I pulled into the vacation house just after three o'clock this afternoon. I was early. The cleaners were still there picking up from the last crew. I didn't bother to even ask if I could come in, I just walked around back, took my boots off and sat next to the pool, waiting for the rest of the family to show up. The sound of the waves crashing on the shore, just a few yards away, over the sand dune, helped relax my weary bones. I'm willing to admit I have weary bones. Twelve straight days of riding is a new experience. Not sure I'll ever do it again, but I can say I did it this one time.
Today was an easy ride. Took the interstate over to Virginia beach for lunch at Rockafeller's. Then I hit the back roads to get me back to the highway and on my way down to the Outer Banks. One thing I'm learning to appreciate is how well the roads are usually marked back home in Michigan. There are states that just don't bother, and it can make for a true adventure as you try to guess if the turn you just took was the one you were supposed to take or not. Apparently they expect you to know it's Princess Anne Drive, not Route 165, like it's marked on the map.
Being here on the beach for a few days will be nice. I might ride into town (literally right around the corner) but don't envision spending too much time in the saddle between now and when I leave. The weary bones are looking forward to the break. :)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
SPF 100+
So, I need to give Rite-Aid some props. Here's a shout out for their SPF 100+ sunscreen. I've been in the blazing sun for four straight days, for over 6 hours per day, and I still look like Casper, the friendly ghost. OK, I may be exaggerating a little. Yes, I'm from Michigan (Pasty White skin tone should be an actual color in the Crayola Crayon box in that part of the country), but I'm usually burnt to a crisp after my first ride on a sunny day. I do have a bit of color in my face and arms, but it's a healthy light brown, not the crisp red that I normally wear about this time of year. Yay for sunscreen...
...man I hate wearing that stuff. It's thick and greasy and gets all over my clothes and my motorcycle. The finger prints all over the bike are enough to drive me mad and it takes at least two showers to get it all off, only to have to put it right back on the next day...
...and no sunburns.
I had the chance to spend the night with an old friend from high school last night. Got to meet his wonderful wife and his precocious, and darling, little boy. We had a great meal together and got to watch a great game 7 in the NHL playoffs. I had to get on the road right after breakfast this morning to make my intended target for the day, but it was a great diversion from the hotels. It got me thinking that more of us probably need to spend more time visiting people we know and like...the world might be a better place for it.
It did rain today, for about 3 minutes while I was eating lunch. Just enough to get my bike wet enough to warrant wiping 4 days of road grime off and making it look mostly pretty again. Of course, 3 minutes of rain bumped the humidity up about 1000 notches, but hey, who doesn't like to sweat. :)
I also got to ride through the Chesapeake Bay bridge and tunnel system today. The $12.00 toll caught me off guard, but it was worth it. All those miles cruising along just a few yards above the water with a cool stiff breeze blowing a day of baking in the sun out of your system. The tunnel portion isn't particularly exciting, but is was still pretty neat to think that you're just disappearing below those waves, only to reappear on the other side of the tunnel, ready to enjoy a few more miles of riding over the water.
The trip today gave me time to think about what I want to do in between my next stop, the Outer Banks, and my trip out to Portland (which I've decided I'd like to fly to, rather than ride) and I think I may hear the Blue Ridge Parkway calling my name..
Tomorrow is another day, and another road.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
...man I hate wearing that stuff. It's thick and greasy and gets all over my clothes and my motorcycle. The finger prints all over the bike are enough to drive me mad and it takes at least two showers to get it all off, only to have to put it right back on the next day...
...and no sunburns.
I had the chance to spend the night with an old friend from high school last night. Got to meet his wonderful wife and his precocious, and darling, little boy. We had a great meal together and got to watch a great game 7 in the NHL playoffs. I had to get on the road right after breakfast this morning to make my intended target for the day, but it was a great diversion from the hotels. It got me thinking that more of us probably need to spend more time visiting people we know and like...the world might be a better place for it.
It did rain today, for about 3 minutes while I was eating lunch. Just enough to get my bike wet enough to warrant wiping 4 days of road grime off and making it look mostly pretty again. Of course, 3 minutes of rain bumped the humidity up about 1000 notches, but hey, who doesn't like to sweat. :)
I also got to ride through the Chesapeake Bay bridge and tunnel system today. The $12.00 toll caught me off guard, but it was worth it. All those miles cruising along just a few yards above the water with a cool stiff breeze blowing a day of baking in the sun out of your system. The tunnel portion isn't particularly exciting, but is was still pretty neat to think that you're just disappearing below those waves, only to reappear on the other side of the tunnel, ready to enjoy a few more miles of riding over the water.
