Nova Scotia 2008

Friday, July 18, 2008

Day 16

Roanoke, Virginia, to Nashville, Tennessee
436 Miles
4263.5 Total Miles

Tennessee

We're home. Through thirteen states and one province, over 4200 miles in sixteen days, Nova Scotia 2008 is over.

It was a great ride.

We started the day in Roanoke, Virginia. After the 450 mile ride yesterday, bedtime came very early last night. As a result, we were up and ready to be on the road by 6:30 central time.

Packing up the bikes for the last time

We began our ride under clear skies with temperatures in the 60's. We rode through dense fog for the first hour as the temperature dipped to 60 degrees at one point in the morning.

According to the GPS, Nashville lay 435 miles away. We decided to go ahead and wrap things up.

Today's ride was just like the one we had yesterday, except for a major difference. Instead of finishing up the day in another cookie cutter motel room, we would end the day at home and get to sleep in our own beds. That's a lot of motivation.

We split the day into 100 mile sections. Ride 100 miles, then stop at a convenience store for a little R&R, a soft drink and fuel. Then repeat. Our last stop was at a rest stop on I-40 about 60 miles from Nashville. By then the temperature was over 90 degrees.

Jim cruising down I-81

Bo survived the ride by depending on the nicotine
gum holder he attached to his handlebars

We rolled into Nashville at 1:45 and radioed our goodbyes on I-440. Just a few minutes later the trip was over.

Bo's bike at home after a long ride

Anyway, it's great to be home. The allure of the open road is strong but family, friends and even that dreaded thing called work are even stronger.

The dogs are happy everyone is home safe

Now it's time to think about next year. There's talk of riding to Banff, in the Canadian Rockies. We're also thinking about going international in a serious way. Jim mentioned Italy and Bill likes the Alps. Bo is interested in New Zealand but isn't sure how comfortable it would be to spend a couple of weeks riding on the wrong side of the road. The early favorite is Banff.

See you in 2009.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Day 15

New Milford, Pennsylvania, to Roanoke, Virginia
451 Miles
3829 Total Miles

We left New Milford this morning under sunny skies and low humidity. The temperature was a cool 65 degrees when we pulled onto I-81 South at 8:30 this morning.

Today's ride proves that Charles Kuralt was correct when he said, "Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything."

We spent the entire day on I-81 and, although we continued to enjoy riding our motorcycles, we did not see or learn anything new. As a result, our cameras stayed in their bags. We figure everyone has seen an interstate. Not every day is filet. Some days are hamburger (had to say something about food).

We really put on the miles today, 451 total, which was our biggest ride of this trip. We spent the entire day in a constant cluster of cars and trucks.

We found ourselves on the interstate because we spent the past two days continuing to tour. Our visit to Woodstock and the Catskills yesterday came at a price: we didn't get much closer to home. So we started the day 858 miles from Nashville. We decided that, unless we want to arrive home to dogs who don't remember us, we needed to make tracks.

Riding on the interstate is statistically much safer than riding on two-lanes. There are no driveways, gravel tails, dogs, left-hand turners or traffic lights; all things that threaten the street rider. That being said, riding on a busy interstate takes an incredible amount of mental energy. Maintaining extreme vigilance makes for a safe ride but it does take a lot out of you.

We plan to repeat the experience. Tomorrow we return to the wormhole called I-81, hunker down and ride 430 miles to Nashville. Plans can change, however, so if we see something particularly interesting, we may venture off the interstate and return to the real world.

Day 14

Bennington, Vermont, to New Milford, Pennsylvania
297 Miles
3378 Total Miles

"By the time we got to Woodstock, we were half a millon strong."
- Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

"By the time we got to Woodstock, we were in our fifties."
- Bo & Jim

We started our day in Bennington, Vermont at the Kirkside Motor Inn. The Kirkside proved to be a comfortable place and very friendly to riders. The owner, Billy, gave us rags for cleaning our bikes. He says this prevents people from using his room towels to clean the road grime off their bikes. We would never do that. Steal them maybe, but not clean our bikes with them. We do have our standards.

We set out under perfect blue skies with low humidity and temperatures in the high 60's. It promised to be a great day to ride.

Jim studies the road map during a rest break

U.S. Highway 7 south took us quickly across the Vermont boarder and into Massachusetts. A local eatery, The Chef's Hat, came highly recommended. Breakfast was accompanied by a ten minute session with our collection of road maps. One city name stood out like a beacon: Woodstock, New York. A true cultural icon sits only 90 or so miles from our current location: the summer of love, 3 days of peace and music, Joe Cocker, Hendrix, Country Joe and the Fish. We had no choice but to go.

We left Massachusetts behind and entered New York state. We passed through the city of Kinderhook, which was settled by Dutch explorer Henry Hudson in the 1600's. Lots of things in the area have Dutch names. Local attractions include the home of former President Martin Van Buren and a restored Shaker community. Our Hudson River crossing took place on the Rip Van Winkle Bridge.

