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.
  

Day 5 recap

Day 5. Bar Harbor to Stowe

More bullet form.

• Went from Bar Harbor to Bangor on the quick. Hopped on I-95 and set the throttle at 80 MPH and didn't even bother looking for cops. More take-no-prisoners riding. 100 miles down by 10 am. No coffee, no food, just a quick jump on th day. And those 100 felt like a drive to the grocery store.
• Started with a run up Cadillac mountain, which set the stage for the rest of the day. After the interstate run, we spent the entire day in the twitsies. Fun riding, but more shitty road surfaces still prevail.
• Eric's gas leak is gettign pretty major. It just drips down the left side of his engine constantly. No smoking allowed within 15 feet of his ride.
• Staying at Stowe Mountain Lodge. A great place that is still trying to work its shit out. Half the place is still under construction, and they are still training the staff. It's billed as a 5-star hotel, and looks like one. But they bring one cup with the room service coffee, even though it comes along with two breakfasts. The staff is over-eager. The layout is terrible. There's no way to see to open the blinds without forcing them. Or to turn on half the lights in the room. There's no furniture in the common spaces. They haven't sorted out how to coordinate the bellboy/valet/front desk procedure, and will leave you sitting around waiting (multiple times).
• Doors open on to each other. No place to put towels by the shower. Paint masking tape on the doors. Now don't get me wrong, this is the nicest place we've stayed, and I'm glad to be here. But they have some shit to sort out. They claim 5 stars, but any rating group would tear this place apart.
• I had multiple navigation failures. Missed a few rods. Took a wrong way on the interstate for 5 miles. Probably cost us an hour and 30 miles with my fuck ups yesterday.
• Raining out now, but time to roll anyway.

Day 4 recap

The computer isn't hosed. Managed to get it going again.

Day 4 = St John, New Brunswick to Bar Harbor. A day behind on blogging, so this is going to be in bullet form.

• The mosquitoes in Maine are huge and the air is thick with them. Seems like a baseball bat would be the best option.
• We met these guys in day 3. Ricky and Dicky. Seemed like they were stalking us. One was riding a loaded SV650. One on a metric cruiser. they were at our hotel. Went to the same restaurant. Turned up at the same bar. Thought they were going to follow us to Stowe. Managed to shake them.
• Got caught in a violent rainstorm that lasted for 60 seconds. Soaked us through. Then it was on and off drizzle for the rest of the afternoon. Cleared up on the final run to Bar Harbor.
• Found a great road in Maine, but the road surface is like everything else up here. All busted up due to frost heave. Other than that, it was the kind of road that makes motorbikes into roller coasters.
• Stayed at a total dive in Bar Harbor, but it was great. 2 rooms, 90$. Park the bikes outside the door.
• Pulled the bags off the bike, and went for a late ride out to a lobster pound. Slowest service on the planet. Good lobster, though.
• At Eastport Maine, this guy came up to us and started talking. Super weird guy. Summers in Eastport. Fishes. Won't shut up. Good for some trivia, but ultimately annoying. Every time we thought we shook him, he came back fo r more.
• Rear tire is starting to square off from the highway miles. Bummed about that, but it's inevitable.
• Bar Harbor is a cute little place, but ultimately the people and the shops/restaurants/hotels make it like the Myrtle Beach of New England.
• Blasted the same speed run back from Saint John. Tucked in behind this cougar in a Jetta, and took advantage of the fact that Canadia has no cops. Made great time.
• Lobster rolls for lunch at a roadside stand. Fine enough, but getting to stop and get out of the rain for a bit was the best part

Day 5 stats

Day 5:
Time out on bikes: 11 hours 22 minutes
Time in saddle (moving time): 8 hours 33 minutes
Miles: 413
Overall avg: 36 mph
Moving avg: 48 mph
Max speed: 94 mph

Total (rps):
Time out on bikes: 57 hours 35 minutes
Time in saddle (moving time): 40 hours 38 minutes
Miles: 1911

Guaranteed miles (if I bailed today and went straight home): 2474

I'm thirstier

Eric is getting 49 MPG. Even with his number 1 carb leaking heavily.
I'm getting 35 MPG.

At 2000 miles, that will be a 17 gallon difference.

Hmph.

Ugh

My computer is dead. Won't start. All updates to be via phone for
immediate future.

Day 4 stats

OK. I'm drunk. And tired. It's my birthday, so I'm allowed to be. I have much to tell of today but just can't right now. So I'm sticking with the stats until tomorrow morning.


Day 3:
Time out on bikes: 8 hours 58 minutes
Time in saddle (moving time): 5 hours 19 minutes
Miles: 254
Overall avg: 28 mph
Moving avg: 48 mph
Max speed: 105 mph

Total (rps):
Time out on bikes: 46 hours 13 minutes
Time in saddle (moving time): 32 hours 5 minutes
Miles: 1498

Guaranteed miles (if I bailed today and went straight home): 2216

Lobstah in Bah Hahbah

Lunch

Lobster roll. Jonesboro, ME

Eastport, Maine

Eastern most point on the US mainland:

Putting the Fun in Fundy

So Saint John, New Brunswick is basically the Hyattsville of Canadia.

Despite that, Eric and I were hell bent for cocktails last night, and managed to find them. Just getting up now. And we're on Atlantic time which makes it even an hour later.

The day yesterday was light, and for the most part, typical. Bad roads with tar snakes. Traffic. But it eventually opened up into a 4 lane and E and I locked on the throttles at well over the posted limit, and never let up until Saint John. And that 50 kilometers was some of the most fun, most satisfying riding yet.

Here's the deal. Canadia makes me want to speed. I can't explain it. It just does. And in all the time we've spent in Canadia, I have literally seen 2 police cars, and those were in downtown Montreal. So you add the two together, and you feel free to do what you want. And after days of getting caught in detours and hitting traffic, it felt really really really good to be on an open highway, with no one around, locked in at 15-20 over the speed limit, and just eating up distance like it's your job and you're really good at it.

Coming over the border, I got pulled into secondary. Full background check. Total search of everything on my bike (including flipping for my papers) had to talk to 4 different customs/immigration officers. Easily a 30 minute diversion. Meanwhile, E got the lane with the cute border agent and she winked and blew him a kiss as she waved him through.

From there, it was weird. We cut through town, found our road, and settled in. But in the course of the next 25 kilometers, the temp dropped from 31 degrees C at the border to 22 and foggy. No change in elevation. Just a weird shift. Probably because of the bay. Pulled off the road to put on jackets. Pulled off 15 minutes later to put on cover pants. And soon enough, we rolled into a cold, foggy, dumpy Saint John.

Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to be here. But seriously, this place is the abandoned steel towns of Pennsylvania, Canadia style.

Random notes:

• Eric nailed himself in the crotch with an errant Gatorade, much to Canada's disapproval
• I saw a theater called "Lord Beaverbum's Theater" and am now convinced my name needs to have both "Lord" and "Beaverbum" in it somewhere.
• I bought highway pegs for my bike yesterday, and had to return them 20 minutes later because they wouldn't work.
• I love the new "13" decals on my bags. And they sufficiently confuse people, I believe.

Day 3 stats

Day 3:
Time out on bikes: 5 hours 55 minutes
Time in saddle (moving time): 3 hours 33 minutes
Miles: 179
Overall avg: 30 mph
Moving avg: 50 mph
Max speed: 107 mph

Total (rps):
Time out on bikes: 37 hours 15 minutes
Time in saddle (moving time): 26 hours 46 minutes
Miles: 1244

Guaranteed miles (if I bailed today and went straight home): 2084

Saint Johns

In Saint Johns, NB. Good ride out. Lame town. In a hotel now, doing laundry. It's welcome.

