far away.

You know all that stuff I said earlier about riding in the rain being "adverse conditions" and how that is largely a matter of how you view it.
Well....... sometimes it doesn't matter HOW you view it. It IS adverse. Very adverse.

Adverse to the point of almost being a death wish.

I just had the update for Day 7 typed. I got a work call and in the process of switching tabs in my browser, I accidentally closed the BR tab and lost the whole  %#$^&%$  thing.

I should have done it in Word then copied and pasted it but I didn't. I am thoroughly aggravated at this time.  No, I'm way passed that. I am royally pissed!

I will return later to redo the whole freakin' update.


#$%@*!&%!    I AM PISSED OFF

I've had luck hitting the back button and still having what I typed. I'll then copy it, just in case it doesn't let me post it.

been there - wish I had a solution
only thing I can offer is click the stay logged in button - should give you an hour

yeah, I generally do both and using "back" has saved me a few times here-and-there.

Unfortunately in last night's event, I completely closed the tab. My browser was still open.  I just didn't pay close enough attention and closed the tab that was the connection to BR that had my update in it.

All calmed down this morn. I'll get back to it soon.

In Word this time....

New ADVrider automatically saves drafts of posts!!! We need that up in here!

Ctrl-Shift-T, if you get to it quickly enough, can save your bacon. 

I've done the same thing, although my stuff is never as epic as yours.  It makes me want to stick a fork in my eye. 

(http://i756.photobucket.com/albums/xx202/KrisCook/i%20love%20this%20thread%20so%20much_zpszu5baaqp.jpg) (http://s756.photobucket.com/user/KrisCook/media/i%20love%20this%20thread%20so%20much_zpszu5baaqp.jpg.html)

Thank you Kris.  Your tip seems to work. I will try to remember that in the event I need a future OH NO! bail-out.

And if you are seriously enjoying the thread, I say a sincere "Thank You."

I have said before: much of my motivation is self-serving. I benefit from reliving the ride and having a RR to look back on months and years down the road to serve as a means of reliving the ride again and again.

(recently did that with the Idaho report, riding with Mill.... that was a great trip)

But, it is rewarding to know that other folks enjoy the hodge-podge of thoughts and pics I throw together.

So, thanks again.

I'll try to get some more update stuff posted within the next day or so.

In the mean time, something to sort of set the stage and get us all on the same page.....


The Bell Curve: The bell curve is the most common type of distribution for a variable, and due to this fact, it is known as a normal distribution. The term "bell curve" comes from the fact that the graph used to depict a normal distribution consists of a bell-shaped line. The highest point on the curve, or the top of the bell, represents the most probable event in a series of data, while all other possible occurrences are equally distributed around the most probable event, creating a downward-sloping line on each side of the peak.

The term "bell curve" is usually used in the social sciences; in statistics, it's called a normal distribution and in physics, it's called a Gaussian distribution. However, they all refer to exactly the same thing: a probability distribution that has certain characteristics, including the fact it's shaped like a bell.

The graph below ties in with a thought that ran through my mind while experiencing:

Definition: Adverse Weather Condition - severe weather that causes unsafe conditions.

Losing a new post sucks(http://advrider.com/styles/advrider_smilies/baldy.gif)

I am enjoying this report as I do ALL of your reports.  I'll save further comments for after you are done.

We had known the night before that Day 7 would have us riding in the rain. There was a big mass of storms and rain in a widespread area. Pretty much the area we would be traversing on Day 7. It was a big enough weather deal that The Weather Channel was talking about it on TV. Flash flooding and the like.

We found ourselves sitting in the hotel breakfast area, eating breakfast and checking weather radar on TV and our cell phones.

It wasn't a matter of "What?"  It was a matter of "How much and how bad?"

We loaded up the bikes and rolled out of the hotel parking lot in Lock Haven and hit I-95 south.

Rain. Hard rain. Lots of rain. At times interstate traffic would slow way down and we'd have to do the same. But at other times we'd find ourselves cruising along at 70-75 mph in a pretty heavy rain, and doing so without incident or any real perceived hazard or undue risks.

I have found riding a motorcycle in the rain - especially on the interstate - to generally be a far safer and less harrowing proposition than I believe many folks view it to be. With good tires you can make very good time and feel safe doing so. At least that has been my experience.
I remember a few years back I was solo, riding the CBR 1000F home from North Carolina, when I got into rain on I-59 near Ft. Payne. The traffic was light and I decided I wanted to see how fast I could go and still feel comfortable. I cruised several miles at ~90 mph in a pretty good rain and I never felt things were sketchy at all.  We didn't do that speed on I-95 South that day in Pennsylvania but we did make decent time now and then.

We rode on. Passed College Station and then passed Altoona. The rain had abated a ways back and, for now at least, we were in the dry.

Things were about to change....

So, what's the deal with the Bell Curve? I'll go ahead and explain it now.

