[a2rbnud]

Day 8 6/3/22

6/3/22

277.0 mi, +8003 ft. Bike ride in Madison County, AL

ridewithgps.com

Spent a few days in Huntsville with good friends. Cycle Gear changed the tires, I changed the oil and filter. I have a niece getting married in Louisville Kentucky. My wife flew in from Phoenix. Nice short ride on back roads with only about 40 miles on interstate to get to Louisville.

That Shelbyville Highway looks like a great ride, gorgeous country. I can highly recommend the Air Force Museum in Dayton if you have the time and you're going that way. National Museum of the USAF

 

[rangers4u]

That Shelbyville Highway looks like a great ride, gorgeous country. I can highly recommend the Air Force Museum in Dayton if you have the time and you're going that way. National Museum of the USAF

That Shelbyville Highway looks like a great ride, gorgeous country. I can highly recommend the Air Force Museum in Dayton if you have the time and you're going that way. National Museum of the USAF

I'd 2nd that, but after my experience, it can be as much as a 2 day stay to see and experience everything they have.

 

[free1954]

what happened with this thread? did you stop riding, or stop posting?

 

[VTXer_wannaB]

Day 9 6/6/22
Very Short ride today vut very wet.
6/6/22

Spent 3 nights in Louisville Kentucky where I met my wife. We attended a wedding of a niece. After my wife took an uber to the airport I hit the road and did not go half a mile and it started to sprinkle. I got on the freeway to head east to Winchester Kentucky were my buddy from Huntsville Alabama was headed. I was expecting rain but not until late afternoon and I did not get 5 miles down the road and it rains so hard it was white. Traffic coming into Louisville was stopped. I was not dressed for rain and had some distance to go to go before I could exit the freeway. I have never been so wet on a bike. I had water in my shoes. I pulled in to a strip mall and under an awing to regroup, Changed into a dry shit. Before I was all packed up the sun had come out, great!. Packed up and hit the road again and 20 miles later the same thing with the rain happened. I saw the rain coming and existed the freeway just in time and pulled in to the covered parking of a Ramada Inn. The covering didn't help as it was raining sideways. I waited for about 15 minuted in the lobby used there bathroom and hit the road again and had nice riding the rest of the day. It did rain again after we checked into a motel in Winchester.

 

[VTXer_wannaB]

Day 9 6/7/22
6/7/22
I forgot to start the ridewithgps in Winchester so about 25 miles short for distance.

The weather was wet in the morning by the time we got packed up and on the road the weather had cleared. Not much to comment on today but Ohio has some good roads where we rode.

 

[VTXer_wannaB]

what happened with this thread? did you stop riding, or stop posting?

Been busy riding. Currently taking a rest near North Sydney Nova Scotia for 2 days. Waiting for rain to stop and catching the ferry tomorrow about noon.

 

[rangers4u]

Been busy riding. Currently taking a rest near North Sydney Nova Scotia for 2 days. Waiting for rain to stop and catching the ferry tomorrow about noon.

No adventures, narrative, or pix between oHIo and N. Sydney?

 

[VTXer_wannaB]

No adventures, narrative, or pix between oHIo and N. Sydney?

Coming, slowly, and sporadically.

 

[VTXer_wannaB]

Day 10 6/8/22
6/8/22
Was on the road at 6:40AM this morning.

Started in Whitehall WV and ended the day in Williamsport, PA. A 387 mile day Early on the ride my buddy stopped to clean he face shield and glasses. Later at a fuel stop he realized he did not have his glasses. We call the motel and the restaurant to see if he left his glasses there. Only later he realized he probably sent them on his luggage when he took his helmet off. He does not need them to ride, thank goodness. Had plans to ride into Delaware as neither of us had been to Delaware but nixed that idea and headed north We did not want to mess with the traffic. We crossed in and out of Maryland and West Virginia and well as Virginia a couple of times. Rode in to Harper's Ferry and by Gettysburg, I have been to both places previously and could spend and entire day at Gettysburg. On the ride my buddy snagged the USB cable coming our of his power plugs on his bike and pulled the power plug loose in the fairing of his bike. With the help of a youtube channel we had the fairing off the the power plug re-install.

