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Showing results for tags 'hwy'.
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Just checked my speedo with GPS..accurate at least up to 115..right with my speedo...Found the perfect hwy peg..Ergo peg with the addition of the mini arms by Kuryakyn.1.5 inch long and extends out a little..Now my legs are VERY comfortable... having the floorboards instead of pegs and hwy pegs that are perfect Did 500 miles yesterday..it was a breeze now getting ready for our 7000 mile trip starting 8/21/2010
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They stole" The Rooster Tail",At least half of it.It was announced today that The Rooster Tail Has been renamed The Diamondback.Story here. http://diamondbacknc.com/. The good part is that highway 80 is still the best road to ride and it still belongs to THE ROOSTER.Here is a couple videos of The Rooster Tail. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoUYJ6CAcNA&feature=related]YouTube- Hwy 80 toward Marion NC[/ame] [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk8w0XjUbl0&feature=related]YouTube- Hwy 80 to Marion part 2[/ame] [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nUpdWV_m3k&feature=related]YouTube- Hwy 80 to Marion part 3[/ame]
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Myself and Four_Paws99 are leaving Sudbury tomorrow morning at 7am ( would have left earlier but she gets off work Late) We will be travelling down Hwy 69( yes BradT Hwy 69 not hwy11 than down the 400, 407,403 will be crossing the Port Huron Bridge and will be meeting Dray at the Tim Hortons (Knowing my Four_Paws There will no meals on the way ,fillup and go. We showed be at Port Huron between 3pm - 4pm And than head out to Dons' .... Have a safe Trip you All
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I got a PM asking me where the nearest campgrounds are to my house. Many camp here and anybody who wishes to do so is more than welcome. There is also space here for a few travel trailers and we have always had plenty of room so far. There are no hookups though so if you need a place with hookups, here are a couple of suggestions. This one was recommended by another member but I've not been by there yet. http://schaunacrescampground.com/ Also just a few miles down Hwy. 58 from us is Findley State Park. http://www.findleystatepark.org/
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This is on Hwy 71 out of Center Alabama.Try it some time
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Don't know about everyone else, but I'm getting a bad case of "Cabin Fever". I was going through some of my vacation pics from last year and found this vidio. My good friend, Allen, was following me on his Geezer Glide with a Go-Pro camera mounted to the front of his bike. The road that we are on is NC hwy 215 just north of the BRP. A big thanks to my wife who put it to music and down loaded it to Youtube. Hope you like it, remember spring is just around the corner. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uygd69tAJhU]YouTube- Hwy 215 Lake Logan Rd N. of BRP North Carolina[/ame]
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Just put on a new NEXAN C/T 165x80x15 on a 06 RSTD 44 k miles. Been running MET880. Question at speeds over 70 rear end floats and sways while going down HWY 85. Up to 70 did great. Running 31lbs ov air.. should I increse air preasure. Heading to Maryland next week....
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Has anyone ridden Hwy 60 called Morgantown Hwy from Dahlonega to Blue Ridge? I am headed up to Blue Ridge Thursday and usually go to Blairsville and take the Zell Miller Mountain Parkway to Blue Ridge. Looking at the map I thought this time I might take Hwy 60 and wondered if anyone had any experience on it?
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My friends are figuring out a trip to AR in the middle of October. One proposed stop is at Cliff House, which is right down the road from The Hub. How was the riding around The Hub? We're mostly passing through on Hwy 17 and Hwy 74. Food recommendations in the area? Anyone ever stay at Cliff House? It looks very nice. Dave
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Either there are more RSVs on the roads these days, or I am just paying more attention to the bikes I see. Past (going same direction) a canary yellow RSV trike today on hwy 62E in Charlestown, IN today. Seen it before in Jeffersonville on hwy 62. Some day I'll find him and put a card on his trike.
