2018 - North East to New England States, the Maritimes and on to Newfoundland

amorley

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My Big Ride for 2018 will take me north east up the Natchez Trace and then the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Shenandoah Skyline, and on to the New England States. I'll take the ferry to Nova Scotia and then another Ferry to Newfoundland. I'll return through Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Ontario before crossing into Michigan and Minnesota. I paln to visit family in Manitoba before heading south west Colorado for Darby's BBQ, and then back Home to Houston.

After this ride, I shall have completed my goal of riding in every State in the Continental USA, and every Province and Territory in Canada (except for Nunavut, which has no connecting roads to the rest of Canada).



For this 9,600 mile adventure I plan to be on the road for about 50 days starting in early July.

Welcome any comments and recommendations for this trip.
 

STraymond

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Andy -

That's a lot of riding to get to Darby's...

But seriously, sounds like a great ride. Will you still make LOC STOC?

Ray
 

STraymond

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Andy -

Peggy and I will be camping at Rocky Mtn. NP the 4 days prior to Rock STOC and some of the other STowners will be in Estes Park - maybe we'll see you there.

Ray
 

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Andy - If you are riding the entire Natchez Trace, the north end is about 10 miles from my house. I'll be glad to put you up or at least go out to supper if it works in your schedule. If you ended up on a Saturday, I know a few good roads around here ... :D I'll be leaving for NewFoundland on July 21 via Quebec City, then Gaspe, then the Argentia Ferry to the Rock on July 25.
 
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Gerhard

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Andy I think you can get to a part of Nunavut on the east side of James Bay, apparently all the islands are part of Nunavut and the tips of some peninsulas are considered islands. I watched a Youtube video of a guy doing it on Kawasaki Concours if I remember right. Sounds like a great trip you have planned.

Gerhard
 
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amorley

amorley

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Andy -

That's a lot of riding to get to Darby's...

But seriously, sounds like a great ride. Will you still make LOC STOC?

Ray
Ray, yes I still plan to combine LOCSTOC with RockSTOC.

Andy -

Peggy and I will be camping at Rocky Mtn. NP the 4 days prior to Rock STOC and some of the other STowners will be in Estes Park - maybe we'll see you there.

Ray
Gary Mast and I plan to ride up to LOCSTOC in Wisconsin and then west to RockSTOC Colorado in June. Plans also include camping in RMNP before arriving in Ouray. Still trying to decide where to stay between WI and RMNP. Send me your plans and maybe we can ride together.

Andy
 
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amorley

amorley

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Andy - If you are riding the entire Natchez Trace, the north end is about 10 miles from my house. I'll be glad to put you up or at least go out to supper if it works in your schedule. If you ended up on a Saturday, I know a few good roads around here ... :D I'll be leaving for NewFoundland on July 21 via Quebec City, then Gaspe, then the Argentia Ferry to the Rock on July 25.
UP, I'll try and hook up with you in Nashville. Currently plan to camp at the Natchez SP and then ride all of the trace the next day and on to Moonshine Creek.

I plan to be on the Argentia Ferry on Sunday July 22nd as I have to meet Kathy in St.John's on the 24th July. We shall be staying in St. John's at the Murray Premises Hotel from 24th - 29th July for the reunion with her RCMP troop. Maybe we can go for dinner? We are then going to spend a week visiting the Viking settlement in L'Anse aux Meadows at the northern tip of Newfoundland. I'll be leaving the Rock on 6th Aug via the Port aux Basques ferry.
 
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amorley

amorley

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Andy I think you can get to a part of Nunavut on the east side of James Bay, apparently all the islands are part of Nunavut and the tips of some peninsulas are considered islands. I watched a Youtube video of a guy doing it on Kawasaki Concours if I remember right. Sounds like a great trip you have planned.

Gerhard
Gerhard,

You are right. If you ride up the 109 from Val d'Or in Quebec and then follow the remote James Bay Highway, you can then turn west on the even more remote and unpaved Wemindji highway to end up on the coast at Nouveau Comptoir. Technically all of Hudson Bay, including James Bay, are part of Nunavut. So you would have to find a beach in Nouveau Comptoir and ride below the high tide mark to be in the territory!

The other alternative to reach Nunavut was to ride the train tracks from Gillam up to Churchill in Manitoba but that is no longer possible as the train track was washed away last year.

Still on my bucket list but not something I would do alone!
 

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Andy - We plan on being at the Viking settlement on July 28 and staying at the Southwest Pond Cabins which was recommended by John who lives on the Rock. We'll be at the Ramada on the night of the 26th so maybe we can connect there. We're leaving the next day for Deer Lake for that night, then up to the Viking site. Hopefully we'll see you somewhere along the way! If you are headed to Moonshine Creek Campground in Sylva, I can give you an 'interesting' route to get there from Nashville. :D
 

tjhiggin

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My Big Ride for 2018...
Holy cow, what a great trip that looks to be. Hope you will enjoy the Natchez Trace as much as I did. Link to trip report.

In July, my brother (who lives in Nashville and rides a BMW R1200RT) and I are riding to Boulder, CO. It's the longest ride I've ever attempted. Will be around 3,000 miles all told. After seeing your plans, my "big ride" doesn't seem so big now!

Don't know if I'll ever get to every state, province, and territory, but I do hope to do a lower-48 4-corners trip at some point.