I see the Bell Curve applying to many life experiences and situations. (Same with the 80/20 Rule or 20/80 Rule, depending on how it is applied.) The Bell Curve represents, to me, the fact that most data points, most things you wish to sample, most experiences, etc., all tend to fit the Bell Curve. Most things cluster in the area of higher shared probability of existence.

When you get out on the tapering edges of the Bell Curve, you are getting into data points/experiences that are more the exception than the norm.

When you get waayyy out there, to the really thin part, well in those cases you are in situations that are WAY outside the norm.

Applying that to what lay ahead...

We stopped for a break just before we would get onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike. We bought gas and had a snack. We looked at the weather radar on our phones. We knew we would be getting back into rain but didn't really know how bad or how hard it would be. Sometimes it is just as easy to ride without rain gear, especially in summer, and let the wind and windscreen keep most (well, some) of the rain off you. I guess we must have all taken that view as it wasn't raining when we pulled out of the convenience store parking lot sans rain gear.

This is the one and only picture from Day 7. You can see, in the distance, the rain which we would be riding into.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4498/23793082578_93feca022a_b.jpg)


We soon pulled up to the toll booths that marked our entrance onto the PA Turnpike. I pulled a few dollars out of my tank bag. They were kinda wet. I handed them to the lady in the booth. She made a wrinkled up nose face as if I had just handed her a half eaten boiled egg. 
I think I made the "pfffttt" sound and pulled away to find myself in front as we started down the turnpike.

Wasn't ling before we entered rain. Looking ahead it was easy to see we were headed for some serious rain. The clouds were hugging the hills and the turnpike went up and over and all around the hills.

I pulled off onto the right shoulder and stopped under an overpass so we could all get our rain gear on. It was long about here where things started to get a bit harrowing.

It was raining, the shoulder - while not extremely narrow - didn't offer a very wide berth between us and the traffic that was whizzing by and sending rain mist swirling all around. We got our rain gear on and it was time to get back into the flow of traffic.

There was no break in traffic. None. Car after semi after truck after semi, all blew past us with rain and mist engulfing us. Within 15 seconds my face shield was covered inside and out with turnpike spooge and my eyeglasses as well.

I was timid about speeding up on the shoulder and dropping into traffic because my vision was so jacked up. Eventually, somehow, we managed. We were on the turnpike again.

I have never ridden a motorcycle, ever, where I felt more at-risk. I had to keep my head constantly moving and bobbing around. If I stopped the head bobbing, the 4 layers of misty turnpike spooge that cover both sides of my face shield and both sides of my eyeglasses made seeing where I was going virtually impossible.  We were not going fast enough to keep the outside surface of the face shield blown clean (for whatever benefit that might have offered). Only by keeping it all constantly moving was my brain able to fill in the gaps and create a picture of what lay ahead. A fuzzy, blurry picture but one that only ever so slightly managed to get the job done.

It was about this time when I thought something like "Wow. I am on the very fringe of the Bell Curve now. I'm out there where things have gone from normal/average, past the area of rare/less probable, and I am living in the land of extraordinarily uncommon/rarely seen in nature."

Truth be told, I really should have thrown in the towel and pulled off. But I didn't. I managed to make it all OK without incident but that doesn't mean it was the right call to make. Not sure I'd do it again the same way.

It really was dangerous and truly the only time I can remember seriously thinking, over an extended period of time while riding, "I really might die if things go wrong."

I do not know for certain how it was for Mulley, Lincoln and Darrin. I suspect not as bad because they all had the advantage of better windscreen and/or no eyeglasses.

But in the end we made it out of the gaping maw of death. I found myself drifting back into the meat of the Bell Curve. I felt much better in that area.

On we rode. Still some rain now and then but nothing like what was behind us. We stopped somewhere fro gas and a snack. It continued to rain, just not as hard. My flimsy little rain jacket was in tatters. I think I just threw it in the trash. I had a perfectly good rain suit at home. Would have kept me bone dry. But it was at home. And I was in Virginia. I would just ride wet. And so I did.

We would end the day somewhere near Roanoke, Virginia. I think every stitch of clothing on my body was saturated. I poured water out of my boots.

It had been a memorable day. Not all of it good events, but, having escaped unscathed, I choose to mark it all as good memories.

This would be our last night on the road.  Tomorrow morning we would jump on the Interstate and head for home.

That was an exhausting day of riding. I'm very thankful that I wear contacts instead of eyeglasses. I agree with Brian pulling back into the endless stream of traffic after donning the raingear was on the edge of terrifying. I never want to experience that again. I was using a modified (shorter than stock) windscreen that did nothing to keep rain out of my face. It honestly may have made it worse.

Brian forgot to mention one moment that describes how bad it was. We stopped at gas station for a break toward the end of the day, not even to get gas just a break from the exhaustiveness of the road. We all went inside to use the restrooms and get coffee. When we went up to pay for our hot coffee the cashier lady took one look at us and said, "no charge", we looked horrible and she could easily tell how rough of a ride we were having. We stood inside the store drank our coffee and went back out to suit up.  We had multiple people starring us like we were out of our minds. Some of them asked questions, just trying to understand what kind of idiotic mental cases we must have been.