I would say more, but it seems E and I got an early start on my birthday...very been much with the drinking.

Just waiting on the clothes. E is asleep. I wish I were.

Light but fun day tomorrow. Many of my goals for this trip can come true tomorrow. Lobster in Maine...hitting all the New England States. Pretending like we think Canadans are relevant.

New saddlebag decals

Finishing up

Eric just got the word that they're wrapping up. 3 hours. They fixed
the front forks. Leaving most everything else as is.

(Actually -- the did some great work in 3 hours. Repaired the air seals on the top of the forks so now they keep air, they replaced the front brake light switch so the brake lights work (a blessed relief), they adjusted and lubed the hell out of the chain and schooled me on a road-side procedure for dealing with a locked-up rear brake caliper. Everything else got the once-over (passed) and the bill was $183. Bangor Motor Sports, Bangor, Maine. Extra bonus -- Dow Air Force Base was sending up and bringing in refueling tankers right above us the whole three hours, providing endless amusement to both of us. --Ed. Eric)

Pit stop

At Bangor motorsports. They have Eric's bike up on the lift. Mixed
opinions on the fork seal. Sprocket out of round. Chain worn. I think
they are going to look at the rear brake.

Nice folks here. And big thanks for letting us get in the shop. We'll
roll when we finish up here.

Video 3

Asbestos mine. The construction equipment in the bottom is full sized stuff. They basically inverted a mountain.

Video 2

Video 1

Accidentally shot on the NJ Turnpike

Pictures posted

15 new photos here.

Photos are of questionable quality. But they are what they are.

More on day 2

So yesterday was a long day. Our longest yet in miles (but barely). But it was the ride that got me.

Roads:
Canadia 112 E
Canadia 173 S
Maine 201 S
I-95 N

The roads in Canadia suck. And by that, I mean the actual physical surface. Fucking terrible. Chewed up, rutted, washboard, crumbling, fucking suck. Between Montreal and The US line in Jackman, ME we hit some of the worst roads I've ever had to ride. It was exhausting. Hitting huge potholes at speed. Getting caught in ruts. It's a wonder we don't both have bent rims.

On top of that, between construction and summer events (the people in cold climes are outside doing things A LOT when the weather is nice) we hit no less than 5 major detours. And in 3 of them, we got off course and had to ride around in circles trying to find our way back. We spent at least an hour yesterday trying to get back to our course after getting jacked in a detour.

As far as the rest of it goes, though, this is some beautiful territory. May not be much to do on a Saturday night, But Southeastern Canadia and Northern Maine are gorgeous. I could look at this stuff all day. Stunning views and unique terrain are around every corner.

The last 30 miles of Canadia, and the first 50 miles of Northern Maine are barely inhabited. Long, lost, lonely highway that stretches on forever. On either side of you, lakes appear out of nowhere. Pine forests loom overhead. Go as fast as you want, as long as your suspension can take the shitty roads. You can see at least a half mile ahead, and there haven't been any other cars for 20 minutes. (As a testament to how bad the roads are up there, several times I was given the situation where I could see ahead forever, no place for cops, no people around, a mile of flat straight road, and I never cleared 100 mph.)

I saw 2 moose, one full size along the road, and one moosling in the middle of the road in front of me. Note: the small ones are unstable and look like someone learning to walk on stilts. The full-sized ones are enormous. If you hit one on a motorbike, the bike would pass underneath and your face would hit smack in the fuselage of the moose. No exaggeration. Brian, please back me up on this.

We picked a terrible road out of Montreal. Well, really it was our only choice, but it was painful. stop and start through little towns. More traffic lights than I could ever count. Tons of people ahead of you driving slow. And every time it would open up, you'd hit a detour and major traffic. It got better eventually. Relatively speaking.

We ended the night with a 49 mile run up I-95 in the dark, foggy, moose-littered stretch that, for me, was equal parts "terrifying" and "sedative". When we got to Bangor, (11 PM-ish) I was more than ready to be off the bike

I'd go into the things we saw, but mostly you had to be there. I'll leave some random things that may not make sense to anyone else, but are good reminders for me...

French Canadia really is a foreign land. Not like Toronto which is more like "America Nice".

• There's a girl near Dudswell, QC, CA who is the worst driver on the planet. Look her up.
• Asbestos mines are HUGE. And are absolutely amazing.
• There are more waterfalls around that I'd ever imagined.
• There are also some enormous lakes.
• My GPS has terrible maps.
• Pound for pound, Canadia has some of the most beautiful people anywhere.
• This is the only place I've been with mountainous country where they manage to build straight roads.
• There are times when you just don't care how much a hotel costs.
• All the maps and iPhones and internets in the world are no replacement for asking a stranger for advice/help/directions/recommendations.
• I've cleared 1000 miles, and almost all of that has been on four roads: NY22, QC112, QC173/ME201, and I-95.
• We don't take enough pictures.
• There are a ton of motorbikes up here. At times, more than cars.
  
• Canadia gives you a nod and a wave coming over the border. Coming back, I thought America was going to ask for a kidney.
• Eric's hand is going numb. He's losing motor skills. I have some some pain thing going on with my little toe on my right foot that is getting worse by the day.
  

Today, we try to get some repairs done on Eric's bike, then take a short day to St. John, New Brunswick. Under 200 miles. We'll take some nice road, take some cool pictures.

Bangor? I hardly know her!

Yup. Montreal to Bangor. 419 miles. Checking in to hotel now. Then
across the parking lot to the casino for drinks.

Day 1 stats

Day 1:
Time: 13 hours 49 minutes
Time in saddle (moving time): 9 hours 49 minutes (lots of stops...)
Miles: 412
Overall avg: 30 mph
Moving avg: 44 mph
Max speed: 106 mph

Total (rps):
Time (from when I left in morning to calling it a day): 18 hours 34 minutes
Time in saddle (moving time): 14 hours 15 minutes
Miles: 646 (GPS)

Day 1 recap

So E and I rolled out of NYC at 9. Ran smack into brutal traffic on the Major Deegan, and ate up 90 minutes going 10 miles and overheating my bike.

We took NY 22 all the way from NTC to the Canadian border. 300 miles on one road, and it was great. Typical NY backroad highway. Sweeping curves, Slow down for small towns. (Add Ticonderoga to the list of places we've all heard of but never been.) It isn't interstate, so you don't make good time. In fact, you make terrible time. (see stats). but it's still the kind of road you'd take cross country if you could.

Some nasty stuff on the road. A full load of pressure treated 2x4s. A big pile of heavy steel chain. A ton of downed tree limbs. An 8 mile section of washboard. All survivable. All avoided where possible.

The part right north of the city is where all the money is. White Plains must have more Ferraris per capita than any place outside of California.

In Ticonderoga we stopped for a snack and to resituate ourselves. Ended up watchin a major storm come at us over the mountains. Took us a while to gear up and brace for it. We thought we were going to get nailed, but as it turned out we just caught the edge of it. 5 minutes of moderate rain and the wet roads. We rode into where the storm had been, and it was a mess. (Hence the treelimbs al over the place, and a couple complete downed trees.)

Eric's bike is holding up. For all the prep I did to mine, he's showing me that I could have said fuck it all and just rolled. he has a blown fork seal, a leaky carb, a back brake that freezes, a brake light that's operating 50% of the time and other electrical anomolies. But he's right here with me. Bike's still rolling. Can't say that i'm having a better time for having been anal about my bike.