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Got back from 4 day trip yesterday, Seattle, to Kalispell Mt. and up to near Glacier Nat. park. Good run, bike performed great. Hit some bad road construction on Hwy 93 just north of Missoula, Mt. 10 miles of gravel. I wanted to see " FlatHead Lake " area. Great place to ride. Weather still on the cold side up in that area. ( 42 deg. here in Seattle this morning, must be Global Warming !! ) On return trip yesterday on I-90 from Vantage Wa. to top of Cascade range, I hit some really bad cross winds, about 30 to 40 MPH Winds. Traffic on I-90 was heavy and running 70 to 75, and that wind was vicious. The 1st Gens Do NOT like cross winds. Frankly it was a battle to keep the bike on the road. Winds seemed to be changing direction, thru the canyons, getting hit from the left, then the right, etc. For those 1st Gen riders, who have never encountered, high cross winds, be warned , these bike have a lot of surface for cross winds to have effect !!! Anyway, 1250 mile 4 day trip, great ride, great scenery up around Glacier Nat. Park. Lots of bikes headed North on Mt. Hwy 93. A challenging ride, I highly reccomend. I also rode sections of Hwy #2, I highly reccomend, from Dakota's all the way to the Pacific Coast, if you have the time !! Deffinatly put Hwy #2 on your " To DO, Someday List " !!!! Well, guess I will have to cut the grass today And wash the bike, its really dirty !!
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Just got back from the Twisted Sisters near Kerrville. We spent 4 days there for the weekend and it was great. My wife finally rode with me and spent the entire day on the ride with me ( she caged it there). We left Kerrville with our group from Houston SAT (Waller Road Dogs) and rode down Hwy 16 from Kerrville ( wow what a road with some turns past 90 degrees and speed limit of 10mph at some turns. Up and down and round and round we went over the hills and rivers. Down 16 to Medina then out 337 until Vanderpool and stopped at Vanderpool to see the MotorCycle Museum and eat some great pie. We hit rain on the way and ended up there for and hour and a half. We left there and headed to Leakey and stopped for food drinks and some patches and shirts. We saw the rain move off to the east so we headed the other way and went to Hwy 51 I think to go up and over to Hunt Tx and stop by Stonehenge for pictures. On the way back to Kerrville I think we crossed the Gudalupe river at least 8 times. Hwy 336 and 337 were really great roads that you had to be really careful in several areas due to the climb and drop on some of the turns but by far the most treacherous road was probably Hwy 16 South from Kerrville down to Median.Due to the rain I had to wait until today to hit Ranch road 335 and it was by far the most fun. This road undulated and turned in such a way that you could let go and just ride unlike the other 2 sisters. This road had me grinning from ear to ear before I was half way thru it. One section had you just going up and down, You could see the rise and fall of the road in front of you and when you top the hill you think where did the road go and suddenly down you go only to head back up again within seconds then a left or right turn heading up the hills and start all over again. We saw deer, goats,sheep, antelope,buffalo,kangaroo,porkupines,wild turkeys and wild hogs, and quite a few river crossings. We spent Sunday going over to Garner State Park( I promised the wife if she rode with me on Sat we could go where she wanted on Sunday). Then Monday we decided to get up early. Wife wanted to head back and said go ride and meet me at hoem later. OFF I went, Down Hwy 16 again to go to Bandera but when I got to Ranch road 337 my bike decided it wanted to try 337 again and off I went down 337 across to Medina, Leakey, Vanderpool and finally Camp Wood and up to 335 north to 41 then east to I-10 and finally down I-10 back to Tomball Tx. Wow today alone was 432 miles and I hit heavy heavy traffic about 70 imiles from Houston but got home in 5 hrs from Kerrville but was on the bike from 7:30 am till almost 4pm. I would do it again but not tomorrow LOL. Pictures will be posted tomorrow althought I dont have a lot since I had to try to get Lynn to take an ocassional picture. To Tom Sorry I missed your call. Phone decided to go dead on me. :sign woo hoo::7_6_3[1]::7_6_3[1]:
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does anyone know if the river road in illinois from alton to quincie is flooded? it will be hwy 100 to hwy 96. bill
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While riding down Hwy 11 in SC yesterday, being distracted by my wife talking to me, i think I passed a maroon 1st gen yesterday, over at the Cliffs subdivision. Anyone here or did i just not see that right?
