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Road Trip 2015 Nova Scotia, AKA The Bucket List Ride

Joined
May 29, 2005
Messages
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Location
Out Riding
First Name
Rich
Last Name
Simmons
Buying the Goldwing in July of 2012 reinvigorated Linda's desire for longer motorcycle trips. After getting the Wing properly set up we took this great trip in 2013:

http://www.twtex.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1151243&postcount=1

In 2014 all of our travel plans on the Wing were put on hold due to some things outside of our control.

Until this trip 2015 had been a poor year for riding for me as long hours at work had been cutting in to my riding time. Things had started settling down at work and Linda and I were both able to get 2 consecutive weeks off from work. This would be the first two week vacation I have had since 2000.

Linda has had going to Nova Scotia on her bucket list for many years. Studying maps time and distances It looked like we could pull it off.

We briefly talked about trailering to the Northeast. Those of you that know me, know I quickly dismissed this. We weren't sure Linda would be good for the fast trip to get the Northeast and back. This is where growing up in Central NY paid dividends. Linda would fly to Syracuse and stay with friends while I was riding up there to pick her up.



Day 1 Fort Worth to Elizibethtown, KY. 841 Miles

Today would be a long day for me. Linda woke at 2am and couldn't go back to sleep. I was soon awake as well. I dropped her off about 4:15 at DFW and drove back home to gear up and hit the road. There would be no sight seeing today. It would be all about making miles.

Hitting the road at 5 am.

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A cold front had blown through the day before and I was hoping I could chase it towards the Northeast. My first stop was in East Texas for gas. For a big touring bike the one complaint I have a about the Wing is gas range. My old ST1300 is good for 80 to 100 miles farther on a tank of gas.

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Instead of the hot and sticky mornings we have been, it was in the low 70's and foggy, I was really enjoying riding in cooler temps for the first time in over 2 months.

Soon enough I would be in Arkansas.

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Passing through Little Rock I was amazed that it was still only 74 and I was making great time. I stopped for gas and recognized this little Hotel that I stayed at couple years ago on my way to Deals Gap.

When I was almost to Memphis I decided to bypass Memphis and Nashville by taking 55 North on the West Side of the Mississippi. I had been on the road for just over 7 hours and 500 miles under my belt already. Eastern Arkansas sure looks different, than Western Arkansas that I love.


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Dang where did Missouri come from?

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I soon crossed over the mighty Mississippi into Tennessee.

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I shot Ken H. an email hoping he would be home to stop and visit with him since I was passing through where he lives. Unfortunately it wasn't to be as he was not home when I passed through.

Dang I am clicking off states quickly today.

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I cruised across Kentucky on the Western Kentucky Parkway. The scenery is nice and it is good for making time. I was still having a great ride and feeling great so I was contemplating riding a few more hours. But, it was Friday night and I was worried that if I rode too late I would have trouble finding a room for the night. When I hit I-65 I decided to call it a night.

Since it was Friday Night Ice Cream back at home, this would have to do.


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Day 2 Elizabethtown to Jamestown, NY. 542 miles.

Yesterday had been a long day and I slept like a log. I had a bag of peanuts and a package of pop tarts in the room and hit the road. Today would be another day of clicking off as many miles as I could. I was just over halfway to where I met Linda, and I was thinking another 800 mile day and I would roll in a day early.

It was a nice morning and I was off and rolling again. Crossing the Ohio River into Ohio:


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It was early Saturday morning so getting through Cincinnati was a breeze. I stopped for gas and a quick snack on the North side of Cincinnati. I rode a whopping 15 miles and traffic came to a dead stop. It was getting pretty warm, it was bright sun and I wasn't moving at all.


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After what seemed like forever I got to see the cause of the delay. A pretty bad accident involving a tractor trailer and three cars in a construction area.

So much for making it all the way to East Pharsalia, NY today. When I finally got moving again things were looking up, I finished off the tank of gas I was on and thought I made a quantum leap back in time.

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You know you are getting close to the Northeast when you can see Lake Erie on your GPS.


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I would soon be in PA and while I was just thinking I was tired last yesterday afternoon and today I was getting more certain that something wasn't quite right with the rear suspension on the Wing.


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One more gas stop and I would be back in the state I spent my first 34 years in.


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The Southern Tier of New York is pretty scenic and in all the years I lived in New York I never spent any time in the Southern Tier except to blast through on the highway. It was getting later in the afternoon so after I crossed Lake Chautauqua I made the call to look for a room in Jamestown.


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I got the last room in the Hotel and took a quick ride to the old part of town. In the you learn something new everyday file, I learned that Lucy was born in Jamestown.


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My lunch of a bag of peanuts was wearing off so I headed back to the Hotel to park the bike and find some chow. Was a neat place for an America's Best Hotel.


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I walked next door for a burger and a had a couple Phin and Matt's Extraordinary Ales, from the Southern Tier Brewing Company in nearby Lakewood, NY.



http://www.stbcbeer.com/


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Day 3 Jamestown to East Pharsalia, NY. 270 Miles.

After two long days I only had a short 265ish miles to cover today. I woke up to another nice day with temperature around 60.

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I had originally planned on riding across the Southern Tier until Binghamton before turning North. I had been warned by my long time riding buddy John that there was a lot construction on bridges near Binghamton. No worries, I'll take the scenic route through Ithaca, NY.