The trip today gave me time to think about what I want to do in between my next stop, the Outer Banks, and my trip out to Portland (which I've decided I'd like to fly to, rather than ride) and I think I may hear the Blue Ridge Parkway calling my name..
Tomorrow is another day, and another road.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Gateway Ct,Chesapeake,United States
Friday...
It's Saturday morning...Friday was yesterday...let me reflect...
The Weather Channel tells me it's about 85 today. The instruments on my fairing tell me the air temperature over the blacktop is closer to 100...and it feels every degree of it.
I'm not sure who to be more upset with...The Google...or me, for listening to The Google. I've been inching down this narrow parking lot for over an hour. My left hand aches from the constant use of the clutch. My clothes are damp with sweat. I feel like I'm baking from the top side and steaming from the bottom as the heat from my engine turns the sweat to steam.
I stopped for some liquid replenishment, for me and the bike, and The Google assured me that heading south on the road I had gotten off on would be a much quicker route than getting back on the interstate. For all I know The Google may actually be right, the interstate might not be moving any faster than I am right now...but there's no way for me to know for sure.
My left hand screams in agony as I squeeze the clutch for what feels like the thousandth time in an hour. I reflect that this is not the first time I've been stuck like this...and I realize it won't be the last because this memory will soon be repressed, sent back to some dark corner of my mind, far from the place where riding a motorcycle is all fun, wind in my face, and where you never get sunburned.
Traffic finally thins out as all the people in front of me turn down their respective cul de sacs. Trees line the road and offer the relief of shade. The air moving over me feels like a dream. Here is the interstate, it's time to really get moving....only the parking lot just got wider.
Tomorrow is another day, and another road.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The Weather Channel tells me it's about 85 today. The instruments on my fairing tell me the air temperature over the blacktop is closer to 100...and it feels every degree of it.
I'm not sure who to be more upset with...The Google...or me, for listening to The Google. I've been inching down this narrow parking lot for over an hour. My left hand aches from the constant use of the clutch. My clothes are damp with sweat. I feel like I'm baking from the top side and steaming from the bottom as the heat from my engine turns the sweat to steam.
I stopped for some liquid replenishment, for me and the bike, and The Google assured me that heading south on the road I had gotten off on would be a much quicker route than getting back on the interstate. For all I know The Google may actually be right, the interstate might not be moving any faster than I am right now...but there's no way for me to know for sure.
My left hand screams in agony as I squeeze the clutch for what feels like the thousandth time in an hour. I reflect that this is not the first time I've been stuck like this...and I realize it won't be the last because this memory will soon be repressed, sent back to some dark corner of my mind, far from the place where riding a motorcycle is all fun, wind in my face, and where you never get sunburned.
Traffic finally thins out as all the people in front of me turn down their respective cul de sacs. Trees line the road and offer the relief of shade. The air moving over me feels like a dream. Here is the interstate, it's time to really get moving....only the parking lot just got wider.
Tomorrow is another day, and another road.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Not enough time...
Whew! I'm beat.
I took the long way to Rhode Island from Bangor, Maine: US-2 all the way to Gorham, New Hampshire, then Route 16 down through the White Mountain National Forest and west to I-93 on the Kancamagus Highway (Route 112). It was a great ride, although I do tend to get tired of having to slow down to 35 every 5 miles for whichever little burg I might be driving through. They need to build an express lane on some of these 2 lanes. :) The odometer on the Vision rolled over 1,000 miles just a little before I got to the hotel. The next 1,000 may be entirely different. A lot of it will be plodding down the east coast trying to find the easiest way to the Outer Banks.
What I didn't have time to do was drive up to the top of Mt. Washington. I was tempted to, but knew it would mean not getting to my hotel tonight until after 11PM. In addition, there were some pretty nasty looking clouds hovering around the top of the mountain and I did manage to get sprinkled on just a wee little bit as I was driving past. It's something I'll have to keep in the back of my mind for the next time I'm in New Hampshire.
