Bennington Vermont to Epsom New Hampshire

With only three hours to ride, it was another slow starting day. We tried to fix the helmet headset clamp with Super Glue but it didn't hold so we did a retape job with Duck Tape. After seeing on the Find Me Spot that Gary had already been rolling for three hours, we checked out at 9:45 and headed through Bennington on 7 to SR 9.

We had the new camera charged and Sandy took control of it, returning the Panasonic Lumix to me.

The Battle of Bennington in 1777 was a pivotal point in the revolutionary war. Colonial forces under General Stark caught the outnumbered British forces by surprise and achieved a decisive victory. Bennington Battle Day is still a legal holiday in Vermont.

Bennington Battle monument in background

I have no idea what the designer of this moose/sidecar outfit was thinking but I had to circle back so Sandy could get a picture.

In Wilmington, where SR 9 crosses SR 100, we stopped and got a few photos.

Sandy and a friend

Scene from the bridge

Molly Stark, General Stark's (Battle of Bennington) Wife

Sandy was having a problem with the new camera. The display wasn't bright enough to see with sunglasses on so we traded. I like the Smart Mode on the new unit and have no problem using it.

We continued across 9, riding the twisties in 4th gear to try to keep the speed down. The road is an excellent one and I'd recommend it to anyone. We stopped at The Hogback for a few photos and a look at the panoramic vista.

Flowers at The Hogback

The Hogback Grill

About an hour out, we got a call from Gary to tell us he was at the motel. We kept rolling.

Harley riders and support vehicle

We arrived at the Northwood Motel in the thriving hamlet of Northwood just before 1:00 PM. I discovered that, true to form, I forgot the 6 way electrical outlet in the room in Bennington. Does anyone know what supplements improve memory?

Gary and Sandy relax at the motel

Today's Route


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Baldwinsville New York to Bennington Vermont

We woke up in Baldwinsville to a clear, sunny sky. The Weather Channel showed active weather throughout much of the US, so we were very lucky. Checking the VROC newsgroup showed many people arriving home safely, although Badluck and Jason, who left Richmond together, had separate incidents with gravel that caused them to go down. Luckily, damages and injuries were minor.

I did some work on the blogs and then we hit the road about 9:15. We didn't get far as we took SR 31 east across Syracuse and found a huge big box area. We had breakfast at McDonald's and then went to WalMart for some electrical tape, duct tape and Crazy Glue for the helmet. We needed aa second camera and, after spending some time looking for something that didn't have too many buttons, we settled on a Kodak V1073 with a touchscreen. The pricing in the computer was wrong but, after getting that sorted out, we got on the road again. The new camera would have to wait because it needed a full charge on the internal lithium ion battery.

SR 31 took us over to Rome NY where we accidentally went right through town due to a road reroute that wasn't in the GPS. Rome is a pretty little town on the Erie canal with historical Fort Stanwix right in the middle of it.

Fort Stanwix

We rode along the south side of Lake Oneida which made me think of the Oneida Community, one of the original alternative lifestyle places in the US back in the mid to late 1800's. Then wwe took Old Floyd Road to the town of Floyd, making me think of infamous VROCer Vonster, aka, WingedNut.

Entering the Town of Floyd

Typically, the GPS took us on some back roads from SR 395 back to SR 395. Then we wandered up past the Hinckley Reservoir to a place called 96 corners. I only saw one corner and couldn't find out where the name came from.

Hinckley Reservoir overflow

Entering Adirondack Park, we could smell the pines. The road swept back and forth in the 20C weather. I was comfortable in mesh but Sandy put her sweater on the cut the chill she felt. The road was a great ride except for quite a few slippery tar snakes. No big problem. At one point a sign indicated we would have 8 miles of rough road, but it was better than many of the roads back home.

Poland sign for Tom on SR 8

Although I planned to head over to Lake george, blacl clouds were building in that direction so we cut south on SR 30.

Dark clouds on the horizon

In the town of Speculator, we saw Welcome Bikers signs left over from Americade. I was feeling tired so we stopped at the King of the Frosties Restaurant. Unfortunately, they close at 2:00 PM and it was 1:58. The girl behind the counter let me have what was left in the coffeepot for free.

King of the Frosties restaurant

The modified route too us south and then east. At the 30 & 29 intersection, we stopped and split a Subway meal deal. Then it was on the Saratoga Springs, where I forgot to clear the via point in the GPS and was rewarded with a tour of downtown as it took us past city hall. Saratoga Springs has horses in the same way that Ludlow Vermont has llamas and Custer South Dakota has buffalos.