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Was looking forward to checking out a Covered Bridge, but wound up a little disappointed.

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Almost to Ithaca.


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I had never stopped at Buttermilk Falls, so today would be the day. It was a paid State Park so I just pulled in took a quick picture and got moving.


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Ithaca used to be a nice little College town. It has been 20 years of more since I had been through there. The City has grown a lot bigger and the traffic has gotten correspondingly worse.


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The back road route I was taking went within a few miles of one of my old friends from work. On the spur of the moment I decided to stop by and see if he was home.

Brad soon walked out to greet me and insisted I came in to have lunch that was still hot on the stove. With what I have been eating on the road the last few days no way am I going to say no. Brads girlfriend Robin was over for lunch. I am guessing the last time I saw Robin was close to 25 years ago. Had a great home made lunch of scalloped potatoes and ham with fresh summer squash and apple pie.


We went for a walk around his place before I hit the road again.


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After a great visit, I was on the last stretch to meet Linda, but not before visiting Mom and Dad at the cemetery.

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I had ridden over 1650 miles in the last three days wildlife free, 5 miles from our friends house in East Pharsalia two deer run out in front me. Go figure. I once hit two deer 5 miles apart in my car on the same road one morning on the way to work.


After getting settled we had a wonderful dinner complete with home made blueberry pie with berries that were picked yesterday.


I hadn't meet Chloe before and she was pretty shy around me at first, but after a while she warmed up enough to sit on the bike.

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After great evening of visiting it was time for bed.


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Day 4 East Pharsalia to East Pharsalia. 0 Miles


The plan for today was to take the day off from riding and some relaxing a little inspection of the bike and hopefully having a chance to visit with one of my life long friends.

Ernie made a big batch of french toast, sausage, and bacon for breakfast. Then it was out to look the bike over, but not before feeding the chickens. Chloe has two egg laying chickens. Her job is to make sure they are fed and to collect the eggs every day. She also gets to feed them a treat of mealy worms once in a while.

It was yet another wonderful morning weather wise.

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After sitting on the bike last night Chloe decided she needed to park her bike next to mine.


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Other than being dirty the bike looked no worse for wear except for one thing. My worst fear was true. The shaft seal on my fancy Race Tech rear shock was leaking. Removing a Goldwing shock takes lots of tools and many hours. With the schedule we had the the shock was staying as is for the whole trip.


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Since this was a non-riding day. Ernie insisted that Linda and I take his jeep to Norwich where Linda and I lived prior to moving to Texas 19 years ago. The old short cut on Red Mill Hill has been closed for years now. When I lived there it was only closed during the winter. A few years ago an ice jam knocked out the old wooden decked bridge and it was decided not to replace it. When we were kids I spent a lot of time fishing and swimming in Canasawacta Creek. Looks strange with the bridge gone.

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We went over to my friends Craig's house for a visit. He is long haul trucker and we were lucky he happened to be in town for a doctors appointment. He lives in the old neighborhood in the house he grew up in. Linda I learned he is planning to get married for the first time, and I am in the wedding. A quick thunder storm rolled though while we were visiting. Craig is in the green shirt in front in this old photo taken at one of my birthday party's many many moons ago.

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After our visit we drove by the last house Linda and I lived in my home town. It was across the street from the old Borden Condensed Milk Plant founded by Gail Borden who was born in my home town of Norwich. Our old house is on the right in this old post card.

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The same house almost 100 years later.


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Gail Borden was an interesting character. He actually lived in Texas for a long time and was the surveyor that plotted both Houston and Galveston. He has a Texas County named after him. It truly is a small world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gail_Borden

We headed back up the hill for an awesome dinner of pork ribs, and fresh picked sweet corn. It was then time to load up the bike for phase 2 of this road trip and hit the hay.



Day 5 East Pharasalia to Pelham, NH. 325 Miles.



With having a sister in Rhode Island, a brother in New Hampshire, and a brother in Roswell, GA needless to say we don't get to see each other much. When planning our route I asked my bother Mark if had any room for a couple wayward travelers. He said yes and we knew which direction we were headed.

We woke up to a pleasant overcast day and headed out. It wasn't going to be a long day but thunderstorms were forecast for most of the day.

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We rode back through Norwich, up to Albany and were soon in Massachusetts.

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On old style McDonald’s at our gas stop.

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We had been dodging thunderstorms all day but never got rained on soon enough we would now be in another state.


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My sister in-law Bonnie took the day off and was home when we arrived, Mark arrived a short time later. As a very pleasant bonus my sister Sue and brother in-law Larry drove up from Rhode Island and my niece Kylie joined us for dinner.

My sister Sue that hates beer humoring her brothers.

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My brother in-law Larry and my brother Mark.


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My sister in-law Bonnie.


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Linda, my niece Kyle, and yours truly.


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After a great batch of burgers on the grill, and some catching up today's visit with my family was over far too fast.




Day 6 Pelham to Fredericton, NB. 430 Miles.


We had planned to get up early again and hit the road when Bonnie and Mark left for work. It was cool and overcast when we got up. Another perfect day for riding. Mark works towards Maine so we would follow him for a while in the morning.