Tried to get a room at the hotel Alejo recommended. No dice. But we found a place in the neighborhood. We're in the Adam's Morgan of Montreal, and it was Saturday night. Seriously, if you took AdMo and made everyone speak dirty French, we were there. We're wedged between there and boy's town, which is as you'd expect it to be on a sunday morning. It is the bar neighborhoods that have that look on Sunday morning that make you realize they were designed for Saturday night. Things that stand out at night are garish by day.

We were looking over restaurants and decided to go for the North American trifecta. America by day, Canada by night. Mexican for dinner. Food was lame, service was terrible. But the pitcher of Molson's went down super easy.

On the way home we got to watch the Montreal emergency services respond to a fresh accident. (Intoxicated kid rear ended another car.) Those firemen were like all Canadians. Polite, friendly, concerned, helpful, trusting and good looking.

Accomplished one of my goals for the trip: ride motorcycle to another country. Today we might hit another: eat lobster in Maine. I'll tick off the rest as we hit them. Stats to follow.

Proof

Oh, Canada!

We made Montreal. A totally inefficient day of riding, but to come and stats. But first food.

Day .5 Tally

Note: I'm done with the odometer. All figures will be GPS from here on out.

Day .5:
Time (from when I left in morning to calling it a day): 4 hours 46 minutes
Time in saddle (moving time): 4 hours 26 minutes
Miles: 234 (GPS)
Overall avg: 49 mph
Moving avg: 53 mph
Max speed: 90.2 mph

Roads:
16th St, DC
I-495
I-95
NJ Turnpike
I-274 E
BQE
Surface streets in Brooklyn
FDR
Surface streets in Manhattan

Day .5

And I'm off. Made it to Brooklyn. Got here early. A few drinks down with Eric. It's been a big day. We rode in to Manhattan to pick some stuff up which means I've officially ridden my bike in all 5 boroughs of NYC now. I crossed 5000 miles for the year. I crossed 15,000 miles on this bike. But all those milestones aren't as good as the big surprise.

Eric decided to come with me. And I'm stoked. He's in for Montreal tomorrow. And we'll see where it goes from there. But I'm excited that he's coming along. More later. We have to pack him up and go get food.

Route?

Maybe this.

Or this.

T-minus 4 hours

So today starts Moto2our. I leave work early and make the NYC run. 225 mile warm up. Then tomorrow it's on to Montreal. (Yes, both Chicago and Michigan are out.)

Depending on how long I stay in Montreal, it's either on to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia or into Maine. Could be fun to try to hit Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island while I'm up there.

I think I have everything packed I should need, but I feel I'm forgetting something. Those big hard cases in the pic aren't near full, and I've filled them completely for shorter trips. As long as my credit card holds up, I technically don't need to pack anything. So it'll be fine.

The case on the right is clothes and stuff. The one on the left is rain gear, tools, Gobstoppers, etc. The tank bag is essentially a purse for motorbikes: lip balm, wallet, toll money, tire pressure gauge, flashlight. On top of the tank bag are the electronics that mount to the bike: GPS, Satellite radio, camera, iPod. And the flask.

I was going to leave directly from work, but I am going to head home first to see if the EZPass I ordered shows up. Been waiting a week for it. It would make the first couple (and last couple) legs a ton easier. I hate dealing with toll booths on the bike. And they eat up an extra 30 minutes on the DC -> NYC run.

Shave and a haircut

One thing I've learned to be true from Mototours past is that less hair = better. And since Moto2our starts today, that means shave and a haircut this morning:

First real shave I've had in months.

Dear Mr. Squirrel

It was chance that found us both in Rock Creek Park today on Ross Drive. Pure coincidence. I was certainly as surprised to see you there as you must have been when you saw me.

I'd like to assure you that your fate was certainly not my intention. Nor do I take delight in it.

I too have been on the wrong end of circumstance before. I know firsthand the impact a split second of poor timing can have. And while I may not have suffered the same outcome, I believe I can appreciate the moments leading up to it. You have my sincere apology.

But, Mr. Squirrel, life is a game of inches. A fall off a cliff is only a single step. A bullet to the heart is only a twitch of a finger. And your extra step, and the extra twitch of my finger on the brake were all it took. A cosmic roll of the dice came up craps.

While I won't pretend I can ever understand some things, I do think that in the end, everything is always as it should be. There's no other way for everything to be than what it is. I hope you are comforted knowing that you had no chance up against the strongest force in nature: coincidence. And I hope you ultimately realize: there are no coincidences.

Stressed Pt. 2

OK. I have time to elaborate, now. This Michigan charitable diversion is blowing up. It is lining up to kill all the other options (Chicago. Straight to Montreal. All of them.) Worst of all, it has me sitting around for a while, waiting. Days perhaps. I could go ride, but Michigan isn't exactly thrilling riding country.

We'll see how it all turns out. Hope to have answers by tonight.

Stressed

I've completely lost control of trip planning. Frankly, it has me stressed to the point of wanting to call the whole fucking thing off.

Swimmingly

Great day of riding. The bike is dialed in. Just fine tuning now. Handlebars a half inch back. Windsceeen an inch up. The car equivalent of adjusting the AC a degree up or down.

Tearing it up on WV50. Riding as well as I ever have. No cops. Been chasing down sportbikes all day. Not being hungover makes a difference. A fun weekend overall, but today is great. I went back and re-rode the section that almost tossed me on Friday. Twice. It's a great twisty pass. Elevation drops from 2800 to 1400 in 3 miles. Rode it perfectly.

In Romney WV now. Water and gas stop. Means I'll be riding the interstate back in no time. The downside to living in the city is always having to end a ride on the highway. Should be home soon. Then 4 days of work, and I'm off on Moto2our.

Speaking of which, all my route planning might get tossed out. There's a team of riders doing a 50 state and Canada relay to raise money for www.riders.org. Their Michigan rider dropped out. I'm volunteering to ride out there on my week off to cover the Michigan leg. It would take New England off the table, but it's a charity that's definitely worthy of my vacation time. Should know soon if they need me, but whether I ride or not, it's definitely a worthwhile cause to support (hint, hint).

Amateur audiology

(Note: looking at the time of these posts, you'd think I sit down and crank out 10. I actually start them on my phone all through the day, and save them as drafts. Then I sit down at the computer, read for coherency, and publish them all at once.)

So I've talked extensively about how people want to talk to you when you are out touring on a big bike. Restaurants and gas stations can turn into 20 minute conversations you have to fight your way out of. Throw in the fact that not many people get to see BMWs often, and they are even more chatty about these strange non-Harley things.

Sometimes when I don't feel like talking, I'll leave my helmet on to pump gas. It sends an anti-social signal that often works. Of course this means no bathroom break or stretching. But sometimes you just aren't up for the chat.

Well the other day, I was in such a mood, but needed to take my helmet off to send an email and get some water. Sure enough some guy comes over and starts talking about wearing earplugs. Random guy, not a rider. Just a concerned citizen.

He starts on about bike noise, until I point out that my bike is really quiet. Then it's wind noise. So I point out that I wear isolating earphones when I ride, which block out as much as an average set of earplugs. So then it's listening to earphones in general being bad (completely ignoring the obvious safety issue of music while riding that is much harder for me to argue against).

I'm politely trying to work my way out of this whole thing when he makes the mistake of telling me that the big problem is that I'm going to damage my acute hearing, if it isn't already shot.
Those of you who know me well know my ear thing. I was born mostly deaf (70%). By the time they figured it out, there was nothing left to do but surgery. Tubes in my ears. Surgery to other stuff in there I don't even remember what all they did. I was maybe 3 or 4. A year of stuffing cotton balls gooped with Vaseline into my ears to make sure no water could get in. A mess, all of it. (This explains why I've never liked people messing with my ears.)

