4th June 2007

Well we’ve, we arrived safely after an uneventful flight. The hotel we had booked because it had a shuttle bus turned out not to have one so we spent a small fortune on a Taxi – still we’re here now. We’re still not sure if the Trike has cleared custom’s or not, hopefully we’ll find out in the morning.

 

5th June 2007

It seems one of the forms we completed for Customs wasn’t valid for Maryland !!  The shipping agent has sorted the paperwork out but as the Docks shut at 15:30 we won’t be collecting the Trike today after all.  Rented a car instead (strangely a PT Cruiser) and went to do some shopping. We are now the proud owners of two mesh motorcycle suits (Mesh jackets and trousers) and boy are we going to need them it’s real hot & sunny.

 

6th June 2007

Having been told that the Trike would be ready to collect this morning we camped out (In the rental car) outside the shipping agent’s office at 09:30.  The paperwork arrived at 11:30 but the Docks close for lunch between 11:45 at 13:00.  We finally took delivery of the Trike at around 14:00, rode/drove back to a car park outside of the Docks, unloaded the luggage into the Trike, returned the rental car and headed down to Honda at Crofton for the first service.  We arrived at Crofton at around 16:00 and the service was completed by 18:30 by which time Jeff from Haus of Trikes had arrived to collect his new compressor.  Although it was rather later than we’d hoped, we followed Jeff down to his and Edith’s home near Ocean City (Maryland) arriving at around 22:30.  Hot & sunny again today.

 

7th June 2007

Took the Trike over the Jeff’s workshop to have the steering lock fixed and a few other bits and pieces sorted out.  We’re very lucky to have met Jeff and Edith, not only are they providing us with accommodation but they also lent us their SUV while the Trike was in the shop. Took a run out to see some of the local sights – very hot & sunny again.  Jeff’s Mother and her partner are also staying for a few days and, following a visit to the new Haus of Trikes workshop and Edith’s new Art studio/Gallery (both of which are due to open shortly) we all went to a local restaurant for food.

 

8th June 2007

Had a mostly lazy day, doing some laundry, looking at photographs etc. It’s a good day to be indoors too as the roadside readouts are showing 97 degrees F. Travelled up to Georgetown in Delaware this evening to see some local dirt track racing (two different classes of car) unfortunately they were running under floodlights and had a power outage that lasted an hour. As a result, the racing didn’t finish until gone 23:00. Total Trike mileage so far = 264

 

9th June 2007

Left Jeff & Edith’s at around 11:00 this morning and headed North through Delaware and in to New Jersey (or as the locals say, Noo Joyzee). Wasn’t too much to see en-route and when we got to Ocean City (Yes we did leave one Ocean City and drive to another) we discovered it’s rather like a very tacky Blackpool and probably twice as expensive (we’ve ended up paying $165.00 for a fairly standard room). Weather sunny again but only 86 degrees today. Total mileage so far = 514

 

10th June 2007

Decided, as it was Sunday, it was a good day to skirt around New York City.  Unfortunately, this meant spending quite a bit of time sitting on an Interstate but it really was the only way. Picked up some information from a local Tourist Centre who recommended we stay at a small town called New Paltz, which is near the Catskill Mountains (still in New York State). They also gave us a ‘Room Saver’ guide (well worth picking up if you’re ever over here – most States have one) which had a voucher for a Super 8 Motel in New Paltz at $39 + tax. Needless to say we took up the offer and the room ended up costing us around £24 for the night including breakfast.  The Motel then recommended a local Diner that gave us 10% off our check (sorry, bill) for showing our room key. All in all, not a bad night.

 

11th June 2007

It was nice, warm and sunny this morning so we decided to take a trip around the Catskills – very pretty and well worth the effort. As the weather was good this morning we wore our nice new mesh suits without their waterproof/windproof liners.  That was great this morning but not so good when the heavens suddenly opened this afternoon – Yes, mesh suits do let water through as well as air – lots of it!!  Before the weather changed we had decided to head for the Connecticut coast which turned out not to be a nice as we’d hoped – still we know that now!  We ended up staying in the only Motel we could find (eventually) which was expensive and not very good but, hey ho, you have to take the rough with the smooth.

