Mophead
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Retired at the end of August so wanted to complete my 48 continuous states goal. This will not be an Uncle Phil documentary so please, no comparisons. He is the master. Plan was to ride from Amarillo to Norfolk, VA and start northward from there. Did some backroads getting there and making the Back of the Dragon run in Tazewell, VA. Very nice pavement and lost count of the curves but they claim 32 miles and 438 curves. Fun road.
On to Norfolk for the evening and use that as my starting point up the east coast toward eventual Madawaska. Uncle Phil kindly gave route suggestions to avoid some of the crammed together big cities traffic. Thanks UP!
Ok, out early morning heading across Chesapeake Bay and tunnel. Now planning in advance I purchased an EZ Pass thingy for any toll roads so I don't have to stop and remove gloves, pay tolls, hold up traffic behind me with out of state plates which would surely get me some California howdy's. After some inquiry on this and a Goldwing site I mounted the EZ pass transponder inside my right saddlebag. So I pull up to the Bridge/Tunnel toll gate and there is no drive through. Everyone has to stop. Girl in booth says I have to scan your EZ pass. OK, its in my saddlebag. Hand me your scanner and I'll scan it. Can't do that, I have to scan it. OK, its here on the right side of my bike in the saddlebag. I can't leave the booth to do that.
So we start the stack up behind me and eyes glaring on the damn Texan that is holding me up from getting to work.
OK lady, how about I just pay you cash? So $18 instead of the EZ pass $14 rate. Hey if it gets the locals to work on time then money well spent. Sorry you folks are going to work. I'M NOT!
Over and under the water finally spits me out into Maryland and then Delaware. No welcome to Delaware sign at the border. Are you folks ashamed? In Texas if you come in on a dirt road there is a sign. Finally find a rest area for a sign pic so that will have to do.
My first contact with other folks occurs at this rest stop. After doing the men's room thing I am back at the bike with my Road Atlas out of the trunk and open for the next run. Folks in the car next to me roll down the window and the lady says, "We haven't seen anyone using one of those in quite some time. Well mam, I am old school and I can't see the big picture on that phone screen so I find my next stop, then put into the phone and I'm off." This scene will repeat itself another 7 times on the trip. Didn't have any young 'uns comment on the Road Atlas. Quite sure they don't even know what one is. I don't plot out the entire trip on a GPS anything because I am always going to deviate from the route when I see something on the Road Atlas with a squiggly line and green dots along it. That usually makes a good ride.
OK, on to New Jersey. No welcome to New Jersey sign at the border so off into Pennsville, NJ for proof. Check out that start up date on the sign. Folks been sending out water bills for a loooooong time.
Now this is all happening on 9-15 and there is a little Hurricane just off to my east that I can see from the road and it stretches from horizon to horizon as far as I can see and as usual the weather channel is trying to let everyone know they are about to die any minute. Now being from the Texas Panhandle we get some tornados show up from time to time but no hurricanes. Having had the impression that a hurricane is a 100 mile wide tornado that you can also drown in made me aware of the cloud off to my right. The plan was that if the wind picked up significantly to haul butt west and get inland as quick as I could to try and stay out of the storm.
After New Jersey I did head west into Pennsylvania toward the Lancaster Strausburg area landing in Reading for the evening. Lots of Amish buggy's I had to ride around. Lots of farm land with corn and soybeans out that way. There was a bar and grill right next to the hotel so I went there for a meal. After getting the pronunciation of Reading correct (didn't want to sound like a tourist) had some fish and chips and a beer. Back to the hotel for more weather warnings but for some reason it still had not come on shore.
Across the next day to Vermont and up I91 for about 120 miles. Amazed at how little traffic was on that highway. One thing about New England, the posted speed limits are way lower that I am used to and also generally ignored by the locals so its still 80 mph on the Interstates. Back roads are 45/50 posted so I start to understand how reported gas mileage from some of you happen versus Texas 80 mph into a 20 mph wind.
Anyway across to Maine and overnight in Houlton, Maine where I95 comes to an end. So about an hour earlier I had stopped to secure a bed for the night and pulled up my trusty Holiday Inn app and put in Houlton for a place to stay. Got one up and clicked on it, put the addy in the phone and off we go. I just copied the address and not the actual location. I get to the location and it was a parking lot with no hotel in sight. Pull up my reservation and it is in a sister city just east into Canada. Well great, my room is in Canada and I don't have a passport. Get that all worked out and a place in Houlton to stay and food is in order.
I meet a guy in the parking lot from Arizona and he sees my Texas plates. Now for the question. "Did you ride that all the way from Texas?" Folks I get and know you do to, get that question all the time. You want to answer, "NO I pushed it part of the way" but not wanting to be a wise acre you just kindly answer yep, rode it all the way to here and gonna ride it back home too. My guess is for those folks who are not afflicted with the motorcycle disease like some of us it just doesn't compute how anyone can or would want to do that type of riding. I don't fully understand it either. All I know is it just tons of fun and I love doing it.
OK, 102 miles to Madawaska. Gas up and I'm there by 9 am.