Anyway, my eardrums were already as much scar tissue as anything else. I never had acute hearing. Throw on top of that 10 years of punk shows before discovering earplugs...the damage is done. My hearing does suck in many situations. The low volume music through isolating earphones are not doing me in.

Of course he now changes his tack to "preserving what you have left". On a more spirited day, I might have engaged him on this. Or even listened and accepted his advice. In fact, a week ago I was having a very similar conversation (voluntarily) in Brian's backyard with someone else. But remember, I'm not in the mood. So I put in my earphones, and put on my helmet and just ride away. And I never got my water, or sent my email.

A couple more notes on the weekend

It is brutal hot. Brian's evap cooling vest is the only thing keeping me from withering.

Almost spilled the bike yesterday. With all the changes, it feels like a different bike. Made a stupid rookie mistake in a turn. A bit scary, but a good warning.

I came into a turn a little too fast. Most likely the tires would have held on and I would have been fine. But in my hangover fueled grogginess, I grabbed a big handful of front brake. (Mistake Number 1: Never grab the front brake in a turn.) As it should of, the bike stood up straighter, meaning that even though I was slower, I was turning less and headed for the guard rail. So I turn the bars and lean over more to take the turn. If I would have ridden that out, I would have been fine. But I didn't.

(Mistake Number 2: If you make mistake number 1, don't let off the brake before you're through the turn.) So what's happening here is the bike is fighting to stand up, and I'm forcing the bars to get it to lean over. I let off the brake, and the "fighting to stand up" goes away, and I'm WAY over steering and the bike is more than happy to take all that extra force I'm applying and keep on leaning much more than it should.

(Mistake Number 3: When in doubt, throttle it out.) So at this point, the bike is precariously close to falling over and is pointing me over the double yellow and into the oncoming lane. And I grab the brake again to take some lean out of the bike. Now normally, this might not have been so bad. Bad, but forgivable. But with my suspension being mush, my bike was still sorting out the last two mistakes I made in the previous split second. That poor dead rear shock couldn't keep the rear wheel planted enough. So it broke loose, fishtailed, and scared the shit out of me until I could get it settled.

Honestly, it was probably the worst executed turn I've made in the last 10 years. The kind of thing that puts new riders in the hospital. But lessons re-learned. Don't override the road. Don't push a bike's limits until you know them. When you do fuck up, stick with the rules. I'm just glad there wasn't somebody behind me following my line at my speed. I could have been responsible for them taking a spill because of my poor riding.

Route planning

So I have a week, and don't have much of a plan yet. I have 3 main starting options to choose from, and a bunch of variables. Since it is now pretty much certain I'm the only one going this year, it's all up to me.

1. Ride to NYC on the afternoon before Moto2our officially starts. Stay over night (Eric- I haven't asked you about this yet. Expect me to.) Then go from there to Montreal on day 1.

Gets me a little head start. Gives me the weekend in Montreal, where people are lining up fun stuff for me. Avoids the miserable Toronto - Montreal ride on the Trans-Canadian.

2. Same as above, but from NYC to Toronto on day 1. Then on to Montreal on day 2.

Now this option is only in play if a friend of mine is going to be in Toronto. Whip-smart, fun and knows art like nobody else I know. Anyway, she moved from there a month ago, but might be back in TO when I would come through. If she's not there, I'll pass on it all together.

3. DC to Chicago on Day 1. Then Toronto then Montreal.

OK. Now this could be fun. I could get to hang with Meredith, which I would love. I'd also get a chance to do my longest day ever on a bike. I could add Indiana, Illinois and Michigan to my state list. And I could add Kalamazoo to my list of "Places I've been with funny names that everyone has heard of but no one has ever been to or could point out on a map". (See also: Schenectady, Punxsutawny, Walla Walla, Yonkers, Ohio, etc.)

This could also be hell. 750 miles in one day. All interstate. 12 hours actual riding time. 15-16 hour day with stops. Keep in mind that my 2 longest days ever have been 532 miles (Minitour July 4) and 530 miles (Mototour06). I was very tired, very very tired, after both of those. And that was only 11 hours of riding. This also means a day from CHI to TO and a day from TO to MTL. Which starts cutting into my Bar Harbor and Cape Cod time. Ahem.

Brian thinks this idea is insane. I think, how insane can it be if it wouldn't even qualify you for the easiest, most basic, Ironbutt award?

As for the rest of the trip, it's hard to say what days I'll be where, but here's a rough outline of places I think I might hit.

Chicago?
Toronto?
Montreal
Side trip to Nova Scotia? (Adds Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and P.E.I to the list of "states")
Maine coast and Bar Harbor for R&R
NH and Vermont for some Green and White Mountain riding.
Western Mass and Conn and RI on my way to Cape Cod. More R&R.
NYC to visit with Eric and day ride out to Hamptons/Montauk.

Helmets

People who don't ride often will complain about helmets. How they're claustrophobic. I know I was once like this. But B.F. Skinner (the psychologist, not the Boston Celtic) was right about the whole classic conditioning thing. Over time, having a helmet on goes from being uncomfortable to becoming desirable. It means you're riding.

Now here's why I bring it up. If you've been following closely, you'll remember that back in the Adirondacks I was thinking I might need a new helmet. It's not because this one is damaged or old or stinky or ugly or anything. It's because it has broken in enough over the last few years that it isn't as snug. It's no less safe. Just feels roomier.

So what I'm getting at is I have apparently made a complete turn around from "annoyed and uncomfortable with tight helmet" to "want helmet to be more snug and tight and constricting".

Anyway, somewhere in New Jersey, it occurred to me that 20$ worth of new pads would do the trick, and that I didn't need a new 400$ helmet. Phew.

Photos

Posting photos on Blogger is a pain in the ass. So I'll still send in photos from my phone from the road (those are easy to do). But any real photos from the big camera will be posted over on my new photoblog.

A big pile of blog

OK. So I'm in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do tonight. So this is going to be a ramble.

I got in about 250 miles today. I would have loved to get in another 100 or so of good twisty roads in, but was not riding well. I was cloudy headed and dehydrated. Making stupid moves and picking poor lines. I'm sure none of it had anything to do with being out all night with Kate and the girls from Tryst making sure all the employees at the Dewars distillery will get annual bonuses. Fun stuff.

I also forgot to eat anything all day. Which normally wouldn't be a problem, but I also forgot to eat dinner last night. So I learned that I can go about 32 hours consuming no calories, other than those found in scotch or soda, before I have a major blood sugar crash.

Throw in the fact that there were deer everywhere and I was on unfamiliar backroads in the dark, and it was time to be done.

The bike is near perfect, and is totally ready to tour. This was the first chance I had with the new tires on the backroads, and they are amazing. I'm taking turns about 10-15 mph faster, holding much better lines, getting a lot more lean out of the bike. And I'm vastly more confident. The outer limits of my bike's handling expanded by 25%. I can't even imagine what it will be like when the new shocks show up. For the first time in my life, I have a bike with no chicken strips. None. Not even a trace.

The only problem I could come up with to fret over is that there's a little more vibration in the grips and pegs than usual. Hands got a little numb today. Also idling a little low. Not uncommon and not cause for alarm. But it was smoother before my last throttle body sync, so maybe I'll check that and see how off they are.

Oh. And my high beam seems to be shooting straight into the sky. Granted, that's helpful for finding the deer hiding overhead in the trees, but less helpful at spotting the ones right in front of you. Minor adjustment should get it back to its normal crappy state instead of its current useless state.

Which leads nicely into things I'd change about this bike if I could. It's pretty close to being my dream bike right now. And the shocks will only help that. But there are a few things I'd change.

