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CoolHandLuke |
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| CoolHandLuke |
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| As requested by others on thevmc here's the story - hope you like it. PART 1 On 09/22/10 I loaded up the Vis (my Victory Vision motorcycle) into my toy-hauler and headed North to a "Vision Rally" in Carlisle,Pennsylvania. Since it was still in the 90's every day in Jacksonville, I was hoping for some cooler weather and great scenery. I got to Carlisle Thursday afternoon and after getting the toy-hauler set up in the campgroundwent off to meet up with the other Vision Pilots at the host hotel, Hotel Carlisle. I met John (sorry I didn't get his last name) who had ridden over from Indiana and we waited for Mike Barone, the rally organizer. Mike rolled in a few minutes late(r) and we waited to see if any others would show up. Deciding that "we were it", Mike and John followed me back to the campground to help me unload the Vis. When we got there, the trailer was covered (and I mean literally covered) in these nasty little bugs called Stink Bugs. (The little SOB's were everywhere, both inside and out, and they really DO stink if you squash them). Mike took John and I for a nice evening ride through the PA countryside and we stopped for dinner at a nice little Italian place where Mike knows the owner. Friday 09/24 We met up at the hotel and rode over to the Victory dealership in Mechanicsburg which is just a few miles up the "slab" I-81 from Carlisle. We waited until the appointed time and since no-one else showed up, Mike again led John and I through the PA countryside. At the country store where we took our first break, I told Mike and John that I wasn't feeling well and headed back to Carlisle and my Rapter toy-hauler (which from now on I will abreviate T-H) and all those stink bugs. PART 2 Sat 09/25 Woke up with a killer migraine headache (maybe from the change in weather or those damn stink bugs) and called Mike to say that I couldn't ride with them. Sat evening met up with John and Mike at the hotel bar and met another Vision Pilot Bob Scott who had ridden up from West Virginia just for the night. We had a few adult beverages and a meal but mostly good fellowship. Sun 09/26 Met Bob for breakfast at Waffle House and he followed me to the campground where he helped me hook up the T-H and load the Vis so I could get away from those damned stink bugs. I found a campground just over the New Jersey border and stopped there. It was a disappointing turn out for a first "Vision Only" rally but other future rallys can only draw more folks (hopefully). Spent the next 4 days in the rain in NJ, killing as many stink bugs as I could (Didn't want to be accused of starting a stink bug infestation in another state LOL). Thurs 09/30 Drove to a campground in Oakdale,CT for an overnight. PART 3 Fri 10/01 Drove from Oakdale,CT to Chichester,NH. Got set up in camp and unloaded the Vis so I could go pick up Laura at the Manchester,NH airport tommorrow. Sat 10/02 Sunny and cool when I rode down to Manchester airport where my very best friend and partner flew into. We strapped her backpack on the trunk rack and headed southwest to see the Catedral of the Pines. Nice ride and beautiful scenery from Manchester to the Cathedral of the Pines and then we headed northeast back to Chichester. Sun 10/03 We had planned to meet up with some other Vicsters [Vicsters are people who ride any model of Victory motorcycles]for a ride to Vermont BUT it was 41* when we would have had to leave at 7 AM and a forecast of only upper 50's so we decided not to ride. We unhooked the truck from the T-H and drove it over to Vermont to visit Laura's girlfriend Alicia for the afternoon and have dinner. We spent the night at Alicia's home and drove back to NH on Monday 10/04 PART 4 Tues 10/05 We met up with Ian the Aussie (after I got us lost) who now lives in North Conway,NH. Ian is a character. Besides being a "big guy" he has a personality even bigger. I know he was thinking " oh crikey! Leaf peepers who want to see the scenery and I'll have to ride the same frickin' roads I've ridden a hundred times or more". But Ian was the consumate host. He rode us on back roads we never would have found and then across the "KANC" [the Kancamagus Highway which is on the list of American Byways - don't miss this ride if you are ever in NH]. He took us to a great restaurant/micro-brewery just west of Lincoln which we never would have found on our own. Terrific food but even better company. Laura then informed ian that we wanted to go to Laconia and see if we could possibly get a leftover t-shirt or pin/patch or whatever. I know Ian was thinking "I cna't believe they want to go there - it's cold and all closed up for the winter" but he took us to Weirs Beach (where the rally actually is) and Laura was able to find a couple of leftover hoodies that she got for $7 each. We thanked Ian for everything and he headed home while we rode back to Chichester and the warmth of the T-H. I must stop here to explain something for you - it only takes 3 minutes for me to get cold but it takes about 3 days for me to warm up again. So it will take 'til the middle of this week for me to be comfortable without 3 layers of clothes on. PART 5 WED 10/06 We had set this day aside to ride over to the coast of Maine for some real, fresh LOBSTAH. It was drizzling rain when we were about to leave and I made an executive decision - we'll take the truck. Good decision! The sky opened up and it rained hard on and off the rest of the day and for the evening drive back. We did get the souvenirs Laura wanted and a LOBSTAH dinner. The lobster was not "all that", as I've had live Maine lobster that was shipped to our restaurants here in Florida that were as good or better than what we had in Maine. So I'd say it was a dissappointment (to me anyway). Thurs 10/07 We drove south to East Killingly,CT to an RV park where I had made reservations. We got there to find there were no "pull-thru's" [a Pull-thru space is long enough that I don't have to disconnect the truck from the T-H]. I though I had requested 'pull-thru' when I made the reservations - turns out they don't have ANY 'pull-thrus', only 'back-ins'. This