The Day Started Out Fine.........

Cornwall Ontario to Epsom Hew Hampshire

It was a beautiful morning in Cornwall. After checking tires, we went next door and had our complimentary continental breakfast at Jazz Magnolias. It looked like the Canadian Border Service was having a breakfast meeting downstairs. They were all over. Even had a dog.

After checking out, we headed for the two bridges that would take us to the USA. Just so we would remember yesterday, we encountered a flagman on each bridge. There were three customs booths open and no cars so we drove right up. The lady spoke very quietly, so I had to ask her to repeat some of her questions. AS she let us go, she made an admiring comment about the trailer.

There is no community on the US side of the bridge. We picked up US 37 East off the traffic circle and followed it to SR 122, which was a shortcut through Constable NY to US 11. We followed 11 and then took SR 190 to Plattsburgh where we took 314 out through a state park. I hadn’t realized from the map that there was no bridge from here to Vermont. At the end of the road, we came to the Grand Isle Ferry dock.

With the luck of the Irish, there was the ferry. It was full and cars were lining up for the next boat, but there was room to squeeze two more bikes on board. We met an eclectic foursome of bikes on board from the NY Mohawk reserve. Two Harleys and two sport bikes. They were, of course, also Laconia bound. Crossing the narrow spot on Lake Champlain took about fifteen minutes. Docking was smooth and we were heading east again in no time.

We connected with US 2, which took us to I-89 north of Burlington, Vermont. Here we headed south, past Burlington and on past the Vermont capital of Montpelier. Clouds started gathering and it looked like we might catch a local shower. South oh Montpelier, the temperature dropped from 24C to 20 C in a mile. I decided it was time to suit up, so I pulled off and we started getting dressed. Except Gary, who went all through his luggage and couldn’t find his suit (see picture). Finally, he did find it. Good thing we weren’t on the side of the road in the rain.

We continued down I-89 and crossed into New Hampshire. The temperature had now dropped to 16C and the sky was steady overcast, indicating to me that we would get wet. We stopped at a Dunkin’ Donuts for a quick bite and to let Sandy put on her Gerbing electric jacket. The pavement was wet when we stopped but had dried when we came out giving me a false sense of optimism.

About 30 miles north of Concord, the rain started. It was light at first, but got harder as we went along. I had changed my rain gloves for my leather ones at the donut shop, once again proving that my judgment leaves a lot to be desired. It tapered of as we approached Concord and swung north on I-93. We followed this for a short way and then turned east on I-393 and then onto US 4. A quick stop at Sunoco for gas and water and we took Chichester road, the back way to the campground, to avoid the traffic at the circle. The temperature was now 12C and still overcast. Typical Laconia Bike Week weather.

At the camp, a number of the usual culprits were skulking about. Ol’ Phart Joe (head organizer), Bobcat Pease (alternate organizer), Ron Russell, Steve Cifra, Donk (coffee boss) and a few others came over to greet us. After catching up, we scouted the field for some relatively level ground and set up. The others left, some going home for the night and the others promising to be back later.

Joe and Ron told us about a roadhouse style restaurant north of us on SR 28. It was, and I quote “just north of the Italian restaurant”. We went past the Italian restaurant. Five miles past and still no roadhouse. Finally, we gave up, turned around and went back to the usual Circle Restaurant where we had some good food at reasonable prices. The portions were actually quite large and Sandy couldn’t finish her chicken Parmesan.

Back at the campground, Joe returned from his house down the road and started a fire. It took two tries but, eventually, we had a roaring blaze and everyone pulled up there camp chairs. We talked bikes and computers until about 10:00 when everyone decided to either turn in or go home.

Laconia Bound

Sudbury Ontario to Cornwall Ontario

It is hard to believe that it has only been a week since we arrived home at +3C in the hail. Today, I saw a high of 34C on my trusty digital GoldWing temperature readout.

We were packed and ready to go at 8:00 AM when Gary "Biker" Lamarche (longtime friend, fellow A.R.S.O.L.E. and travelling companion for the next week) showed up on his Vulcan 2000, AKA Rogue. Leo and his BMW RS arrived shortly after. Leo was going to ride with us as far as North Bay. The three of us will be going on to Epsom, New Hampshire to join the New England VROC gang for the Laconia weekend.

It has been said that Ontario has two seasons. Winter and Road Construction. We had a mild winter, but the road construction is pretty intense along Highway 17 this year. After being allowed out of our subdivision by a cop who was caught in the traffic lined up due to intersection paving just up the road, we made the next two miles without any problem. Then we came to a sudden stop to wait for construction equipment to move around on the Regional Road 55 widening project. That took 15 minutes. Between Sudbury and North Bay, we got stopped several more times for single lane traffic.

In North Bay, we stopped at Timmies, grabbed some food and waved goodbye to Leo. On down Hwy 17 between North Bay and Deep River, I lost count of the number of times we stopped and waited. It gets hot sitting in +30+ temperatures watching paving crews. I can't imagine actually being on the paving crew.

We stopped at the Big Irving in Pembroke for gas and a cold drink. Then it was on again towards Ottawa. About now, the pop-up clouds were starting to build north of us, moving on a course to intercept us. Ottawa traffic was light and we slid through on 417, continuing on until we got to Hwy 138. We just avoided the clouds and turned south towards Cornwall. The photo shows us in the shade at a gas station in Monkland, just north of Cornwall.

We got a room at the Days Inn here and had supper at the adjoining Jazz Magnolias restaurant. I expect we'll turn in early. It's a short hop to Epsom tomorrow if we take the direct route. We'll decide in the morning.

BTW, Cheryl (Gary's wife), if you are reading this, Hi!!

We've Had Better Days

Barrie Ontario to Sudbury Ontario

There are some days I make decisions that don't work out for the best. Deciding to stay in Barrie last night, rather than ride the rest of the way home in the light rain, was one of them. The idea was that, even if today was a little cool or raining, it would be better than running at night. Wrong.

We didn't wake particularly early because it was only 180 miles home. When we did, it was 15C and almost raining. After breakfast and packing, we got on the road about 8:30. By this time, the temperature had dropped to 12C and a light rain had started. No big deal, we had the rain gear on and Sandy was wearing her electric jacket liner.

As we moved north, the rain picked up some under a steady grey sky. The temperature readout on the Wing panel counted down the temperature as it cooled off. With only a fast gas stop at Waubaushene, we arrived at the Sudbury city limits at 11:30. By now, the gauge was reading 3C, the rain was steady and patches of hail were hitting my face like fiery needles. My water resistant boots and gloves were soaked and my hands and feet were in considerable pain.

I've had worse rides, but it's been a while. Wet and cold, when taken separately, are no big problem. Put them together and you end up with a severe level of discomfort. On the plus side, Sandy's boots held out the water. This was probably due to the waterproofing goop she's been applying. I'll be using some of this before the next trip. But you need the bad days to make you appreciate the good ones. I know I've said this before, but it's true.

We'll be home for a week before leaving for Laconia, New Hampshire next Tuesday with Gary Lamarche. I need to replace the worn trailer tires and get some chores done before heading out again. Until then, I hope all of you that follow this Blog are having a great summer.

Crossing Paths and Confused Weather

Princeton West Virginia to Barrie Ontario

Today was a 640 mile day. We could have made the remaining 180 miles, but I wasn't keen on riding in the rain in the dark.

It started when we both woke up about 4:00 AM in Princeton WV. This was because we had fallen asleep early last night. I spent some time posting Blogs from the last few days and getting the bills caught up. A group of Harley's from western Wisconsin had pulled in last night headed for the BRP, and we spoke with one of them over breakfast. We were on the road before 7:00.