1) The headlights suck. They are terrible. BMW has taken a lot of abuse for them, but they never offered a fix. Basically, the only thing to do to improve them would be to install an HID headlight. Call it 100$ and invasive surgery on the bike.

2) The speedometer sucks. At 0-30 mph it's maybe a few miles per hour high. At 30-80 it's about 5mph high. From 80 on up, you'd be better off replacing it with a random number generator. At one point tonight, I looked at the speedometer and it was at 110. That seemed odd since the bike tops out at 120, and there was plenty more power available. So I checked the GPS and it was in the mid-90s. Reading 15 mph high is ridiculous.

3) It overheats easily in this weather. Now this is the case with all BMWs with a boxer engine. And I'm still not convinced they couldn't put a fan on the oil cooler. But we're talking about things that keep it from being perfect.

All in all, pretty minor complaints. So I'm happy.

Cut off day

So I put the new brake pads on this morning. Took about 20 minutes. Takes a little while to break them in, but I'm heading out for a 500 mile weekend, so that shouldn't be a problem.

(By the way, brake pads are surprisingly easy. It's one of those things where you learn once and can apply it to any vehicle. Like changing oil or fixing a flat. Totally worth learning.)

So that's it. One week until Moto2our and it's the cutoff for doing anything to the bike.

I got everything done except replacing the crankcase breather hose. No big deal. Won't be a problem unless I accidentally put an extra gallon of oil in the bike. Not exactly a common mistake.

So what's with the picture? Well, the bouncer at Saint Ex was kind enough to point out that my driver's license expires on my birthday. Which is smack in the middle of Moto2our. Good thing he spotted it. I never would have looked. So here I am. DMV. In line. Waiting.

Update: Next time you see me, ask to see my DL picture. It's a hoot.

Back to business

OK. So a lot has been happening, but I've been a little distracted the last couple days to keep up here.

First, I got a couple questions:

1. Why do I blog about a motorcycle trip and the month leading up to it, and not about my life in general?

The short answer is that I really like motorcycles and they're easy for me to talk about.

The medium answer is that I'm generally a pretty private person, and tend to prefer to keep my life off the internets. (Which is also the reason I'm the last person on the planet who doesn't have a facebook profile and why shaub.net is such a wealth of information.) But somehow Moto2our blogging seems more anonymous. I know, it makes no sense.

The long answer is that every time you undertake a trip like this, you realize you have forgotten everything you did to prep before the last one. A written record is invaluable for planning the next one. I know myself well enough to know that I won't sit down and write about the things that go into a trip like this, unless I can do it in fits and starts like this. So this becomes documentation for later reference.

2. How much does something like this cost?

Well, the way I see it, the money spent on the bike doesn't count. I'd need to do these things anyway. And food doesn't count, because I'd need to eat anyway. Same for drinks, entertainment, etc.

In my mind, the only actual extra costs are lodging and gas.

I never book lodging in advance, because I never know where I'll end the day. That means you can't look for good deals. You take what you get. Normally you can find something for between 89 and 129 a night. I'm looking at 6 or 7 nights without a place to stay. Assume that Montreal, Bar Harbor and Cape Cod (potential stopping points) will be more expensive than the average. And I love the Cosmopolitan in Toronto at any price, which just compounds things.

Gas for 3000 miles is about 75 gallons. Canadian gas is 5.40 a gallon.

What it all boils down to is that I don't want to add it up. It is what it is. I'd say it's cheaper than a week in the Caribbean, but actually a friend and I are spending a week in Barbados this September for 500$ each, including flights. So that's not even true.

EDIT: Just found the following in the Mototour06 blog:
After hotels and $150 each on gas, our biggest expense is, by far, liquid. More spendy than food. To stay hydrated, we're each going through about 5 big gatorades a day and countless waters. Tracking the costs of a big gatorade has almost become a game. Low is $1.09 at the Boiled Peanuts Gas Station in Highlands, NC. High was $2.50 tonight in Nowhere, KY.

-------------------------------------

On to trip prep. I have brake pads on the way, which is the last maintenance item on my list. Hopefully I can get those on before the weekend. I'm riding to WV to visit some friends, and it would be great to get them on and make sure everything is ok with them.

There is a little sense of urgency building. The general rule (which I like to adhere to) is to not make any changes to your bike a week before a long trip. You have a good chance of messing something up, and a week gives it ample time to surface. I started doing the math today, and realized Moto2our starts in 9 days (and I'll only be in DC for 7 of the next 17 days).

I ordered the new shocks yesterday, and found out if I had done it last friday, I could have had them in time for the trip. That kind of sucks. But I'll get over it. They cost 1/5 what my whole bike cost. At that price, they better be The Truth.

The tires are scrubbed in. The bike is running well. Trip planning is coming along (more on that later). I'm starting to pile up things to take. Everything is on track.

Brakes

When I had my tires installed, they told me my front brake pads were very low. As in: too low to complete Moto2our. They couldn't replace them because the parts counter was closed. So I'll either have to do them myself, or find a place to have them done on the road. Not looking forward to that.

New shoes

So prep for Moto2our continues. Today was new tires and a valve adjustment. Now for those of you who don't ride motorcycles, I should explain tires to you...

Motorcycle tires are, in a word, insane. Let's compare them to an average set of car tires. A car has 4 tires that will last 40-60,000 miles, depending on the level of performance you want. Ultra long-life car tires will last almost 80,000 miles. A pair of motorcycle tires will last about 10,000 miles. (Performance tires about 6000, long-life tires about 12,000.) So for our purposes, we'll say motorcycle tires last about 20% as long as car tires.

Car tires can be had pretty cheap. 4-500$ will get you 4 decent enough tires, installed. Motorcycle tires, on the other hand will cost you the same 500$, for a pair. So we'll say roughly twice as much money per tire.

So if you're following along, motorcycle tires cost twice as much, but last 1/5 as long. It's painful. Considering I've done 4000 miles since April 17, and plan on having 8000 by early August, this probably isn't the only set I have to buy this year.

Now that I have the complaining out of my system, I am actually excited by these tires.

I had been running Metzeler Tourances, which are built as an all-around tire. On road, off road, anywhere you want to go as long as it's not too extreme. As it turns out, though, I never take my bike off road. In two years, I've ridden on one gravel road. And only out of necessity. The Tourances were perfect for the job. But I have no intention of doing it again.

This time I got pure street tires. Michelins. These things would mean an instant crash if you took them off-road, but they're terrific on road. They have much more grip, a better shape for road riding, are quieter and smoother. They give you much more confidence in cornering. I've only put 50 miles on them, and can already tell they're light years better for the way I ride. Wish I had done this sooner.

On the other hand...

Brian's bike stumped us for a couple hours tonight. We tried everything, and ended up no better than where we started. So incredibly frustrating. Infuriating, even.

Not sure what's next to do for his.

There's Maintenance, and then there's Surgery

We have some very reliable motorbikes. Very reliable. But this week, this stuff is just not working.

Mine hasn't started all week. Complicated responses detailed on ADVRider and elsewhere. Suffice to say, it's jacked up.

So last night Rich worked on unscrewing HIS bike, tonight we turn to mine.

Wish us luck.

Better than fixed

So thanks to a very generous mechanically skilled guy in VA, my bike is fixed. This guy is somewhat legendary in motorcycling circles. He knows bikes inside out, has a full shop in his garage and generally loves to work on bikes. Pretty much every night he has a couple or few people out at his place working on something. Last night I show up and he's finishing up installing shocks on a nice little R1100R. His brother is in there customizing his Honda. His riding partner is there dropping off stuff for their 20 day trip across Canada. You get the idea.