Yes, it was as Mulley described. We were the beneficiaries of some convenience store clerk sympathy in the form of free coffee.

Darrin took this picture at the Stop of Misery.

After a month long hiatus, I think it's high time I got around to finishing this story. Can't leave us all stranded in a hotel somewhere near Roanoke!

We knew when we went to bed that the weather for the next day, our final day of riding, was to be much improved. The weather guessers had said so and they were spot on.

Our last morning on the road was partly cloudy, with bright sun and blue skies fighting the clouds to decide which would win the day.  The clouds eventually lost.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4550/24660569068_3368f25675_b.jpg)



After breakfast in the hotel we all began loading our gear and getting ready to hit the road. Lincoln and I were early to the bikes and we found a small stuffed penguin someone had left on his bike. Not sure who or why, but it was there. Lincoln moved it to Mulley's bike. I think he stuck it in his tank bag or one of his hard cases and gave it a ride to Springville, Al.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4536/24660562798_abd03e106c_b.jpg)

Wasn't long before the wheels were turning and we were each depositing minuscule amounts of rubber onto the asphalt, one tire rotation at a time, as we headed SW towards home.

The ride home was nothing spectacular. The weather really was nice. Sunny and quite a bit warmer than some of what we had seen over the last few days. And, truth be told, I thought we were back into some of the nicest scenery of the ride. I really like the ride through Virginia and into NE Tennessee.

As we neared Chattanooga I jumped into the lead. I can't remember exactly why I did. Maybe I just wanted to be in the lead. Whatever the reason, Mulley later commented that when I took the lead and upped the pace a bit he thought "Wow. Brian must have to pee real bad." I didn't need to pee but without regard to the state of my bladder, we managed to get through Chattanooga with nary a problem. That is almost a miracle I think. Seems there is ALWAYS a traffic snag or three in Chattanooga. But on that day, we blew through without a hiccup.

We stopped at Rising Fawn for gas and a snack. It's rare that I pass Rising Fawn without stopping. It's a good distance for a stop, leaving home or headed home. Just the right distance for a break and gas.

We were down to the short rows now. We passed Ft. Payne exit, then Gadsden, then Steele then it was our exit.

We all exited at Springville, right where we had started, and turned left on 174.  A few miles down the road Mulley beeped and waved as he peeled off onto the road to his house. Lincoln, Darren and I continued on to the stop sign where we all turned right onto 411.

When we hit Moody, Darren and Lincoln turned off to head to their respective homes and that left me solo for the last few miles on 411 until I tuned off for my house.

I distinctly remember riding those last few miles and looking at the cars on the road and thinking about the people driving them. Folks just going about their business.

I was going about my business too. The business of getting home. The last few miles of a wonderful trip with three great guys.

We had ridden to Canada to eat Lobster. 

I smiled as I thought "Ha! I bet not a single one of you on this road with me right now can top THAT!"

I thumbed the blinker and turned left into my neighborhood. I rolled into the driveway, turned the key off and climbed off the Versys.

I gave it a pat on the seat. "Thanks for the ride. You done good."

I'll be back in a day or two to wind things up. Some final comments about the Versys, the trip overall and.....

Chuck Palahniuk.

Who is he (already mentioned he wrote Fight Club) and what does he have to do with me and my ride to Canada?
And life in general.

Well, well, well..... I called Mulley today and told him about it.

Something that will mean nothing to pretty much every other person in the world but matters to me and makes for a truly unexpected twist to the story.

It is at the same time a near divine dictated encounter and a very, very frustrating missed opportunity.

It involves me and Christmas in the late 70's and early 80's and this commercial. Those old enough to remember will remember.
(Reality check: when I was telling Mulley about it, he said "Ha! I was 4 then."  Needless to say, he didn't remember the commercial.)

One of the best Christmas commercials ever produced. 

It's neat when you realize just when you think the story is over, the story isn't really over.

Stay tuned.


Happy Thanksgiving, and let me be the first to wish all of you a Very Merry Christmas.

The late 70's marked the end of my high school years. I graduated in '80 and then started U of A that fall.

Christmas was always a big time with my family - immediate and extended. I have always really enjoyed Christmas. It's a good time of year and I am blessed in that it brings back many, many great memories.

The Miller commercial has, since it aired in the late 70's thru '82, always remained with me as a sign of the season from my late teens. It is just a classic in my book. It says so much with no words.

YouTube has allowed me to watch it every Christmas for a number of years.

A few years back I did some research on the commercial.

It was actually filmed in Feb or March. The town was decorated for Christmas and lots of footage was shot, on film, which was later edited to create the iconic 60 seconds.



On our trip I distinctly remember passing through Waitsfield, Vermont. I remember it because I made a special mental note that Waitsfield was the perfect, idyllic New England town. It was the type town you would expect to see recreated in a Currier and Ives lithograph.
It was one of the highlights when it comes to small NE towns.

https://vermontweddings.com/uploads/images/member/1484/AllResized3.jpg



A few days ago I went to YouTube to watch the Miller beer commercial. That prompted me to remember.... "Oh yeah, this commercial was filmed in a town in Vermont, or New Hampshire. I wonder........"