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Just curious what you all might suggest for Hwy pegs for my RSTD. I have looked at several different brands but thought I would get input before purchasing. So, what do you all think Thanks
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Start in Clarksville or Russellvile, Ark. Hwy 123 from Clarksville / hwy7 from Russellville, to Mt Judea, Hwy 374 W, to Hwy 7 S 2 mls to Cliff House Inn / Resturant (good food), back Hwy 7 N to Jasper, thru town, get fuel, Hwy 74 W, Hwy 21 S into Clarksville. About 200 mls. I live in the Ft Smith area and it is 350 mls from my house round trip. #2 - Conway, work the back roads to Hot Springs (many different routes), to Hwy 270 W, thru town, past curvey curvies to Mc Clardys BBQ (GOOD) on left. Then back into town, go see the E Mountain Tower, then ride the W mountain road (if you have time), back toward Hwy 7, but trn L on Cedar (before hwy 7), R on Cedarglades, R on Hwy 277 (about 4 mls R on 194 ?/first blacktop), then L Hwy 7 to Russellville. In Dardanelle take Hwy 155 to the top of Mt Nebo. In Russellville N of High School on Hwy 7 truck & off I 40 X 81 N side eat at CJ's drive in, they make their own fries and cut their own meat!!!!!!! #3 - Old Hwy 71 from Alma, to Brentwood, trn R on Hwy 74 Follow it E till you have to come home (it goes most of the way across the state, so drop down to I 40 and roll back home. OR jump onto Hwy 16 back W into Fayettville. Eat at any of Quideos Pizzaiers. One N of Mall by Sigler Music, one W of in Tonitown. GREAT home made pastas!!! #4 - TO Many to mention!!! Hwy 59, Hwy 21, Hwy 16, and on goes the list. But go S Hwy 71 from Ft Smith, to Y City, L on Hwy 270, R on Hwy 27, L on Hwy 278 into Old Washington ( first state capital ), spend some time back in history, then back W on Hwy 278, to Hwy 71 N back to Ft Smith
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On Saturday, 9-20-08, it was once again time to mount up on the steel pony and gallop about the area roads. We met up with one of the couples we ride with, Duane and Dawn, at the Exxon gas station on Hwy. 72 in Gurley, Alabama at 8:45 a.m. This was a perfect spot to watch the Trail of Tears riders before heading east to find whatever adventure awaited us this day. The first Trail of Tears riders came through at about 9:15, with an Alabama State Trooper motorcycle escort leading the way. This years’ group was much smaller than in years past, possibly partly due to the overcast and drizzle, but mostly due to the fact that the Trail was broken into two factions and two separate routes this year. One followed the original Trail of Tears route through Alabama down Hwy. 72, while the other took Hwy. 64 across Tennessee, then down to Florence, AL, and on into Waterloo. The main group of riders had passed within about 30 minutes, and once they passed we saddled up and headed east on Hwy. 72 towards Scottsboro. http://s37.photobucket.com/albums/e82/BamaVulcan04/2008%20Trail%20of%20Tears/ Once into Scottsboro, we headed south on State Hwy. 35, across the B.B. Comer bridge, and up Sand Mountain towards the town of Section, AL. The overcast skies, light off-and-on drizzle, and wind made for a cool time once we reached the top of Sand Mountain, so we stopped in Section for a cup of coffee. From there, we continued on through Powell’s Crossroads and into Rainsville, Alabama. Since it was approaching 11:00 a.m. and we were beginning to think of lunch, we decided to head west on State Highway 75 towards Fyffe, the home of Barry’s BBQ, which were had heard was one of the best BBQ spots in this particular section of Alabama. Another memeber here also had told me it was a good place to eat. It’s a family owned and operated place that is actually on the family’s farm. Once into Fyffe, we stopped and got directions to Barry’s. When we arrived, it looked like a typical neatly kept house on an area farm from the road, except for the small sign that read “Barry’s B-B-Q” with an arrow pointing towards the farmhouse. But once we turned in, we could see that they had a great set up for some fine down home eatin’. The smell of meat smoking permeated the air. We were greeted by a friendly lady with a big smile on her face. “How ya’ll doing? We don’t open for business ‘til noon, but ya’ll park your bikes and come on over and have a seat. Won’t be much longer now. Where ya’ll from anyhow?” she asked. We took her up on the offer, and mosied on over to the back patio and sat down. All the while, the sweet smell of the BBQ was making us more hungry by the second. Finally, at noon, we were able to enter the block building that housed the treasures we so anticipated. The aromas were almost more than we could tolerate, and everything on the menu looked absolutely fantastic. For lunch, they offered a pulled pork BBQ plate, a smoked ham plate, a broasted chicken plate, a chicken liver plate, and a fried catfish plate – each served with your choice of two side orders – baked