Traffic was light because we were headed the opposite direction of rush hour traffic that is headed in to Boston. We would soon be in another new state for this ride.


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We stopped for gas in Brunswick and checked out the map.

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Soon after leaving Brunswick we got dumped on with hard rain that seemed to come from no where. No complaints on my part as had been rain free for the first 2200 miles. I stopped and threw my rain jacket over my vented jacket and away we went until we found a rest area more suitable for putting different gear on.


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Unfortunately, for us it would rain for the rest of the day. After having lower speed limits since I crossed the Mississippi it was nice to see 75MPH speed limit in Northern Maine. Except for all the green trees it was like riding in West Texas gas station wise. They were few and far between and off the highway.

For some reason this guy didn't like us very well. LOL

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Not many more photos as the rain continued. We had originally planned to stop in Houlton, ME but since we were making good time we decided to cross the border and ride for a while more. The border crossing took about two minutes. All we did was answer a couple questions, how our Passports and move on. I think the guy felt sorry for us because it was raining pretty good at the border.

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Needing a stretch we decided to go check out an axe, a really big axe.


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The rain was getting real hard again and we decided we had enough for the day and stopped in Fredericton.

Right after we got in to the room it really started pouring. We waited an hour for it to stop to walk across the street for supper.




Day 7 Fredericton to Whycocomagh, NS. 360 Miles.


We woke up to thick fog and wet roads. It had rained most of the night. The weather radar showed we would riding under a big front most of the day. In a perfect world we would have taken the day off from riding as the weather forecast looked great after today, but being working stiffs meant we had a schedule to keep. We had a nice breakfast and headed out out in to the fog. After a half hour the dense fog started clearing and it started raining.

When doing our trip planning we found the Worlds Largest Lobster in Shediac. It wasn't too far off our route so that is where we headed.

Gassing up in Shediac.

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Lobster anyone?


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The lady in the souvenir store told us that there would be a big bike rally that weekend with hundreds of bikes. Unfortunately, we would miss it.

http://www.shediacmotorcyclerally.com/


The rain was actually pretty light at the Lobster and started coming down hard again as soon as we got moving again. We would soon be at the border for another bucket list item for Linda.

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It had been raining really hard. Traffic was moving very slow and it was hard to see. There would not be many pictures taken today.

It was time for an early break and gas so we stopped in Oxford, NS the wild blueberry capital of Canada.


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The rain would get really hard after this stop. Hard enough that we saw a couple accidents due to hydroplaning. Since the weather wasn't good for any sight seeing we motored on slowly in the rain. We were now getting closer to the destination for this ride the Cabot Trail.

Crossing the causeway on to Cape Breton, Island.

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I was getting very mentally tired from riding in the hard rain so we decided to stop for the day in Whycocomagh. Just like yesterday as soon as we got docked the sky really opened up. We felt fortunate that we stopped for the day.


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Since we had packed real light Linda decide to do a load of wash and dry some of our wet cloths while it poured out.

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The lady at the hotel desk recommended a small restaurant a quarter mile up the road. We waited until the rain let up some and then walked to the restaurant.

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I ordered a cup of the highly recommended sea food chowder. With out question the best I have ever eaten.


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The seafood sampler I had wasn't to shabby either.




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We had noticed an old ST1300 out front with a California Tag, so I talked to the guy riding it for a couple minutes. Turns out he is from Finland. He flew in to LA on July 15th bought the ST1300 serviced it at a friends house in Palm Springs and then took off. First he went to Hyder, Alaska and then worked his way East in Canada and the US. He told me he was headed South then West. He needed to be back in Finland by October. He was going to leave his bike at friends in Palm Springs and then fly back home, until until his next visit.


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With full bellies we walked back to the Hotel in the rain.

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Day 8 Whycocomagh to New Glasgow, NS. 300Ish Miles.


Today would be what rode all this way for, the Cabot Trail. Hopefully it would not disappoint. Equipment failure #2 would haunt us this day. Linda's camera with the long lense didn't survive the Linda's flight to NY. Which means all of our photos would be taken with my pocket snap shot camera or with a cell phone.


The front cleared over night and it was beautiful morning.


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We decided to ride the Cabot Trail clockwise today. We left the Hotel and took 395 to get there. The road was very pleasant and scenic. It also had very rough pavement. It was becoming very evident that the rear shock was nearly out of oil. Pogo stick comes to mind.


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We stopped at the Cheticamp Visitor center which is also housed a hooked rug museum.

The museum contained some history of Cheticamp from back when it was very isolated to now.


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Can't imagine how long this one took to make.

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Back on the road in search of a thimble for Linda.


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The next batch of photos will take us until we stop for lunch.


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Neils Harbor


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Rolling South


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We stopped at the Coastal Waters Resturant for lunch and an official Cabot Trail T-Shirt. The seafood chowder was real good but couldn't touch what I ate last night.

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While I was gassing the bike in Baddeck, Linda took these shots.


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We were pretty much done with The Cabot Trail now. Linda had hinted that she would really like to go to Prince Edward Island. We took a look at the map and figured we could get close to the ferry if we didn't dilly dally and just rolled. To get back off Cape Breton Island we would be back tracking, so we decide to go for it. We made a quick stop here looking for thimbles.


