Monday AM - off to Nova Scotia

[angellr]

IMMSC, Going that route, believe you will ride past the PC Connection offices :-) ... used to drive part of Rt 9 going to Springfield, VT from Merrimack, NH. Be careful, lots of small towns with potential folks not paying too much attention to the 2-wheeled kind.

The Kancamagus Highway [http://www.nhtourguide.com/tripreports/ ... pshire.htm] (Rt. 112 From North Woodstock to Conway) and especially around lake Winnipesaukee this time of year (think What About Bob) are one of the most scenic ... too bad you are not doing this in the Fall ... leap peeping on steroids!!

Used to work in Portland and the drive up the coast is one of the best ... but you might get this going back to Joisy. Pen(abscot) Bay is one of my favorite just to the north of Portland ... btw, great sea food in Portland!! You also may need some Black Fly propellant this time of year ... depending on whether they show up early or not.

Really jealous about your trip ... one of these days ...

[celticus]

Really jealous about your trip ... one of these days ...

Me too.
Be careful Don.

Mark

[deilenberger]

Thanks..

I'm probably one of the most paranoid motorcyclists you'll ever meet. My riding philosophy is: Don't think they don't see you - think they DO see you and are out to get'ya. It hasn't failed - think of anything really stupid a cager can do, and chances are good they'll do it.

BTW - "Joisy" - is north or the Raritan River. I believe it's actually a separate state... and when the "Joisy" drivers descend on the shore every summer - it's a refresher course in urban warfare riding

[hjsbmw]

Don't think they don't see you - think they DO see you and are out to get'ya.

That's a great way of looking at it and a great piece of advice likewise

At any rate, have an enjoyable, safe trip.

[mogu83]

Seeing as some of the Northern New England Guys are on here, I'll steal the thread for some info.

What is Rt9 like East of Bangor going to the New Brunswick border (St. Stephan)?
Where is the best campground (National park, Provincial Park) to see the tide change in the Bay of Fundy?
Right now I'm leaning toward Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park.

[redwing]

Don...Have a safe enjoyable ride... good weather and clean road.
And while you're in Canada be sure to say only nice things or they'll getcha.

Robert

[deilenberger]

Now in Brattleboro VT - EconoLodge. On a scale of 1-5, for cheap people, it's a 4. Pool is nice, room is cleanish. Towels are thin. It's cheap - $63/night for a double-double.

Let at 8:30AM, met John M at 9:45 on the Garden State Parkway. Torrential thunderstorms had been passing over northern NJ - but aside from 30 minutes of downpour around Islin - the ride was dry. We managed to skirt all the awful storms somehow, and we're watching them slide past us - north and south of Brattleboro. Quarter size hail, possible tornados, 60MPH winds - we missed them all.

Harry - Rt 22 the northernmost 25 miles sucks big time. Finally cut over on Rt 2 to Rt 9 in Massachussets and it was a huge improvement. RT 9 leaving Bennington VT (east) is torn up for about a mile, alternating mud holes, traffic, grooved pavement and earthmovers. Other then that - 9 was pretty much a delight all the way to Brattleboro. Stopped on the overlook and took a few pics - if I get ambitious I might get them off the camera tonight.

Tomorrow - off to Maine...

Today - 295 miles, about 6 hours, average speed 51MPH, average MPG 51 (John's R12R is showing 54 or so..) No tickets, no deer, no surprises, and the brief rainstorm was actually rather refreshing. Temps started in the high 80s - dropped to mid 70s for a while and then dropped back down.

More as the trip progresses..

[mogu83]

Saw the dark clouds and lighting this morning to the North and was wondering how you made out.
My going north directions get off Rt22 at Stephentown onto Rt43 to Rt2 East and then Rt8 to Rt 9. Comes out about 25 miles West of Brattleboro. Gets around the crappy part of 22. Check it out on a map.
Glad to see you abandoned your original route across Connecticut on Rt84, I hate that road.

Seeing as your further North than your first route consider taking Rt9 to Concord, then Rt93 North to Lincoln that way you can ride the Kancamagus Hwy (Rt112), then take Rt16 North (past Mt Washington) to Rt 2. Rt2 East will take you to Bangor.
Rt2 isn't particularly pretty but it is typical for an East West road in Maine, I never have found a really good motorcycle road in Maine (IMHO).