I adjusted the front tire pressure back down to 38 yesterday. I am in a conundrum about this. Metzeler is very specific that the front tire pressure needs to be 41 to rpevent cupping. The Honda manual calls for 36. Mike at Traxxion says that I should be able to run less than the 41 because of the reduced squirm in the front end. At 41, with the quicker steering due to the stiffer front end, the bike feels squirrely in corners. At 38, it handles fine, but I can't tell whether the cupping, pretty bad before the Traxxion mod, is getting worse. I guess I'll keep it at 38 in the interest of the handling and will see how the next front tire (not going to change until the tread is worn out) handles it.

Today's weather was like Rebel Without a Clue. It didn't know what it wanted to do, but it looked angry. We made it OK to Summersville where we stopped for gas. Back on the road, a nice GL-1800 trike pulled up next to us at a light. The lady riding it was travelling with a van hauling a two wheeled Wing on a trailer. They were bound for Erie, Pa. We ran along with them for a while and then got ahead on I-79.

A Yamaha we waved at at the Powell Mountain Overlook passed us on I-79, as did a black GL-1800 with a NC plate that said BIGDOG. I could hear the trike on the CB (which I finally remembered to turn on), but she couldn't hear me well. I guess she had the squelch up, since she was only talking to the van. I slowed a bit until they caught us and then we were able to communicate. They live in Florida for nine months but have a house in Erie they go to for the summer. They had left south of Charlotte this morning at just after 3:00 AM and needed to be in Erie by 2:00 because people were coming to turn on the water at the house. Our little convoy stopped north of Washington Pa for fuel and we got to meet the lady and the van driver, her husband. Sandy and I sat down to eat, but they rolled on to make their appointment.

Before we left again, the BIGDOG Wing pulled up to the gas pumps. The couple from NC were headed for Niagara and then Americade. He had an '01 with 100K miles and this '06 already has 28K miles on it, so they ride. I gave them some Americade tips and then we headed north again.

The trip up through Pa was uneventful except for the dark storm cells moving west to east, sucked in by TS Barry. We managed to slide between them, finally stopping at the last Rest Area before Erie, where the wet pavement told us rain had just been through. On to Erie and East on I-90, we encountered very wet pavement at the I-86 split. We then had a discussion about whether to lay over in Erie (my initial objective) or keep going. After dithering, we stopped for gas at State Line and suited up in the face black skies. We passed two Vulcans, a Rogue and a green/white Classic on the off ramp. They headed down US 20, leaving us wondering if they were VROC.

We caught the rain from behind on the NY Thruway, the same shower that had gone through the rest area and across 90. It was moving fast, but we were moving faster and went through it in about 15 miles. Then it was sunny and our rain gear got very hot. The border crossing was quick. More questions than usual, but we were waved through. US bound trucks were lined up for miles. Heading past Niagara Falls, the black Yamaha we had seen in West Virginia came rolling past us at a good clip. Small world.

We stopped at the Tourist Info place before St. Catherines and took the suits off. We threaded the QEW and 407 through crosswinds. The 40o North was stop and go, a usual thing for 5:30. We skirted one dark cloud and then a second one started dumping on us. In Barrie at 6:00, we could have made it home by 9:00, but the weather looked pretty choppy and I don't like rain in the dark, so we reigned in at the Travelodge off Dunlop St.

We had supper at Elaine's, a small restaurant in the hotel. Sandy has been nursing a stiff neck all day, and I was tired, so we went to bed early. Forecast for Sudbury tomorrow AM sucks, 4C and rain, but we'll deal with that when we get there.

Headed Home

Stecoah North Carolina to Princeton West Virginia

We awoke at 7:00 AM to a light drizzle. Not what we had been hoping for. BMW Bob was still missing. Sandy packed the gear while I got the bike ready and then we closed the camper and I hooked up the trailer. The rain stopped as we spent some time on the deck saying our good-byes. Many will be in Colorado in late July, and we'll see the others here or there before too long.

We set out about 9:00. A bit of spitting rain continued, off and on, as we went through Asheville and on up into Tennessee. In Johnson City, it got more persistent and I could tell we were in an all day system, so we stopped and put the rain suits on. I opted for I-81 instead of 460 through Tazewell and it got much worse as we proceeded towards Wytheville. We stopped at the Mickey D's in Rural Retreat, Virginia that we know and talked with a Baptist mission director who opens new churches. He asked if we had rain in Canada and Sandy later figured he must have been talking about those Weather Channel precipitation maps which show nothing north of the border.

Clearing, Wytheville, we headed north on I-77 into West (By God) Virginia. Near Princeton, the odometer finally reached 99,999 Kms. I stopped and took several pictures. You will note the raindrops.

We decided to knock off in Princeton and stopped at the same Days Inn we stayed at on the way down. It was only 2:30, but we have several days to get back so there was no point in pushing it. The Weather Channel showed we were caught in the system spawned by Tropical Storm Barry as it slid up the east coast. The NASCAR race was washed out by the same system and won't go until tomorrow afternoon.

We had supper at the Cracker Barrel and then watched the Deadliest Catch Marathon on Discovery until we both fell asleep.

The Memorial

Stecoah NC

It was solid overcast this morning. First tasks were blogs, bills and breakfast. When I can't get on-line, I write the Blog in MS Word so that, when I get connected, I can just cut and paste it.

Randy "Steam" Stevens and I had been asked to look after the dedication of the Memorial, which remembers our fallen riders. The dedication will also be a memorial service for Fred. After asking some questions, we sat down to work out how this would go. Here, Missy and Sandy (two redheads) look at something as Randy works on the dedication. I had to get a segment I wanted to read off the Net and was confined to the low-tech printer method. Mine was a Pilot V-Ball.

Mo's daughter Courtney had arrived from Minnesota last night with her daughter Hannah. She'll be staying a few weeks now and hopefully more later. Courtney is a very impressive young lady, able to take charge, and should be a big help to Mo.

The dedication wasn't until 2:00, but many of the people didn't travel very far from the campground as they waited. Here, Chunk is showing some examples of his lapidary to Roger, Marlene, Dave and Scotty. With his photography, painting, stained glass and other pastimes, it is quite astounding what Chunk does. Other volunteers helped move the four benches Sandy and Marlene urethaned yesterday over to the memorial area.

A VROCer who shall remain nameless (in case his wife ever reads this Blog) went to town to Email his boss. Unfortunately, he thought that NC was a helmet optional state. The police officer straightened him out on that.

Eventually, we congregated by the Memorial and all were in place. Steam welcomed, I said a few words, Charlie (with Fred in the Air Force) spoke as well as Mike (Fred's neighbor from Minnesota), a guy from the mountain bike group, Courtney and Kelly 2. I summed up with the piece that Hot Sauce first put on the VROC newsgroup years ago.

Death is nothing at all. It does not count.
I have only slipped away into the next room.
Nothing has happened. Everything remains exactly as it was.
I am I, and you are you, and the old life we lived together is untouched,
unchanged.
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.
Call me by the old familiar name. Speak of me in that easy way which you always used.
Put no difference in your tone. Wear no forced air if solemnity or sorrow.
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was. Let it be spoken without effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it.
Life means all that it meant. It is the same as it ever was.
There is absolute and unbroken continuity.
What is death but a negligible accident?
Why should I be out of mind because I'm out of sight?
I am waiting for you for an interval, somewhere very near, just around thecorner.
ALL IS WELL.