beans, cole slaw, potato salad, or french fries, and a slice of thick bread. For desert, they offered homemade vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry ice cream, or homemade peach cobbler. Duane and I got the pulled pork plate, while the wives settled for the smoked ham plates. When our plates arrive, they were overloaded with food. None of us could eat all that was on our plates. Needless to say, we all thoroughly enjoyed our lunch, but unfortunately had no room left for the tempting deserts. The entire cost of this fantastic lunch was $14.50 per couple, and I have to say, it was worth twice that much! BamaVulcan04/Barrys BBQ - Page 1 - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting Feeling like hogs that had been fattened for slaughter, we somehow managed to mount the bikes and head back towards Rainsville, where we took a right on Hwy. 35 and headed south towards Fort Payne. Yep - Fort Payne, Alabama – once know as “The Sock Capitol of the World” and the home of the famous country music group ALABAMA. Just for grins and giggles, and to give the buns a little rest and walk off some of the fine food we had previously ingested, we stopped in at the Fort Payne Power Sports shop to look around for a bit. They had a beautiful candy red 2008 Yamaha V Star 1100 with only 2300 miles on it that really caught my eye. The original owner was a friend of the dealer, and he had purchased it back in April with the intention of using it as a work commuter. She was definitely a beauty with lots of extra chrome added by the original owner. I really had to practice some self control to keep from buying that sweet little ride and adding her as a second bike! After leaving the bike shop, we headed up Lookout Mountain on County Road 89 about five miles to DeSoto Falls, located in DeSoto State Park, which is in the Little River Canyon National Preserve. Indian Falls is located just below the A.A. Miller Dam, and DeSoto Falls is a 100 ft. waterfall located just below Indian Falls. It is a beautiful place, and being there one can only imagine how the Native Americans must have enjoyed it’s beauty and bounties – water, fish and wildlife - as they lived there years ago, much as if it were their own personal Garden of Eden. BamaVulcan04/DeSoto Falls 2008 - Page 1 - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting After about 45 minutes of enjoying the serene beauty, we again mounted our horses of steel and headed down the back side of Lookout Mountain into Hammondville, Alabama and back through Fort Payne. We headed south on US 11 towards Collinsville. From there, we took Hwy. 68 west through Albertville and on into Guntersville, Alabama. Once in Guntersville, we stopped to see the Antique and Hot Rod Car Show they were holding downtown. Dawn’s parents were there with their 1940 Ford Coupe which he had entered in the show. In my opinion, it was the sweetest street rod there, and there were some nice vehicles, for sure. BamaVulcan04/Guntersville Hot Rod Show 2008 - Page 1 - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting After visiting with Dawn’s parents and walking around the car show for almost an hour, it was time to head north over Grant Mountain to Hwy. 72 and point the ponies west for the 45 minute ride back home. As we rumbled west, the sun was setting and the air had a definite chill of the oncoming fall. Another wonderful day of riding the bike, navigating the back roads, seeing the sites, eating good food, and sharing some good times with friends was done. Man, I already can’t wait until the next ride!
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Well just took my first trip on a Venture (2005) the wife on her 2005 VTX 1300, We left on Thrus evening Sept 4 from Florence Ms heading to Dogpatch Ar (worst rally I have ever been to, will not go again) but the ride thru Jasper, Ar, hwy 7, 43 and 74 were great rides, rode to Boxley Valley saw the Elk come within 100 yards of us, spent two days in that area, then headed out to Eureka Springs staying at the Iron Horse Stables (Nice Folks) very peacefully stay, rode in and around Eureka Springs a couple of days, then headed to Branson Mo, by way of hwy 86 to 65 good ride in the country, (had one of them free vacation there, sat in a 90 minute presentation) got 3 days and 2 nights free. Left out Thur heading to Hot Springs Ar for the rally by way of 65 to 7 GREAT Ride except for the 40 mile detour due to washout on hwy 7. Check the weather Thur night and decided to leave for home Friday Morning due to weather, of the 1500 mile trip we did not get wet untill 40 miles from home. The venture average 42 mpg the vtx 44 mpg, the venture was a little squirly on the curves, need to do something about it and I developed a shake on front end if you have one hand on the Handle bars and you are letting off the throttle, any suggestion will be greatly appreciated. My Wife says that skunks should be on the endangered list in Ar as many as we saw dead on the road.