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Day 9 New Glasgow to Saint John, NB. 275 Miles.


We got up bright and early to make the Ferry to Prince Edward Island.


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In line for the ferry.


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Almost time to board

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It was a 75 minute ferry ride. Unlike the ferry's we were on in Norway we had to leave the vehicle deck and go upstairs. There was a restaurant serving breakfast and free Wifi.


On the ferry ride.


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Getting ready to get off the ferry.


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Soon enough we would be off the ferry and riding West across the bottom of the Island. We were surprised how un touristy it was. Lots of farming going on, mostly for potatoes.


Any one need a BIG glass or milk?


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Or some fancy chocolates?

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We took a slight detour to see some light houses. We never did see them but this area was very nice to check out.

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Back on the road we saw mostly pretty farm land along the coast.


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We would soon be at the bridge back to the main land.

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Time to take the 8 mile long Confederation Bridge back to NB.


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The speed was monitored pretty closely on the bridge.


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Almost to the end of the bridge.


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Back in NB we could make some miles again. It was getting to mid afternoon and time for a break.


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We met these locals out for a day ride and had a nice visit before we went our separate ways.


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We got back on the road for a few more miles before stopping for the day in Saint John at a Holiday Inn. After cleaning up we walked out for supper and called it a day. On the way to supper we had the third equipment failure of the trip. The sole fell off my well worn many road tripped Teva. I peeled the other sole off and we were good to go again.


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Day 10 Saint John to Gorham, NH. 335 Miles


We got up early and headed down to the lobby for breakfast. The night desk man was very nice and got out everything out 30 minutes earlier than normal for us. We had good visit with him about Canada and Texas and hit the road. It was only a short ride back to the border.



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Crossing back into the US in Maine was just a simple as going into Canada was. A few questions a look at our Passports and we were off.


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The scenery in this part of Maine was great rolling hills and very green. Speed limits were low and making time was not in the cards.

We stopped and filled up with much cheaper gas and verified that my trip was now a little over half way done.



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Rolling along


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After getting West of I-95 the roads got narrower and curvier and were dotted with quaint little towns. The one thing we noticed about the lower speeds was how better mileage the Wing was getting.

Rumford was one of those towns.


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Paul Bunyan and Babe sure do get around. He had a good sized axe but it is small in comparison to the one we saw in New Brunswick.


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While we were in Rumford we had a snack and a drink before heading out.


Sunflower seeds anyone?


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It was early enough that we decided to grab a room in Gorham, NH and then do some sight seeing. Linda and I had never been up Mount Washington so that is where we headed.
From the Mount Washington website:

For over 150 years , friends and families have driven, toured and explored the Mt. Washington Auto Road making it the first and oldest man-made attraction in the entire country!
Completed and opened to the public in 1861, the privately-owned and operated Auto Road climbs 4,700 feet from the base and reaches more than a mile in the sky to the highest point in the Northeast at 6,288 feet. Access via*the Mt. Washington Auto Road is available during the summer months with your own vehicles beginning at the Toll House at the base, or by taking a guided tour via modern day “stages” which begin just across the street in the scenic Great Glen base lodge.



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Linda's fear of heights and the rear shock on the Wing conspired against us riding the bike up the Auto Rode. Taking a van with a tour guide was actually very pleasant.




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What goes up must go down


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Back to Gorham we went to find our room and get some dinner.



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Day ll Gorham to Lake George, NY. 215 Miles.



We got up to an initially fog free pleasant morning.


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Ever seen this in a Mcdonalds in Texas?


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We took the auto road up Mount Washington there is also the cog railroad up the other side of the mountain. A here is a picture of one of the old trains on display.


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We crossed into Vermont near here, but there was no sign at the border.



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We were riding along and Linda pointed out a covered bridge that I hadn't noticed.


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Next stop would be Killington, VT looking for Vermont thimbles.


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Shopping completed we were off again.


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In Fort Ann traffic came to a sudden stop. We were told by a Fireman that there was a bad wreck and the road would be closed for a long time. We decided to ride farther South and try and take back roads to get around the road closure. Everything was going great until we were almost back to the main road and tractor trailer coming the opposite direction almost hit us at a corner. Linda was super scared and jumping around on the bike making it almost impossible to control the bike and get out of the way. The last little way into Lake George was not very pleasant stress wise.



We got docked at a Motel 6 within walking distance of the touristy areas. After getting settled in it was time for lunch.


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Lake George, nicknamed the Queen of American Lakes, is a long, narrow oligotrophic lake located at the southeast base of the Adirondack Mountains, in the northeastern portion of the U.S. State of New York.
Situated on the rail line halfway between New York City and Montreal, Lake George attracted the era's rich and famous by the late 19th and early 20th century. Members of the Roosevelt, van Rensselaer, Vanderbilt, Rockefeller and Whitney families visited its shores. The Fort William Henry Hotel, in what is now Lake George Village, and The Sagamore in Bolton Landing, opened at this time to serve tourists. The wealthiest visitors were more likely to stay with their peers at their private country estates.



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We couldn't have planned this any better but walked up to get a boat ride on the Mohican right at the perfect time for 2.5 hour tour of the Lake.


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The great Sagamore Hotel in Bolton Landing.


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It was a very relaxing way to spend the afternoon. Time to do some more walking.