Cheers!
 
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amorley

amorley

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Left home at 5:00am so had an hour of riding in the dark before the sun came up and blinded me before it rose higher in the sky. Sunday traffic was light so I made good time riding north east on US59 up towards Texarkana.

Stopped for gas in Marshall taking the opportunity to change to the dark lenses in my riding glasses and to clip the hydration tube to my Aerostich. Listened to Mike Duncan “Revolutions” podcast which was about the revolution for independence from the Spanish in South America lead by Simon de Bolivar. I love soaking up the miles listening and learning more world history.

After Little Rock the traffic on I40 was heavy with the slow moving trucks holding back the traffic. These highways need to be upgraded and widened to three lanes. The temperature rose to max out at 106 degF. KBiK started to show six and seven bars but the new fan was working and I never had any problems. Approaching Nashville I could see a large thunderstorm complex was going to hit me so when I stopped for gas I closed up me Aerostich suit and stowed the rain sensitive electronics. The rain came down heavy and hard, significantly reducing visibility so I slowed down with the rest of the traffic. Coming into Nashville I was caught up in a slow moving line of traffic because of road works on I40. It was a pain to keep rolling forward at not much more than a walking pace behind a big semi.

The traffic eventually cleared and I rode around to the east side of Nashville near the Grand Ole Opry where at 5:15pm I checked into the Best Western I had reserved. A total of 801 miles in 12 hours for the day.

No pictures yet...

https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php...a5a2dc233cc4e9
 
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Hey Andy

You likely know this, but just in case ...

The south side of Lake Superior is mostly straight, flat and away from the lake. It's 2 lane with lots of towns. No speed to be gained to compensate for the very average ride.

However, the north side is a different story. Very scenic. A beautiful trip around the lake. This route often shows up on "must ride" lists. Its longer than the south trip though.

Aerostitch is in Duluth if that's of any interest.
 
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amorley

amorley

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Hey Andy

You likely know this, but just in case ...

The south side of Lake Superior is mostly straight, flat and away from the lake. It's 2 lane with lots of towns. No speed to be gained to compensate for the very average ride.

However, the north side is a different story. Very scenic. A beautiful trip around the lake. This route often shows up on "must ride" lists. Its longer than the south trip though.

Aerostitch is in Duluth if that's of any interest.
Thanks Jeff,

I have riding the north side of Superior as an alternative. It is 680 miles so will be a long day, particularly with the lower speed limits in Canada. I'll see how I feel.

Planning on visiting Aerostich in Duluth!

Andy
 
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amorley

amorley

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After all the monotonous riding on the slab for the last three days, and the heavy rain over the last two days, today was a great day for riding!

It was 65-75 degF, sunny with blue skies, and lots of interesting twisty two lane roads. I left the hotel at 6:30am and rode east on I-95 and then north-east on I-395 across Connecticut. Turned east into Rhode Island and meandered on two lane country roads through the north east of the State. Crossed into Massachusetts north of Glocester and continued in two lane roads up to fight the traffic through Worcester. After a short stretch of I-90, I returned to twisty two lane roads through central Massachusetts into New Hampshire north of Winchendon. South of Clarendon the twisty two lane roads of New Hampshire became even more interesting as they turned into hard packed gravel and dirt roads. KBiK was not perturbed and we continued on to the covered bridge between Windsor and Cornish over the Connecticut River. Rode on to the next goal, the floating bridge at Brookfield in Vermont. Arrived at the motel in Barre, Vermont at 1:15pm.

311 miles in under 7 hours riding for the day. Total mileage for this trip is now 2,136.

Photos are posted here!

Follow my trip here: https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=1732a5a2dc233cc4e9
 

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Keep us posted Andy, you’re in our prayers for safe travels!!! Did you eat any snails yet? Lol!!

Pam & Jay
 
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amorley

amorley

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Today was a good day for many reasons. Although I would not recommend the Quality Inn in Barre as the room was old and had a definitely bad odor, the breakfast was not bad.

I left at about 6:30am with the heated grips and seat on as it was only 46 degF! Rode east on US302 out of Vermont into New Hampshire. Missed the turn onto NH112 but as a result I was able to enjoy the covered bridge in Bath. NH112 was great fun as it goes up the Lost River Valley and into the White Mountains. Came down into Conway and then went north on NH16 fighting the tourist traffic.

I rode up to the summit of Mt Washington in 3rd and 4th gear with the temperature gauge going up to nine bars but never overheating! Although this road is shorter (9 miles) than the roads up Pike’s Peak and Mt Evans, I think it is steeper and has absolutely no guard rails. The scariest moments were with other drivers who drifted across into my lane to stay away from the drop offs. Used the Stebel and strobing Clearwaters to wake up a few idiots intent on running me down! Great view from the summit! I enjoyed watching the various configurations on the Cog Railway engines!

Rode down the mountain and then back through Conway to arrive in Portland, Maine at 1:15pm. Went to the Apple Store in the Maine Mall where they were able to fix my iPhone! Checked into the Best Western in South Portland. 213 miles in 6 hours of riding.



Follow My Big Ride for 2018: https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=1732a5a2dc233cc4e9

Follow my adventures on TexasMorleys: https://www.texasmorleys.com/2010-2019/2018/2018-07-MyBigRide/index.html
 
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