So I dug through the ether and found the info again.

Yep. It was filmed in Waitsfield, Vermont. 

One of the nicest NE towns we passed though. The one town that stands out in my memory as being a favorite.
The one Christmas commercial in a lifetime that stands out in my memory as being a favorite.

And I rode down the street the commercial was filmed on and was none the wiser at the time.

A big missed opportunity for me. I'd sure value a photo of me and the Versys stopped along the route that horse drawn carriage traveled in the Miller commercial.

Alas, I do not have that photo.

But I can now watch the commercial, and remember good times from Christmas seasons 35 - 40 years ago and know I have ridden my motorcycle down that same road.

A one horse ride in a carriage 40 years ago and a one motorcycle ride a few months ago.  Tied together in me.

I'll take that.

If you want to invest 5 minutes to read about the commercial:

http://tdn.com/seconds-of-pure-christmas/article_2533ac76-d727-5fb5-b766-103cd3597772.html

some comments.........

a) States we rode in:

Alabama
Georgia
Tennessee
North Carolina
Virginia
Maryland
New Jersey  >:(
New York
Connecticut
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
Maine
Vermont
Pennsylvania
West Virginia

and of course New Brunswick, Canada.

(we missed Delaware and Rhode Island)


b) highlights:

* Eating breakfast in Springville, Alabama Saturday morning then dinner in Portland, Maine Sunday evening.
* Newark, New Jersey. Just because.
* Lobster dinner and finding folks from Birmingham had signed the guest book immediately prior to me signing it.
* The near death ride in the rain on the Pennsylvania Turnpike
* lots of other, incidental memories. too small and too many to tell.

c) The 650 Versys

It did fantastic. The regearing (sprockets) was a great change and made a huge difference in the over-the-road performance and comfort. It will cruise at 80 mph without effort and The GIVI cases were worth every dollar. The stock windscreen, although less than half the size of the GIVI aftermarket, is a better performing windscreen. I have added aux LED lights since the Canada ride and could kick my own butt for not having done so from the get-go. (Same with the GIVI cases)

There is a part of me which will, every now and then, think "I might like to trade bikes." 
Maybe a Super Ten or something along those lines. But I will inevitably walk out to the garage, sit on the V and find myself at home.

I know there are a host of nicer, more advanced, better appointed motorcycles, but for me, for now, my 650 V is what I want and all I need.

It is a reliable as a brick, gets good gas mileage, is a very fun bike to ride and only gets left behind if the game goes up above 120 mph.
I don't play that game much anymore so that's not a big issue for me.

I don't see it going away anytime soon.

(and yes, it is butt ugly in the face)




So that gets us to Chuck.

Chuck Palahniuk.

I'll try to post sometime over the next few days and wind things up.

Brian's views and what he sees when riding are so different from mine. There are times when I enjoy the view and scenery. I really do. I'll slow down and soak it in. I think he's more reflective than I am. A lot of that comes from having a terrible memory. I've heard that taking Ginkgo Biloba can help to improve memory function. So I went to the pharmacy and bought some but damn it, I can't remember to take it.

(http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/a2/a2f784d0be9fb0ea0299f4492b36bd52a1ffb37245646bd1244704356b74601a.jpg)

Turrible jokes aside, I distinctly remember riding at a reduced pace for half a day from Bangor, ME to some small town gas stop on our way to Mt Washington, NH. I was soaking it all in. It wasn't exactly picturesque, the roads weren't straight but they also weren't windy. No one would ever recommend them as a good sportbike road. To truly have fun in the large radius curves our speeds would have been in the "lose your license" range so I decided to go 5 over the speed limit and enjoy the day for what it was. So as it was, we were just "cruising".

At the gas/ice cream stop (did Brian mention how many dang ice cream joints they have in a part of the country that doesn't have a real summer season? It's crazy) Lincoln commented on how much he despised the last section we just rode. Darrin seemed to not have an opinion either way but Brian and I both thoroughly enjoyed it. The strange thing is, any other day I wouldn't have enjoyed it near as much either but for that day it was the right place and the right pace.

Sometimes just an average country 2 lane and my thoughts is all I need to be happy.

Good add Mulley.

I remember that stretch of road perfectly. And I really did thoroughly enjoy it.

Part of it for me: When you ride faster, you have to take more of your senses to just ride safely at higher speeds. When you slow down a bit there is a lesser demand on your senses and you can afford to use more of your senses to soak in the scenery.

Also, the brain itself is more free to wonder and wander.

A slower pace has its own rewards. Things and thoughts missed at brisk speeds come more frequently and more easily when the pace is slower.

Theses reports are a love/hate thing.  ;D
I love reading about these great long adventures but I hate the fact I haven't done one yet.

Nice work guys!

Quote from: yamahamer on November 24, 2017, 03:39:36 PM
Theses reports are a love/hate thing.  ;D
I love reading about these great long adventures but I hate the fact I haven't done one yet.