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Never tried one of these before.


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Dang, Linda has lost a lot of weight on this trip.


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After a piece of pizza and a drink we finished off our day looking in some of the tourist shops on the main drag.


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Day 12 Lake George to East Pharsalia, NY. 151 Miles.



Today would be the last day of riding for Linda this trip. It would be short day so we could take our time and do a little sight seeing.


Farm country on the way to Cooperstown.


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We had both been to Baseball Hall of Fame several times so this would just be a quick stop.



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Back on the road we rode a short distance to the Fly Creek Cider Mill. The Cider Mill was one on my Mom's favorite places to spend a day at during the fall.



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Time to get moving again. Anyone that follows motocross knows where this famous place is:


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Next stop would be on the street I grew up on. An absolutely outstanding car museum 3 houses down the street from the house I grew up in. Even more bizarre is this Texas, NY connection. The museum was the brain child of George Staley who happened to be the business partner of my boss in starting the small company I currently work for in Pantego.

The museum is staffed by volunteers and we had an interesting encounter. I was telling the nice lady behind the counter that I grew up a few houses up the street and told he my last name. The lady knew my mom and worked with her nearly 50 years ago when Montgomery Wards was the big department store in town.

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A few of the cars in the museum.


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When I was kid growing up on Rexford St. the Bennett Ireland company was in the buildings that now house the museum.



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Back to the vehicles.


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Another one my childhood friends had one of these when we were kids.



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There are lots of museum photos in the Smugmug file. I'll post a link at the end of the report.


The house I lived in from age 1 to 16. After my dad had passed away and my older siblings were out of the house, it was way to big for my Mom and I.


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The house I lived in until I bought the little blue house shown earlier in this report.


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On the way back up the hill, we stopped to visit another one of Linda's girlfriends. It was nice afternoon and they were out for a ride on their Spyder.


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We would soon be back at the Collier house after a great day of travel.




Day 13 East Pharsalia to Bainbridge, NY. 31 Miles.



Was my 2nd planned no ride rest day of the ride. After a leisurely breakfast it was time look the bike over and start repacking for my solo ride back to Texas. The bike was no worse for wear except for the now very bouncy rear shock.


Chloe's bounty from the chickens this morning:


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On the spur of the moment it was planned to We decide to make the short drive to the Turning Stone Casino for the fancy buffet lunch. We took 2 cars, the girls in one car, and Ernie and I in the other. On the way up Ernie gave me a guided tour to the changes in the area since lived up there.

The Casino in Oneida home of Oneida Silver.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turning_Stone_Resort_&_Casino


In compare the Turning Stone to Winstar in Oklahoma. When we moved from NY in 1996 the Turning Stone was a three year old little tiny casino. Now it is a huge very nice Resort and Casino. Kind of the same way Winstar has grown over the years. I am not a gambler so it was very obvious to me that Casinos are not in business to give all the money back.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WinStar_World_Casino


The buffet lunch was spectacular and ate waaaaay too much. What the heck I am on vacation.

We stopped by the East Pharsalia park to see the recently installed monument honoring all those that fought in the Civil war. I thought it was an impressive list of people considering the tiny size of the town of Pharasalia. At the last census the town still less than 600 residents.


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After a pleasant drive the countryside we arrived back in East Pharsalia. The weather had been abnormally hot and humid which makes for dense fog in the morning. I was meeting my riding buddy John in Sidney, NY at 6:30 am so at the last minute I decided to ride over that direction to knock prevent having to ride in the dark in dense fog in deer country in the morning.

I made a very nervous ride over the hills and valleys to Bainbridge, NY. The deer were out in force having their evening meal. I rode by several fields full of deer, fortunately none near the roads. I am guessing I saw at least 100 as some of the fields were full of them heads down eating.





Day 14 Bainbridge to Chesapeake, VA. 540 miles.


I got up at 5:45 to make the 5 mile ride to the gas station where I was going to meet John, who be riding with me for part of the day. The fog was thick as pea soup when I left and I was glad I rode what I did last night.

Today would be a bonus day of riding with John this year as earlier this year we rode for a week together doing this:

http://www.twtex.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1354300&postcount=1

John pulled in right at 6:30 and we were off into the fog. At least we were on an interstate and it was light out. In no time flat we were riding through Binghamton to NY where I went to College and we would soon be in Pennsylvania.

Down near Scranton the fog finally lifted. We would soon be at our historic tour for the day at America's Oldest Brewery in the coal country of PA.



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For beer aficionados this is a very interesting read about the history of the brewery.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuengling


The first tour started at 10am and by the time we got parked we just made it in to the tour. The brewery is on the side of a hill in an old part of town and the only parking is at metered spots on the street out front.

The old keg room where kegs used to be filled and stacked by hand.



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Before refrigeration making beer was tricky to keep it at the proper temperature. The brewery has old had dug tunnels in the side of the hill under the brewery to keep beer at the proper temperature. The beer was made with spring water that followed down in to the tunnels.


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One of the old original wooden barrels used to make beer.


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To make sure beer was not made during prohibition the FEDS bricked up the tunnels under the brewery.



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We were told the by the end of prohibition that modern refrigeration was coming of age and the old tunnels stayed sealed up until the 1970's when the bricks were broken and the old tunnels were made part of the tour.