One of the Saratoga Springs horses

Another one

From here, we took some dandy back roads towards Bennington, Vermont. The traffic was light and we enjoyed the countryside. From a plaque we found this was Grandma Moses country. Her work was first discovered in a Hoosick drug store in 1938. We also saw a herd of rare
Belted Galloway cows and went through the Buskirk covered bridge.

Grandma Moses plaque

Belted Galloways

Buskirk Covered Bridge
(note speed limit sign)

We entered the serene town of Bennington Vermont and decided to splurge at another Hampton Inn. This one was extremely nice except that the hot tub was down for the night. We walked over to a Hannaford's groceries store and got some deli chicken, potato salad and drinks to take back to the room. I did some more blog and photo work but am still running about four days behind real time.

Blogger Central

We're only three hours from Epsom. Forecast for tomorrow is sunny and warm. The weekend in Epsom is calling for 40% chance of rain and temperatures around 70 each day. Could be worse.

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Vermilion Ohio to Baldwinsville New York

We woke up and got ready to go. As we were suiting up, I found the bracket that holds my headset on had broken, so we did some fixing with electrical tape. A minor annoyance.

Thanks to Rob and Jan for putting us up and feeding us. We don't see nearly enough of them from year to year.

Jan with Chi Chi

We set out, getting onto US 2 East. This would be a big day for the new riders, with Tom turning over 10,000 Kms on the way to Buffalo and Heather doing the same before they got home. From to, we merged onto I-90 through Cleveland. Traffic was surprisingly light all the way along.

There was an east wind through Cleveland, not a good sign, but it had changed to a north wind by Erie. We stopped at a Mickey D's for a break and met a nice, older Dutch couple who, in limited English, raved over Harley Davidson's.

I don't like the split speed limits in Ohio, 65 MPH for cars and 55 for trucks. It creates speed differentials which are a source of traffic problems.

In Northeast Pennsylvania (a town, not a general location) we fueled with the Suzuki's for the last time. Hugs and goodbyes. They have done very well and we've enjoyed riding with them but they will be on their own after Buffalo. Then it was onto the NY Thruway for the last stretch together. As we exited in Buffalo, the EZ Pass booth told me to phone their office. Not sure what this was about, but first we escorted the kids to the Peace Bridge ramp and then headed back to I-90 East.

Heather taking the ramp to the bridge

We got back on the toll road and the sign told me to Call EZ Pass so I stopped and did on the side of the road. Peace Bridge EZ Pass (my issuing agency) told me my account was fine. We went to one of the service centres and I phoned the NY EZ Pass office. They didn't know what the problem might be but said to keep using the lanes. If I get violation charges, call them and they'll adjust them. I need to get into a manned booth and see if the transponder is malfunctioning.

On a side note, when we went into the service centre, I checked to see that the bike key wasn't in the ignition. When we came out, I found the key on the bike seat. Damn, anybody could have just walked away with a slightly used GoldWing. I have to check everything twice.

We ended the day in a Microtel in Baldwinsville NY. There were two riders, one on a Wing and the other on a Hog, from Florence Oregon. Theyy were homeward bound after a trip to Vermont via Winnemucca, the Grand Canyon and Branson. Quite the routing. We ordered Pizza Hut delivery got a call from Heather that she and Tom were home safe. We turned in early without me getting anything accomplished on the blogs.

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Richmond Kentucky to Vermilion Ohio

We were up at 6:00 AM, whether we wanted to be or not, to allow time to be packed before breakfast. It was a sad time as we said goodbyes to those who were similarly getting ready to leave. When we first got here, I told Tom that the most common thing forgotten in hotel rooms was a phone charger. Mine would have been added to the list if he hadn't noticed it as we were getting suited up. I'm getting old.

Radar showed a storm moving through Louisville but it didn't look like it would affect our ride. We rolled out of the lot before 8:00, taking a turn through downtown before hitting I-75 North in 20C foggy weather. On the first leg, Sandy's mic wasn't working so it was pretty quiet until Rainman and Fireball (Ray & Lisa) of Michigan thundered by with a wave. They looked incredibly good riding their Nomads in perfect unison.

The ride was uneventful. I-75 to Cincinnati, then I-71 past Columbus to Ashland. Heather got cut off by an SUV and, after avoiding him, graced him with a glare and he made himself scarce. I told her to get used too it since bikes are pretty well invisible to car drivers. Defensive riding is a must.

From Ashland, we took back roads due north to Vermilion Ohio where we'd spend the night with our old friends Rob & Jan. SR 603 was particularly nice riding. There were a lot of southbound bikes, mostly Harleys, reminding me that Ohio Bike Week in Sandusky was wrapping up today.