-- Author Unknown

Mark "Cheap B" Hicks has posted some photos, as has Slammer.

After the service, a meal was served. Some, like Didsbury Dave, headed right out. We tore down the the awning and stowed it while Roger the Grouch (who really isn't) was in the process of taking down his tent to move to a cabin when the rain started. Bad timing for him.

Sandy took a nap while I sat around the deck, as usual, talking with various people. Charlie, from Florida, spent some time asking about the Lees-Ure Lite trailer and Wing combo. Eventually, there was some more food about 7:00, although both Sandy and I skipped it. We spent more time talking as the rain let up. Kurt, a BMW rider, will be coming around the north of the Great Lakes in July,so I was discussing routes and things to see with him. We finally moved down to the bonfire where Snubs (from Illinois), his riding buddy Pickles and I worked our way through our respective religious beliefs and on into political ideology, all the things you aren't supposed to discuss in public. Then we did some favourite movies with the rest of the multitude before some of us turned in about 1:30 AM.

One concern was BMW Bob. He isn't part of our group, but he set out Wednesday morning to ride some of the BRP. His tent and gear are still here set up, but he never came back. K2 has notified the State Police, Sheriff and Park Rangers and he now been gone over 72 hours.

Riding The Winding Roads

Around Southwestern North Carolina

We got up to what looked like it was going to be a glorious day. After breakfast, I did the blog and bills checked the tires and boosted the front up to 41 pounds. Then I figured it was time to get out for a ride. Sandy didn’t want to go, so Roger the Grouch and I set out to explore.

We started south on US 28. This was the first time I ventured south of US 74 and I now know what I have been missing. It twisted and wound through the countryside to Franklin. In Franklin, we wandered through downtown until we found US 64 and headed east. It was eighteen miles to Highland and, at the nine-mile mark, it started to rain lightly. I closed all my air wings and vents as the pavement got wet. Roger tried to close his vents, but found his Classic didn’t have any. On the outskirts of Highland, the rain stopped and the sky was partly cloudy.

Highland was a pretty little tourist trap and we found a café that had excellent cherry pie at a reasonable price. Our table-mates were a retired couple who summered here and wintered in Florida. We had a pleasant time chatting with them.

As we passed the Highland limits continuing east, the rain started again. This was an excellent road, but we would have enjoyed it more if we hadn’t been pussyfooting through the wet corners. In Cashiers, the rain stopped. This was lucky because we were held up in a line of traffic as construction crews blasted some rocks. Sitting still in the rain really sucks. It got very hot again, so we donned our sunglasses and I reopened the vents. Near Brevard, it rained on us a bit out of a blue patch of sky. I’m still trying to figure that one out.

From Brevard, we took US 276, the road through the Pisgah Forest that I took last month. It was dry and we saw very few vehicles actually on the road. I discovered one of the things that had been throwing off my riding and managed to get back into The Zone for a bit. Where 276 crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway, we changed roads.

I don’t why the BRP hates me but, where we had fog last month, we had steady rain this time. That detracted from the enjoyment a bit. We did stop at the highest point on the BRP for a photo. Note the wet pavement. I don’t know why Roger is smiling. We decided to get off the Parkway at US 74 instead of following it through to US 19. It had just stopped raining and there was a small patch of sunlight at the exit, but we were running out of time. With the patch of sunlight, we were optimistic. Boy, were we wrong.

As we passed Sylva, it started raining. AGAIN. As we passed Bryson City, the rain picked up. When we turned on US 28, it started coming down hard. As long as we kept up speed, I was staying dry behind the fairing (no rainsuit) and Roger was only getting wet from the knees down. We got wettest slowing to turn into the campground. All things considered, it was a fun day and I’d do it again.

While we were away, they had several hours of rain. At times it was quite intense. The rental tents, pictured here, attempted to relocate themselves in the wind and were rescued first by Sandy and Marlene, then by Marlene and Kelly 2. The three cases of corn, which had been shucked and put in a large Igloo cooler in Stecoah Creek, washed away in the torrent and are probably floating somewhere in Fontana Lake. Our awning wasn’t reset for rain, so water was pooling and occasionally spilling over into one of the camp chairs. They told me that, at the worst, the ducks were hiding under a picnic table.

The rain finally let up as more and more people arrived. We spent time wiping down bikes and visiting. This continued after supper, eventually moving to the campfire. I finally called it quits about 1:30 and turned in.

Hanging Around KSL

Stecoah North Carolina

We got up to another beautiful morning. After a Chunk breakfast of pancakes and sausages, I wrote my Blog entries and posted my bills. Then we applied urethane to a couple of the new benches. Got two done and have four to go.

It was time to find WiFi. Chunk told me the Robbinsville Library had the capability, so we mounted up and headed over that way. After finding the library on a back street, I wandered in and enquired. A pleasant gentleman told me to go right ahead and hook up, so I did. Uploaded my mail and posts, downloaded new ones and posted the Blogs. Then I selected my NASCAR team for the race at Dover, but the way things have been going, I expect another disaster. After finishing the Internet fix, we had lunch at Mickey’s and stopped at the hardware tore to pick up a few needed supplies for the Lodge.

Back at KSL, people started to roll in. The first was Didsbury Dave Waugh from Alberta on his VN2000, pictured here. Then Scotty and Marlene from Michigan and Roger the Big Grouch from Windsor. After that, it was a steady stream. Dave, Marlene, Sandy and I moved picnic tables to allow the mowing to be finished.

Before supper, we got a short but intense rain. The trailer stayed waterproof but I forget Sandy’s sheepskin on the bike seat. Supper was spaghetti and salad for about twenty people. I spent some time talking to Troy (from Orlando) and his daughter Kelly who teaches in Atlanta. Kelly has only been riding for three months, so I was comparing their situation to Heather and I. After supper, the fire started up and we spent the rest of the evening talking about things and turned in fairly late.

Riding the Mountains

Stecoah NC to Deal’s Gap NC to Tellico Plains TN to Stecoah NC

It was a gorgeous morning. Our campsite looked lonely but I know we will have a lot more neighbors as the weekend approaches. This place is really a nice, peaceful place to stay and commune with both nature and people who love to ride.

On my way back from the washrooms, the Kickstand ducks assaulted me. This is the second year Mama Duck has chosen to raise her family here. This year, she laid an astounding 14 eggs and they all hatched. There are ten of them left now and they have come to expect their daily allotment of cracked corn. I grabbed the container and threw some to them but I really think that they are becoming welfare cases.

Chunk cooked breakfast for the assembled gang as we swapped some more stories with the Ohio people. Then Charlie, Annette, Sandy and I got ready to go riding. We bid farewell to the Ohioans since they were pulling out for home.

We started out riding west on US 28 to the Fontana Dam. There was little traffic and we enjoyed sweeping through the curves, although I wasn’t quite in The Zone. This was typical of how the day would go. Some days you have it and other days you have to take it a little easier. At the dam, we chatted for a while with the Kentucky couple who were serving their two week volunteer period in the Visitor Centre.

From the dam, we continued on 28 towards Deal’s Gap. We got behind a BMW SUV at Fontana Village that was crawling through the corners and didn’t seem to have the sense to pull over. I stopped for a few minutes and a Triumph Rocket III and a Harley passed us. When we got going again, we caught the procession sooner than I expected and were now following the Trumpet, the Harley and the SUV. The BMW finally got the idea and pulled over and then we passed the slower bikes and charged upgrade to the Gap. There, when the other two bikes pulled in, we found they were from Florida and the HD rider was on a rental since his Boss Hoss wore out the brakes. It seems the Boss doesn’t have any engine braking capability due to the automatic transmission and the brake pads weren’t up to this kind of riding.