 

[VTXer_wannaB]

Day 11, 6/9/22
6/9/22
Also had plans to ride into and out of Connecticut and Rhode Island but decided to go north.

Left Williamsport with a destination of Wilkes-Barre which was a mistake. We should have turned north before Wilkes-Barre. Had a good hardy breakfast at Pikes Creek PA at the Red Rooster. We headed toward Binghamton NY. When we got north of Binghamton traffic dropped to nothing and good roads. We decided to head to Old Forge NY. I had been in this area in 2006 when I rode my bicycle from Washington to Bar Harbor Maine

(bicycle links)
booneville
raquette_lake
New Page 1

We avoided rain all day until the last 5 miles into Old Forge NY and got drenched. Lots of bikes at the motel we stayed, riders mostly from Canada. They said they like to come to the states so that they can ride on good roads. The name of the motel is Christys Motel and really caters to motorcyclist. They don't have a laundry but the owned dried our wet clothes in his personal drier.

On a side note I saw premium non-ethanol gasoline.

 

[a2rbnud]

Day 9 6/6/22
Very Short ride today vut very wet.
6/6/22

Spent 3 nights in Louisville Kentucky where I met my wife. We attended a wedding of a niece. After my wife took an uber to the airport I hit the road and did not go half a mile and it started to sprinkle. I got on the freeway to head east to Winchester Kentucky were my buddy from Huntsville Alabama was headed. I was expecting rain but not until late afternoon and I did not get 5 miles down the road and it rains so hard it was white. Traffic coming into Louisville was stopped. I was not dressed for rain and had some distance to go to go before I could exit the freeway. I have never been so wet on a bike. I had water in my shoes. I pulled in to a strip mall and under an awing to regroup, Changed into a dry shit. Before I was all packed up the sun had come out, great!. Packed up and hit the road again and 20 miles later the same thing with the rain happened. I saw the rain coming and existed the freeway just in time and pulled in to the covered parking of a Ramada Inn. The covering didn't help as it was raining sideways. I waited for about 15 minuted in the lobby used there bathroom and hit the road again and had nice riding the rest of the day. It did rain again after we checked into a motel in Winchester.

On the return from our 2018 Newfoundland tour, it rained nonstop for two days and the entire 469 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was the first time I experienced rain suits being useless. It was like driving through a waterfall. Thanks for the photos. The downside of posting your ride is that if you take a day off, some people will assume the worst. Have a good time on the Cabot Trail. Do yourself a favor and stop at Skyline. It's a flat, easy 3 mile hike, but I swear, the panorama view is well worth it. And if you do Meat Cove, take your time.

 

[VTXer_wannaB]

Day 12 6/10/22
6/10/22

Old Forge NY to Belfast ME.
Continued east to Newcomb to NY for breakfast at the same restaurant that I had a dinner in August of 2006. The restaurant was pretty bad in 2006 but now is very good and I would recommend eating their. I was looking at a picure our out camp from 2006 and found it interesting that I am using the same tent now as I had in 2006. I planned a route that would take us to Ticonderoga and the ferry across Lake Champlain which I was told was usually free for motorcycles. I checked on the ferry schedule and they charge for Motorcycles when Americade was going on. $6 per person and $7 for the motorcycle.

HOME - Americade

Instead of risking waiting for the ferry a slight change in plans/route we crossed the bridge at Crown point. We did see a few bikes. I really enjoyed the scenery in that part of Vermont. Just by luck we rode ride by the Vermont Capitol building In Montpelier. Spent the night just outside of Belfast in a motel that was on a road I bicycled in 2006.

 

[VTXer_wannaB]