As I made my way down the Kancamagus Highway, I got to thinking that every state has one of these...a road that is meant for riding. I know of several of them in Michigan, which then made me wonder why I was all the way over in New Hampshire...oh, yeah, the mountains! Riding US-2 out of Maine and into New Hampshire was an experience that's hard to find back home. As you head west, you're climbing almost non-stop, you just don't know it. Then, all of a sudden, you crest a hill, the trees clear, and there, splayed out before you, like the roller coaster of the gods, are the mountains. Admittedly, these aren't the Rockies we're talking about here, but they're pretty big hills none-the-less.
Picture of the dam system in Mexico...Mexico, Maine, that is.
The mountains, as seen from Kancamagus Pass, elevation around 2,800 feet.
Tomorrow is another day, and another road.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
I took the long way to Rhode Island from Bangor, Maine: US-2 all the way to Gorham, New Hampshire, then Route 16 down through the White Mountain National Forest and west to I-93 on the Kancamagus Highway (Route 112). It was a great ride, although I do tend to get tired of having to slow down to 35 every 5 miles for whichever little burg I might be driving through. They need to build an express lane on some of these 2 lanes. :) The odometer on the Vision rolled over 1,000 miles just a little before I got to the hotel. The next 1,000 may be entirely different. A lot of it will be plodding down the east coast trying to find the easiest way to the Outer Banks.
What I didn't have time to do was drive up to the top of Mt. Washington. I was tempted to, but knew it would mean not getting to my hotel tonight until after 11PM. In addition, there were some pretty nasty looking clouds hovering around the top of the mountain and I did manage to get sprinkled on just a wee little bit as I was driving past. It's something I'll have to keep in the back of my mind for the next time I'm in New Hampshire.
As I made my way down the Kancamagus Highway, I got to thinking that every state has one of these...a road that is meant for riding. I know of several of them in Michigan, which then made me wonder why I was all the way over in New Hampshire...oh, yeah, the mountains! Riding US-2 out of Maine and into New Hampshire was an experience that's hard to find back home. As you head west, you're climbing almost non-stop, you just don't know it. Then, all of a sudden, you crest a hill, the trees clear, and there, splayed out before you, like the roller coaster of the gods, are the mountains. Admittedly, these aren't the Rockies we're talking about here, but they're pretty big hills none-the-less.
Picture of the dam system in Mexico...Mexico, Maine, that is.
The mountains, as seen from Kancamagus Pass, elevation around 2,800 feet.
Tomorrow is another day, and another road.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Post Rd,Warwick,United States
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
The payoff...
Victory, thy name is...comfort.
I rode I-95 from Bangor to Medway, first thing this morning. It's actually very similar to riding the blacktop in Michigan, between Clare and Big Mac, only here in Maine there are a lot more rocks and boulders in the median and along the side of the highway.
I got off the interstate, at Medway, and took route 11 north, all the way to Fort Kent. Very beautiful ride, reminiscent of M-41 in the UP back home, only the hills here might be a little bigger and it was a longer ride. Fort Kent is right on the border, and I was surprised, but not surprised, to hear most of the adults speaking French (with a little English sprinkled in) when I stopped at McDonald's for a drink.
US-1 runs along the river, so you can see Canada for miles and miles...tends to look just like the U.S. side, only more Canadian.
US-1, from Fort Kent to Houlton, was a little less "hilly", but just as scenic. Sweeping vistas of hilly terrain and large rolling hills follow the border from north to south.
Once I got to Houlton, it was back onto I-95 for the ride back to Bangor. More of the same from the morning. Lots of trees and rocks, and very few cars or trucks.
It was about 440 miles of riding today, just a little over 9 hours actually sitting in the saddle with the bike in motion. Less than 2 hours of total stop time between when I left Bangor and when I returned.
Some random thoughts from the day:
Cruising the interstate, when there are no other vehicles, is actually very nice. The road is yours, you own it. No turbulence, no noise, just you and your ride enjoying what's there to enjoy. I had over 100 miles of this today.
Cruise control = AWESOME (especially when you have no competing traffic on the interstate.)
Riding 400+ miles and having only the things you know should feel sore feel sore at the end of the day...priceless.
Victory has put a lot of effort into crafting an excellent ride. I averaged over 40 miles per gallon today...I may have just found my new favorite transportation.
There is no way to describe, or depict, the exhilaration of cresting a hill to a sweeping view of the valley below, the road dropping before you like a roller coaster, disappearing into the twists and turns, and all you can see is where it comes out of the valley on the other side and know you you're really going to enjoy getting from here to there.
You would think that by the age of 39 a man would remember not to rub sunscreen into his eyes. I had to stop twice today, just for that reason. D'oh...