 

12th June 2007

Had some thunderstorms overnight last night and woke to a fairly grey morning.  As a result we decided it was time to try out the liners for the new suits. By the time we’d travelled about 20 miles the sun had come out and it was so hot we had to stop at some services to take the liners out again!  We left the Connecticut coast and rode through Rhode Island (pretty) to the Massachusetts coast and Cape Cod where we stayed at a small harbour town called Hyannis that turned out to be quite a nice town. By the time we’d arrived the weather had deteriorated again with a little rain but more noticeable was the change in temperature it was now around 64F.

 

13th June 2007

It was cold and grey this morning when we left so the new suit liners got a proper test (very good). We did as all good Pilgrims have to do, and rode around the Cape Cod peninsular to Provincetown which is where the original Pilgrims first set foot on American soil and where they have a monument to them (see photos).  It turned out to be a really pretty little town but quite touristy and it would probably be very busy in high season.  From there we rode back around the peninsula to Plymouth to see the Mayflower II (a replica built 50 years ago) and the Plymouth Rock (see photos) before heading a little further north in an attempt to get within striking distance of Laconia whilst bike week is still in progress.  We’re now settled in a nice Motel which has a restaurant and bar next door so I really must go now……

 

14th June 2007

A very helpful young lady at our last motel rang ahead for us and managed to get us into a motel fairly close to Laconia (New Hampshire) for tonight, we also managed to get in to a different one (even closer to the action) for Friday night.  Once we’d checked in to the motel we rode along to take a look at Bike Week which, as we suspected, has one central location but with other satellite areas spread around the vicinity (some 30+ miles away).  The main area is big and pretty much takes over what appears, outside of Bike Week, to be a small resort town on the edge of a lake.  The best way to describe it is rather like the BMF show but without the bargains and with more ‘Image Bikers’ than we’re used to seeing.  We did feel a little out of place as we weren’t wearing the requisite blue jeans, black cut off T-shirt and, even more so, because we actually rode our bike to get here (most seem to be trailered to a local hotel and then ridden around for a few days before being trailered home again and that includes those from within New England!!). We’re intending to take a look at some of the other venues tomorrow and also to take in one of their mapped out routes through the White Mountains so watch this space.

 

15th June 2007

We spent this morning calling in at some of the Bike Week meeting points including one where Lehman Trikes have a stand.  Although they are not really offering demo rides this week they decided that, as we’d come so far and as we know how to ride a Trike, they’d let us take one out.  Unfortunately, we didn’t get to go too far as the crowds are really out today and we spent an absolute age sat in traffic, still it was enough for us to get an idea of the handling (which is a bit better in some ways but not in others) and we also had an opportunity to try out the trunk which turns out to be smaller than the one we have now.  Later on in the day we rode out to the Kancamgus pass in the White Mountains – very pretty.  It also helped that the weather has been hot & sunny all day.

 

16th June 2007

Left the madness that is Laconia and took a circuitous route through the White Mountains to avoid the traffic. Once again – very pretty.  We rode across Maine to the coast and the very pretty waterside town of Boothbay Harbour where we hope to do some whale watching over the next day or so.  Weather hot & sunny again.

 

17th June 2007

Despite threatened thunderstorms the Whale watch tour still went ahead and we were lucky enough to see Fin whales and Minke whales during a 4 hour boat ride which took us about 18 miles out to sea.  We also saw Harbour seals and an assortment of birdlife.  The weather held until we were just returning to the Harbour and then we had the promised major storm, thankfully it didn’t last long and we were able to shelter from the worst of it.  The Hotel bar has very friendly staff and a number of local brews for us to try so I’ll be going now.