We arrived in Woodstock, which is located in the Catskill Mountains, in time for lunch on the patio of the Landau Grill. The patio was prime real estate for people watching. Woodstock is a magnet for veterans of the summer of love. Sadly, several of these flower children had clearly wilted. They stood out among the traveling families, young hipsters and assorted tourists. These veterans of the 60's are now in their 60's, grey haired, ponytailed, and with expressions on their faces that, to quote an old Led Zepplin song, are dazed and confused. So much for better living through chemistry.

A quick shopping trip for Woodstock apparel completed, we began a beautiful ride through the Catskills Park, a 700,000 acre preserve that was once home to the Mohawk tribe but more recently has been the home of numerous mountain resorts that attracted a large clientèle from New York City. Among the comedians who performed regularly at these resorts were Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Rodney Dangerfield, Alan King, Joan Rivers, George Burns, Lenny Bruce... the list goes on and on.

We thought our best riding was over when we turned onto New York Highway 30 to exit the park area. To our surprise, Highway 30 provided the best ride we have experienced outside of Nova Scotia. Highway 30 followed the serpentine shoreline of the Pepacto Reservoir, one of the four reservoirs located in the Catskills that provide water for New York City. The spirited ride was 42 miles of twisty roads surrounded on both side by lush vegetation that shaded the road surface.

We then hit the interstate on route to Binghamton, New York, where we hoped to find a decent motel. What we found was the grimiest, most depressing city either of us could remember. We would have taken a picture but were afraid someone might steal our camera.

We left Binghamton and headed south on I-81. We had great difficulty finding a motel. One promising motel could have been the inspiration for the Bates Motel in Hitchcock's movie Psycho.

We finally found a new Holiday Inn Express. Once we unpacked out bikes and settled into the Holiday Inn, your weary travelers had dinner delivered from a local restaurant.

The trim on Bo's helmet needed repair and duct tape came to the rescue

Tomorrow, we continue our return to Nashville.

Bill Thompson called yesterday. He reported that his ride from Portland, New Hampshire, to Manchester, New Hampshire, to return his rental motorcycle and to fly back to Nashville was a miserable, rainy affair. He is now back in Nashville and back at work. We wish he was still riding with us, but, if anyone has to get back to work, we're happy it is him and not us.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Day 13

Portland, Maine, to Bennington, Vermont
240 Miles
3081 Total Miles

We awoke to dark skies and a wet parking lot. Our plans for the day were to ride south and catch a sliver of Rhode Island, adding the 40th state to Bo's quest to ride in all 50 states. A quick check of the national weather map on www.weather.com showed only a very small portion of the USA would experience rain today. Most of that small sliver was the ride from Portland to Rhode Island. To the east lay new Hampshire and Vermont, two beautiful places that were forecast to be cloudy with an chance of light showers.

Great day for a ride

Let's digress a bit and talk about life. Is life a checklist of things to be accomplished? Or is it experiential? Since the checklist side of the ledger would be rainy and the experiential side might be rainy our decision was clear and easy to make. We decided to experience the beauty of New England in the dry instead of checking off another state in Bo's 50-state quest while riding in the rain. This is the kind of drivel that fills your mind as you ride over 3000 miles on a motorcycle. Imagine what ice road truckers think about all day.

But first, we needed breakfast. There's no need to fill in the details. Nothing has changed except for the absence of yogurt on the menu.

We rode east on Maine Highway 25, and then on Highway 104. We crossed into New Hampshire and a slight drizzle began to fall. We rode on until it became a light rain. We stopped to don our rain gear. Putting on rain gear does two things. First, it makes you hot. No matter how much Goretex a garment contains, it's still hotter wearing it than not wearing it. Second, it makes the rain go away. Within five miles of putting on our rain gear the rain stopped, not to return throughout the day. So, we rode on under hot and dry conditions for a while and then stopped and removed our rain gear. We then turned onto U.S. Highway 4 on route to Rutland, Vermont.

The Quchee Valley Gorge

We soon arrived in Lebanon, New Hampshire, a small town on the New Hampshire-Vermont border. We saw two restaurants that looked interesting. We stopped, dismounted our bikes and asked a passerby which was the better restaurant. He said they were both good but that he was a part owner of the one we parked in front of. That was all we needed to hear. His restaurant is called the Salt Hill and they served a great club sandwich, corned beef reuben and home-made chips.

The Salt Hill Restaurant in Lebanon, New Hampshire

The ride into Vermont took us through several old New England villages. In many ways, Vermont is like a green theme park. Most homes and shops are adorned with wildflower plantings, the architecture is often Victorian and well preserved and the business community is largely comprised of artisan shops, local restaurants and quaint country stores. The vegetation is lush and the small farms are neatly manicured.

Vermont countryside

It seemed to take forever, but we finally navigated the 42 mile ride to Rutland. Once in Rutland we turned south on Highway 7 on route to Bennington, Vermont.

We rode down Highway 7 for about 30 minutes and stopped for a cup of coffee. Convenience stores throughout New England carry Green Mountain coffee. Usually, they have five to ten vacuum canisters full of different brews, each of them really good. Accompanying the coffee is a half and half dispenser. Good stuff. Across the street from the market was a little workshop that sold birdhouses crafted by hand on the premises. We each ordered one and had them shipped to Nashville.

