Back to normal

4 days of reality.
Back at work...gotta wear a helmet when I ride....

I rode to work 3 days this week and got out for a ride on Friday afternoon.

I went up to Oxford Station.
It's a picturesque little town.

And Burritt's Rapids

The old bridge is neat.
1 lane and wood.

Wasn't a huge run, but it was nice to go for a spin in a familiar area.

Going for a decent run tomorrow...not sure where yet, but 8 hrs of riding or so.

Laconia trip - last day and random pics.

Monday morning arrived sunny and hot.
The motel had a continental breakfast so we grabbed some free food before we headed out.
I don't know what I did, but there was a waffle maker, and I burned one side really bad...it was all stuck on the grill. It was pretty much unusable when I was done with it.
Oh well ...shit happens.

We headed to Burlington Vermont and came back via Swanton to highway 11 through Malone.
More windmills.

Didn't really take any memorable pics.

Again I was struck by the apparent lack of paint and paint brushes in this part of New York.
The only explanation for the peeling paint on all of the homes?...some sort of labour strife at the paint factory.
Or perhaps the people just don't G.A.F.

When we crossed at Ogdensburg, there was a homeland security check leaving the country.
WTF ?  Shouldn't they just be happy to get rid of us?

He gave Brent a hard time for his "Road Captain" patch.....
I am guessing the "if you don't speak English, get the fuck out " patch on his vest probably didn't help either ... :)

But still, the guy was pretty rude .
A real asshole.

Canada side?
The guy was  friendly and polite. ...like he was happy to have us back in the country or something.
Reminded me of the Canadians from South Park....just a guy happy to be eatin' his Kraft dinner.

45  minutes later...I pulled into the laneway at home, and there was my loving family. 
I handed over the  loot I brought back...t shirts/tanktops/ sea shells.

And it was all over but the visa payments :)

Oh ya! ....Here are a bunch of pictures that I didn't post with the other Laconia blogs.
Kind of random.
Enjoy.
I will get some more up tomorrow.

Aside.....I think I will have a rant blog about everything that is f-cked up in Canada, soon.
I will title it accordingly so you can skip it if you so desire.
Freedom of speech and all that.

                                         

                                           Vermont

                                   Helmet off in New Hampshire

                              

                             Stream beside the Kancamagus

                           White Mountain National Park

                          Valley in the White Mountains

                          Brent chillin at the ocean

                         Scary Weirdos...WTF ?

                         Would you buy life insurance from these losers ?

 

                      Just arrived in Laconia on the strip

                     Happy faces on little rocks at the ocean...why ?

                     The bikes packed and ready to head out

                    Bikes pouring into Weirs beach

                   
                  Rodney, Brent and Amy

                 
                  
                Another view from the Profile Motel.



Laconia trip day 3

Sunday Morning...sunny and awesome!
Sat outside and watched the sun peak out from behind the mountains.

We had breakfast, packed up all of our stuff and headed to Laconia down I-93.

I have to mention The Profile Motel again before I move on.
The place is cleaner than any hotel or motel I have ever stayed in.
Not fancy , but well maintained and spotless clean with good beds, and not a wallet buster.

 I 93....What a highway that is...the surface is almost perfect, it has paved shoulders, rest stops all along ...great signage for motorcycles.
If this is what a toll highway is actually like...I want them here.

We pulled into Laconia without a local map and had no idea where we were going, so we stopped at a Duncan Donuts to ask directions.
Just as we pulled in, a couple on motorcycles pulled up and we asked them for directions.
They could tell by our blank expressions that we were not getting the route, so they said that if we could wait a few minutes, we could follow them in.
We agreed naturally !
They even stopped and waited for us at stop lights we didn't get through.

We bumped into them a couple times throught the day,and chatted. They were super friendly.
Rodney and Amy...thanks! You guys are true bikers!

Got our picture taken under the Weir's beach sign.

Wandered around among the crowds.

The lake and the surrounding area would be awesome outside of bike week.

The number of bikes and people was almost oppressing. And we were told this was nothing compared to the 2nd weekend!

Around 2pm we left Laconia by back routes and made our way back to Conway so that we could ride the other side of the Kancamagus trail...through Crawford Notch State Park.

What a great idea that was !
The scenery was insane , it was so pretty .

At one point we pulled over for an extended look at something and we both agreed it was almost like scensory overload.

Quick conference , and we decided we would head back into Vermont for the night, and see how far we got by 6-6:30.

Again..really picturesque country to ride in.

The only downer was having to put my helmet back on. That sucked!

The roads are not up to new Hampshire standards, but they were still better than in Ontario.

We made it to Montpelier Vermont.
It is a nice town...not too big and clean and tidy.

Got a room in a bit of a dump of a motel.
No bed bugs or anything like that...it was clean enough...but just a general air of tired and run  down.

We found a small Mexican place in town that served the best burritto I have ever eaten. It was huge.

There were actually  3 other guys from the Ottawa area staying there who were on their way back from Laconia as well. How freaky is that ?

Forget all of their names, but they were certainly nice guys and we had a good long chat about bikes ( they rode jap bikes) , tires ( they swore by Pirelli) , good rides ( the Cabot trail ) ...all of the important stuff.

One of the guys asked us if we had noticed how friendly and helpful the people in New Hampshire, and Vermont for that matter, were.
This was our experience with everybody we met in the 2 states .... they are just nice people.
Simple as that.

It actually felt kind of sad knowing that the next morning we were waking up to head back to Ottawa.
Not that we didn't miss our families and homes...but it seemed to be over,  all too fast.

