Bangor, ME to Albany, NY

Thursday saw us ride from Bangor, ME to Albany, NY via US Route 2. The weather was excellent, but our planning...not so much. We'd figured on about 6 hours to make the run and were supposed to meet Art Phinney between 1300 - 1430 hrs. Well, we were almost 5 hours late! And God Bless Art! He waited for us at the Hogback Overlook in Vermont to take on a really nice ride into Upstate New York and then got us to the nicest Diner for a great dinner.

Thanks Art! It was greatly appreciated!

Art Phinney. Great Guy!!!

Bennington Monument

Art's Vulcan Nomad

Vermont

New Hampshire, White Mountains

I LOVE this curve...

White Mountains Backdrop

White Mountains, near Mt. Washington

Gotta love the New England Architecture

Classic New England Fire Station

Hmmmm...who said you can't go home again?

Water Management & Dam in Maine.

We had a great day of riding and ended the day at around th 800 mile mark for the total so far.

More posts to come.

Bangor, Maine

We arrived safe and sound at the Hotel Super 8 in Bangor, ME. As always, Simon, my GPS was in fine form and took us the scenic route to get here. One of these days, I've gotta teach that thing how to give proper directions.

Packing finished late last night and was done again this morning, as I shed some pounds and reordered some of my belongings. And for two guys travelling on Motorcycles, we certainly have a LOT of luggage.



So, the quick synopsis for today:


Departed Middleton at approximately 1300 hrs for the Ferry Teminal in Digby, Nova Scotia. Seeing how they were repaving the Bear River Bridge, we took the scenic route through Bear River itself and Smith's Cove. I never really get tired of that ride and don't know why I don't ride it more often.

Getting on the Ferry was no issue and we met a nice couple from Maine who were touring Nova Scotia on their HD Ultra Classic. We spent a great deal of time chatting with them and discussing some of the great roads in North America.

Larry did spend some time on his Blackberry...evident in the following photo:

And of course, we also ate aboard the excellent Princess of Acadia, taking in its 5 Star Dining Room. For those that like Food Porn...the next picture is for you. Now, just be warned, the Bacon Double Cheeseburger, Onion Rings and Blueberry Pie was NOT worth the $11.00 I paid for it...

We also shot some pictures from the Deck as the boat left Digby...

Getting off the boat wasn't as uneventful as getting on...they have recently resurfaced the deck and its like glass..when you add water to the mix, its EXTREMELY TRECHEROUS for motorcyclists. I ended up dropping the bike in a rather spectacular spinout on the slippery surface. Neither me or the bike was damaged...just a whole lot of pride.

We crossed the border with no issue..and since the sun was rapidly setting, there are no pictures from the trip from Saint John to Bangor. However, tune in tomorrow night for some excellent pics from New Hampshire, Vermont and Upstate New York.

C.

And now, for the gear!

What the Fashionable Motorcycle Enthusiast Will Be Wearing this Season...

Selling off Barney's parts and pieces has allowed me to upgrade some gear and equipment for this year's trip. So, with no further ado, I'll let you know how I'll be travelling to the Great Smokey Mountains...and what the fashionable Motorcycle Enthusiast will be wearing this season....

Jacket: Tourmaster Transition II Hi-Viz

I've already ridden a couple of weeks with this jacket and so far, I'm extremely pleased with the fit, and comfort that this jacket has. Its much more comfortable and less fatiguing than the Joe Rocket Ballistic 6.0 that I have been wearing.

This year, I will wear my Joe Rocket Mesh riding pants and H. H. Brown Canadian Military Issue Combat Boots. I've been really wondering if the Combats are the way to go, but I figure if we're hitting the rain a lot, I'll appreciate the Gor-Tex Lining and 12" Height. Plus, on top of it all, I just can't get past the Peter Pan Get-Away factor of actual motocycle touring boots.

The helmet of the year will be my HJC CS-15 Echo. I won this helmet a couple of year ago at the ALDERS Rally and have just started making use of it this year, and so far I'm enjoying the relative quite of this full face lid.

On our previous trips, Larry and I have found that the lack of communications have been a big problem. This year, we'll be sporting Motocomm's MC5 Helmet Headsets attached to Motorola GMRS Radios and MP3 Player Inputs. While the Motorola's package say 43 Km, I'm sure that they don't really reach that far. However, they will keep us in touch for those time when one of us either gets lost, needs to pee, or wants to stop and take a picture.

I'll also be packing in a Moto-Pak 27L tank bag that I've had for the past few year, a 50L Dry Bag for my sleeping gear and tent and a Nelson Rigg Day Runner Tail Pack for my clothes.

Departure is rapidly approaching and I'm starting to get a litle excited....

It all starts with the planning...

The whole idea for this trip started on our way back from the Minuteman 1000 LD Rally last June. Larry and I joked, "Where are we going next year?" and the joked response was, "I dunno...how 'bout Deal's Gap?" and then the planning started.

A few things happened between our return and the full fledged trip planning. I crashed Barney, and ended up with a broken leg, road rash and a broken nose. I wasn't sure that Meagan was going to let me go. She still hasn't said "Yes", but she did give me acceptable dates for going. So, basically, she hasn't said no either.

So, here we are, just about two and a half weeks to departure. I'll be riding my Vulcan 900 this year, so it'll be a little more interesting packing than last year. No big deal, we adapt and overcome. Its going to be an interesting trip. We're going to try and couch surf a bit, camp a bit and avoid Hotels/Motels if at all possible. The goal of the trip is to burn some gas, see some sights and generally have a good time. If we meet fellow Motorcycle Enthusiasts along the way, even better.

Below is our route down. We still have decided on which way we're coming back, but the mention of a side trip into Washington D. C. has been mentioned, as well as a Photo Op in Times Square NYC! Dunno how brave we'll be.

Stay tuned to the Blog, there will be more updates over the next few weeks as the departure get closer and I'll start posting some pics of the bike mods, luggage and equipment we're taking along.

Keepin' the shiny side up...

C.