We finished our coffee and got back on the bikes. We were soon in Bennington, Vermont, our resting place for the evening.

Bathrooms in Bennington gas station

Accommodations for the night were found at the Kirkside Motor Lodge, an older motel that is clean and that caters to motorcyclists. The owner, a New Yorker named Billy, once lectured on financial matters at the Vanderbilt University School of Law. How and why he ended up running a motel in Vermont is anybody's guess.

While sitting on a bench in front of our room, another guest of the Kirkland Motor lodge walked up and joined in our conversation. He is from Rogersvile, Tennessee. Then a couple of guys rolled up on bicycles. They were two forty-somethings who decided one day to fly from New Hampshire to Washington state with their bicycles and then peddle back to New Hampshire. Neither of them were experienced cyclists. After 43 days on the road, they are now less than two riding days from home. One of them is still wondering why he did it. My advice, which I did not offer, would be to get something with an engine.

We had dinner at a local Italian place that was good, but no threat to Nikki's in Chester, Maine. On the walk back to the Kirkside we admired the many life like statues that were scattered along the sidewalks. They are part of a collection by artist J. Sewart Johnson that will be in Bennington through November, 2008.

Bo reading the Wall Street Journal with statues

Tomorrow we will continue south on to Nashville. We will figure out our route for the day over breakfast, as usual.

(Photos from Day 12 are posted below)

Day 12 Photos

Our bikes in front of the Mecklenburgh Inn

Suzi, the Innkeeper

The Nova Scotia coast is dotted with picturesque villages

The Lunenburg Academy building

Victorian home in Lunenburg

Our new friend Mel, a rider from Alberta

Bo unloading his bike upon arrival in Portland, Maine

Monday, July 14, 2008

Day 12

Chester, Nova Scotia, to Portland, Maine
258 Kilometers
4558 Total Kilometers

We awoke at the Mecklenburgh Inn rested and still friends after sharing a small room among the three of us. Not wanting to push our luck, we'll probably never go out of our way to repeat the experience.

It is Sunday in Chester and all is quiet. The sky is blue and the air is cool. Our last day in Nova Scotia promises to be a good one.

Our innkeeper, Suzi, prepared a tasty breakfast of bacon, various melons and pancakes. Breakfast was shared with other guests at the Inn, including a couple from Windsor, England, and another couple from Halifax, Nova Scotia. They proved to be interesting companions. We hope they share that opinion of us.

After yesterday's 24 hour feeding frenzy none of us were particularly hungry and successfully limited our caloric intake.

We said goodbye to Suzi at 9:30. The next stop was just down the road. The reason for the stop is confidential but we are hopeful that packages will be delivered to our spouses prior to our arrival home.

We had a few hours to kill before our scheduled arrival in Yarmouth to meet the Cat ferry so we continued our coastal ride through the little seaside villages.

A particularly impressive stop was in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. It is a remarkably well preserved village that has gained designation as a World Heritage site. It is larger than Chester, Nova Scotia, and a bit more touristy. But it is clearly the most interesting of the little towns we have seen during this trip.

We realized while leaving Lunenburg that we were 60 kilometers further away from Yarmouth than we thought. We canned plans further coastal explorations, took to the divided highway and scooted directly to Yarmouth.

We arrived at the Cat ferry dock with 30 minutes to spare, had a quick cheeseburger (notice that the quality of our meals is rapidly diminishing) and boarded the ferry.

Once on board we settled down for the 6 hour ride to Portland, Maine.

This ride on the Cat Ferry was fairly rough, unlike our ride from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth. Bo was in the men's room when a seasick Cat Ferry crew member burst into the room, threw open a stall door and, well, you know, got sick. He might consider another line of work. Something on land maybe.

While on board we met Mel, a heavy machinery operator who does pipeline work in Alberta, Canada. He is a good fellow who has been on the road now for two weeks and will not return home for another four weeks. He has plans to visit friends in Cookeville, Tennessee, in a couple of weeks.

Dinner on the Cat Ferry consisted of a ham and cheese sandwich for Bo and baked chicken for Bill and Jim. My, how the mighty have fallen.

The Cat Ferry finally reached port. We unboarded and lined up for U.S Customs. Unlike our arrival in Nova Scotia, things went smoothly. Just to be sure, Bo stayed in a different line, away from Bill and Jim.

We arrived at our motel at 10:00, checked in, unpacked the bikes and had a toast in celebration of a successful trip to Nova Scotia. We said goodbye to Bill, who leaves early tomorrow morning for Manchester, Maine, where he will return his rental bike and fly back to Nashville. He goes to work tomorrow. What an unpleasant thought.

Jim and Bo haven't mapped out their return route yet. A quick dip into Rhode Island is a possibility. Bo would like to ride his bike in all 50 states. Rhode Island will increase the total to 40.

Once again, the extra time to review and post photos is not available. The separate posting of Day 11's photo seems to have worked pretty well so Day 12 photos will be posted tonight.