DAY 15,
SUNDAY, JUNE 16, 2013
My alarm sounded and C.E. and I got out of bed. We dressed and packed. We took our time. I was done so I took a couple of bags to my
Motor. There were other guys at their
Motors getting them packed. I went to
the breakfast room with J.C. and Ken.
When we got to the breakfast room, it was the BEST that we had ever
seen! There was a wide variety of foods
available to choose for breakfast. We
have been to a number of hotels that serve breakfast; however, none as good as
this one. We all ate and, sadly, we had
to go back and finish loading our Motors for today’s ride. We left at 8:28 AM.
Ken was leading the Group again, today. Ken got direction from Chuck as to where we
were headed. Ken led the Group and when
we got to I-95, he turned right. He was
supposed to get to U.S. 2 and go west.
As we were on the interstate, we were riding about 75 mph. We got to the first I-95 sign and it read, “I-95
South.” We were supposed to go NORTH! Chuck, third in line, rode up quickly to Ken
and told him to follow. We had just
passed an exit. Chuck led for
approximately 3 more miles before we got a chance to exit and turn around. The rest of us didn’t know what was going on,
we just followed. We made the turn and
rode back from where we came. I thought
that maybe Chuck had forgotten something back at the hotel. We got to the hotel and continued north. WINNER, WINNER CHICKEN DINNER! We now have a new winner for the quickest “screw
up!” We rode a 27 mile round trip on an
error! We passed the hotel and a couple
of miles north; we exited on U.S. 2 West.
Ken was back in the lead. We rode
for a total of 53 miles when Ken stopped at 9:13 AM in Carmel, ME for a pit stop. Yes!
Ken did get a ribbing for his goof.
J.B. was happy that he no longer held the title. The weather was wonderful this morning. It was cloudy and according to the weather
station, rain was forecasted for later today.
We were riding towards the rain.
We left at 9:24 AM.
We continued on with beautiful scenery. I had my camera in my left hand. I was waiting to see a moose, or something,
to take its picture. We rode for 20
miles and stopped in Bethel, ME at 11:47 AM for gas. We got gas and noticed that there was a
Subway inside the mini-mart. We looked
at the time and figured that since we were here, there was a Subway, we would
have lunch. We did. We lined up at the counter and ordered our
lunch. We finished lunch and now it was
my turn to lead. Chuck came to me and
told me that he wanted to stop at Mt. Washington, the highest peak in all of
the New England States. We left at 12:40
PM.
I led the Group west on U.S. 2 West a few
miles and then we entered New Hampshire.
We went a few miles and then turned south on U.S. 16. We rode for about 8 miles and arrived after
31 miles at the entrance to the Drive for Mt. Washington at 1:20 PM. The option was given by Chuck to the entire
Group that if they wanted to ride up to the summit, they would have to pay $16
to drive, or stay at the bottom and wait for the others. We all paid our $16, put on our jackets and
started up the road. We were instructed
by the Gate Guard that we can only travel at 20 mph and no passing. We rode up the mountain and I was still in
the lead. I was kind of upset that the
Guard put a speed limit on us. I must
confess, I didn’t go 20 mph. I’m sure
that you all know I didn’t. I did go 30 mph. I’m living on the edge! We rode the eight, long miles up. The road was very good, at the
beginning. After about 2 miles, the road
got very rough. After about 5 miles, the
road turned to a dirt road for about a mile and the remainder was paved. It’s a good thing that we put on our
jackets! It was 77 degrees at the base
of the mountain and as we got to the top, it was 50 degrees and the wind was
blowing! After we parked our Motors, it
started to sprinkle. That is all we
needed. We needed the rain to come down
and muddy up the dirt road and make it slippery as snot…Chuck’s words…so that
we could ride down the snotty trail…my words.
The total distance from bottom to top was 8 miles. We walked and climbed to the top. Yes, there were stairs also that we needed to
climb. There were also restrooms, gift
shops and a restaurant at the top. It
was such a spectacular view. Did I tell
you that on the way up the very narrow roadway, I was taking pictures? I couldn’t resist! It was safe!