There is also no camera that can accurately portray the scenery that one takes in as one travels. The pictures below are but a poor attempt to show you just a fraction of what I saw while I was out today.
Thank God for a fairing and a windshield...those bugs would have been all over me otherwise.
Tomorrow brings a ride down to Providence, Rhode Island, via the Kancamagus Highway (otherwise known as the looooong way around.)
Tomorrow is another day, and another road.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
I rode I-95 from Bangor to Medway, first thing this morning. It's actually very similar to riding the blacktop in Michigan, between Clare and Big Mac, only here in Maine there are a lot more rocks and boulders in the median and along the side of the highway.
I got off the interstate, at Medway, and took route 11 north, all the way to Fort Kent. Very beautiful ride, reminiscent of M-41 in the UP back home, only the hills here might be a little bigger and it was a longer ride. Fort Kent is right on the border, and I was surprised, but not surprised, to hear most of the adults speaking French (with a little English sprinkled in) when I stopped at McDonald's for a drink.
US-1 runs along the river, so you can see Canada for miles and miles...tends to look just like the U.S. side, only more Canadian.
US-1, from Fort Kent to Houlton, was a little less "hilly", but just as scenic. Sweeping vistas of hilly terrain and large rolling hills follow the border from north to south.
Once I got to Houlton, it was back onto I-95 for the ride back to Bangor. More of the same from the morning. Lots of trees and rocks, and very few cars or trucks.
It was about 440 miles of riding today, just a little over 9 hours actually sitting in the saddle with the bike in motion. Less than 2 hours of total stop time between when I left Bangor and when I returned.
Some random thoughts from the day:
Cruising the interstate, when there are no other vehicles, is actually very nice. The road is yours, you own it. No turbulence, no noise, just you and your ride enjoying what's there to enjoy. I had over 100 miles of this today.
Cruise control = AWESOME (especially when you have no competing traffic on the interstate.)
Riding 400+ miles and having only the things you know should feel sore feel sore at the end of the day...priceless.
Victory has put a lot of effort into crafting an excellent ride. I averaged over 40 miles per gallon today...I may have just found my new favorite transportation.
There is no way to describe, or depict, the exhilaration of cresting a hill to a sweeping view of the valley below, the road dropping before you like a roller coaster, disappearing into the twists and turns, and all you can see is where it comes out of the valley on the other side and know you you're really going to enjoy getting from here to there.
You would think that by the age of 39 a man would remember not to rub sunscreen into his eyes. I had to stop twice today, just for that reason. D'oh...
There is also no camera that can accurately portray the scenery that one takes in as one travels. The pictures below are but a poor attempt to show you just a fraction of what I saw while I was out today.
Thank God for a fairing and a windshield...those bugs would have been all over me otherwise.
Tomorrow brings a ride down to Providence, Rhode Island, via the Kancamagus Highway (otherwise known as the looooong way around.)
Tomorrow is another day, and another road.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Perry Rd,Bangor,United States
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
The game changer...
Things took a turn for the better today.
First, it stopped raining.
Second, it's warming up, almost 72 right now.
Third, I traded the Triumph in on a Victory Vision Tourer.
I've only been able to put about 60 miles on the new bike so far, but I'll be heading out in just a few minutes to add some more. The big test will be tomorrow. I'm planning on taking some two lanes all the way to the northernmost tip of Maine and back. It should be over 450 miles total, and enough to warrant stopping back at the dealer first thing on Thursday for the first service.
The Victory gives up a lot to the Triumph in terms of power. On the highway, it goes fast, just not as quickly as the Triumph could; but, what it gives up in power it gains back in features. Full fairing, stereo system with auxiliary inputs, heated seats, lots of little data related add-ins in the dash. To put it bluntly, the Victory is a touring bike designed for riding thousands of miles on a long trip like this. The Triumph is a touring bike, too...it's just not my touring bike.
Tomorrow is looking very promising in terms of the weather. It should be sunny from the time I hit the road in the morning until well after I get back to the hotel. Thursday is looking pretty good, too, and should help me make some headway getting south and heading towards the Outer Banks. I was seriously considering not going to the Outer Banks as part of this trip if I had to do it on the Triumph. I wouldn't have had enough time to ride all the miles I needed to ride to make it happen. Tomorrow will give me a much better feel for how long I can stay in the saddle and how far I should expect to go.
I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of rural Maine on Wednesday. Hopefully I'll get plenty of great picture opportunities.