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Saturday (9-6-2008 ) the wife and I headed out at 7 a.m. and met up with some of our motorcycling friends for a day ride. There were 9 motorcycles all total - 8 Harleys and us on our Yamaha Venture. It was overcast, damp and foggy, and there was a very light misting of rain. We all stood around talking, drinking coffee, and basically waiting for the weather to clear up a bit so we could head on down the road. The mist of rain finally let up at about 8:45 a.m., but the sky remained cloudy and overcast, and a slight hint of fall was in the air. We saddled up our steel ponies http://images.obesityhelp.com/_shared/images/smiley/msn/horseback.gifand headed east on Hwy. 72 towards the Georgia line, then headed north up Hwy. 79 across Skyline Mountain, with the low rumble of the exhausts echoing through the crisp morning air. When we got to the top of the mountain, the fog was as thick as pea soup, and the temperature dropped several degrees. We pulled over so the others could put on their jackets, but I was actually enjoying the early-fall coolness myself, so I decided to leave mine in the saddlebag. Visibility was only about 100 yards, so needless to say, we took it easy and cruised along at only about 40 mph. We stopped at the only small mom & pop store on top of the mountain for a nice hot cup of coffee and some conversation, and to allow the ladies to warm up a bit. The lady who owned the store had fresh home-made fried pies - chocolate, peach and apple - for $1.00 each. Although they looked and smelled great, I was the only one who passed on them. The others thoroughly enjoyed them, and thouroughly enjoyed telling me how good they tasted. http://images.obesityhelp.com/_shared/images/smiley/msn/lol.gif After about 20 minutes, it was time to saddle up the steel ponies and head on down the backside of the mountain into Tennessee. We skirted around Winchester and rode on into Deckherd, where once again we stopped for a butt break and some more coffee, and to decide where to go from there. After 20 minutes or so of discussion, it was decided that we would take Hwy. 41 into Manchester and stop there for a bite of lunch. Manchester was about a 20 mile ride from where we were. By that time the temperature had risen to a more comfortable level and the ride along Hwy. 41 was really nice. The smell of freshly mowed grass hung in the air, and the locals stopped and waved as we rumbled by. Once in Manchester, we stopped at a local Mexican restaurant for lunch. I ordered the pintos & cheese appetizer (about a 1/2 cup serving) and watched as the others scarfed down huge plates of tacos, burritos, Mexican rice, and chips and salsa. Needless to say, they were stuffed by the time we had to saddle up again, and were probably more suited for a siesta than for motorcycle riding. http://images.obesityhelp.com/_shared/images/smiley/msn/biggrin.gif Nonetheless, we fired up the steel ponies and headed towards Tullahoma. From there, it was on in to Lynchburg where we stopped so a couple of the folks could purchase some leather items they wanted. We strolled around Lynchburg looking at the other motorcycles parked around the square, the leather shops, and gift shops for more than an hour. Then, we headed back towards Fayetteville where we stopped at a gas station for one last cup of coffee and some conversation about the day's ride and events before saying our goodbyes. After the handshakes and hugs, everyone split up and headed on back to their homes. Another wonderful day of riding motorcycles through some beautiful country, the company of friends, and enjoying life was now officially in the books. http://images.obesityhelp.com/_shared/images/smiley/msn/cool2.gif Ahhhhhh, ain't life grand? I know mine's soooo much better since I have lost 135 pounds thus far! http://images.obesityhelp.com/_shared/images/smiley/msn/thumbsup2.gif Ya'll ride safe now, ya hear!!
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The wife and I were taking a morning breakfast run today and saw a 2nd gen Midnight on Hwy 5 in Aledo Texas today. Anyone from the site??