I’m here in my room now writing this blog! I do have to say that the ride up was very
intimidating. Soon after we got to the
top, C.E. rode down. C.E. couldn’t walk
up the steep stairs. Greg also mentioned
that he wasn’t crazy about the height. It
stopped raining just before we started to ride down the mountain. Chuck, J.B., Jan and I were the last of our
Group to come down. Coming down was
awesome also. It was cool to see the
other mountains in the area as we went down.
The little, teeny, tiny village and the road with the “specks” for cars
and other Motorcycle was pretty cool to see.
We all got down to the base at 2:36 PM.
Just before we left, Chuck told me that we
needed to stop in St. Johnsbury, VT and see if we could find a hotel for the
evening. He also stated that if it
starts to rain, and it was gonna, we needed to stop and put on our rain gear. We left at 2:49 PM.
We rode back onto U.S. 16 and then left onto
U.S. 2 West. We rode for a few miles and
it started to sprinkle. There was no
place to stop so that we could put on our rain gear. I continued west on U.S. 2 West. After riding for 17 miles, we came up on a
Gulf Gas station at 3:10 PM in the town of Randolph, NH. When I first saw it, I was going to pull in
and change. Chuck got a hold of me on
the C.B. and told me that he was going to stop at the Gulf station and change
into his rain gear. We stopped and put
on our rain gear and guess what happened after we changed? What always happens…a few of us needed to go
to the bathroom! We did. We were all dressed and it was raining a
little harder. We left at 3:25 PM.
We were off again, in the rain. We rode and it rained harder. It was getting a little hard to see through
the face shield. I had to keep moving my
head and try to focus between the water drops.
We rode into the city of St. Johnsbury, VT and I looked for a
hotel. The city was a little bigger than
I thought that it would be. I also
figured that with a city this size that there should be a few hotels. I didn’t see one. I did; however, see a Police Station. I considered stopping and asking the Officers
where the hotels were. I didn’t and
continued leading the Group west on U.S. 2.
We rode for 55 miles and at 4:36 PM, we stopped in Danville, VT at a
Truck Stop. We went in for a pit
stop. Chuck and J.B. got their usual cup
of coffee. I’m not allowed! Greg got his cup of milk with a few drops of
coffee, just like my wife, Laura, drinks.
I asked a gentleman who walked by us if he was a local. He told me that he was and I asked him about
hotels in St. Johnsbury. He told me that
there were three hotels and described a larger hotel which was later found to
be a Comfort Inn. Chuck checked his
phone for hotels and gave me the address for the Comfort Inn. Jan told me that he saw a “no name” hotel
when we were leaving St. Johnsbury. He
said that while we go look for the Comfort Inn, he would stop there and check
out the hotel. I put it in my Navigation System and away we went. We left at 4:58 PM.
We rode back to St. Johnsbury. As we got to the other hotel, Jan, Chuck,
J.B., Bruce and Greg went with him. C.E.
and Ken followed me. We followed the
Navigation System and got close. I
stopped at a gas station for directions and a gentleman told me that we were
headed in the right direction and that it would be about 2 more minutes to
ride. We located the Comfort Inn and
after riding for 10 miles, we stopped at 5:17 PM. I went in and “made the deal.” The clerk, Sofia, told me that someone had
already called for the reservations. It
was Chuck who called earlier. I spoke
with Sofia and lowered the price for the night by $50. SWEET!!!
I checked in and the others rode up.
We all checked in, unloaded our Motors and secured the stuff in our
rooms. We went outside and parked the
Motors under the awning and “tucked” them in for the night.
We weren’t going anywhere for dinner because
Sofia had told us that there are a few places that deliver food. We opted for pizza and wings. That is what we had for dinner.
Today, we rode for 292 miles. WE’VE BEEN TO THE MOUNTAIN TOP! OK, I’ll focus. We rode up Mt. Washington. What a neat ride! Rain is always an interesting ride also. We checked in to our hotel and we are dry.
Tomorrow, we will continue west. Sadly,
actually, bittersweet, we are headed home.
J.B. told us that he will be with us for two more night and he will be
headed home. Greg also told us that he
will be headed back to Washington when we get to Idaho. I DIDN’T KNOW WE WERE GOING TO IDAHO! See how plans change? Maybe Greg meant Iowa…that starts with an
I. I don’t know! Well, I guess, we shall see…
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