We ran through the Dragon at a medium pace, with Charlie doing some excellent riding on his Nomad. Annette was a relatively new passenger, but she took to it in stride. The pegs were grinding in the corners and I’ve now worn away enough of the sacrificial acorn nuts that the bottom of the pegs are starting to show some wear. At the turnaround, two guys on GSX-R Suzukis were telling about a friend of theirs who was a very competent road racer. Seems he was into a corner for all he was worth on a winding road and was quite pleased with himself until he was passed on the outside by a Kawasaki Concours TWO UP. The ride back to the Gap featured more dragging. At the Deal’s Gap Resort, we watched some videos shot from a sportbike where the lead bike almost wiped out meeting an 18 wheeler in a corner. Thhen they played with a really aggressive bicycle rider for a while. There will be one really chagrined cruiser rider out there because the bicycle blew by him in a turn on a downgrade.

We rode down US 129 almost to Robbinsville and took 143 up to the Cherohala Skyway. Blog readers will know the Skyway is more open with higher speed sweeping turns than The Dragon. At the first pullout, we met two trike riders from Oklahoma. Sandy was showing the ladies her electric Gerbing jacket so we might have cost them some money.

The ride up and over to Tellico Plains was uneventful. We were not driving hard in the corners since I still hadn’t found the groove. When we arrived in Tellico, we stopped for lunch at the Tellicafe. Then we went a mile down SR 68 to pay our respects to Hunt’s Lodge, a new motorcycle campground. They approached the VROC Admin last week to make us aware they were there and Lori was very friendly when we stopped by. They are associated with the Honda Magna/Sabre V4 group. In the photo, she has a hand grenade with the number 1 attached to the pin. It says “For service, take a number”.

On the way back over the Skyway, we were passed by a Valkyrie Interstate and a Harley making good time. We chased them for a bit until we all pulled over at a lookout. They were from Beaver Georgia and we had a nice visit before setting out with us chasing them back over the NC state line. Then I slowed a bit and they got away from us. At the end, we met a couple from Parkersburg WV on two bikes, he on a Wing and she on an Intruder. She was a new rider and was having fun in the mountains. We headed on down to Robbinsville, stopped at the grocery store and then headed back to KSL.

Although this wasn’t as good a riding day as I’ve had, skillwise, the number of people we met from all over was a pleasure. And any kind of day riding down here is excellent.

At the campground, Chunk was industriously running the ZTR mower. After a bit, it started making a different sound and I realized he had finally engaged the mower blades. When pressed, he would not say how long he had been mowing without the blades. Supper was Sloppy Joes and salad, followed by the never-ending dish washing. We met Steve, a regular visitor who, before retiring, was operations manager at Atlanta Airport. Now there is a job. After talking quite a while, Bruce made a fire and he, Sandy and I sat around it and admired the blue moon. It’s been a while since I saw one. We got to bed in the heated trailer about 10:30 PM.

On To Kickstand Lodge

Princeton West Virginia to Stecoah North Carolina

It was a fine morning in Princeton. We had the continental Days Inn breakfast and I checked the tires before setting out on 460. This road is much more enjoyable than taking I-77 and I-81. It winds through a long valley between the ridges and is all four lane bypassing most of the little towns. It may take a half-hour longer to get to Abingdon, but you get there very much more relaxed. We stopped at a Wal-Mart in Lebanon to replace my malfunctioning Velcro watchband.

Those who read this Blog regularly may remember how I got turned around in Abingdon on the last trip. I need to get that GPS soon, because I screwed up again. Instead of coming down to Exit 17 on I-81 and continuing south on SR 75, I arrived at Exit 14 thinking it was Exit 19. Confused? I was. Thinking it was 19, I got on the westbound ramp and found myself headed for Bristol. Rather than turn around, I thought I’d check out what the I-81 to I-26 option looked like. It looked like Interstate.

We entered Johnson City on I-26, a totally new direction. After gas in Erwin, Tennessee, we rode up over the ridge into NC, skipping the summit lookout and stopping at the Welcome Center. Met a couple from Erwin on an old Virago and spent quite some time talking bikes and roads. They were headed to Lake Lure for lunch. He told me about a golf course on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Fancy Gap where two days of unlimited golf, a night’s accommodation and a golf card costs the princely sum of $70 a head. Bears investigating. An older gentleman ferrying a car stopped to chat as well. He was a Wing rider from Virginia.

Through Asheville, the I-240 was backed way up due to an accident but, luckily, it was the other direction. The construction along I-40 has me considering an alternate route for the return trip. After getting on US 74 and reaching Waynesville, we decided to eat. Easier said than done. We got into a traffic mess and, following the path of least resistance, ended up going through Waynesville on the dreaded Business 23. I had no idea that this place was so popular with tourists during the week. Luckily, we found a Subway and got our lunch.

We followed the Business 23 until it merged back with 74 and headed on to Kickstand Lodge. My plan was to fuel at the BP after Bryson City. Typically, it was shut down, so we arrived at KSL unfueled. That’s what tomorrow is for, I guess.

Mo, Chunk and Chunk’s friend Bruce were in residence when we arrived. Chunk has been here all month helping Mo. Bruce was working on a project to expand the wood chip area and create a border using logs. Unfortunately, he thought the dirt would be like Wisconsin, whereas it is actually clay and gravel This is ugly stuff to shovel. We helped out a bit, but Bruce did most of it.

We got set up in a shaded area under a tree and near an electrical outlet. Charlie and Annette arrived in the late afternoon from Mississippi towing his Nomad behind his Astrovan. It was good to see them. Chunk and Sandy made a late supper of burgers, various salads and beans. About the time we were finishing up, three guests from Ohio pulled in after a day of riding followed by an unmarked State Trooper with blue lights flashing. After a few words, the trooper left. He said they were looking for an Ohio bike but the description didn’t match. Everyone figured he was probably informally checking to see if they had been drinking.

The evening ended with us swapping tales with the Ohio people and then it was off to bed in the trailer, which had been warmed up by the ceramic heater. Roughing it is so much fun:-)

Back in the USA

Cambridge, Ontario to Princeton, West (By God) Virginia

It was bright, clear and only a little cool this morning. After coffee, packing and goodbyes, we hooked the trailer up and were on our way south. Took Highway 8 to County 5 to Highway 6 to 403 to QEW to Fort Erie. Here we had breakfast before crossing.

They say the Peace Bridge is one of the busiest Canada/US border points. Not today. We rolled off the bridge right into a Customs booth. Three questions, an examination of our driver's licences and we were on our way.

We stopped south of Erie in the little burg of McKean. I suddenly found out as we passed through Erie that Sandy's headset speakers weren't working even though her microphone was. She thought I had the radio turned off. Turns out she had pulled the upper cable plug part way loose while trying to get the NY Thruway toll ticket out of her pocket. Easy fix.

As we rode down I-79, we saw State Police in strength in every rest area. Not sure what that was about. We also saw many bikes northbound returning from Rolling Thunder. The traffic around Pittsburgh was fine for a change, although we started seeing clouds that told me thunderstorms would be a possibility. At a gas and food stop in Waynesburg Pa, we met two Vulcan riders from Cleveland returning from Washington. They weren't VROCers, and wondered why a guy on a Wing would be wearing Vulcan patches:-) BTW, Waynesburg is a hard town to get around in with all the medians and convoluted one way streets. I think the phrase "you can't get there from here" was coined here.

