New shocks

Custom spec'd, hand assembled, made for me and just in from Germany.

When I gushed about my tires transforming my bike, that's only half
the transformation I'll get from these. I cannot even describe how
happy I am right now.

Like tires, two decent shocks for a bike cost more than 4 great shocks
for a car. And I didn't go with decent. These are top of the line. But
why would you skimp when you're not paying?

They go on Saturday. Don't expect me to be real accesible this
weekend. ;-)

Day 8 stats

This leg was just me...

Time out on bikes: 4:15
Time in saddle (moving time): 3:56
Miles: 231
Overall avg: 53
Moving avg: 58
Max speed: 112 (this is incorrect. I saw it jump to this when I was at about 75. Last accurate reading I saw was 93)

Total (rps):
Time out on bikes: a lot
Time in saddle (moving time): a lot
Miles: 2766

Day 7 stats

Lost the GPS stats.

Time out on bikes: lost
Time in saddle (moving time): lost
Miles: 297
Overall avg: lost
Moving avg: lost
Max speed: lost

Total (rps):
Time out on bikes: a lot
Time in saddle (moving time): a lot
Miles: 2535 (adjusted for errors)

I'll get there

I know I am behind on summaries and wrap ups. But frankly, I'm starting planning on Moto3our. Once I get acclimated to not being on the bike and not trying to figure out my next destination, I'll get caught up.

Photos

Eric's putting up photos like mad at http://ericgoeres.wordpress.com/

And some pretty damn good ones, I should say.

Back to NYC

Note: mileage totals are wrong in the posts. Actual mileage after today is 2535. I'll find the error later.

More notes to come. But the Cliff Notes are:

Woke up in New Bedford, MA. Speed run through Rhode Island to New London, CT. Ferry to Orient Point, Long Island. Ride out to Montauk and then back to Brooklyn. 297 miles on the day.

Recaps, Bulleted.

• We both best the 6am wake-up call by waking up on our own at 5:30 am.
• We're rolling by 7:40.
• A high-speed burn on I-95 straight from Massachusettes, across Rhode Island and into New London, CT.
• Eric hits the left lane, sticks it at 75mph and holds the pace all the way through. No visor makes all the concrete dust very annoying. One wonders why anyone would voluntarily do hi-speed slab riding without a full face helmet.
• RP meanwhile, no doubt calling on his DC beltway skills, weaves and winds through traffic at all speeds.
• We make the 90 mile journey from New Bedford to New London in one hour, 20 minutes, just in time to get on the 8:am ferry.
• The bikes get loaded, we head upstairs. The ferry has seating for like 900, a lunch counter, a bar and a fore and aft sun deck. We get some breakfast. Eggs and V-8's.
• Rich heads into one of the lounges to work on the blog, Eric stays topside reflecting on the journey.
• At 9:20 am, we're on north tip of Long Island, New York -- Orient Point. Welcome to New York.
• We hit NY Route 25 West and start heading in toward the city. NY 25 is a really nice road, very pretty, and we're taking it in the 40-60 mph range, and it feels good.
• Then, at Riverhead, we about face and hop on 24 to 27 East and make way to Montauk, the south eastmost point on Long Island.
• But to get there, we have to drive through the goddamned Hamptons. On a Friday afternoon. One lane each direction, completely filled in every direction with bumper-to-bumber, stop-and-go traffic. We're getting 10 miles per hour and its requiring an awful lot of cluth and throttle work. In a blazing heat -- the first real heat we've seen since getting out of Manhattan on the Major Deegan 6 days before.
• Having passed the Hamptons, throttles are rolled open and speeds approach a very cooling 60 and 70 mph. Buildings are replaced with trees, streetlights with open stretches. Traffic with fresh air.
• Out toward Montauk Point, small but extremely charming seafood shacks start appearing. First one has Lobster Rolls, the next Clam Strips. We press on toward Montauk Point lighthouse.
• We reach the Montaul Point and its lighthouse, and for the first time (after 7 days and 2,200 miles) RP and Eric lose each other. Its takes a text message to get us back in sight on the exit end of Montauk Point park.
  