My Bike on Mt. Washington (Top naturally - fun road)

[angellr]

Seeing as your further North than your first route consider taking Rt9 to Concord, then Rt93 North to Lincoln that way you can ride the Kancamagus Hwy (Rt112), then take Rt16 North (past Mt Washington) to Rt 2. Rt2 East will take you to Bangor.
Rt2 isn't particularly pretty but it is typical for an East West road in Maine, I never have found a really good motorcycle road in Maine (IMHO).

Must also agree. Kancamagus is a really nice ride ... however, no gas stations for about 60 miles or so.

Keep the shiny side up and watch out for those cagers, deer, elk, and other nasties out there.

[deilenberger]

Another 300 mile day. 9 across New Hampshire is nice. 202 is also nice. Wandered into Maine, and eventually picked up 95/295/95 and ended up in Bangor ME for the night, in a surprisingly nice Day's Inn - among the 15 or so motels clustered around this exit.. (395). Between Augusta and Bangor is 120 miles of nothing. It was very temping to make this a one hour ride, but we were good.. for no real reason except no one else was doing 120. Made do with 70-80mph. Didn't see a single cop, saw two moose fording a river, several logging trucks, and a few cages.

No rain at all - and tomorrow looks good also. Might see a bit on Thursday AM. Tomorrow is a short day to Saint John, NB - about 170 miles - 3.5 hours according to Garmin.

The 18" Cee-Bailey was the right choice for this trip. I tried on my 16" before I left and swapped back - too noisy with it tilted back. The 18" is working just fine. No tiring turbulence, quiet and stable. What's not to like? John M has been faithfully traveling along - good riding companion, he's always back there when I look

More updates tomorrow..

[deilenberger]

Had a great ride to Saint John today. Apparently NJ is still cooking? Our temps were mostly in the low 70's - sunny, bright, dry. Passed through a few spots by the Bay of Fundy that dropped into the high 60's - had to put on my heated grips for a few minutes.

Rt 9 across Maine is a delight. Great pavement, high-speed sweepers banked correctly, very little traffic, no LEOs and lots of truck passing lanes. We were boggying a bit along Rt 9. Recommended road if you're headed up this way.

Canadian customs was friendly - asked where/how long, leaving anything in Canada (money), and "Have a great ride.." Took all of about 2 minutes including waiting in line. They still don't stamp my passport.. which is a bit disappointing.

Canada 1 is great - although Doofus got confused since the new international bridge was built since the 2009 Garmin data was available. Finally shut her off for about 10 minutes because she was starting to sound pissed ("RECALCULATING" started to sound really nasty..) CAN-1 is scenic, fast, smooth and uncrowded. We were in St. John by just after 12 noon US time (1PM Canadian Atlantic time.) Left Bangor around 9:00 or so.

We are in a brand new Best Western motel - located in the middle of a big-box shopping center outside St. John. It has the advantage of being brand new - clean and comfy. It has the slight disadvantage of being a cab ride from downtown St.J.. but the cab ride is only $10 - so we took advantage of it - and wandered around the "Center City" for a bit.

Ended up wandering down to the waterfront, and eating in a small pub like place in a row of such places. The seafood is unbelieveable. Fresh, really really fresh - makes all the difference. Neither John M or I am normally seafood eaters - but the dinners and chowder we had could make a convert of me. I also proposed to the waitress (since my friend Dennis who normally does this hadn't thought to come along and take on that task..) The bill had suggested tips:

15% - good service
18% - excellent service
50% - will you marry me?

I asked before I proposed if she'd ride pillion on the bike - and got a "Nope".. she has her own bike. Which was cool with me. Her tips were quite good. We haven't set the date yet.. Not sure what SWMBO will say about this - but it IS a different country right? So that doesn't really count right? RIGHT??

Tomorrow off to the ferry and Nova Scotia (the goal of this trip..) current trip miles are about 775 or so, about what I planned. Tomorrows destination is the Quarterdeck Beachside Villas..

[sjbmw]

LOL!
What happens in the Maritimes stays in the Maritimes!
Keep em coming Don, great stuff.

[Stef.]

Good luck Don! I am sure you will have a great time. I envy you...
Stef.

[redwing]

"deilenberger". Canada 1 is great - I also proposed to the waitress Her tips were quite good. We haven't set the date yet...


Quiet an interesting trip... and the food is really really good. Well... keep us posted

Glad to hear your trip is going well.
Robert

[deilenberger]

I'm sitting on the back porch of the Quarterdeck Villas - with three friends. Just finished our predinner drafts, and are solving most of the problems of the world (which could be solved by simply sitting here listening to the surf crash on rocks 20 feet away.