As we rode down through West Virginia, I was starting to get tired. We were running 75-80 MPH in 85F heat up and down the mountains into a stiff headwind and the bike was pinging. I was going to stop at the nice little rest area south of Weston, but this was where the nasty thundercloud with the lightning flashes was heading so we continued on and got around it. Finally stopped in Summersville for gas and water. I put mid-grade gas in the bike to counter the pinging.

Summersville may have a new police chief who wants to improve the speed trap image, but the cops in Fayetteville and Oak Hill are as busy as ever. I do wonder why, with the WV Turnpike as an example, the worst roads are the ones we pay tolls on. It just doesn't seem right.

We arrived in Princeton WV just before the next rain cloud. The Days Inn is very reasonable, we parked in front of our door and the Cracker Barrel (salads only) is right next door. Tomorrow, we'll avoid the I-77 tunnels in case the construction antics are continuing and will head SW on 460 to 19.

Should be at KSL by mid-afternoon. Then I'll have to search out a WiFi hotspot somewhere. KSL doesn't have one because there is no broadband service and a mountain sits right smack dab between them and the satellite. I used to dial in on their Visa phone line, but I gave up my AOL dial-up account. Oh well, what's life without a challenge:-))

Rain, More Rain And Then Some More Rain

Cambridge, Ontario

It rained this morning. Heather and I were supposed to ride, but the streets were pretty wet. She and Tom had a going away party for a friend of his moving to Dubai in the early afternoon, so that's when the rain stopped. Then it hit again. She got back late afternoon and the streets were finally drying again so we agreed to go.

You know when you do one of those dumbass moves that you can't imagine you did? I went to start the bike to go over to her place and found that I had left the key in the accessory position the day before. The radio and other electrical doo-dads drained the battery. Flat. I don't know when they started coming out with these booster cables with the guards around the teeth to keep you from shorting them out, but there was no way Mike's cables would connect to the Wing battery posts. Borrowed two lag bolts from the neighbor, gripped them in the cable teeth and Mike held them to the battery posts. Got it started and it was fine after that. Oh yeah, I cut Mike with my Buck knife while severing a cable tie. Not badly, but he'll have a story to tell at work about how dangerous his father-in-law is.

Finally got to Heather's. We went through the bike starting procedure and got the little Rebel going. Then we set out down the back road to Paris with Tom following in his car. He took the pictures. Sure enough, after Glen Morris, big raindrops started one more time. We rode on a bit and then turned around and went back to Heather's place. She is keeping up better, but needs a bunch of seat time to get more comfortable. She also needs to practice downshifting but, considering here minimal experience with a manual transmission, she's doing quite well.

After we got back, Sandy and I borrowed Kim's car and went out to Waterloo to see Tom's condo. He's within walking distance of the St. Jacobs Farmers Market.

Back at Kim and Mike's, I found that my NASCAR Fantasy Team recorded one of the worst scores of the year. Good drivers, more bad luck. I dropped from 18th to 25th in the standings. Since there are only 33 in the League, I can't fall much further. Mom is now tied for first and continues to go like gangbusters.

With a heavy heart and no idea which drivers to pick for next week, I went to bed.

A Slow Day in Cambridge

Today, I planned to go riding with Heather. She and Tom arrived from his place about 10:00 AM. The rain got here about 10:30. After spending part of the morning watching Kim and Mike plant flowers in their back yard, it looked like the ride would be a washout.

We watched some TV. Mike has recorded Grand Ole Opry performances on his PVR and we watched some of them. Then we watched Fast Food Nation, a movie with so many agendas I got confused. The rain stopped, the sun came out and I suggested that now we could ride but it was late afternoon and Heather thought tomorrow morning might be better. After watching Kim and Mike spread cedar mulch around their new flowers, the six of us went out to the Beaver & Bulldog, a sports bar on Hespeler Road. Food was good and the server, Enis, was a hoot. Then we came back to the house and played Scene-It, a movie trivia game.

Everything wound down about 10:30 and it was an early bed-time for all.

Getting on the road

Sudbury to Cambridge, Ontario

Why do I always leave everything until the last minute? I guess I work better under pressure.

The morning saw me paying bills, doing odd jobs, changing the oil in the bike and, finally, packing. We did, despite the rush, get underway before 1:00 PM. Traffic was backed way up on our usual way out of town due to road construction, so we went through the city for a change.

It was 27C when we left wearing light gear. By the time we were 60 miles south, it had dropped to 15C and we stopped at Still River to add more layers. Southbound traffic was light but the northbound side was starting to jam up with people leaving the city. It wasn't very kind of me but all I could think of was lemmings.

Going through Still River, I thought about our friend Shawn Rae, an OPP constable. When I got to Cambridge, Normie had sent me a link to this article about him.

I played with the rear suspension for the proper setting with the trailer. Another of my character flaws is that I can never adjust by just one increment. It's like Goldilocks. Ten is too soft but 12 is too firm. Finally I get to 11 and it's just right. One trailer tire is worn badly on the inside half, probably from riding to and from Interlochen last year with a loose wheel bearing. I'll watch it and if it becomes too bad, I have the spare.

Cambridge had called for thunderstorms in the late afternoon but, despite the cold front, they never materialized. Kim and Mike were out with Heather and Tom for the evening, so we took it easy and then went to bed before it was too late.

Heading South

We'll be out of here tomorrow afternoon.

This weekend, I want to get Heather out riding the Rebel some more. Seat time will be good for her. Then we'll be off to Kickstand Lodge in North Carolina to spend a few days hopefully being useful to Moe and then attending the Memorial Service June 2nd.

Stay tuned for how this all unfolds.

All Good Things Must End

Monday morning was a bit cool, but not as cold as last year when it snowed on us in Algonquin Park. It was clear and showed all the signs of being a really nice day.

Sandy and I got up, put coffee on and started the fire in the wood stove. Kim and Mike stopped by about 8:00 AM on their way out. Heather and Tom did the same a little bit later. We talked a bit with Jan but didn't bother Rob since he apparently had a rough night. It didn't take long to pack and then we were on the road as well.

After a quick gas stop in Barry's Bay, we headed west towards Algonquin. In the park, traffic was lighter than I expected and the only moose were in a swamp. At the park store, we saw a Harley towing a Lees-Ur-Lite trailer. With a Kayak on top!! We stopped and talked to the older rider, who was from the Toronto area and spoke with a German accent. From the "Guide" stickers on the kayak, I guess he's pretty serious about it. It turns out that he has also had the trailer open up, but his had the kayak on it at the time so it wasn't a complete deployment.

The rest of the park and into Huntsville, we were blessed with a minimum of dawdlers. We had lunch at Mickey D's in Huntsville and then went south to catch 141. I really like the new road surface. On Highway 69, we got in with a faster group of cars and travelled about 120 to 130 KPH. In a couple of passing lanes, where we were trying to catch slower vehicles, the speed exceeded 160. I continue to be amazed how many southerners come farther and farther north as evidenced by the lines of southbound traffic almost all the way to Sudbury.

We arrived home, unpacked and kicked back for the rest of the day.

Cool, Man

We slept in a bit this morning and never managed to get out for our walk. The temperature had returned to more typical Combermere May weather, which was pretty damn cold. The fire in the stove had gone out, so I started it again. Unfortunately, as I was playing with it, I left the handle for the lid hang over the open stove top. As a result, when I grabbed it I burned my hand. Not badly, but it did smart (which I wasn’t).