• Next stop: the Red Clam bar we saw on the way in. We get there, park the bikes, grab ourselves some Arnold Palmers and Fried Clam Strips. Hot waitstaff is interested in our travels. Everyone else there is dressed like noveau riche jackasses.
• Back on the road, we hit Route 27 West which goes all the way from Montauk straight to where it ends -- ten blocks from Eric's Park Slope apartment.
• Impatient with the traffic patterns on Route 27, we dump off of it in favor of the Belt Parkway and take that to the BQE. Rich takes the lead spot and takes us home.
• We get the bikes on the curb outside of my apartment, hot ticking metal and aching muscles under the shade of a tree. Lots of smiles and Eric's roommate's boyfriend Sandor (who was just walking by) comes over to offer a congratulatory handshake.
• We do shots of the (now very warm, after having been in the saddle bags all day) leftover Vodka from New Bedford right there on the street as we pack up the bags and lockdown the bikes.
• The trip is officially over for Eric (at 7 days and 2,333.1 miles) whilst RP has another 250 miles to get him to DC.
  

Clam Bar

Between the Hamptons and Montauk.

The fried clams here are The Truth.

Montauk

4 states and a ferry ride by 10am. 150 miles by noon. 120 back to the
city from here.

Water crossing

So I've hit a lot of goals in this trip (will go into more detail later on that) but there's one I didn't even think about making on this trip, that I will. Ferrying my bike. Never done it. We're booked on the ferry from New London, CT to Orient Point, NY. 6 am departure from the hotel, which significantly cuts down on New Bedford night life.

Day 6 Stats and Recap

Day 5:
Time out on bikes: 9 hours 11 minutes
Time in saddle (moving time): 7 hours 24 minutes
Miles: 327
Overall avg: 36 mph
Moving avg: 44 mph
Max speed: 101 mph

Total (rps):
Time out on bikes: 66 hours 46 minutes
Time in saddle (moving time): 48 hours 02 minutes
Miles: 2478

Guaranteed miles (if I bailed today and went straight home): 2915

Bullet Points:

• We get the hell out of Stowe fast and early.
• The gas leak has dried up on Eric's bike -- for now? for ever? for 5 minutes?
  
• Rich zips down Stowe Mountain at 7 am at 95 mph. Goeres is back up the hill, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, and quickly falling behind at the wimpy downhill speed of 85 mph.
• Riding as hard as we can, and under a pledge to contribute no more dollar votes to the state of Vermont, we can't get the hell out of the state.
• We drive and drive ... I think on Route 100 South.
  
• RP says Vermont is only 75 miles tall, so we're both wondering "what the hell" when we've got 100 miles -- then 110 -- and then 120 -- under our belts and we're still in Vermont with no sign of Mass. Maps were consulted. Errors were discovered. Vermont it taller than 75 miles. Its more like 180-190 miles tall. We keep driving.
  
• Eventually we have to stop for gas (in Vermont -- destroying our pledge) and for RP to drop cargo. Still no gas leak. Hit the road again.
• We get into Massachusettes, pick up 2 East. Open the throttles.
  
• We catch some real rain. REAL rain. Eric is in the #1 slot, leading, and he's having visor issues -- a leaky Fog City anti-fog visor. So it's permanently fogged. To get through visibility of about 36 cm, we drive slow -- real slow -- Eric with visor up & amber sunglasses. A cold, wet hell. Fantastic as a memory, terrifying at the moment.
• McDonalds for lunch. One of those old-timer McDonalds in Mass. Old people on both sides of the counter. Takes us about 30 minutes to get 4 cheeseburgers, a med. coke and a coffee.
  
• One of the old timers in the restaurant tells us to get riding because the storm we just passed through is chasing us. Raindrops start appearing on the bike seats as we plow through our second cheeseburgers.
  
• We hit route 2 or 2A to 2 (I forget) and make fast work of getting to New Bedford, Mass.
• The hotel is about 12 feet from the road, easy to get to. HUGE parking lot. A Days Inn.
• A Days Inn straight out of 1966. They don't make them like this anymore. Huge '70s chandeliers. Burled wood banks of pay phones. Fantastic abandoned bar. Wide hallways going nowhere. You can just imagine the huge amber heavy glass ashtrays and wide-knot polyester neckties that must have been all over this place 30 years ago.
• One liter of Vodka to drink before caling a cab to take us to the Texas Roadhouse for steaks. We get half way through it, using vending machine ice and styrofoam cups.
• We also get to route planning. RP's got one bed covered with maps, every map he has, laid out on all horizontal surfaces, letting them dry out.
• Eric showers, with a vodka-rocks in hand.
• Route planning commences. RP hits on the idea of a ferry. Ferry reservatios are secured for $30 a piece. Our early morning destination? New London, CT by 8:00 am.
  
• Big steaks at the Texas Roadhouse. Big beers, too.
• Back at the hotel, we drink another quarter of the bottle of vodka.
  
• Next thing you know ... to sleep, followed shortly by a 6 am wake-up call.