Nice work guys!

HERE HERE!!!

Thanks guys.

Fact is, my yearning for planning and making the next "Big Trip" all started as a result of one Rider Report and one pic.

Donovan's American Flesh Eater RR and this pic. It changed the way I view life and motorcycle riding.
It truly did spark the fire that has resulted in Ecuador, Colorado, Key West, Alaska, Baja, Idaho, Canada, etc.

So, who is Chuck Palahniuk?

He is an American born author/freelance journalist, best known for his award winning novel "Fight Club" which was made into a movie by the same name.

Chuck P. and I are the same age, 55, born about one month apart in 1962.

Aside from me really liking the movie Fight Club, being the same age is about all he and I have in common.

Well, there is one other thing.............


I do not remember when I first heard or read it. It was probably 4 or 5 years ago, maybe a little more. Whenever and wherever it was that I first came to know of it doesn't matter.

What has mattered is that I remembered it and have kept it filed away in some little cubbyhole in my brain, to be pulled out and put to use every now and then.  It's the kind of thing, for me at least, where I fear if it were to get over used it would risk getting trivialized. It might cease to have the weight and impact I like to keep reserved for it. One might, if they were so inclined, use it to justify any sort of action or pursuit.

Greed could be justified.
Poor decisions be given support.
Fodder for the cannon of self-indulgence or self-gratification.

Perhaps my worst fear: It could create a sense of entitlement if applied without prudence and discretion.

On the flight home from Baja, when I got to thinking about having been to the SE, NW and SW corners of North America, and my thoughts drifted to a visit to Maine for lobster (which morphed to Canada for lobster), Chuck P.'s quote poked its head out of the cubbyhole and said "Hey. Remember me?"

I studied on it. 
Was a desire "to go" a good enough reason? 
Was I entitled to it?
Did I somehow deserve it?

In the end I realized that none of those questions mattered. I'd be doing SOMETHING with my time and money.
I make an honest living at an honest job. I give to my church and many other reputable organizations that do outstanding work for others not as blessed and not as fortunate as I have found myself.

Truth is, life owes me nothing. I take what comes my way, share my blessings with others, and then look at what's left over and what I am going to do with my time, my money, my friends.

My life.

It was all that which lead me to decide "Yep. That's what I want. I'm going NE to eat lobster."

Because as Chuck Palahniuk said......

I still remember when you were planning first planning this ride and the plan was to ride to Maine for lobster.  I remember asking myself if I would want to go on this ride if the opportunity was there (Which it wasn't).  My thought at the time was no.  The idea of riding long days on roads that weren't that great just to see Maine and eat some lobster just didn't appeal to me.  Of course I lived in Maine for four years so I had been there and done that.  What did appeal to me was the fact that you would be doing this ride and afterwards I would have another great ride report to read. 

Then the plan changed to Canada.  It still didn't appeal to me.  The you did the trip and just now finished the ride report.  I certainly wasn't wrong about the ride report.  Outstanding report and very entertaining just like all of your reports(http://advrider.com/styles/advrider_smilies/clap.gif)(http://advrider.com/styles/advrider_smilies/clap.gif)(http://advrider.com/styles/advrider_smilies/clap.gif)

Brian you truly are a great writer, even if it takes you a while to finish a report ;D

So now that I have read the whole story, do I suddenly have a desire to duplicate your trip??

Um.......no.

It's just not my style of ride.

But if I had gone would I have enjoyed it or at least been glad to have done it?

That's a much harder question to answer.  Chuck Palahniuk may have said:

(http://www.motorcyclealabama.com/rides/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=2002.0;attach=1683;image)

But do we all truly know what we want? 

Yes this trip involved some long day, some crappy weather and even getting lost.  It also involved spending some time with friends, overcoming hardship, seeing some new sights and achieving a goal together. 

So how would I have felt if I had done this trip??

I have never done a long ride of this kind with a group before.  Maybe I should try it some day(http://advrider.com/styles/advrider_smilies/hmmm.gif)

Anyway, thanks for taking the time an effort to do this report.  I enjoyed it and am already looking forward to your next one.



And just where might that be???

Quote from: Brian A on November 27, 2017, 11:37:15 AM
So, who is Chuck Palahniuk?

He is an American born author/freelance journalist, best known for his award winning novel "Fight Club" which was made into a movie by the same name.

Chuck P. and I are the same age, 55, born about one month apart in 1962.

Aside from me really liking the movie Fight Club, being the same age is about all he and I have in common.

Well, there is one other thing.............


I do not remember when I first heard or read it. It was probably 4 or 5 years ago, maybe a little more. Whenever and wherever it was that I first came to know of it doesn't matter.

What has mattered is that I remembered it and have kept it filed away in some little cubbyhole in my brain, to be pulled out and put to use every now and then.  It's the kind of thing, for me at least, where I fear if it were to get over used it would risk getting trivialized. It might cease to have the weight and impact I like to keep reserved for it. One might, if they were so inclined, use it to justify any sort of action or pursuit.