After having toast and coffee, I wandered next door where there was already a Wizard game in progress. From the foreground, Kenny, Marc, Sherri, Dave Jan and Eric (nursing the stitched hand) are hard at it. Back in our cabin, I worked on the blog and sorted some music on the MP3 player because Sandy was getting tired of my selection of songs. The Lodge does have WiFi, but it is attached to a permanent dial-up connection. This is a first for me, but even if it is slow I should be able to get some things posted and pick up the mail.

Rob Fry came by to try and enlist our cabin for a skit or performance for the afternoon talent show. Rob Hooks (left), Sandy and I tried to resist, but Rob drives a hard bargain and we ended up developing a skit for the event. The girls, Mike and Tom stopped by on their way to explore both Algonquin Park and the Polish museum in Wilno. Tom was born in Poland and Wilno is the site of the first Polish community in Canada.

At 3:00 PM, we adjourned to the main lodge for the talent show. There were a wide variety of skits and performances by young and old. I collected the Challenge answer sheets at the start of the event and marked them while watching the show. Our kids cabin came third. After the show, ice cream, sundae fixin’s, cake and treats were put out for everyone to enjoy. The young guys offered to dig the holes in the beach for the evening fireworks display. That was good of them.

We went back to the cabin and played another game of Wizard (see a pattern here?) and then sat down to an excellent supper of pork roast. Kenny brought me another bottle of Southern Comfort so I ended up coming out a half a bottle ahead on the deal.

After supper, we headed to the beach where Marc had been overseeing the planting of the beach fireworks. I headed out onto the stone dock to prepare and sort the rounds that are fired off plastic bases. Mike and a fellow named Kevin helped. Then we settled in to wait for darkness to fall. Luckily, the wind had died down. It was nearly 10:00 when we got the show on the road. Marc and Rob Hooks started lighting the small ones on the beach and then, when they got to the bigger stuff, we joined in. Some of the new fireworks are spectacular with up to 16 shots all choreographed to work together. We would launch out singles in between. The only mishap came when a moderate sized tube fell over after being lit. I knew there was a problem when I saw coloured balls exploding under the other dock. It seems Brian and Dave got clipped as it went by. Then it launched one shot back in our direction. Mike and I ducked and it went between where our heads had been. But then what is life without a little excitement. All in all, the show lasted almost 45 minutes.

We adjourned to the Round House for some visiting and Karaoke. It was livelier than the night before, but still rather subdued since many of the people (including us) were leaving in the morning. Sandy and I returned to our cabin about 1:30 and went to bed.

An Unusually Nice May Day In The Ottawa Valley

It was, again, clear and cool this morning. Jan, Sandy, young Jen and I showed up at 8:30 for a morning power walk. Others had expressed interest last night but didn’t make it this morning. We set out and quickly established two pairs, with Jan and I setting the faster pace as we walked to Combermere village. It was about a half hour there and another half hour back. On the return, we passed Sandy and Jen who were setting a slightly slower pace. It felt good to stretch the legs.

On the way back, we found that Eric DeVarennes, a long time friend staying in the next cabin, was returning from a visit to the hospital. It seems that, after we went to bed, Eric got back up to go to the Round House and party with the younger crowd. On the way back to his cabin, he tripped and fell on the asphalt roadway scuffing his face and, in an attempt to save his beloved rum glass, cutting his hand to the tune of three stitches. A sadder but wiser bear, he wasn’t saying much when he got back.

John Murphy from Ottawa, of Hendersonville nail-through-the-tire fame, showed up for a brief visit. He’s off for the Finger Lakes tomorrow morning. Marc Souliere, proud new owner of a Garmin Zumo 550 GPS, gave us a tour of the unit I intend to buy.

Our traditional Saturday ride was scheduled to go at 11:30. We try to take people who normally don’t ride as passengers. As the time grew close, people gathered to see who would go with whom. I was taking Heather’s boyfriend Tom, who hadn’t been on a bike before. I gave him the standard passenger instructions, he climbed aboard and the group headed out led by Brian Stevenson and John Fry. The weather was still clear and warming nicely (unusual for this weekend) as we first went to the gas station and then set out on the short, winding and scenic route. For anybody familiar with the area, it was a counterclockwise circle through Palmer Rapids, Quadeville, Foymount, Brudenelle and Wilno, ending up at the chip stand in Barry’s Bay. Tom was an excellent passenger. Marc, who has guided many tours and followed many Wings, said Quicksilver tracked through the corners better than any he has seen. It not only feels like it is working better with the Traxxion suspension, it looks like it, too.

The chip stand is across the street from the little park honouring the Avro Arrow. The main test pilot, a fascinating Polish gentleman named Janusz Żurakowski , retired in this area this area and they have a replica of the plane on a stand. The main street was closed off with vintage cars and other displays occupying the roadway as the town celebrated the holiday weekend. We met Sandy, Heather, Kim and Mike at the chip stand and, after eating, headed to the Valu-Mart to get some more groceries for tonight. Then Tom got back on with me and we cruised back down to the lodge.

We spent the rest of the afternoon playing euchre and Wizard and, for a while, I took a nap. Unfortunately, I left my one remaining bottle of Southern Comfort out and Kenny Lott drank half of it as he played cards. Of all the nerve. On the plus side, I hadn’t been to serious about drinking it anyway, but I wasn’t about to let Kenny know that.

Supper was on in Cabin 15, with Bambiburgers as the main feature. Dave Fry, who has lost 35 pounds, made up his own food. Supper was excellent. Afterwards, we headed over to the Round House where we had what was probably the quietest night I have ever seen. Little imbibing, only a small amount of singing and much conversation. Rob Fry brought his two excellent wooden recorders and I played around with them a bit. They had excellent tone. I spent much of the evening talking with Nik Milner who recently arrived from Britain. He is a photographer who specializes in panorama shots and has some very unique equipment to achieve this. The one camera that rotates is apparently the only one in Canada. You can check out his work at http://www.nikmilner.com/.

About 2:00 AM, Sandy, Dave and I were the last three of the first shift to abandon the Round House. After we left, the younger gang moved in for the serious partying.

The Road To Combermere

It’s hard to believe that this will be the 19th year that we have gathered in Combermere for the Victoria Day long weekend. This is the one gathering that takes precedence over VROC reunions (VROC is in Maggie Valley NC this weekend for SEVROC) but many of these friendships go back almost thirty years. This year, I was drafted (Dave claims I volunteered) to prepare the Brainteaser Challenge.

Friday morning, clear and a little cool. We are packed and planning to leave early. I had my challenges copied and stapled, with one puzzle yet to figure out. After an hour, I realized this one was way too complicated for the level of difficulty I was trying to achieve. Find a new puzzle, print it, take out all the staples, replace the page and re-staple. OK, now we’re not leaving so early.

We finally got away from town about 10:00. On the plus side, it had warmed up a bit. Highway 69 south was only moderately busy and we made good time to Parry Sound where we fueled and had lunch at McDonalds. Then we headed down and over Highway 141, where I was pleasantly surprised that much of the winding road had been resurfaced. This is one of my favourite local area roads and it is now much better than it was. When we reached Highway 11, we headed north to Huntsville where we caught Highway 60 east towards Algonquin Park.