 

18th June 2007

We left Boothbay Harbour this morning in beautiful sunshine and headed along the coast road (US 1) towards the East.  The first part of the journey saw us in reasonably heavy traffic but it soon disappeared and we were back to quiet roads and great coastal scenery.  We had been told that Bar Harbour and the Acadia National Park were both well worth a visit so we decided to take a look.  We checked in to a Motel in Bar Harbour and then headed out to the National Park where we bought our annual park pass for $80 – this should save us a fortune over the coming months.  The views from the park were absolutely stunning (thanks for the recommendation Ted) and we spent a happy few hours trundling through and taking in the views.  Once we’d been back to the Motel and cleaned up, we made our way in to town as it turned out we were there during the town’s arts festival which included free open air concerts around the town. So between 7pm & 8pm we were to be found sitting on a park bench listening to some very good music/vocals and overlooking a stunning harbour view (thanks again Ted).

 

19th June 2007

We moved on again this morning, still heading east along the coast taking in the Schoodic Peninsula en-route.  We also visited Eastport, the most easterly city on the US mainland. We had though that we might stay there but it turned out to be a very small town with very little in it (not quite sure how it got City status but…).  Instead we moved on again with a view to staying at Calais (no not that one!) but before we got there we both had a very strange sense of deja vu as we came over a crest in the road to find a very distinctive Motel we had stayed at when we visited the area (by car) some 14 years or so ago.  We pulled in, confirmed it was the same Motel, still run by the same English woman, and checked in (well we had to didn’t we!).

 

20th June 2007

It was overcast and cool as we left the Motel this morning and we caught up with the rain (which lasted most of the day) late morning.  We had been told that Baxter State Park, towards the north of the State, had some great views and lots of wildlife, including plenty of Moose so we decided to head up there to take a look.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t until we stopped for brunch approximately 20 miles from the Park, that we discovered that they don’t allow motorcycles in (apparently because it’s a wilderness park with unpaved roads and because most motorcycles are noisy)!!  The young lady at the local visitor centre told us that, although we couldn’t get in to the park, we would still stand a good chance of seeing Moose if we took one of the logging roads near to the park entrance and that, although motorcycles were also banned from this road, there would be no one around to tell us that so it would be worth a try.  We did try but saw nothing until we started back on our planned route when we came across a couple of Moose feeding at the edge of a lake. It was a bit of a long distance view but at least we saw them.  There didn’t seem much point in staying around the Baxter area so we headed for our next destination i.e. Rangeley Lakes State Park to the west of the State.  It was a fairly long, bumpy and wet run but we made it in plenty of time to get a room for the night (after a good deal of faffing around because of offers of overpriced and dodgy rooms).  Total mileage to date = 2463.

 

21st June 2007

Today was mostly bright but cool & windy as we rode out of Maine, across New Hampshire and in to Vermont.  The scenery was great as we headed across and we decided to stop once we reached a historic town called Stowe where we took a (free) trolley ride around the town before retiring to the restaurant at the Inn we’re staying in.  We also spent some time trying to track down a front tyre (and someone who could fit it) for the Trike.  It would seem that it’s not quite as simple a process as it is at home.  We tried three places, one, a trike dealer, who doesn’t do tyres at all, a Honda main dealer who could get the tyre and fit it but not until next week!!!  and another dealer who has a suitable tyre in stock and is going to try to fit us in for a change tomorrow, or at the latest on Saturday – guess who we’re going to spend our money with.  I’m going to sign off now as there’s thunder and lightning crashing around outside.

 

22nd June 2007

It bucketed with rain most of last night and was cool, grey and very threatening this morning, still, having arranged to be at the dealers 35/40 miles further south by early morning we had no choice but to set off.  The promised rain materialised shortly after we left but thankfully didn’t last long.  The dealers turned out to be very accommodating and fitted us in almost straight away – we were on the road again by 11:00 – can’t be bad.  The cost wasn’t too horrendous either at $193 including fitting and balancing.  By the time we left the dealers the weather had brightened considerably and we took a run through the Green Mountains, once again, very pretty.  We ended our day at a hotel next to the Quechee Gorge, a deep ravine that the locals refer to as the Vermont version of the Grand Canyon (it’s not quite that big though – only 163 feet deep!).  Unfortunately, it’s started belting with rain again but it’s supposed to be better tomorrow (Summer? What summer?).