Greed could be justified.
Poor decisions be given support.
Fodder for the cannon of self-indulgence or self-gratification.

Perhaps my worst fear: It could create a sense of entitlement if applied without prudence and discretion.

On the flight home from Baja, when I got to thinking about having been to the SE, NW and SW corners of North America, and my thoughts drifted to a visit to Maine for lobster (which morphed to Canada for lobster), Chuck P.'s quote poked its head out of the cubbyhole and said "Hey. Remember me?"

I studied on it. 
Was a desire "to go" a good enough reason? 
Was I entitled to it?
Did I somehow deserve it?

In the end I realized that none of those questions mattered. I'd be doing SOMETHING with my time and money.
I make an honest living at an honest job. I give to my church and many other reputable organizations that do outstanding work for others not as blessed and not as fortunate as I have found myself.

Truth is, life owes me nothing. I take what comes my way, share my blessings with others, and then look at what's left over and what I am going to do with my time, my money, my friends.

My life.

It was all that which lead me to decide "Yep. That's what I want. I'm going NE to eat lobster."

Because as Chuck Palahniuk said......

Truth, there is a lot of it in that quote/\\/.

(http://www.motorcyclealabama.com/rides/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=2002.0;attach=1683;image)

Indeed there is Springer.

It serves to remind me to make decisions and choices that fill my life with the things that matter. Without some degree of thought and direction we'd just wind up with a bunch of crap which, in the end, didn't matter for much one way or the other.

Win/klaviator -

Your input is always good. I enjoy and appreciate your comments and point of view. Maybe especially so when, as is the case here, the ride I took was not the kind of ride you'd take.

Do we all know what we truly want? and Where might my next planned ride take me?

Not 100% positive on either but at this point I can say is I think I know and it involves me, a sticker book from 45 years ago and one of these.....

I don't think we can call this a ride report, you went way past that on page 1!  This is a great piece of story telling.

I've said, Our lives is made up of roads traveled. If we take the right road or the wrong road, it makes us the person we are and in a way defines our future. We can always take a moment and go back to a defining moment that put us there.

I heard someone say life is like fabric, made up of many threads. If you remove or change 1 thread, you change the fabric.

Great job and I try to wait on the next story you can tell.

Quote from: Brian A on November 27, 2017, 02:39:19 PM
Win/klaviator -

Your input is always good. I enjoy and appreciate your comments and point of view. Maybe especially so when, as is the case here, the ride I took was not the kind of ride you'd take.

Do we all know what we truly want? and Where might my next planned ride take me?

Not 100% positive on either but at this point I can say is I think I know and it involves me, a sticker book from 45 years ago and one of these.....

Ooooh...A Convair B-58 Hustler! I remember seeing those take off and land at a couple of Air Force bases my dad was stationed at!



Some good possibilities for this ride.  ;)

Johnny - Thanks for the kind words. RR continue to be a labor of love for me. I just try to tell the story as I remember it and hope others enjoy the tale.


Springer - I am envious. I never saw a B-58 Hustler, other than in the little sticker book and in the dreams of a 8 or 9 year old boy.

Quote from: Brian A on November 27, 2017, 08:01:59 PM
Johnny - Thanks for the kind words. RR continue to be a labor of love for me. I just try to tell the story as I remember it and hope others enjoy the tale.


Springer - I am envious. I never saw a B-58 Hustler, other than in the little sticker book and in the dreams of a 8 or 9 year old boy.

Grew up on S.A.C. Air Force bases until I was 13. Dad flew Air Rescue.

Brian, I love your story-telling and self-reflection.  Thanks for sharing, man.  Next time, though, please don't make me wait four months to resolve the cliffhanger.   ???

I like the quote and can see how it could be abused by people accustomed to instant gratification, but in the hands of somebody who is capable of moderation and delayed gratification, it could be a powerful goal-setting reminder.

Thanks again!

I find myself chewing on lots of the nuggets in your stories, Brian. Sometimes I chew too long before I comment and then it seems too late. Most times the emotions are too strong for words and I say nothing. Shame on me. Suffice it to say, you never fail to encourage and motivate me with your words. Thanks for taking the time and being present in the moment to catch the self reflection.

@klaviator I was a lot like you. Before this trip I had only been on really long dirt/dual sport rides and 2-4 day street rides in the Southeast. I had never been more than a days ride away from home on a street bike. When Brian asked me to go I had a lot of reservations. He's asked me to go on other long rides in the past and I've declined, at the time I didn't own a proper long distance bike. A naked sport bike with no luggage was not the appropriate bike to go 3400 miles on. This time he conveyed his excitement for the trip not just in words but his actual emotions. I could tell he was really looking forward to this. I said okay and went out and bought a different bike. Yes, I bought my Verysys 650 LT pretty much for this trip. It was close to an even trade but that was a difficult decision. I miss the Tuono but I'm so glad I made the trade and went on this trip.

