How low can we go.

gspod · Jul 2, 2024

A few people have asked me to do this RR so I’ll do my best but please bear with me, I’m not particularly computer literate.

At the end of August 2022 my wife (A) and I (D) flew ourselves and our bikes from Paris to Montreal. With no real time limit but a finite amount of money and a poor track record for abstinence we headed south. We had no ‘must sees’, nothing booked just a few ideas and a love of motorcycle travel.

We set off from Montreal on the 1st September, stopping for lunch in the shadow of Norte-Dame. We cruised through the Canadian countryside and stopped near the US border, finding a nice hotel owned by an indigenous family.
Next morning we crossed the border into Vermont on the 141 - It was easy enough, although I’m glad to say, the border guard stepped up to the plate and fulfilled his stereotype superbly by shouting so loudly at the car in front, for crossing the line by 2 inches, it must have carried for 10 miles. Needless to say I stopped well short of the line.

A was on a 411 Himalayan and we wanted it to last so we decided to ride light and slow. With this in mind we spent the next few days pottering along small roads through Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire (whose official motto is ‘Live free or die’ and written on all their number plates - something like ‘The garden state’ would have been a little more reassuring.

timeandtide · Jul 2, 2024

Pics not visible!

gspod · Jul 2, 2024

Going wrong already, I shall persist.
We rode through the heart of ‘the fall’ and a month or so later the colours would be spectacular, oh well next time.

gspod · Jul 2, 2024

Try again

gspod · Jul 2, 2024

A has got some relatives who live around the Boston area, we didn’t have a contact number for them but thought it would be rude not to tell them we were in the area. With the help of Google she managed to contact them and, as luck would have it, the coming weekend was Labour Day holiday and they were spending it at their holiday house on Cape Cod. Would like to join them for a bit of sailing, kayaking, swimming and BBQs? Being hard core adventure riders we naturally said yes.

Wapping · Jul 2, 2024

I have inserted the full picture images into post #3 for you.

I might as well do the rest, too.

Richard

dub 24 · Jul 2, 2024

I'm in keep it coming

timeandtide · Jul 3, 2024

Wapping said:
I have inserted the full picture images into post #3 for you.

I might as well do the rest, too.

Richard

Much better!

gspod · Jul 3, 2024

Wapping said:
I have inserted the full picture images into post #3 for you.

I might as well do the rest, too.

Richard

Thank you

gspod · Jul 3, 2024

After a long weekend in Cape Cod we had a few days at the relies house in the Boston suburbs, this gave us a nice chance to look around Boston and sort out A’s phone at the Apple store.

On Friday we headed for New York, well New Jersey to be precise, I have an old friend who lives a half hour train ride from Manhattan and an hour from the Jersey shore.
It’s practically impossible to ride from Boston to NY without going on the highway and there are no toll booths. We didn’t want to get ‘booked’ by the police so we sought out a solution from the local highway office. Turns out that all charges are done by number plate recognition and no one gets stopped so we were told that, because they don’t have an address for our plates, no action would be taken and we could ride the highway free of charge - happy days.

The Sat Nav took us through Yonkers and over The George Washington bridge - it was 5pm on a Friday!!
We had passed several signs saying that there was an accident on the bridge with delays, it was chocka with very little room to filter. By the time we reached the bridge the Himmie was running very hot so we pulled over into a gas station to rest the bikes and have a cold drink. There were lots of ‘interesting characters’ around a few came up to talk to us, it could have been a little bit intimidating but they were great fun and full of banter. When I asked them about the accident they laughed and said the traffic over the bridge was at a standstill every evening about this time and there was always a sign about a non existing accident. After 30/40 minutes we braved the traffic once more and, sure enough, no sign of an accident.

gspod · Jul 3, 2024

Saturday was hot and sunny,

so with my friend Jim and his family we spent the day at Ocean Grove on the Jersey Shore. The Shore is an interesting place, around 141 miles of ocean front and made up of separate towns which flow into one another but can be completely different in character. Ocean Grove was established by Methodist clergy as a seaside summer camp for worship. It has beautiful, traditional wooden buildings and boardwalks and is still a practicing camp and dry town which makes it a peaceful and relaxing place to spend the day on the beach.
A short walk down the boardwalk and you arrive at Asbury with a more commercial, kiss me quick atmosphere (none the worse for that) it was where Bruce Springsteen cut his teeth.

gspod · Jul 3, 2024

The following day was cooler and a little cloudy so perfect for a days sight seeing in New York. It was the anniversary of 9/11 but, by the time we got there, the memorial services were over. There was still lots of people and a big police presence but that just added to the atmosphere.
One place I wanted to visit was CBGBs, home of the punk rock movement in NY, which was now an upmarket mens clothing shop. There was still a lot of the old memorabilia and the staff didn’t mind us wondering around, taking pictures - I certainly couldn’t afford anything in the shop. Looking around I saw an older guy and his wife and, I remember thinking, that looks like a fat Robert Plant. Anyway we took some photos and Jim waited till the larger gentleman got out the way before taking our picture.
When he had left, the staff told us that it was, indeed, Robert Plant and his wife - I guess I’m too old to automatically think of having selfies with everyone I meet.

gspod · Jul 4, 2024

From New Jersey we wanted to get back into the countryside so we rode west. We came across Lake Harmony and decided to stay a couple of nights in a lovely, lakeside motel - we weren’t quite into the rhythm of a long trip yet and still in holiday mode but we went with it as it was such a beautiful place and quiet, being out of season.