Woke up this AM in St. John to torrential rain.. which slowed down a bit as we left for the ferry. The ferry was interesting - the metal grated bridge getting down to it was daunting, but nothing like what the car-deck was like. Freshly painted, a mixture of oil, antifreeze, water and ground up rubber. Sort of like riding on grease.. Trip was about 3 hours - had a nice nap, and then had to get out of the hold of the ship. Again - interesting, but managed it safely.

My two friends from WDC area arrived at the ferry - and we all departed to cross Nova Scotia to the south coast. Nice ride - a few spinkles, but basically dry until we JUST pulled into the Quarterdeck - when it poured. We got checked in, made our dinner reservations, and got to watch two rainbows cross the inlet in front of the villas. Super views - many pics taken (will share when I get to it..)

As my riding partner JohnM sez "It doesn't really get better then this.."

Tomorrow - if we can get ourselves away from heaven - we're headed into Halifax to see what the big city has to offer.

On the road still - 870 miles or so down.. another 2,000 to go!

[deilenberger]

Rain squall:

[r12gecko]

Wow, that lobster looks good! I was out west last year. Down east is still on my list. Done some by car, which was good fun, but can't wait to bike it. Keep the photos coming - for those of us stuck at work, it's good motivation to get stuff cleaned up and plan that next journey!

[deilenberger]

Arrived safely in Halifax, and stayed at the Best Western Chocolate Lake (a bit out of town - but good for our purposes since in-town looks like much $$$ and tough for bike parking.) The BW even had dedicated motorcycle parking spots (how cool is THAT!)

The ride up the Lighthouse Trail to Halifax was almost uneventful.. but more on that another day. All is well. All is well..

Went into Halifax to see how the nightlife was on a Friday night. Had entertaining cab drivers both ways (we wanted to dine and drink..) and found the scenery quite.. ummm... vibrant. Some of the clothing the "kids" (young 20's) were wearing was pretty much non-existant. NTTAWWT.

Ended up back at the hotel around midnight and off to bed for the old pharts. I'm sure the kids were having more fun.

[deilenberger]

According to Doofus, my GPS, it's exactly 1,250 miles from my driveway to the Cape Breton Island visitor center right over the causeway to the island. Not even any fractions.. dead nutz 1,250. It works out to 1,985 kilometers (I'm trying to think metric while we're here - it's not easy...) Wonderful weather again, and good roads for semi-slab part of the way. Temps in the mid 70's - dry, no humidity. I think today was a bit over 200 miles.. about 60 of them on the Cabot Trail so far.

I went looking for my sister on CBI - looked at the Gaelic Music Center, looked at Mac Donald's Ice Cream. Not to be found. So I called and left a message. Missed her by a week - she's back in NJ. She is the Irish sister - so she hangs out up here with all the Scots.. (I don't pretend to understand it..)

Rt 19 - aka Cabot Trail - seems great so far. Haven't gotten to the dramatic views yet, but being me - I wandered us off into small towns to see what is going on. Two weddings today. The brides were beautiful as is is their right.

We left the Best Western Chocolate Lake (it's a theme hotel - there is a chocolate lab living in the lobby, all the staff has nicknames of candy bars, all the decor is shades of brown. Sounds silly but it actually sort of works. This AM after breakfast with the other riding companions - we honked out on the road at about 9:00.. and 8 hours later checked into the Glenora Distillery (and restaurant, inn) in Inverness CBI at almost exactly 5PM. A most satisfying 8 hours of riding. Stopped at a Tim Hortons and found no one who goes to TH's knows how to park. Not even close. Running into curb bumpers, parking crooked in two or three spaces (really!), parking skills are not TH customer's strong points. The coffee is good though, so that makes up for it a bit.

We have dinner reservations for 7:45 - and will see if the scotch they distill here is any good. It's the only "official" scotch distilled outside Scotland, and was the subject of an international lawsuit to allow them to use "Glen" in the name. Visit the website - the story is all there..

Meanwhile I have a cuban cigar calling my name.. so I'm off.

http://www.glenoradistillery.com/inn.htm



Still on the road - miles of smiles!

Don Eilenberger
[email protected]

[redwing]

A cuban cigar... d@mm

Glad to hear your trip is going well.