We arrived at Vermilion at 3:00 PM with Tom noting that his speedometer was behaving erratically on deceleration. I took it for a ride and confirmed the problem, then found a kink in the electric cable from the sensor on the front wheel that let it rub against the brake rotor. Some rerouting and the problem was solved although I recommend either replacing the cable or taping it well.

Rob and Jan have a beautiful home, complete with pool and hot tub in the back yard. We swam, soaked and played ball with ChiChi the rat terrier. Fascinating little dog and smart as a whip.

The gang at play

We had a supper of lasagna, salad and garlic bread. Very tasty and just what we needed. Then we visited for a while before going downstairs to play some demented game of darts. This was different from the usual game and I discovered neither my wife nor daughter could throw a dart with any level of competence. There were darts in the wall, darts in the floor, in fact darts pretty much everywhere except in the board. They improved a little by the end of the game but it was still pretty scary.

Following the dart game, we turned in for the night.

Today's Route (342 motorcycle miles):

Interactive Map

WWR Pictures & Blogs

I moved the links to other pictures & blogs out of my regular post to make them easier to find.

Photos

Biker

E.T. and Heather

Flamekiller

Phillip & Jaime

McWrath

Traveler

VSP

Bobette

Blondy

Blogs

Malachi & Yvette

Kudzu

Sherm

Jamey T

WWR Day 3

We sat over breakfast and talked to a number of people including Epibunny, who was heading back west as soon as she finished eating. Then we visited in the parking lot while scoping out the ride for the day.

Wompus says Montene dressed him this morning

The four of us and Gary decided that we would visit the Red River Gorge and Natural Bridge. We headed out of Richmond under a high overcast and followed SR 52 out past Irvine (with the ubiquitous coal unit trains in the yard) and Ravenna before turning onto SR 213. SR 213 is one of those really twisty, technical roads, the kind you usually associate with North Carolina or North Georgia. I took it easy so I didn't lead my young followers in over their heads, considering this was the first of this type of road they had ever encountered. They did well.

When 213 ended in Stanton, I stopped to see how they had done and get a new route fix (Gary had photographed the map at the hotel, so we needed to periodically consult his camera). Heather was smiling and Gary said she had grounded the boards in a curve and held the bike down all the way through. That bodes well for the future.

The team catches its breath in Stanton Ky

From Stanton, we took the Bert Combs Parkway to Nada where we stopped at a tourist information place before following the Red River Gorge. Highway 11 seems to have been taken over by bicycles that travel two and three abreast with no concern for cars backing up behind them. It was just like US 19 in Blairsville Georgia. We turned onto the little road that runs through the gorge and immediately encountered the Nada tunnel.

The mouth of the Nada Tunnel

The gorge road was a very nice ride, slow and twisty through heavy trees. We crossed two narrow bridges, with the second putting us in Wolf County where they don't seem to have as much money for roads. We stopped at a pullout at Parched Corn Creek for photos and had Wrong Turn, CB and a group catch up to us. Then Scooter and Playthang stopped for a moment and continued on.

Gary and I at Parched Corn Creek

Wrong Turn, CB and gang

Big Leaf Magnolia, according to CB (the leaves were huge)

South of the Combs Parkway, 715 opened up and had very nice sweepers back to 11. Then we cut north to the Natural Bridge Skylift, where we encountered multiple groups of VROCers coming and going. The Skylift went straight up at the end. First we took a path with some muddy sections to the overlook to gaze across at the Natural Bridge. Then, after Heather and Sandy took the lift back down, Gary, Tom and I walked over and stood on the bridge. The reason you go to the overlook first is because you can't tell you're standing on a bridge wheen you get there.

Heather and Tom waiting to ascend

Going up

Heather and Tom at the top

Sandy with the Natural Bridge in the background

Meeting Tobey, Brad, Kevin, Steph & April on the way to the bridge

The Overlook as seen from the Natural Bridge

Me on the Natural Bridge (look Ma, no railings)
(photo by Gary)

Gary doesn't look greasy

Deerslayer and his daughter Alex

Trucker and his daughter Julie

Like I'd do this

Tom nearing the bottom

From the Natural Bridge, we highballed back home via Bert Combs Parkway, I-64, 627 and I-75. We fueled in anticipation of tomorrow and had a bite at the Waffle House. The server pressured us to take our bottomless drinks to go.

I'm not sure why this made me think of Mean Susan and Thrillseeker

We spent the evening around the parking lot visiting, not wanting it all to end.