At the Algonquin Park west gate we stopped for a few moments. Traffic through the park was light for what is usually a busy weekend and we cruised through the 80 Km roads at a comfortable 110. We passed one gang of stopped cars looking into a swamp, presumably at a moose, but we didn’t see it. Then, about five miles before the east gate, I saw a large moose running up a bank onto the roadway from the left. I got on the brakes, looking for a way to avoid it while Sandy, who had been looking the other way, asked what I was doing. As the moose reached the pavement on a collision course, it looked at us and wheeled back down the hill while I pointed at it for Sandy’s benefit. Had it kept coming, I think I would have gotten stopped in time but it would have been close.

We arrived at Stevenson’s Lodge at about 3:00 PM. The last way in from the village of Combermere, we could see where the massive cedar trees had been knocked down by four tornados last August. Many of the regulars were already here and we said our hellos before moving our gear into the cabin we would be sharing with old friends Rob and Jan Hooks from Vermillion, Ohio.

Twin brothers Ken and Kevin Lott were here with there GL-1800’s. Kevin built a trailer to tow behind his Wing. Parts of it came from a car topper, but it is far beyond what I usually see in a home built unit.

We went into Barry’s Bay to pick up some food and something to drink. Food requirements were minimal since our cabin and the one next door were sharing suppers. The little liquor store didn’t have any pints of Southern Comfort. Rather than get a quart, I got two little 200 ML bottles, which would fit nicely in my pocket and keep my indulging to a minimum. They also didn’t have any Castelvetro wine. Oh, the humanity. We then had a quick ride down Highway 62 back to Combermere and the lodge.

While waiting for the traditional Friday night chili and hot dogs to be ready, I distributed the Challenges to the cabins. Then we headed for the kitchen in the main lodge where we nibbled away and met a few more old and new friends. The sun went down and while we waited for Heather and Tom and Kim and Mike to arrive from Cambridge. Heather and Tom arrived first, with Kim and Mike rolling in about an hour later. They are sharing a cabin at the other end of the property.

With everyone accounted for, we moved to Cabin 15 where a Wizard game was in progress. Wizard is a card game traditionally played here. It is similar to the game of Nines, but with a few special cards. Easy to learn, it is harder to play well. I was in a game when the Maggie Valley VROC crew phoned to say hello. I talked to about seven people. It was nice of them to think about us. I managed to polish off one of the baby SC bottles.

About 1:00 AM, Sandy and I turned in for the night. Our bed squeaked.

The Rebel

Fred Poyser is a GoldWing rider from London who, depsite his senior years, is an extremely competent rider. Last fall, after Heather didn't pass her motorcycle licence test the first time, he spent a couple of weekends helping her hone her skills in the New Dundee Community Centre parking lot. He even provided the Honda CL-125 she practiced on. Fred's friend Ginger has been riding a 1986 Honda 250cc Rebel for several years and is looking to move up, so Heather agreed to buy the Rebel from her.

After a busy April, we called Fred and arranged to get the bike on Sunday, May 13th. Fred had arranged for the mechanical fitness and Heather arranged for insurance and met Ginger to complete the bill of sale. Then, last week, she went into the MTO office and registered the bike in her name.

Saturday, Sandy and I rode down to Cambridge. Heather was in Toronto with Tom while Kim and Mike were in Aylmer, but we moved into Kim and Mike's spare room while everyome was away.

Sunday morning, we headed over to Heather's for 9:00 AM. Our meeting time with Fred in New Dundee was 10:00. Sandy jumped in the car with Heather while I followed them on the Wing, at least until Heather missed a turn. After running over my own foot making a poorly executed U-turn, I led the rest of the way. When we got to New Dundee, Fred and Ginger were already there and the bike was unloaded and ready to go.

After taking a look at the bike, Heather got suited up and rode around the lot to get familiar with how it worked. She did some laps and tried some maneuvers. While we were watching her, a member of the local Lion's club came out to tell us there was a Mother's Day brunch buffet going on in the hall. When Heather was ready for a break, and after Fred tried out the new suspension modifications on Quicksilver, we went in and had a bite to eat. In the picture, Ginger, Heather, Sandy and Fred stand by the bikes before going inside. Afterwards, Heather rode some more until her boyfriend, Tom, arrived.

Finally, it was time to take to the road. I led, while Heather followed and Sandy (in Heather's car) and Tom (in his own), brought up the rear. We went up Queen St., east on Bridge and south on Trussler to Cedar Creek Rd. Heather was a little tentative in this stretch, but when I stopped at Cedar Creek to check on her, she said she was OK. On the way into Cambridge, we stopped and gassed the bikes up. After getting back on the road, I saw her pull over in my mirror. By the time I turned around, she was following me again. I had guessed right, that she had shut the fuel petcock off to refuel and forgotten to turn it on again.

In Cambridge, we stopped at a Tim Horton's for coffee, pop and iced tea and a photo. In the picture, Tom is sitting behind Heather. Then Sandy got into Tom's car and they followed us down the back road through Glen Morris to Paris. Heather was doing better at keeping up on this stretch. Finally, we returned to Cambridge via the same route and ended up at Heather's apartment building where we parked the bike in her underground space crosswise in front of her car.

Heather has a lot to learn about riding and maintaining the bike, but she's off to a start. We plan to visit and ride with her as often as we can over the summer. Now Tom is talking about getting his bike licence as well.

For the evening, Kim and Mike were home and Mike barbequed some burgers for supper. We watched some TV and visited until it was time for bed.

Monday was cool as we set out for home. It was a good ride until rain started spitting near Parry Sound. Although it was a little wet, we didn't get any serious rain and got home just in time to garage the bike before more meaningful precipitation began.

Home

It was warm when we got up in Erie. There were showers forecast for Sudbury and thunderstorms expected in the Toronto area. I uncovered the bike, bumped the front tire pressure and moved the rear shock from 8 down to 4. I will continue playing with the settings, looking for the optimum setup under various conditions. Softening the rear was to try to reduce the response to turbulence from big trucks on the highway, a condition that happens when the rear is set too stiff. After breakfast and loading up, we were rolling by 8:00 AM.

The bike was very stable as we headed east on the NY Thruway. It was a pleasant morning to ride and I led us along with the traffic flow. We cleared the toll booths in Buffalo and proceeded to the Peace Bridge through a relatively light rush hour. When we crossed on the way down, Canada bound traffic was backed up onto the bridge. Today, there were three customs booths open and all were empty. With a few cursory questions and no request for ID, we were allowed back into the country. The bridge toll was up to $3.00 US, up from $2.50 back in March.

I picked up the pace on the QEW and we worked out way through traffic at 130-140 KPH. I pulled into the Tim Horton's at Prudhomme's Landing for a coffee and muffin and to bid John goodbye since he would be heading for Burlington. We met Ivan Dagenais, who was getting coffee for his HVAC crew. Ivan, a Harley rider, was a Sudbury boy before moving south in the late 60's. After coffee and one final picture, John set out first, with Leo and I not far behind. I scared myself on the QEW on ramp when I took it a little to fast and grounded my boot, which got stuck against the peg. I had to straighten for a second to free it and then lean way in to avoid the guardrail but the new cornering ability did this with ease.

Leo and I continued moving fast up the QEW, over the Burlington Skyway and onto the 407. My fuel light came on at 350 Km as we approached the King service centre on the 400 north. After a quick fuel stop, we rolled north at about 130 KPH with some cars still passing us. We stopped at Waubaushene because the sky looked suspect and I figured it was time to put rain suits on. About ten Kms later, light rain started and continued to Parry Sound where we stopped so Leo could grab a quick bite to eat and rest his butt. North of Parry Sound, the light rain progressed to a heavy frog choker with very poor visibility and lightning. For a while, we were running at 80 Kph with the four way flashers on. Around Britt, it eased up and was just a steady light rain. This wasn't the shower activity that was forecast and it continued all the way home.