 

23rd June 2007

The weather was better this morning, considerably so, bright and sunny but still cold.  We decided to spend a few hours at the Vermont Raptor and conservation centre and, having got talking to one of the guides, we joined her (and a few others) on an hour-long nature walk through the forest which turned out to be very interesting.  We then went to their outdoor amphitheatre where two young ladies introduced us to some different types of raptor and explained a lot about the different methods of flying/hunting they use – once again, very interesting.  Once we left there we headed across to Lake George where Americade had been held a few weeks ago as we were told that it was worth a look.  The lake area is very pretty but the town is full of tourist attractions and, as it was a Saturday, also very full of people (by now it was also warm and sunny).  This also meant that many of the Motels were fully booked and those that weren’t, were generally very expensive.  We found one on the edge of town which turned out not to be very good – I think the walls and floors were made of cardboard.  It was really noisy, not cheap and generally a bit rough and ready. Still we went in to town to eat and found a nice real bar that appeared to be frequented by the locals and we got into a good conversation (and a “guess who this is” on the Juke box competition) with two them.

 

24th June2007

We were up early this morning and, as the weather forecast for the next few days is good, we decided to head across to Niagara Falls.  There are really only two ways to get there, the first being on a toll road/Interstate this is supposed to take around 6 hours.  We decided to take the alternative route i.e. all the way across on the smaller roads – it took us around 8/9 hours but it was much more interesting.  Now, I’ve mentioned the Room saver coupon books before, and I’m going to mention them again, they are well worth picking up as we are currently sitting in a Comfort Inn (nothing special but more than adequate) which is advertised as being the closest hotel to the Falls (I can hear them from here) and it only cost us $60 per night thanks to a coupon from the book. The weather today has generally been good but started out with temperatures at 54F (decidedly chilly in mesh suits) and ended with 84F (blooming hot). We’re told the forecast for tomorrow is sunny and even hotter so we’ve booked to take a tour of the falls whilst we have the chance.

 

25th June 2007

As previously mentioned, we had booked a tour to take in the sights of Niagara.  We were picked up at 09:45 and joined the 6 Koreans and 5 Thai’s who were also on our tour (interesting at times as not all of them spoke English).  Our tour took in just about all of the sights on the US side including the ‘Cave of the Winds’ which takes you down to the bottom of the ‘Bridal Veil’ fall where a strange rock formation creates winds that are just about hurricane force.  We also took the obligatory trip on the ‘Maid of the Mist’ boat ride which takes you out to the bottom of the falls where you get a great view whilst getting pretty wet (despite the attractive blue plastic cape you’re given).  Once the tour finished, we took a walk through the Park that runs along the side of the Niagara river and spent a lazy hour or so sitting watching the water run.  During the evening we tried to find the local nightlife but there doesn’t seem to be any, the only place that had a bar was the Hard Rock Café so we had a quick drink in there before retiring.  Hot & sunny all day with temperatures at around 84F.

 

26th June 2007

By the time we left the Hotel this morning the temperature had reached 84F and by the time we got part way through our ride into northern Pennsylvania it was 92F – rather like riding in the stream of a hairdryer.  Once again we took, wherever possible, the back roads south through western New York State and then we headed a bit further east as we knew there was a State visitors centre there and, as we didn’t have a map of the area, we thought it would be a good idea to get hold of one.  The young guy there was real helpful, gave us a map, some information on the local area (their state guide book includes a chapter on recommended motorcycle runs) and even booked a Motel for us.  We’re staying in a pretty little town whose main street is still lit by gaslight and which has a diner that has been in constant use since 1939.  Once we got ourselves settled in we took a ride out (as recommended by the motel owner) and went to see the ‘Pennsylvania Grand Canyon’ which at 1833’ deep is quite impressive. It’s now 19:00 and still registering 91F but with possible thunderstorms forecast for tomorrow- oh well!

