Day -3
There's just a few days to go before I depart for the 2018 edition of NESTOC, and I'm getting excited. I've not quite reached the level of spontaneity achieved by HPPants, because I like to have a plan to serve as a framework, but it's not going to be a forced march either, or at least it's not supposed to be.
I've planned a leisurely trip, at least on the outbound leg. Saturday and Sunday nights of Memorial Day weekend will be spent camping at French Creek State Park in Pennsylvania, with a possible day ride loop on Sunday depending on the weather. On Monday I'll pull up the tent stakes and relocate to Mohawk Trail State Forest in NW Massachusetts, again to stay two nights with a possible day ride on the day between. Wednesday I have plans to meet a friend for lunch in Warren VT and then do some afternoon riding. No idea as yet where I'll spend Wednesday night. Thursday I'll head to Rutland VT and the NESTOC HQ venue for the main event. Sunday will be a longish day since I'll make the return trip all in one go; it measures out at somewhere around 465 miles with no interstate but that may change depending on how strong the pull of home gets, and how early I hit the road.
On my eclipse trip in 2017 I unknowingly passed close to several other members' home territories, and was admonished after the fact to give a heads-up the next time. So, if you live anywhere within convenient (or inconvenient) riding distance of the purple line shown here and feel like getting together, drop me a line by PM and we'll see about setting something up. You have my itinerary, and I'll be running the Bubbler GPS app while I'm en route so you should see periodic location updates as I make my way. You'll also be able to tell whether I've deviated from the planned route.
In addition to actually getting to NESTOC, I have a secondary objective of adding several states to the Visited States map in my signature block. NJ, NY, NH, CT, MA, and VT should all change from white to some other color by the time I get home, just due to my northbound plan. It's feasible but far from certain whether I'll also bag ME while I'm traveling on my own; that might be a "project ride" for Friday or Saturday if other NESTOCers are interested (or if the organizers have already planned something that gets me there).
On the way north from Maryland I'll pass through parts of the Allegheny, Pocono, Taconic, Berkshire, and Green Mountains. These are some of the prettiest places in the country- not spectacular like western scenery, but beautiful none the less. I'll enjoy riding through them, as I have previously enjoyed driving through.
My pre-packing experiment last night has led me to conclude that, while it is theoretically *possible* to do the trip without lashing my dry bag to the pillion seat it's not necessarily *desirable*. The balance tips when I add the volume of my camping gear to the collection of clothes, medical devices, and other assorted oddments which *must* make the journey with me. So, I'll most likely give in to my base desires and shift all of the camp equipment into the dry bag. That will also have a benefit, beyond simple extra space, in that more of the load will be lower on the bike and ahead of the front wheel, making for better handling.
That's it for the moment- more to come in the following days.
There's just a few days to go before I depart for the 2018 edition of NESTOC, and I'm getting excited. I've not quite reached the level of spontaneity achieved by HPPants, because I like to have a plan to serve as a framework, but it's not going to be a forced march either, or at least it's not supposed to be.
I've planned a leisurely trip, at least on the outbound leg. Saturday and Sunday nights of Memorial Day weekend will be spent camping at French Creek State Park in Pennsylvania, with a possible day ride loop on Sunday depending on the weather. On Monday I'll pull up the tent stakes and relocate to Mohawk Trail State Forest in NW Massachusetts, again to stay two nights with a possible day ride on the day between. Wednesday I have plans to meet a friend for lunch in Warren VT and then do some afternoon riding. No idea as yet where I'll spend Wednesday night. Thursday I'll head to Rutland VT and the NESTOC HQ venue for the main event. Sunday will be a longish day since I'll make the return trip all in one go; it measures out at somewhere around 465 miles with no interstate but that may change depending on how strong the pull of home gets, and how early I hit the road.
On my eclipse trip in 2017 I unknowingly passed close to several other members' home territories, and was admonished after the fact to give a heads-up the next time. So, if you live anywhere within convenient (or inconvenient) riding distance of the purple line shown here and feel like getting together, drop me a line by PM and we'll see about setting something up. You have my itinerary, and I'll be running the Bubbler GPS app while I'm en route so you should see periodic location updates as I make my way. You'll also be able to tell whether I've deviated from the planned route.
In addition to actually getting to NESTOC, I have a secondary objective of adding several states to the Visited States map in my signature block. NJ, NY, NH, CT, MA, and VT should all change from white to some other color by the time I get home, just due to my northbound plan. It's feasible but far from certain whether I'll also bag ME while I'm traveling on my own; that might be a "project ride" for Friday or Saturday if other NESTOCers are interested (or if the organizers have already planned something that gets me there).
On the way north from Maryland I'll pass through parts of the Allegheny, Pocono, Taconic, Berkshire, and Green Mountains. These are some of the prettiest places in the country- not spectacular like western scenery, but beautiful none the less. I'll enjoy riding through them, as I have previously enjoyed driving through.
My pre-packing experiment last night has led me to conclude that, while it is theoretically *possible* to do the trip without lashing my dry bag to the pillion seat it's not necessarily *desirable*. The balance tips when I add the volume of my camping gear to the collection of clothes, medical devices, and other assorted oddments which *must* make the journey with me. So, I'll most likely give in to my base desires and shift all of the camp equipment into the dry bag. That will also have a benefit, beyond simple extra space, in that more of the load will be lower on the bike and ahead of the front wheel, making for better handling.
That's it for the moment- more to come in the following days.