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I've just returned home from attending a guitar clinic featuring Nashville phenomenon Johnny Hiland and his band. Wow! That cat can sure play, any style, any genre, just as clean and pretty as can be. For those of you that might be in the North GA area riding around tomorrow, he will be performing a free show from 2-5 PM at the new Galaxy Music store, which is located at 6150 GA Hwy 400, about 2.5 miles south of the Dawsonville Premium Outlet Mall, on the eastern side of the road. If you want to see a great player and are going to be anywhere nearby, be sure to stop by! Terry
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A 58 year old man from Wytheville, Virginia was killed yesterday afternoon on his motorcycle at the intersection of Hwy 501 and hwy 548 in Conway (SC). The only details available were that an automobile ran the red light and struck the bike. Another car was involved, probably as a secondary incident. The Virginia man, whose name was witheld died at the hospital. God rest his soul. My wife pass the accident shortly after it occurred and said that the bike was barely identifiable as a bike and was strewn in pieces all over the scene. She also mentioned that one of the automobiles involved was on it's roof and heavily damaged. The guy never stood a chance! While it hurts to say this and I will probably have to answer for my thoughts, I hope they fry the SOB that ran the light. They just this week posted the stats for last year....87 bike deaths 75% wore no helmet. Make of that whatever you will! I'll quit now before I get started!
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I am gonna be going to asheville nc. area for a few days and would like to know of any special places that I should see when my wife and I are there on the RSV. We plan on seeing lake lure and chimney rock and also jumpin on the blue ridge prkwy.for a ride.Speaking of the blue ridge,I understand that some of it is closed for construction. Does anyone know where that is? And how do u get on it? I read somewhere that there is no entrance or exit ramps to or from any interstate hwy. We can go north or south on it,,makes no difference. Any other points of interest that yall think we should see? Fun things? pretty things? unique things? nice places to eat? we aren't makin any plans and are just gonna stop wherever and whenever we want. Thx for any input.
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For anyone who might be interested, here is the report on a trip I just completed down to Weir's Beach with a bunch of friends. WARNING: the report is long, so if you are just interested in the pictures, go right to the bottom and click on the link, but WARNING #2: there ARE a lot of pictures ... and WARNING #3, about halfway through the pictures, there are a couple of "R" rated pics. ** We left St. Thomas on Wednesday evening, and met up with Brian, Sharon and Derek at the Husky on Hwy 74 – saw Don and Pat Affleck leaving the station just as we were pulling in, likely headed to a chilly ice cream ride! The 401 was the route of choice to meet up with John at the Trafalgar Road Tim’s – with a slight detour onto Campbellville Road to avoid the long stretch of scarred tarmac on the 401 between Hwy 6 South and Hwy 25. After fueling up, we headed onto the 407 for the trip across the top of Toronto. Arrived at the hotel in Whitby at about 9:30 pm. We got an early start on Thursday after a nice breakfast at the Sunset Grill, and dropped onto Hwy around Port Hope. At Brighton, we headed towards the Loyalist Parkway and rode that all the way to the Glenora Ferry. Along the way, we detoured slightly to get up to Lake on The Mountain. After crossing on the ferry, we strayed on Hwy 33 until we arrived near Kingston, which was a good place to stop for lunch. After lunch, we headed to the 401 for a bit and then dropped back down onto the 1000 Islands Parkway. It is another nice scenic track, right along the lake shore, and some beautiful homes along the way. At Brockville, we headed back onto the 401. We had to stop and put on the rain gear around Prescott, and it did rain for about 30 – 45 minutes until we got to Cornwall. I thought that maybe crossing the river at Valleyfield would keep us away from the traffic of downtown Montreal … but I forgot about all the bridge repairs in the area, so once we hit the bridge, we hit one heck of a traffic jam! We wound up taking the “back roads” – Hwy 132 and 138 into our destination for the night – the Comfort Inn in Brossard. We wound up arriving there around 5:30. After a quick breakfast at the hotel on Friday, we met up with a large group from Montreal. We were presented with souvenir T-shirts for the event by the organizer, Daniel. Daniel and the rest of the Quebecois crew then led