Tune-ups, repairs, general maintenance, tire changing...he does it all. And for free. He's a huge believer in Karma, and is certainly building up as much as he can. People bring him thank you gifts, but he's not in it for that. I kept thinking, "There has to be a catch."

So anyway, I got there because he heard about my problem, wasn't even sure what the cause was, but had an idea. He invited me out to see what he could do. I bought the parts he suggested, had them overnighted and went out there. Turns out he was dead on in his diagnosis.

2 hours later, we had it all repaired, and better than ever. He offered a burger from the grill, and we sat in his place and talked for an hour. He gave me a maintenance DVD he produces and sells thousands of at $20 a pop. Just a really nice and extremely generous guy.

So why is it better than fixed?

Well just correcting the unintended-accelerating and surging problems would have been fixing it. But changing the cables and the Bowden box have transformed the bike.

The throttle was always very stiff and hard to use. (Imagine if your car's gas pedal pushed back with 20lbs of resistance when you pushed on it. ) It meant that you couldn't accelerate as fast (since you can't twist a stiff throttle so fast), it was slow to decelerate (since it wanted to stay put) and it acted like an on-off switch (because the force needed to twist it eliminated and fine muscle control. I was told by mechanics R1150GS throttles are always stiff, so i never questioned it.

With the cables replaced, it's a whole new world. The throttle rolls on effortlessly, and snaps back in to place. Acceleration is so good I pulled an accidental wheelie on the first ride. My arm doesn't get sore from fighting against it. Fine speed adjustments are effortless.

In short, I never thought it could be this good, and it's already made me a better rider on this bike. I just wish i would have done it 2 years ago.

Riding vs. not riding

There's a weird thing that happens after spending a lot of time on your bike. Brian and I both found this after the first Mototour.

The first time you get on your bike to go somewhere, your body and brain think they are set to go another 500 miles. And as you realize you're just going 6 miles to Silver Spring, there's a let down that hits.

You realize "I'm not going to go from Albany to DC". Or "This isn't going to be like that 90 mile stretch of 64 in North Carolina from Lake Toxaway to Murphy. (Which, incidentally, is a brilliant ride, even if done in the middle of the night.)

Personally, on the first few rides after a big trip, I feel the drag of all the things that aren't 'me rolling around without a care'. Happens for a few days.

But fortunately the next trip is in just a couple weeks.

Ordered a new Pinlock lens and fresh gloves today. I decided to scrap the idea of a new helmet in favor of trying new pads in it. It's still decent, just a little too broken in. Maybe the new pads will give it that snug new feeling.

More on the snug feeling of a new helmet later.

Opening up

Just a heads up: Since this blog is actually about Moto2our (and not just a 4th of July 3 day ride), I've opened up the authoring to the people who might be coming on the tour.

Day 3 tally

Day 3:
Time (from when I left in morning to calling it a day): 8 hours 48 minutes
Time in saddle (moving time): 7 hours 31 minutes
Miles: 404 (GPS), 412 (Odometer)
Overall avg: 46 mph
Moving avg: 54 mph
Max speed: 187 mph (again, that's what it says)

Total:
Time (from when I left in morning to calling it a day): 34 hours 41 minutes
Time in saddle (moving time): 27 hours 8 minutes
Miles: 1406 (GPS), 1467 (Odometer) (That's Chicago round-trip, or Dallas one-way)
Gallons of gas: 36
Boxes of Gobstoppers: 1.5
Packs of Winterblue Stride gum: 1.5

Home

I'm back in DC. Just got in. It was a long day, but in a way felt kind of light. I guess I'm so used to the NYC-DC run that it isn't a big deal and is getting automatic.

The throttle/bowden box got worse. But once I learned what was wrong (thanks to the help of a bunch of people online and on the phone), I knew how to ride it. It's like in the Princess Bride, when they go through the fire swamp. Once you know the pattern to the fire spurts and the rodents, you settle into the routine and keep your concentration. I figured how to work the throttle to keep it from sticking, and made it back.

To elaborate on my last post and the trip being near perfect...I expected something to go wrong. It's what shake-down runs are all about. And something always goes wrong. Whether it's a rear brake pad shearing apart (me), your oil fill cap popping out and coating your leg and foot with hot oil (Brian), your brakes locking up all together (Eric), something always does.

I know someone who used to always say motorcycles are fragile, and always have something going wrong. I'd get all defensive, of course. But on this trip I realized something. I think I was near Saugerties. I realized that motorcycles are fragile. They're fragile like Evel Knievel was when he broke bones. You ask a lot of something, and things are gonna happen. With motorcycles, you basically take a car, turn it inside out, cram it into the size of a refrigerator, expect it to perform better, all while remaining precariously balanced on a total of about 5 square inches of rubber touching the road. It's a wonder more doesn't go wrong.

So even though I had issues, the rest of the trip more than made up for it. The weather was great, the roads great. The Catskills are cool and the Adirondacks are incredible. Just amazing. Much more than I expected. I can see why the well-heeled Summer there and the lesser-heeled weekend there. I'll definitely go back.

Thanks to everyone who called and texted to make sure I was getting back ok. I appreciate it.

Bronx

In the Bronx. Think I have it figured out well enough to get home. Not fixed. Just know enough to work around it. Pushing through to dc. Should be there by 10. I hear there are some major storms coming.

Someone texted that they were sorry I was having a crappy time. Quite the opposite. I'm having a terrific time. This trip has been pretty close to perfect.

Wish me luck!

Nothing left to do now but try to ride it. I don't have the parts or
tools I need and there's no help to be had in Albany.

There's a nice guy named Bob in Somers, NY (10 minutes from Brewster)
which is 130 miles from here. Going to head toward his place. He'll
let me stow it there and will take me to amtrak station if need be.
Hopefully I'll just be able to keep rolling through.

Compound problem

Something wrong with cables/bowden box.

Whoa

TPS definitely out of spec.

Gear notes

Trying out the Pinlock shield system on this trip. It's my new favorite piece of gear. It works beautifully. No fog, great optics, great tinting. Worth every penny and then some. I'm buying two more shades in different colors when I get back. For my riding friends: if you don't buy any Pinlock stuff yourself, expect it for Christmas.

Need new gloves before the real Moto2our. A new helmet too. The stuff I have is pretty beat down.

What would Jesus ride?

So yesterday I stop for gas in Middleburgh, NY. Generic gas station at the crossroads of some good riding roads. So I'm looking over my map, and decide that there's this neat looking road nearby, that puts me in the direction of the Adirondacks. So I stroll over and as a grizzled looking guy with a Harley. These guys don't ride far, so it's usually a good bet they know the local roads.

Anyway, I ask if he knows how to get to SR 10, and he says his buddy will. So we go over to the rest of his gang. Oddly enough, they're called the disciples. As things go on, I notice that their biker ladies are discussing things like "cranberries vs blueberries in oatmeal" and cleaning products. Not your normal biker lady fare.

Next thing you know, they have me surrounded in a circle. 10 or 12 of them. All of them reach in and put a hand on me. Like I'm in the middle of a big "GOOO TEAM!" Then they start praying. For me, my bike, them, their bikes, everyone on bikes, those without bikes, those who once had bikes but don't now but plan on getting another one soon. Lots of Jesus flying around in that circle.

Then they give me tracts from the Christian Motorcyclist Association, and a card with a couple names and numbers that essentially says "If you break down, give us a call and we'll come give you some Jesus."

I thanked them, finally relented and took one of their homemade chocolate peanut butter cookies (from a country needlepoint sampler tin), beat a hasty retreat and promptly headed down to the next gas station down the road to get my gas.