Day 13 6/11/22
Crossing into Canada
6/11/22

Belfast to the US/Canadian border is is about 120 mile ride. On the AriveCAN website we entered a time of 11:55AM. We did want 12:00 but neither of knew us knew if that was AM or PM and just so not to confuse anybody, mostly us is the reason for 11:55AM. Then we learned that when you cross into Canada you enter the Atlantic Time zone and lose an hour. We left Belfast a little earlier than we had planned. We originally planned on a slow leisurely ride. We arrived earlier than our scheduled 11:55 time. We were looking over at the Canadian Customs and there was 3 cars. We decided to go early and there was not problem. Both of us were across the border in less than 10 minutes. I wanted my passport stamped and forgot to ask the Canadian Customs guy. We were still in Cardo communications so I asked my buddy to ask about a passport stamp. While I was waiting next to the customs building I saw people inside so walked in and asked about a passport stamp. He said not problem but US citizens do not need to have their passports stamps. I told him it was a novelty for me. I have a new passport with now with one stamp. My buddy told me that the Customs agent in the booth told him that he would have to inspect the entire bike if he wanted a passport stamp. Hummmm. We rode another 100 miles and found a campground. Only my second time camping since leaving Phoenix. And it was expensive. $34CAN each to throw down a tent. They said because we had two tents that they would have to charge us for 2 camp spots. WTF. The place was nice but not $34CAN nice. 95% of the spots there permanent trailers. We took a ferry to get to the campground. As a matter of fact the ferry stop is right outside the campground entrance. The campground did have a washing machines so we did laundry.

 

[VTXer_wannaB]

6/11/22, more pictures

 

[a2rbnud]

Day 12 6/10/22
6/10/22

Old Forge NY to Belfast ME.
Continued east to Newcomb to NY for breakfast at the same restaurant that I had a dinner in August of 2006. The restaurant was pretty bad in 2006 but now is very good and I would recommend eating their. I was looking at a picure our out camp from 2006 and found it interesting that I am using the same tent now as I had in 2006. I planned a route that would take us to Ticonderoga and the ferry across Lake Champlain which I was told was usually free for motorcycles. I checked on the ferry schedule and they charge for Motorcycles when Americade was going on. $6 per person and $7 for the motorcycle.

HOME - Americade

Instead of risking waiting for the ferry a slight change in plans/route we crossed the bridge at Crown point. We did see a few bikes. I really enjoyed the scenery in that part of Vermont. Just by luck we rode ride by the Vermont Capitol building In Montpelier. Spent the night just outside of Belfast in a motel that was on a road I bicycled in 2006.

Molson and Kraft Dinner (what Canadians call mac n' cheese) with tuna. You sir, are a KING!

 

[free1954]

nice write up and picks. an adventure to remember. thanks for the update. and not that i assumed the worst but i still make my kids and grandkids call me when they leave here and get to their destination.

 

[rangers4u]

Don't know if this was mentioned before or not, but before we went to Newfie in 2018, we were told in order to have cell phone capability up there, we had to upgrade our 3G phone to a 4G. And we only got reception while on land, not out on the Ferries. Really enjoying your travels. Stay safe.

 

[VTXer_wannaB]

I still make my kids and grandkids call me when they leave here and get to their destination.

When I was in high school a long time ago. Back when making a long distance was for an emergency. When I would leave my grandma's on the bike (1974 CB360) and when I arrived home I would make a person to person call to myself. My grandma would acted all surprised and say "oh you just missed him, he lift on his motorcycle". I would say I would try later and my grandma would know that I made it home safe.

 

[VTXer_wannaB]

Don't know if this was mentioned before or not, but before we went to Newfie in 2018, we were told in order to have cell phone capability up there, we had to upgrade our 3G phone to a 4G. And we only got reception while on land, not out on the Ferries. Really enjoying your travels. Stay safe.

I was on level 7 of the ferry and outside most of the time. But I had cell phone coverage the entire crossing on the ferry today. Phone is an apple 13 mini.

 

[VTXer_wannaB]

Day 14 6/12/22
Three weeks from Phoenix.
6/12/22

Today marks the third week since I have left Phoenix. A slower start this morning after a night of camping. Had breakfast at Tim Hortons. There is a Tim Hortons in Glendale near the Phoenix Coyotes hockey arena. Go figure. Not a bad breakfast. We talked to some motorcyclist and they mentioned that Highway 6 was a nice route and north of the route we planned to take. This got us in to a little town, Pugwash, where me meet another motorcyclist and he said head north on what I would call a county road that was a little farther north We did get some views of the St Lawrence Sea Way. We ended the day in Antigonish as the most expensive motel to date. $183CAD, which is about $145USD but was very nice and quite and included breakfast. The name of the motel is Evergreen Inn. Ate dinner at a Mediterranean restaurant, Little Christos, about 1.5 miles away that was very good.