us on Hwy 10 out to Eastman, PQ to meet up with the last of the crew at Bernard and Mimi’s. After a pit stop, and a chance to do some repairs to one of the Harley Sportsters, the whole crew – 18 bikes and 22 people – headed out through Magog and into Vermont. Because the skies had begun to turn, we wound up putting on our rain gear, but as it turned out, it really wasn’t needed. Although Provincial Route 141 is a quite a scenic ride, the road itself is not in really good repair. There are lots of potholes, and lots of uneven pavement. But, after awhile, you get used to it, relax on the handlebars and try to enjoy the scenery. We crossed into Vermont at Stanhope, VT – it is a very different kind of border crossing. The guards are actually quite friendly, and they took the whole group more or less through all at once. From there, we made our way along some nice, gentle twisties and dips into Colebrook, NH. That was the scheduled fueling and lunch stop. By that time, the skies had totally cleared up and so off came the rain gear. About 130 km later, we made it into North Conway, NH. The crew was split into a couple of the different hotels, but we all got together to trade some stories in “franglais” and introduce one another and then went for dinner at a steak house (called 99) for dinner. The hotel we stayed at was teaming with bikes and bikers, and let’s just say that the majority of them were in a “festive” mood! The next morning (Saturday), Brian noticed that the headlamp on Sharon’s VStar was “sagging”. Once we took it apart, we noted that one of the support brackets was actually broken, so thanks to some ingenuity from Derek, a “bucksheet” repair was done using – no, not duct tape – but tie wraps. However, because of the repair work, we missed the departure time that the rest of the crew had set. No troubles, with Gidget in hand, she programmed us a nice scenic route to get us into Weir’s Beach. As it turned out, we were probably only 5-10 minutes behind the crew from Quebec, We met up with the Quebec crew around 11 am and had the group shots taken. Since they are frequent visitors to the event, and it was the first time for most of the Ontario crew, they left Weir’s Beach ahead of us and went on into Laconia itself to pick up their Harley pins. The Ontario crew decided to linger a bit longer at Weir’s Beach to check out the sites and the vendors. We bought the customary T-shirts, patches and pins, of course! We headed out just shortly after noon, and decided to take the lake route (Daniel Webster Hwy – 11B) out towards the coast. The lake route was a beautiful drive, although it did mean that to get to it, we needed to go back through the mess (i.e. huge traffic) at the entrance to Weir’s Beach. After a lunch stop, we headed back onto Hwy 11 and 16 into Hampton Beach, arriving at our motel (the Main Sail Motel & Cottages) at about 3:30 pm (about 45 minutes ahead of the crew from Quebec). We got there early enough to do some sigh seeing along the boardwalk and for the ladies to check out some of the shops. Dinner was at the Sea Ketch restaurant, overlooking the beach. Afterwards, we went down to the water, and everyone dipped their toes in the Atlantic! The beach was having a Sandcastle building contest and the entries were all so good, I don’t know how the judges made the final decision. At 9:30 there was a fireworks display to rival any other that I’ve seen or heard (I think they were celebrating the arrival of the canuck bikers … or was it more like a celebration of their imminent departure??!!). We left Hampton Beach at 7:30 on Sunday morning and wound our way east along NH101, 107, 111 and 101 – all of them beautiful roads with lots of gentle twists and dips, and all with lots of great scenery along the way. Along the way, the speedo cable on Sharon’s bike came loose – a quick repair job (it just needed to be reconnected) and we were back on the road. We’re blaming the Yamaha problems that Sharon encountered on the rough roads in Quebec. At Keene, NH, after a pit stop, we picked up VT9 – another beautiful road that crosses the state of Vermont from east to west. From there, we crossed into NY state and picked up NY7, which brought us to the “home of Uncle Sam”, Troy, NY. Lunch was at a village by the name of Duanesburg, along US20 – another long, mostly 2 lane, mostly scenic track. At some points, it becomes 4 lanes, which gives the “speed demons” like John a chance to open her up. For many a mile, we met no other traffic on the road, and every once in a while we came upon yet another quaint little town (e.g. Morrisville, Cazenovia, Skaneateles. The final destination – at about 4 pm – was the town of Auburn, NY. The Days Inn was where we stayed … along with the Class A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians baseball team. We wound up