The trip overall wasn't epic. It wasn't anything worth writing a book or a movie about. No one will tell stories of our great interstate/highway voyage to New Brunswick, Canada. However I had a great time and I'm really glad I went.

Quote from: Mulley on November 28, 2017, 11:05:46 AM
............................................. However I had a great time and I'm really glad I went.

That's what really counts.  Even though this really wasn't my kind of ride, I may very well have felt like you did if I had gone.  The fact is that I have done some pretty long trips in the past but not with a group like this.  Even though I'm an old guy, I still haven't come close to figuring everything out and who knows, I might just do a ride like this some day......especially if I keep reading Brian's ride reports!

Let me just add: I think the group you ride with makes a big difference.  It can turn a ride that would suck by yourself into a fun time.

Thanks to all of you for your comments.

I sometimes think maybe I do spend too much time on my RR. I tend to find myself sometimes in the frame of mind to pen thoughts and other times it's a case of "meehh... not tonight."

I will say it takes me a lot longer to compile a post than it does to read it!

Also, for me, the best reward is reading other's comments. What do my friends, and people I don't know, think when reading the RR?
I don't really care if it's "Wow! I'd love to do that!" or "Nope. Not for me. Doesn't sound the least bit enticing."

*** So if you are reading this, and you have any thoughts or comments, do me, and the others who read ride reports a favor: Take 5 minutes and share your thoughts and comments. (Not just here, but on any RR) Those of us who frequent this subforum tend to enjoy sharing our stories and also appreciate and like it when others share whatever thoughts pop into their noggin while reading, or after reading, a RR. ***


Mulley was right.  The ride to Canada for lobster was not, in and of itself, an "Epic" ride.

But, we did it.

It's a trip that will always be there, filed away in our "Hey, remember that time when we rode to Canada for lobster and......" memory banks.

No amount of money in the world can magically put the memories and experiences in your brain.
No way you could ever experience trying to find some oddball length chain for Lincoln's Triumph in the rain in New York if you weren't there to do it.
You couldn't smell (almost taste) the cattle farms of upstate New York without being there.
Couldn't enjoy outstanding Greek food at Stella A's Bar and Grill in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania if you never went to Lock Haven, Pa.
And you couldn't get free sympathy coffee at a gas station if you didn't show up there.  And deserve it

And of course you couldn't express great desires to never see the streets of Newark and then find yourself there, and get ripped off by some automated toll both that simply didn't want to play ball, and see Mulley take off, on his own, the wrong direction, and just generally live the fiasco that was our time in New Jersey and The George Washington Bridge/The Bronx, if you weren't there to do it.



And you couldn't do this if you didn't.....


Just go.


(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4294/36270358856_695e6f8456_b.jpg)

--

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4407/36677867366_69d7a4d5a7_b.jpg)

Awesome stuff.... And I am taking notes from the Newark parts. I know I will be using your information as I plan my lap around the US for mid 2020. Is there really a GOOD time to try and scoot thru those NE cities?

Thanks

Chuck

Brian that was a perfect closing thought. I've already had a Garth Brooks reference earlier today so here's another.

"Life is not tried, it is merely survived
If you're standing outside the fire."


And by the way. I didn't order lobster. Instead I had fish, I believe it was some sort of sea trout. After all of those miles to get there I just wasn't in a lobster mood.

Quote from: Chuck & Susan on November 28, 2017, 02:27:45 PM
Awesome stuff.... And I am taking notes from the Newark parts. I know I will be using your information as I plan my lap around the US for mid 2020. Is there really a GOOD time to try and scoot thru those NE cities?

Thanks

Chuck

I lived in Maryland and Maine.  My advice is on those NE cities is DON"T GO THERE.  Take 81 to Scranton PA then 84 and avoid all those NE cities.  That's what I did when heading South or going back to Maine.

Quote from: klaviator on November 28, 2017, 02:56:46 PM
I lived in Maryland and Maine.  My advice is on those NE cities is DON"T GO THERE.  Take 81 to Scranton PA then 84 and avoid all those NE cities.  That's what I did when going heading South or going back to Maine.

Agreed. The only reason we went the way we did was for bragging rights. I for one have had never been onto New England at all. I had barely even been in Virginia before. So by design we hit as many states as we could. I wouldn't do that again. That was a one time thing.

Do not ride into New Jersey or New York City unless it's absolutely necessary. I don't think there is a good time. The gas attendant told me that Sunday afternoon (when we went) was the worst. Many locals leave town for the weekend and are coming back home at that time. Yeah, we didn't think of that. Nobody accused us of being smart.

This trip may not have been epic, but visiting 4 corners of N. America certainly is. Plus the fact you are already planning the next one.

Well done, Sir, Well done!

Thanks JR.

You were there, in Key West, when the seed was planted!

And there it is. What I like to call, "The Tao of Brian".