Coyote, Oldman, Toj, Susan, Kelly & Deb
(nobody sat on the grass after learning about chiggers)

Stewey, Wiliedog, Pam, Scotty, Tom Miller & Jamey T.

About 9:00 PM, I started making the rounds to say my goodbyes. Three hours later, we finally toddled off to bed. This was a magical weekend and we thank Tom, Denise and all the people who had a hand in making it come true.

Today's Route


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WWR Day 2

After getting to bed about 2:00 AM, I was awakened by a fire alarm at 5:30. The alarm didn't actually intrude on my sleep, I was shaken awake by Sandy asking me if the ringing bell was a fire alarm. It soon shut off, but then I couldn't get back to sleep.

The full hotel breakfast included very strange eggs. They are hard to describe, but resemble those found in an Egg McMuffin. The bacon appeared to be the microwave stuff. There was a lot of other foods and I had most of it including the biscuits and gravy. Heather made a hotel waffle, the kind I screw up whenever I try to make one. Hers was perfect.

The run to spread the final segment of Kilo's ashes from Natural Bridge left at 10:00. We didn't go and the rain started about two minutes later. I heard later that the ride violated two cardinal rules. Each ride is supposed to have ONE leader and the rest are supposed to follow him or her. This one had several leaders and people arrived at Natural Bridge from ever direction. But they got the mission accomplished.

VSP doesn't seem to mind the rain

We kicked around until the rain stopped somewhere before noon visiting with some old friends and meeting a few new ones.

HotSauce & Margot's friend Taz

Taz checks out the camera

About noon, the family plus Sherm and Lucky Al made a WalMart run. I needed another Timex Expedition Velcro watch band. Heather picked up some sunglasses and the others grabbed various items. Then we stopped at a White Castle for some lunch. This was my first time in one. The little sliders were tasty and I now know why Harold and Kumar were trying to get there. After lunch, we hopped back to the hotel because the skies were threatening and we didn't want to get soaked on a two mile ride.

Back at the hotel, Solo from Colorado Springs' buddy Steve had picked up a screw in his front tire. I volunteered to try a Stop&Go plug in the hole. This is the same kit I practiced with on my own punctured tire. I had lots of spectators offering opinions as it took me three tries to get the plug in properly, but it was finally done right. Ham from Washington provided pliers and a nifty compressor to refill the tire. Very seldom am I ever involved in demonstrating anything technical. In case anything went wrong, I told Steve my name was Bob Smith:-))

(I got word Monday that Steve and Solo made it back to Colorado Springs without mishap.)

As suppertime rolled around, we moved towards the hall to secure seats. We know we were going to be about 30 short. Sandy usually scopes out the food line and arranges to be at the front. This time, I wandered around as the caterers were setting up and found Cargo paying Tom. I paid too and fell into line behind Cargo. I tried to get Sandy's attention but she was otherwise occupied. By the time she noticed, the rest of the room caught on and we had instant line right out the door. While Sandy & Sherm made it to the front, Heather and Tom ended up at the tail end. Luckily, there was enough to go around and the ribs were excellent.

The family waiting for food

Biker & Trucker's daughter Julie also wait

Cargo, Sandy & Sherm head the food line

Wompus after the meal

After the meal, I wandered outside. Flamekiller was on the phone and told me I got 15 qualifying points in our NASCAR Fantasy League for the race at Michigan. It was surprising how many of the 36 fantasy participants were actually here in the building.

Inside, they held the drawing for the raffle prizes. The 50/50 prize of $1,200 was won by Denise Miller. A young man named Max was the recipient of the proceeds. He suffers from a kidney disease and will need a very expensive transplant soon. True to her nature, Denise donated her winnings back making it a 100/0 draw. Sandy won a buff which Heather purloined.

The parking lot was busier than last night. I asked Kudzu, resident expert, about David Carradine's passing. Dan said that you should always have a spotter for those types of activities. I found Oldman from Texas talking to John Hoover, formerly of Kawasaki. John was the father of the Vulcan Classic and is deservedly held in very high esteem by the VROC cognoscenti. Later, Epibunny from Washington State reprized her Reading of the Manual, a tradition she started in Oregon last year. It is a very sultry reading, but you'd have to be there to get the full effect. Teri Conrad (the official Kawasaki rep) was justifiably shocked that these outrageous words could be found in the manual.

Sherm looks on as Epibunny (right) Reads The Manual to Teri

Despite our desire to have the night go on forever, we decided discretion was the better part of valour and turned in before 11:00.

VSP's Afternoon Pictures

VSP's Dinner Pictures

And don't forget Sherm's Blog for the whole weekend.