having dinner in a little pub just down from the hotel, and after trying some Blue Moon beer and some local product Ithaca Apple-something, the Portuguese guy hoisted a pint of Guinness with two brits that were along on the trip. The other good news was that the rain held off for the entire day, even though they had been calling for some nasty weather. We weren’t back in the hotels for more than 15 minutes after dinner, than the skies opened up and the rain, thunder and lightning started. Monday morning looked as if it was going to be a nasty day. We decided to leave Auburn at 7 am, and make our last leg of the trip. As soon as we left town, the dark skies disappeared and we had great sunshine all the way. The plan was to stay on US 20, and so we did. After having breakfast in Geneva, we continued along 20 all the way into Depew, NY and then made it into Buffalo and across the Peace Bridge at about 11 am. At that time, we said goodbye to John, who headed home to Burlington, no doubt in 5th gear all the way, and just smiling at the thought of riding the 4 lane tarmac once again! The rest of us headed out on Hwy 3 (with a couple of detours – the Forks Rd north of Pt Colborne and CR17 from Dunville to Cayuga). After lunch in Pt Colborne, we could see that the skies to the west were starting to get a bit darker. As we gassed up in Cayuga, some put on their rain gear. As we got into Courtland, we started to see lighting to the west, so we decided to stop in Tillsonburg and let it pass over us – except for Derek, who obviously doesn’t think that his Honda attracts lightning (or maybe he thinks that his pipes are so loud that it drown out the thunder and scare the lightning away). In any case, after an hour’s wait, we decided that the storm had passed by and it was ok to head home. Vicki and I and the RoadSofa hightailed it on Hwy 3 and by the time we hit the Eden Line, we were back into sunshine. Brian and Sharon headed north and did get a bit of rain along the way, but they too made it home safe. So … in total, a little over 2,400 kms were travelled. A few beers were hoisted. There were smiles and stories all around. There were a bunch of neat roads to travel, there was a lot of great scenery along the way. All in all, I’d have to say … it was yet another great adVenture! A great thanks to Brian, Sharon, Derek and John for the camaraderie and fun throughout the trip and for putting up with my – as always – excessive (obsessive?) planning. And an even greater thanks to my beautiful Vicki – what a great way to spend our 27th wedding anniversary! Pictures – as always, there are quite a few – can be found at: http://s22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/BluesLover55/2008%20trips/Laconia/ Cheers,
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I have done this ride a few times and it's a good ride. My club uses it because it gives you a little of everything. We start from the Harley dealership in Kissimmee on 192 across from Old Town. You can alter this any way you want but this way takes you mostly back roads both twisty and straight for about 145 miles and 5 hours if you stop for lunch. Leave Harley dealership and head west on 192 to Avalon Rd north (545) Take Avalon north across Hwy 50 to the first light which is Oakland Make a left on Oakland and follow until it turns into 438 You'll need to turn right just before you get to 50 again by the west orange trail. There 438 will turn into old hwy 50 Follow that and it will turn into 455 Stay on 455 till you come to a stop sign where it intersects with 561 Make a left on 561 and follow that till you hit Hwy 27 Make a left on 27 and go about 4 miles to Old Hwy 50/Washington and make a right. By now you may be hungry so when you get to the stop sign about a block away look on the SW corner. It is the Lake Minneola Inn which has the Tiki Bar and Grill behind it. An excellent burger while you're sitting on the deck on the edge of the lake. Leaving Tiki go south on Main St. till you hit Hwy 50 and go right Take Hwy 50 west into Tarrytown and make a left on 471 Take 471 till it dead ends (about 37 miles) into 98 and make a left Take 98 to the light which is Rockridge Rd and go left Stay on Rockridge and it will curve into Deen Still Rd. If you make a left you can follow rockridge but don't. Take Deen Still till you cross Hwy 27 and about 2 miles look for Lake Wilson Road (Chevron on corner) and make a left Stay on lake Wilson, which will turn into Old Lake Wilson when it crosses Osceola Polk Line Rd, till you get to Hwy 192 again and make a right. The Harley Dealer will be about a mile or so on the left.Sounds complicated but I'm a bit anal and wouldn't want anyone to get lost. Ride it once and you'll see how easy it is and never need the directions again.
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