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Loading up finished product.

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The truck drivers must be pretty good to get in and out of the loading dock on this street.



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Bet it is real fun in the winter.



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This was one of the best brewery tour's I have ever been to. The tour guide made the tour, she was both very interesting and very knowledgeable of both the brewery and the area's history.

Rumor has it they server Lager at communion next door to the brewery.


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After a quick lunch in am old style diner John and I took off in different directions. John back home via the Hawks Nest:

http://www.sundaymorningrides.com/road/3978463/


Me on to an until now unannounced bucket list item for me. The weather was still hot and the summer road construction in full swing in on the backs roads of Southern PA. It took me almost 4 hours to go a 135 miles after lunch. Today was shaping up to be a long day in the saddle.

I was missing visiting one state in the lower 48 by motorcycle. I am no longer missing any.


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The speed limits were still low but I was making much better time than in PA. I had told my brother Steve I would be at his house Friday night for dinner. Time to push on through Delaware. The shore in Delaware is really nice the interior is mostly flat farm land. Soon enough another state would appear in front of me.



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I was hot getting tired but getting closer to my goal for the day. This stretch of Maryland went by pretty quick and I was soon entering yet another state.


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It was getting towards sunset and I ridden through some places with wet roads but I had stayed dry today. I was always wanted to ride the next stretch of road.


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First the bridge



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Then the tunnel

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Then the bridge again


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This was repeated twice. I stopped on the South side to find a thimble for Linda. Mission accomplished.


The Coast Guard going over the tunnel I just rode through.


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It was now dark and I needed to find a room of the night. I stopped at an America's Best. Usually not great Hotels but inexpensive and OK for one night on the road. I had stayed in two of them this trip already and they worked fine. I checked in got a key and went next door to gas up the bike, and grab some junk food for dinner and go to the room. Getting off the bike some seedy characters ask me about the bike. I open the door to the room and the lights don't come on. Tired and pooped out I throw the key in the room and look for another hotel. After running around for the better part of an hour I am relieved to find a Holiday Inn.

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I had earned riding in my 48th state today. Including the Brewery Tour it was a 15 hour day on the road today.

A shower and eating my junk food dinner and I was fast asleep.




Day 15 Chesapeake to Roswell, GA. 560 Miles.


I had another long day today to get to my bothers house by dinner time so I was up and on the road early again. It was 75 and 97 percent humidity when I got up. I started sweating just thinking about it.

I made it out of Chesapeake without having any rush hour traffic problems.

As I rode away from the sea the sun came up and the humidity started dropping quickly. It was shaping up to be a nice morning to ride.

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It was nice ride and then something weird happened. I was still in Virginia on a rural 4 lane road running 58 to 60 mph in 55 mph zone following a Chevy Tahoe with a South Carolina Tag. A jacked up pickup went flying by us like we were tied to a tree just as we passed a State Trooper taking radar. The Trooper pulled out to go stop the pickup or so I thought. Instead he pulls up next to me, looks me over and then pulls over the Tahoe. My only guess is maybe the Tahoe has a radar detector (illegal in Virginia) and he gets a ticket while the local hauling butt because he is late for works gets a free pass. Go figure.

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I would soon be headed into a new state for this ride.



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No more scenic stops today, just making miles to get to Steve and Anita's house for dinner.


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Dang that is a big peach.


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Getting close to the home stretch for today.



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It was 3:30 in the afternoon and I had been making great time. I was starting to get near the greater Atlanta area and traffic was starting to get pretty busy. I got off the Interstate on Jimmy Carter Blvd to ride the last 13 miles for the day. An hour and 10 minutes later I had covered that last 13 miles. Timing was good as it was in the high 90's and humid and I had finished off the last of the last water in my water bladder a mile from the house.


After cleaning up we went to a barbeque place called Smoke Jack for dinner. I mentioned in a previous ride report that I was becoming a Texas barbeque snob in my old age. I had sliced brisket and a craft beer. I was very pleasantly surprised with the brisket.


After dinner we walked next door to a Brew Pub for another beer. It was a neat place and my beer was very nice.


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It had been a great trip so far especially with being able to see my sister, both my bothers, and their families.


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Day 16 Roswell to West Monroe, LA. 530 Miles



I had checked off all the boxes except one for thing I wanted to see this trip. Steve whipped up an awesome breakfast while I getting the bike packed up. It was then time to say good and got on the road.


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Getting around Atlanta was easy early on Saturday morning, I would soon be pointed West towards home on I-20.

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The last couple times I was over in this neck of the woods I was on one day rides home from Deals Gap. Today I had a more time so I stopped at my favorite bike museum again.


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Right when I was arriving so did a bunch of other Goldwings. I soon learned that Wing Ding was being held in Huntsville this year a bunch rode over to visit the museum.


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I arrived a few minutes before they opened so I could spend a couple hours in the museum before making some more miles. Everyone has seen plenty of pictures of Barber so I am only going to post a few this report all they will have a twist.


The photos will be of the same or similar model bikes to bikes that I have owned over the years in the order purchased. I was very surprised that there were so many examples of bikes I have/had owned that over the years that were on display.


Yamaha RD type two stroke twin.


White and purple bike on the second lever of the bike tree. I owned an orange 1975 RD 350 back in the late 70's when I was in High School.