Who really wants to ride to New Brunswick? I remember when they opened I-20 in Leeds. I've driven/ridden it a million times. I've driven it on the way to work, and and gave it not a thought. I've driven it to the hospital, and hated every inch of it. I've ridden it on the way home from buying a new bike and was giddy! I -20 means nothing in particular, but it has been under my tires when good things, and bad things, and irrelevant things have happened. Likewise, I've taken trips that seemed like I was on a mission. I've taken rides that seemed like total zen - like therapy. I've had trips that were "work" to complete. Rides, trips, adventures, like life can be planned, but the plan will not guarantee success. But then again, what is a successful ride? Surviving my most difficult times sucked, but made me who I am. Enjoying good times, passed to quickly, but again, made me who I am. Who the hell plans a trip to New Brunswick freakin' Canada?!? It just doesn't matter. Like Mulley said, Garth Brooks said... reason enough. I like bikes. I like trips. I like spending time with people who like bikes, and trips. Where, doesn't really matter. And sometimes it does. Sometimes I like to go alone. Sometimes I like to go with friends. To me, if the opportunity presents itself, and the universe gives me the green light. I'm going. Truth is, the worst trip I've ever taken, I can honestly say I would not want that experience to not exist. That said, my take on this trip...

Brain always seems to have some very deep and meaningful reason to go to some obscure location, and see...something. The beauty of  Brian is, he wants to share it, with people who completely don't understand why, but go anyway. I must admit, I'm selfish. When I have some place I want to go for some specific reason, I usually think, "nobody wants to go there and see that." So, I just take a solo trip. And I like doing that as often as possible, but I like taking motorcycle trips, as often as possible.  So it was a trip, and I was in. Long interstate days suck. The other guys talked about "fun" riding, or "scenic" riding. Put your nugget in a bucket and it can free your mind. Unless you're on the verge of suffering a heat stroke. I can even find solace in those conditions at times, but unfortunately, on this trip, I had job issues on my mind. Not good things, or opportunities, but issues of the most frustrating kind. I found the time I spent off the bike, helmet off, talking with the other guys, was the real therapy. That's when I could sometimes forget the frustration and just laugh at stupid stuff. Maybe it was the heat. Maybe it was the interstate. I just mentally wrestled with crap most of the time. But when we stopped for gas, or dinner, or a hotel, I could put the crap away for a while. I also took the opportunity to get some other perspectives on the situation, which was helpful, but I obviously didn't want to dwell on it. But here's the funny thing. When we were combat riding through Newark New Jersey, I wasn't thinking about work at all. I was actually laughing most of the time, thinking about Brian's insistence that we NOT STOP in New Jersey. See how that works?!? One of the worst parts of the trip, was one of the best memories for me. Too funny...
So, then we rode some roads, and saw some stuff. We ate some good food, and drank some beverages, and talked, and laughed and we did see some cool stuff and take some cool pics. I can't say the scenery or weather, was as great as some other rides I've been on. I can't say anything crazy happened like other rides I've been on. Can't say I would ever want or plan to go back Northeast past North Carolina. Unless somebody else wanted to go, and the opportunity was there. I'd consider it. And I'd probably go. Because spending time on a bike, riding with friends, just talking with friends, seeing whatever, wherever, is almost always, a good thing, and even when it's not at the time, when it's over, it's still all good.

(https://i.imgur.com/nVIYLqf.jpg)

 @Brian A

The ONLY thing better than READING your ride reports is RIDING with you!  ;)

Thank you very, very much Lincoln for adding your thoughts and comments.

I truly enjoy hearing/reading what others remember from our trips together.

You and I have shared some fun and funny times.

The "Head Squasher Ride". New helmet that I thought might well burst my head like a ripe grape before all was said and done. Whittling away at the Styrofoam behind the foam pad in the hope I might survive the ordeal. I did.
And I gave the helmet away as soon as I got home. Most expensive helmet I ever bought and I never wanted to see it again.

The Daytona Beach trip. Holy cow. So many cool things from that trip. The brightest, longest lasting shooting star I/we had ever seen.
And the KLR ordeal. Epiphany moment when I realized we had put it all back to together with the thrust washer on the wrong end of the shaft.
Watching the rocket launch at The Cape.

The Canada ride. You just summed it up pretty well with your post.

All those moments, and countless more, each a small part of the giant mosaic that is added to each time we ride together, or alone.

I suspect there will be a bit more to add to that in 2018   ;)



And thanks to you also Springer. That was a nice thing to say and I genuinely appreciate it.

One memorable quote from New Jersey, Lincoln looked over at me while we were stuck in Newark traffic and stated:

We have 4 GPS's, and 4 phones with GPS's and we are still lost!

I laughed so much I forgot about the situation.



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Awesome report Brian, I take a few pictures, make some memories but you sir paint the picture.

I have rode several marathon rides with these fellows, and regret not 1 thing about the rides. Good friends, enjoying something we all love and have in common.

The stories that are told, and the ones that are made during these rides are imprinted in my brain.

Little stuff like stopping at a country store in Vermont, and ending up in a conversation with the owner, who was a Marine, who's best friend lives in Greenville Alabama.

Or, looking up to see a car hit a deer right in front of us.

I am looking forward to the next one, I will be there, I will have a blast I'm sure.



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