Laconia Trip day 2

Woke up Saturday to  the sun peaking over the mountains and just wispy clouds in the sky.

The grounds

Got breakfast going and dried off the bikes.

We headed out to the Kancamagus trail.
Last year we did it in the rain. It was impressive but we couldn't enjoy it.
This year? sunny...perfect temp..perfect!

There were streams.

There were valleys and scenic lookouts.

There were rock faces.

We didn't make any mileage...we kept stopping to enjoy.
There were nice little rest stops everwhere so you could stop and check things out.

The trail ends in Conway which is a nice little town.

We headed into Maine to get to the ocean in Portland.
Maine looks very quaint and nice in the country side.

Portland was a bit of a surprise. Large sections of it were run down and scary looking.

The Harley dealership was nice,


but nobody we asked could give us decent directions to get to the ocean.
And nothing is marked on their signs.
Lots of highway numbers,but no "goes here".
We found the port, but did not stick around.

We decided to head to Portsmouth back in New Hampshire.
Took a bit of an unintended detour,( f'ckin Maine and the lack of signs with info...) but got there safe and sound.

A weird thing...you are entering on the highway at 95Km per hour, and you hit the world's biggest traffic circle.
Even weirder?...the people there know how to use them.( ahem ...people of Ottawa)

1 block up we saw a sign.... " Ocean beaches -  turn next left "

What a novel idea...direct your tourists to where they want to go .( ahem..Portland ...city of no fricken signs)

The Ocean was everything I hoped for.

Lots of areas to pull off and get off the bikes to check things out.
Everything well manicured and very New England looking.

It was low tide.

We checked out the rocks and the water.

Stopped for crab cakes at this little place along the ocean.

More riding around taking in the sites.

Then it was back to Lincoln ..out through the world's biggest traffic circle...and a 2 hr ride.
We were pretty beat when we got back to the motel.
We got cleaned up, and went out for pizza.

It was real easy to go anywhere...just throw on your vest...or not... and go.
No helmet to carry around when you got to your destination.

When we were on the highways Brent liked to wear his helmet.
I didn't want to, so I didn't.
I saw people who wore them,  riding with people who didn't.

Pretty novel this concept of being able to decide for yourself !

Canadians don't seem to see their liberties and freedoms disappearing .

I will once again.... step back from the rant....



The weather for Sunday was looking pretty good...hot and sunny.

Sunday was going to be "go to Laconia day", and then head out of the region to somewhere else.

Laconia trip part 1

Back from a 4 day trip to New Hampshire and regions.

Friday started out early, with Brent and I leaving from my place at 7:30 am.

Up 416 to the bridge, and through customs....no cavity searches required.

Northern New York is a drag to ride through...the scenery isn't that great, and the roads are not good.
And is there a law against painting the outside of your house?

The only cool thing was the windmills...tons of them above Malone.




They are a blight on the landscape, yet somehow awe inspiring in their numbers.

Once we hit Champlain and Rouses Point the view started to change for the better. We rode down Grand Isle in Lake Champlain .

Nice scenery...a leisure ride.

On Grande Isle


Now we were in Vermont, and the riding took a turn for the better.

Vermont is kind of like what you picture Vermont would be like...

The Mountains are truly remarkable. Every turn has a new surprise.


Finally hit the sign saying "New Hampshire" about 2 pm, and we were pulled over within about 5 feet of it, and the helmets came off.

Started riding with smiles, that must have made us look like a pair of mongoloids.



                                        Losing the helmets !



Woosh...the stress and all the bad shit is gone from your life !
It can't exist in this world.
I waited all f--kin year for that feeling....you know the one...freedom.

I enjoyed every minute of it the entire time I was in New Hampshire.

State motto on licence plates?

Live Free or Die.Back in the real world Albert!... step away from the rant !

We rode into Lincoln around 3:45 pm in the pouring rain.

It rained for the last 10 minutes of our ride and then cleared.
We got checked in at the Profile Motel by Jim, got our stuff unpacked and went grocery shopping.

All the basics...bacon , pop tarts, coffee, eggs...

It's nice to get up in the morning and make your own breakfast and coffee before you set out.

Stuff cooks while you shower and get ready to go.

Headed out for dinner and found a real good Mexican place.

Brent asked for hot sauce that would "ruin our digestive system and bowels" and we were brought some.
It was "as advertised". :)


Headed back to the motel because it was looking very scary in the sky, and beat the rain by 2 minutes.

                                              Storm Blowing in.



Sat out front under the canopy drinking my ginger ale and relaxed.
It felt really good to be there. The weather was looking great for the next 3 days as well.

That was positive!

Quiet Week

Jock River

Jock River

Not a whole to report in the world of riding this week.

I got out for a couple of nice after dinner rides to Kemptville, Kars, North Gower, Manotick, Richmond...pretty local stuff.

Still nice rides though...you don't always have to go hours away to have a nice ride with a view.
We live in a pretty nice part of the country, as well.

With the coming weekend looking crappy weather - wise, i will spend some time getting the bike looked over for next week's trip to New Hampshire for bike week.
Only 7 more sleeps until we go !

Before a trip it is always good to go over the bike with your tools and make sure everything is snug and good, check air pressure in tires, fluid levels etc.
Who wants to be 600KM away and have something fall off the bike or have a breakdown?
That would suck.

Good time to go over my maps and map books as well.
It is easier to have a route semi-memorized before you head out, than be constantly stopping to figure out where you are.

Hopefully there will be little break in this rain, and I can get some kind of ride in...that is still more fun than checking fluids or cleaning the bike.