48 States - Leg 3

Davidw2415

Thanks Jake for sharing another adventure with us. I hope you get better weather conditions real soon. After seeing what conditions you've been riding in for the past several days I find myself getting anxious for your next post just to see that you are making your way through it without any mishaps.

Be safe and enjoy you trip.

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With every mistake, we must surely be learning.George Harrison

RetiredJake

Northern Loop - Sunday, Sep 13

It was not raining this morning, and there was a good possibility that I would stay dry the whole day. It was like a miracle. I was beginning to understand why people in Seattle commit suicide in the winter.

I headed north towards York to get a shot of the bike at the shore, to complement the one taken next to the Pacific in June. I spotted the Old Gaol in York, ME, circa 1719, on the way. How would like to have spent a day or two in this?

I made it the York beaches and they were lonely. Of course it was a Sunday morning and most of the tourists have gone home. This completed the decision I made in June on the western loop when I decided that these rides had to include pictures of the bike at both oceans. Mission accomplished, to paraphrase a famous American.

I then rode out to the end of the point to capture the lighthouse. It sits on an island and they have a cable car to get back and forth and to bring supplies out. As you can see, it was a little bit foggy, and the fog horn was blowing. Love that sound, wish I could make the bike horn sound like that.

As I headed north from York, the sun actually came out. I have to admit that I was a little confused for a few minutes until I figured out what that bright light in the sky was.

A little further down the road I stumbled across ‘Uncle Donald’s Pig Farm’. Some people’s vivid imagination knows no bounds.

Shortly after crossing into NH, I was approaching the mountains. Stopped at a rest area and caught this shot of where I was headed. Note the clouds building up.

I decided to take the road to the top of Mt. Washington since it was so warm and the clouds were breaking up again. The top of the mountain was in the clouds, and that should have tipped me off that this was not a good idea. This is an 8 mile road up the mountain, with an average grade of 12%. Yes, that is the actual grade. There is about 1 ½ miles of hard pack gravel, with the rest being paved. About half way through the gravel part, we entered the clouds. Visibility continued to drop as we climbed. I was following the taillights of the car in front of me, and they slowed down to the point I was having to slip the clutch to keep off his bumper. This was not a lot of fun. I finally got to the top, and it was so foggy that you could not see anything. I hear that the view is spectacular. I took this picture to show what could be seen.

On the way back down, it started to spit water, felt like ice particles and may have been. The temperature dropped to below 40 degrees at the summit. Going down, it was hard to stay off peoples bumpers. They were going very slow and the bike wanted to wander back and forth. I did not want to stop for fear the guy behind me wouldn’t see I had stopped in time. A little nerve racking to say the least. Fun road, and I would do it again, on a clear day. Do not recommend under these conditions.

On through NH and into VT, the sky continued to cycle from overcast to partly sunny. As I would work to the north, I would get some sun. As I would head west, it was back under the clouds. It was like this the rest of the day. YES, I did not get rained on today. The rain suit stayed in the saddlebag all day !

I was a disappointed about the color. I had hoped there would be some, but there was hardly any at all. Just isolated spots here and there.



I finally crossed over Lake Champlain and called it a day in Rouses Point, NY. See ya’ll tomorrow.

__________________
Roaming the country, Tasting the wine,
Having fun, Life is good

Trek

Way to go Jake,

Glad you made it safe up and down the mountain. I knew there was something about you I liked, I didn't retire navy, but served six years. Thanks again for taking us along on your travels.

RetiredJake

Ah the trials and tribulations a touring rider goes through. Figured I better check the tire pressure this moring, hadn't looked at it a couple of days. Well, when I pulled the gage off, the valve stuck open and the air just kept pouring out. I have been unable to reseat it, so called HOG and they are sending a tow out to take me to the nearest dealer in Plattsburg. Another lesson, carry a spare valve stem core and a tool. By the time I complete this trip, I'm going to be one smart son of a gun from all the lessons I've learned.

__________________
Roaming the country, Tasting the wine,
Having fun, Life is good

NEWHD74FAN

Wow, talk about Murphy's law, never had the what can go wrong will go wrong thing happen on something innocuous like a valve core...sheesh!

Great pictures Jake!

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Davidw2415

Jake, maybe you should check and make sure your gremlin bell hasn't fallen off.