The fuel light came on just south of Sudbury, and Leo's came on about ten miles later. The bike ranges are very close. I set the shock back up to 8 as we reached town due to the very poor road conditions. I stopped for gas while Leo went on home. In the driveway, Sandy opened the garage door while I took the luggage out of the bike and backed it into the garage.

I was tired and spent much of the rest of the day napping. It was a good trip, but I missed Sandy and doubt that I will be going anywhere without her in the future. We are a traveling team and that's the way it should be.

Homeward Bound

Waynesville, North Carolina to Erie, Pennsylvania

The sunrise over the mountains as seen from our motel room on the hill was spectacular. We had the continental breakfast, although Leo had a fight with the waffle machine. While checking and loading the bikes, I lowered the front tire air pressure from 42 PSI (max rating) to 36 PSI (manual spec) to see if it would take some of the quickness out of the handling. As soon as I hit I-40 towards Asheville, I knew it was the right thing to do.

It was cool when we set out at 7:00 AM and the run to Asheville, where we beat the rush hour traffic, was through air permeated by the faint scent of pulp mills. We rode north on I-26, up over the ridge and into Tennessee. To keep Leo's monkey butt ( a condition you get from riding on an uncomfortable seat) to a minimum, I resolved to stop every 100 miles or so. This stop was at a scenic lookout on I-26. We made good time because the commuter traffic was hustling along at 75 to 80 MPH and we just went with the flow.

The route was a reversal of how we went down from Johnson City past the Bristol Track to 421 to SR 75 north to Abingdon. Usually I have to work the bike on 75, which is narrow and winding in parts, but today the bike just flowed. It was an awesome feeling.

After fueing in Abingdon, we tried a new route to avoid the I-77 tunnels. I spent almost half an hour leading the boys on a tour of Asheville because I misread the highway I was looking for on the map. Eventually, we found 19 north and followed it to Tazewell Virginia where it joined 460 to Bluefield WV. We joined I-77 immediately north of the East River Mountain tunnel and rode up the grade to the Visitor Center in Princeton. There I phoned Jim Ayers up in Fayetteville and set up to meet him for lunch at Arby's in Oak Hill.

We arrived at Arby's on time. After introductions, we sat down to eat. I tried an Arby's Turkey Ranch Bacon Wrap. It was pretty good for fast food. I did notice, after lunch, that the front tire was cupped pretty badly. I think it's been like that for a while, but was highlighted because of the way the sun was shining on it. Radial tires tend to wear strangely on bikes anyway. We said goodbye to Jim, or perhaps it was au revoir since I expect we'll be seeing him in three weeks or so at KSL.

The crawl through the Summersville speed trap may be dated because Jim tells me the town has a new mayor who is not pleased with the town's reputation. I hear he has cut funding for many of the traffic cops who have harassed people passing through for years. We gassed and went on. The bike continued to handle well and I found that my usual 120 KPH was often getting to be 130 or 140 without me noticing it.

We continued stopping every hundred miles or so, with gas every second stop. I knew the stretch of I-79 past Pittsburgh, between the I279 South and North splits was going to be very rough so I hiked the rear suspension up to 8. The road was worse than ever, but I cruised through at 120 KPH with none of the jarring I am used to feeling.

We arrived in Erie, Pa about 7:30. It took 12 1/2 hours to cover 651 miles due to our frequent stops and we were ready to kick back when we got here. We're in a Comfort Inn that is very nice. Lucky it's Tuesday, because the rates double on the weekend. We had a nice Chef Salad at the next door Bob Evans and returned to the room for a bit of TV and blogging.

One strange thing I found today. I had lower front tire pressure and ran higher than normal speeds and yet got better than usual gas mileage. I don't know what this is about, but I hope it continues.

It's only 400 miles home tomorrow and it's about time I got there.

One other thing. I did a survey today and determined that four out of five drivers who don't use their signal lights are women. I wonder why?

Traxxion Day

Woodstock, Georgia to Waynesville, North Carolina

We were awake early and enjoyed the somewhat more than continental breakfast at the Hampton Inn. After packing, we left about 8:30 to make the 9:00 appointment at Traxxion Dynamics. The address was 261 Rope Mill Parkway in Woodstock. Streets and Trips showed a Rope Mill Road and a Rope Mill Lane. After checking them both out and not finding anything, I phoned and found the real place was about three miles away. We finally got there shortly after 9:00.

Mike Hardy took the order and showed us to the conference room where they had a table, coffee, soft drinks and WiFi for the customers. There was a couple there, Brian (Mr. Fixall) and his wife plus their little poodle. They were both riding Traxxioned Wings and he was in to get the damping altered in his rear shock. It seems he likes and exceptionally stiff ride for his canyon bombing style. We talked Wings and rides for quite some time.

About noon, Tom T. from Toledo rolled in on a '07 Airbag Wing with trailer. We continued to talk bikes and then Brian and Tom learned that they both worked for Fedex so they got talking business.

About 1:30 the mechanic brought the bike out and took a test ride. I noticed right away that there was no fork brace on it. Seems they did not have any in stock. Since this was an integral part of the handling package, I was disappointed until I found Tom had one in his trailer that wouldn't work on his newfangled forks. I bought it from him and Mike installed it. After paying $2,342 and some cents, we were ready to roll at 2:00.

I could feel the bike was tighter, firmer, less sloppy right off the bat. It also made low speed turns very easily. The rear shock, which had been set at 16, was now set at 3. I could feel every bump and ripple but the harshness was gone.

We grabbed a quick McD cheeseburger in Canton since we hadn't eaten since breakfast. Then we headed east on SR 20 to SR 400/US 19 North. We went up through Dahlonega on US 19 and then turned onto SR 60 towards Suches. That is the home of Two Wheels Only, a motorcycle only resort where we held the first big VROC gatherings in 1999 and 2000. Let me say this first. The tanker driver was doing a spectacular job of guiding his big rig through the twists and turns going up the grade on 60. That said, he was still holding us up. In frustration, I pulled over into a lookout where we met a young lady originally from Bismark ND. She has lived in Belfast Ireland for the last 11 years and is on day two of a three month trek up the Appalachian Trail. A gutsy young woman, it was a pleasure to meet her.

In Suches, I pointed out TWO and we turned east on SR 180. This would take us through Wolf Pen Gap. I had forgotten how tight the Gap road is and how steep the drop-offs. This has no forgiveness of errors at all. The bike didn't handle as well as expected, but I found after that, while tinkering with the suspension settings, I had accidentally lowered it to 2. By the end of the day, I found 6 was about right for spirited riding.

SR 180 took us to US 19 where we headed north for a bit and then turned east on the other half of 180 which took us past Brasstown Bald to SR 17. Going north again, we entered North Carolina and turned east on US 64 towards Franklin. There we caught US 441 north to Sylvan and 74 into Waynesville. Here, we got a room at a Days Inn way up on the side of a hill and went to the Sagebrush Steakhouse for supper. Every road we were on today reinforced why this is the best motorcycling area I have ever seen.

The McDonalds where Sandy and I usually have breakfast when leaving KSL has been torn down. Our server at Sagebrush told us the health inspector had found the carcass of a wharf rat in one of the fryers. With all the negative PR, McDonalds tore the place down and is building a new and improved place. I wonder how long the rat was there?

Sorry I got so distracted I didn't take any pictures today. We should be able to make it home in two days from here. Weather looks good (knock wood). We'll see how it goes.