Last Weekend
(crossposted to motorcycles)
Max, Fred, and I rode out Friday AM after breakfast with Jim F. at Parker's, and had a very good ride up to the border. I knocked the Duc over while putting something into the right side case when parked on one of our breaks, pushed it right over off the sidestand. Sad Christmas. Damage is minor, a few scrapes on the left mirror, and some gouges in the unpainted part of the left side case. Max took some pictures of the damage. I guess now I do not have to worry about the first real damage to the new bike anymore.
The border crossing was uneventful, and though the roads from the border to Ottawa were flat, straight, and posted too slow, we made it to Joe and Carole's house in good time for the cookout. Even if I was feeling a bit antisocial on account of being overtired, there is still something great about ending a long day riding hanging out with good people drinking and eating. After a dunk in the pool, I even started to feel mostly human again.
Joe and Carole were kind enough to provide a space to sleep, and Saturday morning came quickly. After some delay to shake the cobwebs from between my ears, I rode out to breakfast at Thruway, and picked up my route sheet for the OMMT.
Had a very good ride out to the OMMT site. It turns out that not all the roads in Canada are straight and flat with too many cops after all. :)
While riding, I came across a fairly old bridge, with a sign that proudly proclaimed "NEW". This amused me, so I turned around and took a picture.
Later, while riding through an area with a fair amount of construction, I came to appreciate these signs, and now wish they did something similar here in the states.
Like most everyone did, I made a wrong turning at the clue about the fire meter, which took me about 26 miles in the wrong direction. On the way back down that road, I came across a couple small foxes darting in and out of traffic, so I stopped to try to get them to move off the road. They were quite friendly, and very curious about me and my bike. I suspect people may have been feeding them along the roadside, as they did not seem to have any fear of people or traffic.
I skipped the second optional loop as I had been warned about ground clearance and did not want to put more scratches on the Duc. A few crazybrave souls did make it through, but from what I hear most who attempted it ended up turning back when the trail got too rough. Had a great time Saturday night jawin' with my fellow riders, then turned in "early" around 0100h.
Sunday AM, I woke up around 0715h, which was good since I was about 700 miles from home and still foolishly planning on getting home on Sunday. Rode out for home after breakfast, following Max and Fred again. As we approached the border, Max split off to visit a local friend of his, while Fred and I continued on to Kingston to catch the Wolfe Island Ferry. Another uneventful border crossing, and onwards into NY. By the time we got into the Adirondacks we were both tired, so we decided to find a motel for the night. Good thing I'd taken Monday off to recover from the weekend!
We found that NY was apparently closed, signs notwithstanding. Monday morning we made it all the way to Lake Placid before finding anyplace that was open for breakfast. Across VT and NH, then down into MA, and I finally arrived home early Monday evening, nearly 1500 miles after leaving home. I managed to unpack the bike and get everything inside before becoming a zombie.
All in all, a very good trip. Miraculously, we avoided all of the bad weather--it rained overnight Friday and Sunday, but never while I was on the road. The Duc needs a new rear tire before my next trip, this one is well into the wear bars now, at 4600 miles. Asking around on the ST list, apparently that is good tire wear on this bike. Yikes--I had been expecting to get 5-7k miles out of a rear tire. I guess if I want to take any long trips I will have to plan for tire replacement on the road.
Google Map of Tracklog
Max, Fred, and I rode out Friday AM after breakfast with Jim F. at Parker's, and had a very good ride up to the border. I knocked the Duc over while putting something into the right side case when parked on one of our breaks, pushed it right over off the sidestand. Sad Christmas. Damage is minor, a few scrapes on the left mirror, and some gouges in the unpainted part of the left side case. Max took some pictures of the damage. I guess now I do not have to worry about the first real damage to the new bike anymore.
The border crossing was uneventful, and though the roads from the border to Ottawa were flat, straight, and posted too slow, we made it to Joe and Carole's house in good time for the cookout. Even if I was feeling a bit antisocial on account of being overtired, there is still something great about ending a long day riding hanging out with good people drinking and eating. After a dunk in the pool, I even started to feel mostly human again.
Joe and Carole were kind enough to provide a space to sleep, and Saturday morning came quickly. After some delay to shake the cobwebs from between my ears, I rode out to breakfast at Thruway, and picked up my route sheet for the OMMT.
Had a very good ride out to the OMMT site. It turns out that not all the roads in Canada are straight and flat with too many cops after all. :)
While riding, I came across a fairly old bridge, with a sign that proudly proclaimed "NEW". This amused me, so I turned around and took a picture.
Later, while riding through an area with a fair amount of construction, I came to appreciate these signs, and now wish they did something similar here in the states.
Like most everyone did, I made a wrong turning at the clue about the fire meter, which took me about 26 miles in the wrong direction. On the way back down that road, I came across a couple small foxes darting in and out of traffic, so I stopped to try to get them to move off the road. They were quite friendly, and very curious about me and my bike. I suspect people may have been feeding them along the roadside, as they did not seem to have any fear of people or traffic.
I skipped the second optional loop as I had been warned about ground clearance and did not want to put more scratches on the Duc. A few crazybrave souls did make it through, but from what I hear most who attempted it ended up turning back when the trail got too rough. Had a great time Saturday night jawin' with my fellow riders, then turned in "early" around 0100h.
Sunday AM, I woke up around 0715h, which was good since I was about 700 miles from home and still foolishly planning on getting home on Sunday. Rode out for home after breakfast, following Max and Fred again. As we approached the border, Max split off to visit a local friend of his, while Fred and I continued on to Kingston to catch the Wolfe Island Ferry. Another uneventful border crossing, and onwards into NY. By the time we got into the Adirondacks we were both tired, so we decided to find a motel for the night. Good thing I'd taken Monday off to recover from the weekend!
We found that NY was apparently closed, signs notwithstanding. Monday morning we made it all the way to Lake Placid before finding anyplace that was open for breakfast. Across VT and NH, then down into MA, and I finally arrived home early Monday evening, nearly 1500 miles after leaving home. I managed to unpack the bike and get everything inside before becoming a zombie.
All in all, a very good trip. Miraculously, we avoided all of the bad weather--it rained overnight Friday and Sunday, but never while I was on the road. The Duc needs a new rear tire before my next trip, this one is well into the wear bars now, at 4600 miles. Asking around on the ST list, apparently that is good tire wear on this bike. Yikes--I had been expecting to get 5-7k miles out of a rear tire. I guess if I want to take any long trips I will have to plan for tire replacement on the road.
Google Map of Tracklog