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Yamaha DT 250


I owned a 1973 in high school for about a year. I bought it cheap and it was pretty worn out when I bought it. I rode it for about a year and traded it and my RD350 for the 1975 H2 750 I owned.


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Kawasaki H2 750

I have owned 3 of these, a 1972, 1974 and 1975. I have a warm spot for the old two strokes I rode as a kid. I still have the 1972 that I bought back in 1985.


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Honda 1983 V45 Interceptor

Mine was a red 1983 V45. The only year of the 750's. The import tariff to help Harley forced the Japanese to make 700's for a few years. I only owned it for a year, but it was the first street bike owned that wasn't a two stroke.


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Yamaha FJ1100

I sold my V45 Interceptor after buying a new 1985 FJ just like the one in the photo. Loved that bike. I owned it 18 years and almost 90K miles. I sold it to a friend from work that moved to Florida. The last I knew he still owned it.


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Suzuki GS1000s Wes Cooley Superbike Replica


I bought mine in the spring of 1992 while at the local Yamaha Suzuki Shop in Sherburne, NY picking up snowmobile parts. I haven't ridden it in way too long. Its time to get it rolling again.


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Honda CBX

I drove to Vermont after work one afternoon to buy a black 1980. It was not in the condition it was advertised in, but I bought it anyways, had it painted bright yellow and put a 6-1 header on it. Nothing I have ever owned sounded as good as that CBX at full song. When the stuff we currently call gasoline kept gumming up the carbs I sold it.


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Yamaha GTS1000

I swapped two snowmobiles, a two place trailer and $500 for the GTS when Linda and I decided to stop riding. It was a great bike to ride, but had some technology ahead its time that caused some reliability problems while I owned it. I wound up swapping it for my much loved ultra reliable ZX11.


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Yamaha FJ1200

I owned a 1990 FJ1200 that I bought from a service man at Shepherd AFB. It was a nice bike, but in my heart I liked my FJ1100 better.

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Kawasaki ZX-11

I owned a maroon 1999 that I bought new and put almost 80K miles on riding it all over the country before selling. I still wonder sometimes if I should have bought a Busa back then, but I really liked my ZX11 a lot the whole time I owned it.

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Honda Goldwing


Currently own a 2012 that I am riding on this ride. Hands down , the best two up bike I have ever ridden. I still prefer my old ST1300 for solo long distance riding.

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Suzuki Water Buffalo

I bought a 1976 a couple years ago. I am in the final stages of cleaning it up, and I ride it regularly. Its not fast but sounds great and is lots of fun to ride.

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Kawasaki 1969 H1

The first of the two stroke triples from Kawi. I bought a barn fresh 1969 that looks like the one below a couple years ago from Hardy. Still haven't decided what I am going to do with it.


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I took lots more photos in the museum that are can be looked at in the Smugmug folder for this trip. I'll post that at the end of the ride report.


Back outside it was time to get moving again.


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Off to Mississippi I go



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Saw this strange looking creature when getting gas in Vicksburg.


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Almost back to the West after crossing the mighty Mississippi


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The temp was in the high 90's and it was getting pretty sticky riding. I would actually welcome riding in some cooling rain. I had seen showers in the distance off and on for hours and finally got my wish a quick pop up shower that got me nice and wet and briefly lowered the temperature to 79. It was very refreshing.

Around 5pm I got my second wind and was considering riding the rest of the way home. Better judgment prevailed and I got a room at the second hotel I tried in West Monroe. Like has happened a couple other times this ride as soon as I got my stuff in the room it poured rain. After it stopped I walked over to the Texas Roadhouse for a steak and a beer.

I considered this place but it didn't look very crowded so I was thinking the food may not be very good.


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The last three days had been pretty long and with a full belly I fell asleep very early.





Day 17 West Monroe to Home. 330 Miles.



Gotta a good nights sleep and was ready for the last miles to home.

Thought I would take a quick tourist photo on my way out of town. Didn't expect the boys to be around but I stopped for a quick photo anyways.


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My next to the last tank of gas was the cheapest of the ride. It was a bargain compared to the $1.10 Canadian per liter I paid up in Nova Scotia.


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I was soon burning up the last miles again on headed towards home.


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I would be home in plenty of time to finish this trip where it started by picking up Linda at the airport, so I decided to make a scenic side trip to Gibsland, LA.


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Early on a Sunday morning it was kind of surreal standing where Bonnie and Clyde were ambushed.

There was an interesting looking little museum in downtown Gibsland that was not open at the early hour I passed through.

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Getting closer.



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Back home.


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After pulling in the driveway I grabbed my phone out of the top box and learned that Linda's flight was canceled and she would be home tomorrow. I spent the afternoon unloading the bike, doing wash, looking at photos, and reflecting on what great ride it had been.



This was my basic route:

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Summary:
6084 miles
21 States
3 Provinces that included 2 Islands
2 Bucket List Items checked off
3 Equipment Failures, rear shock, camera, Teva

Epilogue:

This is the longest trip both time and mileage I have taken by motorcycle. It was the first time I have been fortunate enough to be able to take 2 consecutive weeks off for a ride.

It worked great picking up Linda in our home town so she wouldn't be subjected to my hurried ride to and from the Northeast.