Tomorrow is another day, and another road.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad & iPhone
First, it stopped raining.
Second, it's warming up, almost 72 right now.
Third, I traded the Triumph in on a Victory Vision Tourer.
I've only been able to put about 60 miles on the new bike so far, but I'll be heading out in just a few minutes to add some more. The big test will be tomorrow. I'm planning on taking some two lanes all the way to the northernmost tip of Maine and back. It should be over 450 miles total, and enough to warrant stopping back at the dealer first thing on Thursday for the first service.
The Victory gives up a lot to the Triumph in terms of power. On the highway, it goes fast, just not as quickly as the Triumph could; but, what it gives up in power it gains back in features. Full fairing, stereo system with auxiliary inputs, heated seats, lots of little data related add-ins in the dash. To put it bluntly, the Victory is a touring bike designed for riding thousands of miles on a long trip like this. The Triumph is a touring bike, too...it's just not my touring bike.
Tomorrow is looking very promising in terms of the weather. It should be sunny from the time I hit the road in the morning until well after I get back to the hotel. Thursday is looking pretty good, too, and should help me make some headway getting south and heading towards the Outer Banks. I was seriously considering not going to the Outer Banks as part of this trip if I had to do it on the Triumph. I wouldn't have had enough time to ride all the miles I needed to ride to make it happen. Tomorrow will give me a much better feel for how long I can stay in the saddle and how far I should expect to go.
I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of rural Maine on Wednesday. Hopefully I'll get plenty of great picture opportunities.
Tomorrow is another day, and another road.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad & iPhone
Location:Perry Rd,Bangor,United States
Monday, May 23, 2011
Brrrrrrrr...
Sitting here at a travel plaza outside Freeport, Maine, munching on some of Debi Woolsey's world famous chocolate chip cookies, trying to warm my inside with a large coffee (leave an inch for cream and sugar please) and my outside with thoughts of sunshine. At least one side of me should be warm by the time this gets posted. :)
After 3 days of short rides on 2 lane roads, today is a day dedicated to just getting there (read as riding on the interstate.) Each type of ride serves it's purpose, but I definitely enjoy the former rather than the later. Bangor, Maine, is the destination for today and I'll be spending at least 2 nights there. That gives me the opportunity for a couple of days to explore the twisting backroads of New England. Bangor is about two and a quarter hours from where I am now, probably closer to three hours by the time I add in stops and gas.
One of the things I appreciate most about small town America, which you can only see by getting off the interstate, is its pride. Most of the small towns I rode through over the past three days already have their flags out for Memorial Day. No last minute preparations, waiting until the Friday before to get the decorating done. What a beautiful and wonderful country we live in.
Speaking of beautiful...even though the day is gray and cold, the ride here in Maine is beautiful none the less. It's almost like fall, but in reverse. I've never seen so much color in trees that are just sprouting leaves. Gold, yellow, green, and purple, it's a veritable rainbow of new life springing forth to great another growing season. I can only imagine how wonderful it would look flooded with sunlight. It looks like I might get my chance to see that on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Bangor calls my name, or maybe that's just the bathroom around the corner, either way, I'm off for now.
Tomorrow is another day, and another road.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
After 3 days of short rides on 2 lane roads, today is a day dedicated to just getting there (read as riding on the interstate.) Each type of ride serves it's purpose, but I definitely enjoy the former rather than the later. Bangor, Maine, is the destination for today and I'll be spending at least 2 nights there. That gives me the opportunity for a couple of days to explore the twisting backroads of New England. Bangor is about two and a quarter hours from where I am now, probably closer to three hours by the time I add in stops and gas.
One of the things I appreciate most about small town America, which you can only see by getting off the interstate, is its pride. Most of the small towns I rode through over the past three days already have their flags out for Memorial Day. No last minute preparations, waiting until the Friday before to get the decorating done. What a beautiful and wonderful country we live in.
Speaking of beautiful...even though the day is gray and cold, the ride here in Maine is beautiful none the less. It's almost like fall, but in reverse. I've never seen so much color in trees that are just sprouting leaves. Gold, yellow, green, and purple, it's a veritable rainbow of new life springing forth to great another growing season. I can only imagine how wonderful it would look flooded with sunlight. It looks like I might get my chance to see that on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Bangor calls my name, or maybe that's just the bathroom around the corner, either way, I'm off for now.
Tomorrow is another day, and another road.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:U.S. 1,Freeport,United States
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