They have a park dedicated to being the Northeast corner is the US and is for motorcycles. So I pull in to see what's up with the park and signs. Much to my surprise it is a very nice little park with a Harley dealer generously putting up a very nice marker for the occasion. A pull around is provided so you can get your bike right in front of the monument for a picture. Get my bike properly placed and about to take a couple of pictures when a local gentleman had followed me into the park and wanted to know if I would like some help taking a picture. Said he saw I was alone so he stopped long enough to take some pics with me in the picture. What a nice guy!!
Propers to the Harley Dealer sponsor
There is a little gift shop in the park and the OPEN sign is blinking. Go inside and no one there but a sign with three phone numbers. Call this number first, then call this number second, then call this number third. Call the first number and lady answers. Yes mam I'm at the MC park and would like to buy a t shirt. OK, be there in ten minutes which was actually five. Got the shirt and she says which way are you going? Up to Fort Kent and catch hwy 11 south. Is that a good road? Oh yes it is a great road. Do you know about Highway 1 marker there? No I don't. So she fills me in on the marker which is at the Canadian border. Be sure and get your picture there also. Had she not told me about the marker I would have turned left and never seen it. It is the first mile on your way to Key West at the other end. So thanks to the kind lady back in Madawaska I got another pic opportunity.
So down Hwy 11 for a beautiful ride and good pavement. We have lots of signs at home to Watch for Deer. New England has MANY signs saying Watch for Moose! Now I do not want to hit a deer but hitting a moose is not my idea of a good time. The back of my mind was wanting to really see one but the front of my mind didn't want to see one. Front won out. Never saw a Moose except on many signs.
That pretty much concludes the trip except to turn around and go home.
Oh, and the hurricane that never happened. Ended up running my route pretty much in reverse to what I initially laid out but it all worked well in the end. Came back down I 95 until I started getting close to Boston and then back west into back roads and rural New York for another night. Then down through Pennsylvania again into the Virginias for more back roads. Finally made it to Hazard Kentucky for an overnight. Looked for the Duke boys but really for Daisy and those shorts. Of course by now she probably looks like I do in shorts. Oh yeah we turn heads all right.
Hazard to Ft Smith, Arkansas, for an evening and then on home to Amarillo, home of idiots spray painting Cadillacs buried in the ground.
That makes all 48 continuous states for me. So that and $10 will get you some sort of coffee at Starbucks. If you get the opportunity to go to Madawaska I recommend it highly. Its a great ride through some really pretty country. They say everything is bigger in Texas. Not true. The eastern side of the country has rivers. And I mean rivers with water in them. Texas has dry beds called rivers that get water in them about twice a year. I did not see one soul wading across any of the rivers I crossed unlike our Rio Grande which millions of people have waded across. And I'll leave it at that.
On to Norfolk for the evening and use that as my starting point up the east coast toward eventual Madawaska. Uncle Phil kindly gave route suggestions to avoid some of the crammed together big cities traffic. Thanks UP!
Ok, out early morning heading across Chesapeake Bay and tunnel. Now planning in advance I purchased an EZ Pass thingy for any toll roads so I don't have to stop and remove gloves, pay tolls, hold up traffic behind me with out of state plates which would surely get me some California howdy's. After some inquiry on this and a Goldwing site I mounted the EZ pass transponder inside my right saddlebag. So I pull up to the Bridge/Tunnel toll gate and there is no drive through. Everyone has to stop. Girl in booth says I have to scan your EZ pass. OK, its in my saddlebag. Hand me your scanner and I'll scan it. Can't do that, I have to scan it. OK, its here on the right side of my bike in the saddlebag. I can't leave the booth to do that.
So we start the stack up behind me and eyes glaring on the damn Texan that is holding me up from getting to work.
OK lady, how about I just pay you cash? So $18 instead of the EZ pass $14 rate. Hey if it gets the locals to work on time then money well spent. Sorry you folks are going to work. I'M NOT!
Over and under the water finally spits me out into Maryland and then Delaware. No welcome to Delaware sign at the border. Are you folks ashamed? In Texas if you come in on a dirt road there is a sign. Finally find a rest area for a sign pic so that will have to do.
My first contact with other folks occurs at this rest stop. After doing the men's room thing I am back at the bike with my Road Atlas out of the trunk and open for the next run. Folks in the car next to me roll down the window and the lady says, "We haven't seen anyone using one of those in quite some time. Well mam, I am old school and I can't see the big picture on that phone screen so I find my next stop, then put into the phone and I'm off." This scene will repeat itself another 7 times on the trip. Didn't have any young 'uns comment on the Road Atlas. Quite sure they don't even know what one is. I don't plot out the entire trip on a GPS anything because I am always going to deviate from the route when I see something on the Road Atlas with a squiggly line and green dots along it. That usually makes a good ride.
OK, on to New Jersey. No welcome to New Jersey sign at the border so off into Pennsville, NJ for proof. Check out that start up date on the sign. Folks been sending out water bills for a loooooong time.