 

27th June 2007

The weather forecast turned out to be right.  We had a great start to the day with temperatures reaching 90F and lots of hot sunshine – we took advantage of this and headed south to the Elk Scenic Drive which is exactly what is says, a scenic drive with the chance of seeing Elk. Unfortunately, as we were there in the heat of the day we only saw a few glimpses of them in the trees, but never mind it was a pretty run anyway.  Towards mid afternoon it started to get very dark, then the thunder started, then the lightning.  We decided it was time to stop and dived into a supermarket that had a coffee bar and made it just in time before the heavens opened.  The storm was quite impressive but didn’t last long so we were soon underway again, that was all very well except we managed to catch up with the storm just before we made it to the hotel we had a voucher for – still we didn’t get too wet!  Once we’d checked in the weather worsened again and we’re currently sitting here watching severe thunderstorm warnings flash up on the TV for this area – hmmm!  The forecast for tomorrow is further storms until around 17:00 so it’s quite possible that we’ll be holed up here tomorrow too.

 

28th June 2007

As the weather forecasters were still threatening storms for the area we decided that we would stay another day and took a cab to the local shopping mall where we both had our first US haircuts. We also spent some time chatting to a local realtor and checking out the property prices – believe it or not, you can still buy a property here for around $50k and a ‘farmette’ with 10 acres, three garages and a huge barn for $225k !  Whilst in the mall we also discovered that, rather than pay for a return cab, we could use the local bus service for around 1/10th of the cost so, with some help from one of the locals, we worked out which bus we needed, where we needed to change etc and were finally dropped off by the bus driver right at the hotel door – can’t be bad.  We ate in the hotel restaurant again this evening (very good food and excellent value) and got talking to an ex-pat from Coventry who’s been living in New York for the past 30 years.  It turned out to be a very interesting (and late) night.

 

29th June 2007

After leaving the motel this morning we headed for the Allegehny National Forest which turned out to be reasonably pretty but which also had a number of very industrialised areas too.  We then jumped on the I80 and rode across into Ohio (you can generally find a State visitors centre just across the State line if you’re on an Interstate) collected a map and some information and started across towards a motorcycle rally we had found some basic details of on the internet.  Unfortunately, we decided to follow the directions given to us by the lady in the visitors centre which “would enable us to avoid the road works in Youngstown”  Hah!  By following her directions we got just a wee bit mislaid and ended up riding right through the middle of town which is not to be recommended!  We did eventually find the rally site and went in to have a chat to the organisers – it turned out that they were expecting approximately 400/500 people most of whom would be camping.  The format was not too dissimilar to a UK rally and the cost for the weekend was $35 per head.  As we didn’t have any camping equipment we obviously couldn’t stay so instead headed for the nearest motel.  This turned out to be quite some distance away and, as we’re committed to be elsewhere tomorrow evening (we’re going to the finals of the NHRA drag race meeting at Norwalk on Sunday) we have decided that it isn’t going to be practical to go back to the rally tomorrow – never mind I’m sure we’ll find another one we can get to before too long.

 

30th June 2007

Instead of going to the rally, we took a ride around the area that is home to a large Amish population.  I can see why they settled here as it’s very pretty and the roads are both quiet and almost empty (ideal for their horse drawn buggies and great motorcycling roads too). All in all it was a good relaxing day, riding quiet roads with nice sweeping bends in warm sunshine.  One picture that will remain with me was that of the local Walmart parking lot – it’s the only one I can recall with a big sign directing people to the hitching posts and under cover ‘parking’ for horses (a nice touch we thought). We had pre-booked a motel for tonight (and tomorrow) as it was the nearest reasonably priced motel to the drag strip that still had rooms (although it was still a good hours ride away) – it turned out to be a rather old motel with an empty building next door that used to be the local restaurant so once we’d cleaned up we took the trike out to find the nearest restaurant.  Not a long ride but still a pleasant one as we trundled along with no riding gear on watching the groundhogs on the side of the road.