And I think Jesus would ride a KTM 660R Adventure. They didn't have much for roads back then, and even going from his day-gig as a carpenter to go hang out with the disciples would be like running Paris Dakar. He's gonna need that extra suspension travel.

Always the case

I just want to point out, before Brian calls me on it...

The one thing I desperately need right now is a decent voltmeter. Of which I own 3. One of which is a travel one. That I have never before left on a moto trip like this without taking with me.

Still stuck in Albany

I need to go to the auto parts store to get tools to diagnose the bike. The current assumption is that it is a misadjusted Throttle Position Sensor. I've adjusted one before, which helps, but the place to get the tools I need doesn't open until 11. Best case scenario is I won't be out of here until Noon. Probably closer to 1 or 2.

The ride is a little over 7 hours. The first three are from here to NYC. After that, it's the same ride I've done for a few weekends lately, so that's easy enough.

Day 2 tally

Day 2:
Time: 14 hours 20 minutes
Time in saddle (moving time): 10 hours 44 minutes
Miles: 532 (GPS), 558 (Odometer)
Overall avg: 37 mph
Moving avg: 49.5 mph
Max speed: 353 mph (that's what it says)


Cumulative:
Time: 25 hours 53 minutes
Time in saddle (moving time): 19 hours 34 minutes
Miles: 1002 (GPS), 1055 (Odometer)

Double-crap

OK. So today was a great day of riding. Perfect weather. Perfect roads. The Adirondacks are amazing. Incredibly beautiful, and surprising. I didn't take many pictures because I didn't want to stop. I did get some of Lake Placid (the ski jumps included!) and a couple other random shots. I'll post them later.

I seriously plan to come back up here and ride again. I was really just blown away today.

With tat said, I have trouble. The bike is not well. I'm in Albany and am worried about making it home. I don't trust the bike to make it. It has a fuel delivery problem. I'm on a message board trying to get local mechanical help for the morning, to see if I can get it sorted out. That's why I don't have much time to tell more about today. I'll leave you with how I described it to the guys on the message board:

In Albany in a hotel. On a computer, so I can give more backstory.

About a week ago, I started noticing a slight lag when rolling on the throttle. Usually in second, from closed throttle. Just a tiny pause before acceleration kicking in. I'll call this one "The Delay".

I figured it was just carbon build up because I've been through that before. I knew I'd be taking a big trip, and revving it hard, which cured it before. So I ignored it.

Fast forward to yesterday. 500 mile day. The first half of the day was interstate. I notice it starts a new thing. At speed (worst in 6th gear), when you grab a big handful of throttle, as if to pass, it accelerates (but feels a little bogged down). Then when you roll OFF the throttle, it gets a little boost of acceleration. Like the bike got a little kick in the ass. We'll call this one "The Gotcha".

Now the really bad part about The Gotcha is that when the boost kicks in, it's powerful enough to lighten the front end. I've almost dumped it on a few on ramps...accelerate to get up to speed in a big leaning turn...lay off the throttle a bit...and boom! the fornt end lightens up and you get the boost as you're leaned over and pretty vulnerable.

By the end of the day (another 250 miles in the Poconos and Catskills), The Delay is gettign me each time I poswer out of a corner. Roll on throttle...wait...wait...BAM, there it is. Gotcha is still there, too.

Now at this point, I also get the classic surge back. The 20-35 MPH hunting, cutting out, stutter step. Let's call it "The Nag". It's here to stay.

Cut to this morning. Roll from the Catskills up to the Adirondacks.

The Delay is as strong as ever. The Gotcha is getting worse. I can't pass on the interstate. The only thing I can do to avoid The Nag and The Gotcha is eeeeease my way up to speed, put it in 6th, lock my hand in place to keep the tach dead pinned at 3500. If I accelerate from there, I get Gotcha'd. If I decelerate, I get The Nag.

They're all pretty major this evening, and I just have to hit the interstate and do my "lock the RPM" thing. Then I pull off the interstate to send my first message in this thread, and I get yet a fourth one. The "Oh Shit".

I'm at a stop light, and need to cut across lanes to pull into a parking lot.
I pull the throttle, and it bogs down. One...two...three count. I decide "this isn't going to work" and roll off the throttle. All the way closed. The bike responds by giving gas and accelerating for that same 3 count. Terrifying.

I'm at a loss. I think I can limp it home tomorrow, but I'm a little worried. Each 500 mile day has made it worse. And I have 450ish ahead of me tomorrow. Culminating in the DC beltway.

What next?

Well, I've ridden 863 miles so far. I'm an hour from the canadian
border, and 10 hours from home. Time to start heading back.

If I can take a chunk out of the last 511 miles tonight, that's less I
have to do tomorrow. I can make Glens Falls, which is almost 100 away.
If I'm feeling good still, I might try for Albany.

Made it

Lake Placid.

Many more miles

I left this morning for Lake Placid. I was 225 miles away. Now, I've
covered 200 miles, but am still 130 away.

So basically I got distracted by good roads and took a 100 mile detour.

I'm sure they don't mind...

Day 2

It's a perfectly grey, wet, rainy mess outside. I hopre it clears up soon. It's not that I don't like riding in the rain. Any riding is good. Rain just saps more energy. A 500 mile ride in the dry is like a 2-300 mile ride in the rain.

I have 225 miles to Lake Placid. I'm excited about the Adirondacks. Hopefully I get make some good progress back from there today, too. Otherwise I have a guaranteed long day tomorrow. Lake Placid is over 500 miles from DC, and I have to work Monday morning.

More pics

Minitour day one recap

(I'm splitting this post. Stories up front, technical stuff later. That way non-moto people can skip the last part.)

So it's been a great day. I'd say one of the top 3 most satisfying days on a motorbike in my life.

Weather has been cool, but nice. I had the heated handgrips on most of the day. I wish I had brought my regular gear instead of my mesh gear, but I have stuff I've been layering. I've managed to stay warm. Bulky, but warm.

Everything I packed

One of the best things was that there was no traffic all day. Not on the interstates, not on the back roads. In fact, on the road coming into the Catskills, I went 30 miles without seeing another vehicle. In either direction.

I put the stats in the last post. I was happy to keep going. I probably had another 100 miles in me. There were two problems with that. I'm in the only town with a hotel for quite a while. I risked having no place to stay. The other thing is that th roads started filling up with drunk drivers. It was crazy. All of a sudden (at "cookout is over" time) there were all kinds of swervy people out an about. And the cops came out in force.

I went up interstates pretty much up to Scranton. There were a few diversions to avoid weather, but essentially I went I-495 to I-95 (to Baltimore) to I-83 (to Harrisburg) to I-81 (to Scranton.) From there, it was all great curvy back roads.

Highlight 1: On I-83, this white KTM Super Duke comes flying up along side me. Now for those of you who don't know bikes, this thing is hot. Questionable styling to many, but incredible. And fast. If I could put any 5 bikes in my garage today, the Super Duke would be in that group. So this thing pulls up alongside, and there's a super cute girl on it (no helmet laws in PA, so I can actually tell). She's every bit as hot as the bike. I totally understand that I have a bias, and think that girls on bikes are hot (just like girls in glasses get an extra point automatically with me), but I wasn't just bike goggling. Anyway, she and I play a fun cat and mouse game down the interstate cutting up trough traffic (this is when I hit that max speed in my stats). It was totally fun, until she decided to bail. And that's when I got to see what the Super Duke can do. One second she's beside me, and gives a smile, next second she's a quarter mile away, and pulling away FAST. Another 2 seconds later, and I couldn't even see her.