Now this is all happening on 9-15 and there is a little Hurricane just off to my east that I can see from the road and it stretches from horizon to horizon as far as I can see and as usual the weather channel is trying to let everyone know they are about to die any minute. Now being from the Texas Panhandle we get some tornados show up from time to time but no hurricanes. Having had the impression that a hurricane is a 100 mile wide tornado that you can also drown in made me aware of the cloud off to my right. The plan was that if the wind picked up significantly to haul butt west and get inland as quick as I could to try and stay out of the storm.
After New Jersey I did head west into Pennsylvania toward the Lancaster Strausburg area landing in Reading for the evening. Lots of Amish buggy's I had to ride around. Lots of farm land with corn and soybeans out that way. There was a bar and grill right next to the hotel so I went there for a meal. After getting the pronunciation of Reading correct (didn't want to sound like a tourist) had some fish and chips and a beer. Back to the hotel for more weather warnings but for some reason it still had not come on shore.
Across the next day to Vermont and up I91 for about 120 miles. Amazed at how little traffic was on that highway. One thing about New England, the posted speed limits are way lower that I am used to and also generally ignored by the locals so its still 80 mph on the Interstates. Back roads are 45/50 posted so I start to understand how reported gas mileage from some of you happen versus Texas 80 mph into a 20 mph wind.
Anyway across to Maine and overnight in Houlton, Maine where I95 comes to an end. So about an hour earlier I had stopped to secure a bed for the night and pulled up my trusty Holiday Inn app and put in Houlton for a place to stay. Got one up and clicked on it, put the addy in the phone and off we go. I just copied the address and not the actual location. I get to the location and it was a parking lot with no hotel in sight. Pull up my reservation and it is in a sister city just east into Canada. Well great, my room is in Canada and I don't have a passport. Get that all worked out and a place in Houlton to stay and food is in order.
I meet a guy in the parking lot from Arizona and he sees my Texas plates. Now for the question. "Did you ride that all the way from Texas?" Folks I get and know you do to, get that question all the time. You want to answer, "NO I pushed it part of the way" but not wanting to be a wise acre you just kindly answer yep, rode it all the way to here and gonna ride it back home too. My guess is for those folks who are not afflicted with the motorcycle disease like some of us it just doesn't compute how anyone can or would want to do that type of riding. I don't fully understand it either. All I know is it just tons of fun and I love doing it.
OK, 102 miles to Madawaska. Gas up and I'm there by 9 am.
They have a park dedicated to being the Northeast corner is the US and is for motorcycles. So I pull in to see what's up with the park and signs. Much to my surprise it is a very nice little park with a Harley dealer generously putting up a very nice marker for the occasion. A pull around is provided so you can get your bike right in front of the monument for a picture. Get my bike properly placed and about to take a couple of pictures when a local gentleman had followed me into the park and wanted to know if I would like some help taking a picture. Said he saw I was alone so he stopped long enough to take some pics with me in the picture. What a nice guy!!
Propers to the Harley Dealer sponsor
There is a little gift shop in the park and the OPEN sign is blinking. Go inside and no one there but a sign with three phone numbers. Call this number first, then call this number second, then call this number third. Call the first number and lady answers. Yes mam I'm at the MC park and would like to buy a t shirt. OK, be there in ten minutes which was actually five. Got the shirt and she says which way are you going? Up to Fort Kent and catch hwy 11 south. Is that a good road? Oh yes it is a great road. Do you know about Highway 1 marker there? No I don't. So she fills me in on the marker which is at the Canadian border. Be sure and get your picture there also. Had she not told me about the marker I would have turned left and never seen it. It is the first mile on your way to Key West at the other end. So thanks to the kind lady back in Madawaska I got another pic opportunity.
So down Hwy 11 for a beautiful ride and good pavement. We have lots of signs at home to Watch for Deer. New England has MANY signs saying Watch for Moose! Now I do not want to hit a deer but hitting a moose is not my idea of a good time. The back of my mind was wanting to really see one but the front of my mind didn't want to see one. Front won out. Never saw a Moose except on many signs.
That pretty much concludes the trip except to turn around and go home.
Oh, and the hurricane that never happened. Ended up running my route pretty much in reverse to what I initially laid out but it all worked well in the end. Came back down I 95 until I started getting close to Boston and then back west into back roads and rural New York for another night. Then down through Pennsylvania again into the Virginias for more back roads. Finally made it to Hazard Kentucky for an overnight. Looked for the Duke boys but really for Daisy and those shorts. Of course by now she probably looks like I do in shorts. Oh yeah we turn heads all right.
Hazard to Ft Smith, Arkansas, for an evening and then on home to Amarillo, home of idiots spray painting Cadillacs buried in the ground.
That makes all 48 continuous states for me. So that and $10 will get you some sort of coffee at Starbucks. If you get the opportunity to go to Madawaska I recommend it highly. Its a great ride through some really pretty country. They say everything is bigger in Texas. Not true. The eastern side of the country has rivers. And I mean rivers with water in them. Texas has dry beds called rivers that get water in them about twice a year. I did not see one soul wading across any of the rivers I crossed unlike our Rio Grande which millions of people have waded across. And I'll leave it at that.