__________________
With every mistake, we must surely be learning.George Harrison

pru7536

Jake, not only are you gonna be smart, but you should have some great luck for the next several years. Looks like most of your bad luck is gettin' used up on this trip. Last week I took the valve stems out of a little trailer I pull behind the lawn mower to collect sticks in. I poured "Slime" in and the tires were fine after that. As I was looking at the valve stems I couldn't help but think what a pain it would be if one of those things malfunctioned. Got to be about the same odds as winning the lottery. Maybe you should buy a couple of tickets while out and about. Keep an eye out for another pink elephant! Best wishes!

__________________
Semper Fi!

Mad Dog

RetiredJake

Northern Loop - Monday, Sep 14

I have had horrible luck with WiFi at my motels. It is either down, never had it, or the response when I ask if they have it is, “HUH?” So once this gets uploaded, it will be followed by 2 or 3 more days.

The tow truck eventually arrived and we got it loaded and hauled the bike to North End HD in Plattsburg, NY. These were some decent guys and they got me in and out quickly. The front tire was getting pretty thin, so I had them go ahead and replace it while it was in the shop. I would just worry about it for the next 2,000 miles. Turns out the front brake pads were just about gone also. Guess that descent down Mt. Washington took a lot out of it, they should have made it home. Oh well, better safe than sorry.

Got back on the road about 1300, and headed up I-87 for Canada. Arrived at the Canadian entry point in time to sit in a line.

Grabbed the ‘Welcome to Quebec’ sign right across the border, then headed up the road. The wheat had been cut, but the corn is still green this far north.

Turned to the west prior to getting to Montreal, and crossed into Ontario. Ran into rain about 20 miles east of Ottawa. Should have called it a day a little earlier. Tried to find a motel in Ottawa, got turned around (never get lost, just confused sometimes ) and finally found the highway again. Kept going west out of Ottawa and finally shut it down in Arnprior, Ontario. The Quality Inn is nice, there is a restaurant and bar attached to the Inn, and they encouraged me to park next to the building under the check-in canopy. I like these people. Unfortunately, when I tried to upload my pictures, it just would not work.

Prior to Ottawa, I ran into some more of those trucks with just too many axels, This one had 4 axels on the trailer, and 3 rear axels on the tractor.

This was pretty flat country, hoping for some hills tomorrow.

What with the weather and then the tire today, I’m a full day behind schedule. Probably try to make a really hard ride tomorrow to make some time back, weather permitting.

__________________
Roaming the country, Tasting the wine,
Having fun, Life is good

pru7536

Thanks again for the update Jake! Good thing you have many years of sustained, rigorous training in "hurry up and wait"! Hopefully things will get better in the near future. Hang in there!

__________________
Semper Fi!

Mad Dog

RetiredJake

Northern Loop - Tuesday, Sep 15

Left Arnprior about 0800 this morning with overcast/leaden skies.

Temperature was in the low 40’s, and I stopped about 3 times to add layers, finally putting on the heated jacket liner and gloves. Seems like I have a habit of underestimating how cold it is.

Ran across the Fudge Factory and almost left a trail of rubber when I put on the brakes. To say I like fresh fudge would be an understatement.

The color was a little better than in NH, but not much. Still pretty sparse and muted.

I was running on Hwy 60, full of beautiful woods, rolling hills, and winding roads. Our members from Canada have a right to be proud of their country, it is beautiful.

Every where I looked on this road there was another lake, usually with several islands. I had to stop and take a better look at this one.

I turned off to Manitoulin Island, intending on staying at the Inn all the way out to Meldrum Bay. I ran across this beautiful little lake on the way, just one of many.

I made it to Meldrum Bay, only to find the Inn was closed, and the road to the lighthouse was like grease with loose gravel on hard pack. Turned around and retreated from the lighthouse and viewed the bay instead. This is the little harbor there, leading out into Lake Huron.

About the time I got onto the island, the clouds broke and I was actually seeing sunny skies. On the way back, the clouds were building again, and looked like this.

It’s a long way out to the end of the island, about 100 miles from the mainland highway. It was getting dark on the way back, and I began to think my low beam was out as I really wasn’t showing much. Stopped and checked it out. Yep, sometime during the day the low beam gave up the ghost. Finally found a motel about 2000 and called it quits for the day. All totaled, I rode 580 miles today, almost back on schedule. Should return to the US tomorrow. BTW, second day this trip with NO rain.

__________________
Roaming the country, Tasting the wine,
Having fun, Life is good