Highlight 2: PA state route 125. Hands down my favorite road. In fact, probably the most fun I've ever had on a motorcycle ever. If this road were twice as long, I'd make it a holiday destination. It's a perfect motorbike rollercoaster. I'd try to explain, but you just have to ride it.

Highlight 3: I stopped for gas around Boiceville, NY. It was a combo gas/liquor/hardware/souvenir store. So I go in to pre-pay for my gas, spot the liquor store and pick up a pint of Dewars in case I stay at a place without a bar. I come outside and pump my gas. As I'm filling the moto, I see a group of five 15/16 yr old girls sitting at a picnic table across the lot. Well sure enough, as I'm finishing up, two of them come over. It's kinda clear that they sent the two best looking ones over. These girls walk up to me and start getting flirty. Not normal flirty, but trashy flirty. The kind of exaggerated flirty that a 15 yr old girl thinks a 37 yr old guy will be into, because she's seen how it works on MTV or the OC or whatever the kids watch these days. I managed to keep from laughing, long enough for them to finally pop the question. "So, will you buy us some vodka?" I totally remember being on the other end of this equation.

Highlight 4: I'm trying to take PA 171 up to Hancock, NY, but somehow I get on PA 247. It's fine road, but PA gets it's speed limits all wrong. In WV, when they tell you that you should take a turn at 35, you can interpret that to mean "take the turn at 45". In PA when they tell you to take a turn at 35, it means "you'd probably be OK at 55". Well I quickly learn that this fine road becomes a terrific road as long as you have wanton disregard for the speed limit. at the posted speed of 40, it was painful. At 65, it was awesome. But the thing that made it a highlight was the camps. For about a 10 mile stretch, it was ass the send-away summer camps. Camp Wakahana and Camp Michimini and Camp Pakataki and all those kooky indian names. Throw in Camp (something in Hebrew blah blah Hebrew blah) and Camp Wayne for Girls. Some had lakes. It was totally classic horror movie stuff.

Highlight 5: I took a diversion 

thr

ough Hershey, PA. I used to go there all the time as a kid. Hershey Park, Chocolate world. It was fun. Lots of memories in that.

Other things: The Catskills are classic America. Everything you'd expect from the cliché. Small villages, summering people, country club style pools. The craziest thing I saw was a pond, about football-field sized, where they had built a beach out of sand on one end. Installed a lifeguard chair, and had people laying out and swimming. Totally odd, but it so looked the part of classic Americana.

Even Woodstock was classic Americana. It was everything you'd imagine. Aging hippies in tie-dyes walking the streets. Head shops, new age stores, natural healers, Bob Marley tapestries, Volkswagon vans parked out in front of shops (even a tie-dye painted Beetle).

There are a ton of other cool things I forgot about. Like: when was the chance you had a full 11 hours to listen to music? Just sit there and listen. New stuff you haven't had time for, old stuff you love. You have all the time you want for it.

So much of this trip reminds me of the original Mototour, even though it's just a mini. I was just thinkign about that as I was taking off my visor and wahing the bugs off of it in the bathroom sink. It was a nightly ritual with Brian and me. And the way that BMWs draw attention at gas stations. It's really surprising. I remember from the first one. We are BMW guys in general. And the BMW GS is one of the top 5 best selling bikes in the country for several years now. But for some reason, at every gas station, people come up and look at it and as you questions about it, as if it were UFO gassing up at Sheetz. It's happening again, and I still don't understand it.

Another random thing: NY 30 is a terrific road, but has possibly the worst road condition ever. All pot-holed and chunked up. It was really a test of bike suspension and riding skill. With that said, the physical layout of the road was unbelievable. Fortunately the bad asphault cleared up after about 10 miles. It's the kind of road where you just set the bike at 60mph and never change speed. the turns are big sweepers. the straights are just the right length. The closest I've come to this is the Cherahola Skyway. But this was still different. There's a funny thing that happens when you don't have to worry about speed or shifting and just got to ride. It's kind of like watching slalom skiers. They fix their speed, and just cut through gates. no speeding up and slowing down.

And now for the really technical stuff.

The bike is running well. If a valve and throttle body job clear up the surging, I'd be comfortable taking this bike on cross-continent trip, you pick the continent.

I'm getting used to the Fastway pegs. I don't see a great advantage over stock, tough. I can live with them. I'm just not impressed.

I am learning to hate the Tourance tires. The more they warm up, the more squirrelly they get. It's a known issue. The tread blocks get too soft, and wiggle around and make you feel like you're going to slide out. And after 400 miles, they're nice and warmed through. Not a great time to hit a road like NY30. I'm hopefully going to put some Michelin Pilot Roads on before the real Moto2our. They aren't worn enough to change, but I'll eat the cost to be done with them.

The bike seems to like the Mobil 1 we put in last night. And it hasn't burned off a drop, much to my surprise.

The rear shock is shit. it's done. I need those Wilbers. I set the shock for a little more twisty action this morning, but that just yields an incredibly harsh ride. If I soften it up, it totally wallows in the turns, and kills all confidence. Enough is enough. They have to go.

Off to sleep. Tomorrow I go up to Lake Placid, and then back to maybe Albany to sleep. Sunday will be a long straight speed run from Albany to DC.

Final day tally

Time: 11 hours 33 minutes
Time in saddle (moving time): 8 hours 50 minutes
Miles: 470 (GPS), 497 (Odometer)
Overall avg: 41 mph
Moving avg: 53 mph
Max speed: 95.8 mph

Contrition

I take back everything bad I said. Just got my check. That UGLY but large and tasty Grey Goose martini was $6.50. American.

Happy America day to me! Off to the bar for another...

Tragedy at dinner

I knew this restaurant was going to be bad. Steakhouse attached to the hotel. And if there were anything remotely close, I wouldn't have bothered even looking in here. But good lord. Look at that glass. If I knew this was coming, I would have ordered a beer. In its original bottle. Or anything that doesn't come in this glass. Way to class up an otherwise excellent martini, guys...

Landed

I officially have the worst hotel room in the worst hotel on the planet. But I'm tired and can only care so much given the options I had.


A recap of the day after I go get some food.

Just noticed that the stuff I typed when I sent the pictures didn't come through. Apparently it only takes the first paragraph. And drops the rest. That sucks. I had some funny stuff in there. I'll go back and edit in a bit to include original copy.

Welcome to Margaretville

We're having a carnival for America day!

Honey, I'm home!

Hancock, NY to be specific.

Sorry about your governor. I expected it to say Spitzer under that green paint. It actually says Pataki.

Enough time to cross over the catskills. To the other side and check out Kingston.

By the numbers

Time: 6 hours 20 minutes
Miles: 288
Overall avg: 45 mph
Moving avg: 59
Max speed: 95.8

Progress report

Way off in that foggy valley is Scranton. I'm in Dickson City (Community of Progress), just past there.

Bike's running fairly well. There's some weird surging under full throttle. I'm due for a valve job and throttle body sync. I'll do that next weekend. Hopefully that will clear it up.

I've been watching the clouds and avoiding rain. Just going around it when I see it. Which is how I ended up in Scranton. I've hit a lot of wet roads but no rain.

Had to stop for gas (7.5 gallons so far, getting about 40 mpg) and to eat something (no food all day but I am through half a box of gobstoppers). Thought about getting a real meal here, but I really want to make the catskills soon. So something fast is in order.

Plenty of stories to write about later. The girl on the Super Duke. PA state road 125.

No helmet law in PA. People do some dumb shit when the laws don't stop them.

Ahhhh. Yes.

This is why I'm here...

Kissmobile

Weird

The Knights of Columbus apparently give away food an drinks at rest
stops in Pennsylvania on America day.