Once you get East of the Mississppi it is tough to knock off big mileage days unless you stay on the Interstates and even then it can be challenging to put big mileage day in.

Riding The Cabot Trail, in Nova Scotia was the highlight of the riding part of the trip. Getting to see my sister and both my brothers was priceless.

All of our photos are available here:

https://simmons1962.smugmug.com/Road-Trip-2015-Street#!i=4334427949&k=vWCTvG7

Next ride is a short one to the 4th Annual Super Tenere National Rally in a couple weeks at the Hub in Arkansas.
 
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I just returned from a trip to Newfoundland. It appears we may have been on our respective trips at the same time.

Looking at some of your pictures is great, I seem to have some that are from the same place on the Cabot Trail.

We choose to ride the trail counter clockwise mainly because we did the trail on the return trip.

I am happy to see you had such an enjoyable and memorable trip. I will tell you that you need to put Newfoundland on your bucket list. You won't be disappointed.

I did some video on the trail, so you may recognize this.

https://youtu.be/jSZj91niu_E
 
I just returned from a trip to Newfoundland. It appears we may have been on our respective trips at the same time.

Looking at some of your pictures is great, I seem to have some that are from the same place on the Cabot Trail.

We choose to ride the trail counter clockwise mainly because we did the trail on the return trip.

I am happy to see you had such an enjoyable and memorable trip. I will tell you that you need to put Newfoundland on your bucket list. You won't be disappointed.

I did some video on the trail, so you may recognize this.

https://youtu.be/jSZj91niu_E

The video sure does look like the Cabot Trail. How long were you gone? In the two weeks we had there was no way we had enough time to squeak in Newfoundland and visit family.

Would like to get there some day.
 
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The video sure does look like the Cabot Trail. How long were you gone? In the two weeks we had there was no way we had enough time to squeak in Newfoundland and visit family.

Would like to get there some day.

We Planned three weeks, but it worked out just a bit less than that. We did cheat and trailer to Maine, mainly because we did not want to ride in the +90 temperatures. I am getting to old for that.

I think you could easily do Newfoundland in two weeks, if you went straight there and back.

The real time killer is the ferry's. To tighten your schedule, it probably would be best to make reservations and then you only need to be there two hours before the launch. We waited and made our reservations a day or two in advance so we would not be pinned to a specific date for the entire trip.
 
We Planned three weeks, but it worked out just a bit less than that. We did cheat and trailer to Maine, mainly because we did not want to ride in the +90 temperatures. I am getting to old for that.

I think you could easily do Newfoundland in two weeks, if you went straight there and back.


The trailering straight to Maine and back was the key time wise. That would be 2.5 or 3 days for me instead of 6 going. Also coming home via Central NY, Delaware and Atlanta added a bunch of time for me.
 
Nice trip, Rich. I rode through Ithaca back in June... beautiful country. Thanks for the write-up.
 
OK, you've confirmed my bucket list entry with this report..... :clap:


.
 
Nice trip, Rich. I rode through Ithaca back in June... beautiful country. Thanks for the write-up.

My home town is only an hour from Ithaca. Miss the hills and green forests. Don't miss shoveling snow, or black flys in the Spring.

OK, you've confirmed my bucket list entry with this report..... :clap:




.

To really see what I went by on this ride, you would need a month. I blew by a ton of stuff that would have been fun to check out if I wasn't time constrained with having to get back for work.

We barely scratched the surface of Nova Scotia this trip.
 
Nice. I went back and checked out the 2013 report as well. Both look like tons of fun!! Not that I don't enjoy having kids, but I really miss the days when Beth and I could do trips together on the bikes. Maybe someday when they are grown we will get to do some more.
 
Nice trip. I've been itching for a trip to the Northeast. I grew up in Vermont for a time and your pictures, including Mt Washington, brought back some memories. I've hiked that mountain a few times and done the auto road once in a rental car. Good stuff. I would love to make a similar trip but lack the consecutive amount of time to pull it off.
 
Nice trip report Rich. Lot's of familiar places in your report. The wife and I just returned after spending the entire month of August in Nova Scotia. We drove to Nova Scotia and back spending about two weeks each way. So we were gone about two months. We were in Cooperstown during the Hall of Fame weekend, very nice! Originally we planned to visit New Found Land (that's the way they say it ;-)) but even with a month in Nova Scotia, we agreed with you, there was just not enough time. So we plan to return ... SCORE!
 
Thanks for sharing. It looked like a fun, relaxing trip on the big ol' GL1800.

:clap:

I was skunked on my travels this summer. Most of the western states including Canada had multiple forest fires burning out of control due to global warming. The heavy smoke on Lolo Pass was terrible. I think going east towards New England looks like a better alternative next time.

RB
 
Enjoyed your report!
Thanks for posting.
 
Great report and pictures! I enjoyed it very much. Now that I have a Wing I have some bucket list rides on my agenda.
 
Great trip and report :clap: My bucket list keeps getting longer. I already have an assignment to take my wife to Newfoundland, the place of her birth. I suppose I'll be out there for a while seeing as much as we can while there.
 
You know, the great thing about getting old is being able to read these reports, then when you get to the bottom, realize that you had already read and commented on it before. :) Still a great read, Rich.
 
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