is very bad because I don't have the driving skills to back up a 36' fifth-wheel T-H). Insted of trying to be helpful and get me into the space corrctly, the owner was rude and abusive - "If you (meaning me and Laura) can"t get the damned trailer parked where I told you to park, get the FUCK off my land". Not being used to having people stand 3 inches from my face and yelling profanity at me, I decided to do just that - get the f#ck off his land (I'm trying to get a refund for the prepaid reservation). We drove to a nearby motel where the staff was very helpful - they used their computer to find us 3 campgrounds in the area, at no charge. PART 6 Fri 10/08 After a nice hot free breakfast at the motel we drove to North Stonington,CT where there is a KOA with the nicest, most helpful folks I met on the whole New England trip. They helped us get set up in a site that was not a 'pull-thru' but easy to get in and out of. Karl even trimmed some branches off the tree next to us so the slide-out wouldn't hit it. We decided to take the truck to Cape Cod instead of the Vis due to a forecast of cold (not cool) weather. Good decision - it was upper 50's,very windy and blowing rain. Laura took some pictures of some surfers actually out there because the atlantic was rolling in some very rideable waves, even though it was 58* and raining. We stayed at the Cape Codder Resort in Hyannis,Massachusetts and had a very good lobster and filet mignon dinner at Spanky's Clam Shack and Seaside Saloon. I highly recommend it even if we did have to wait 35 minutes in the cold wind to get a table inside. Sat 10/09 We drove thuck over to Hyannisport and got to see the entrance to the Kennedy compound (you can't go inside) and then drove back through Providence, RI to the KOA in CT. The good folks there recommended a restaurant nearby which turned out to be the 2nd establishment owned by the people who had their original pizza parlor featured in a Hollywood movie. You might have heard of it - it's named Mystic Pizza and it starred Julia Roberts. Anyway, back to OUR story. PART 7 Sun 10/10 We got ready to hook the T-H back up to the truck when I noticed something odd about the left front tire on the truck. There was a chunk of tread MISSING! Oh Sh1t! - we were about to start pulling down the Interstate to New Jersey.The great folks at the KOA said there was a tire repair shop just down the road but seeing as it was Sunday morning they didn't know if anyone could help us. We went over there anyway and the young man running the place was alone but said he would put on the spare if we could just be patient when other customers came in. I said "Hell yes", as we couldn't do anything else at that point. Fortunately I had a brand new tire on the spare rim that hadn't been on the ground since I bought it new. He mounted it and said (after looking at the one he took off) that we probably would have had a blowout if we had driven very far on it, as the cord was separating. He only charged me $10 to swap the tires. We headed back to the KOA, loaded up the T-H and made our way over to Branchville,NJ to the campground I had reserved for Monday. The nice folks there said no-one was booked in that space for tonight so we pulled in and set up a day early. The weather was not very nice so we decided to go to Laura's cousins' house in the truck for dinner with them and to spent the night. They told us about the Woodstock Museum at Bethel Woods,NY. Mon 10/11 Got up and drove back to campground. We got ready to roll the Vis out for our ride to Bethel Woods when I noticed a good sized BOLT laying on the floor underneath the bike. OMG! What else is going to go wrong on this trip. Since I couldn't see where it had come from, I decided to take the truck for safety's sake. We drove the 50 or so miles over to Bethel Woods and the Woodstock Museum. It was fabulous!!! Not only the complete history of the Woodstock Festival in print and on video but how the music of the late 50's and the 60's changed American culture. Spent WAY too much $ on a book and t-shirt but what the hell, I'm only gonna be there once in my life "so go for it". We met Laura's cousin Ginny, her husband Mark and her father Bill for dinner at a great Italian restaurant Fratelli's IN I-don't-know-what-town-it-was NJ. After dinner, Laura and I drove back to the campground only to find the GATE LOCKED! WTF? Gate's supposed to be open 'til 10 PM every night. (We found out next morning that the owner got sick and had to leave early). Laura called Ginny and asked if we could stay with them another night and of course she said yes. PART 8 Tues 10/12 Left Ginny and Mark's early and drove to the campground, hooked up the T-H and headed for Pine Bush,NY and Lloyd's Motor Workz AKA Hard-on Horsepower. We got there mid-morning and went in to explain the problem. Brie came out to the T-H and looked at the situation then went back inside and sent Adam out to the T-H to check things out. He found that the bolt I had found on the floor was 1 of the bolts that holds the King Bagger center stand on. Adam went back inside to get some tools and re-installed the bolt with a little blue Loctite (at my request). I said "how much do I owe you"? Adam said "buy some t-shirts and we're all good". So 2 long sleeved t-shirts and a skull cap later we're back on the road toward North Carolina. We decided to stay overnight at the Hotel Carlisle in Carlisle,PA where I had been the week before. Not cheap but good accommodations. Wed 10/13 [Side note: We had been using the truck GPS quite extensively but today we gave 'her' the day off - started on I-81 in PA and ended the day on I-81 in VA]. We stopped at Fort Chiswell RV Park in Max Meadows,VA. Excellent park - all 'pull-thrus' 65' long with full hook-ups (meaning electric,water and sewer hookups - I had not had a "full hookup" site since I stopped in NC on the way up North). Also filled tank 1 with propane - good thing I did as we ran out of gas in tank 2 in Stecoah,NC. PART 9 Thurs 10/14 I-81 for a bunch more miles - we picked up I-81 in Scranton,PA drove all the way through PA, through the corner of MD, through the corner of WV, all the way through VA into TN onto I-40 which took us south into NC. Since the route to Stecoah,NC (where the Ironhorse Motorcycle Lodge is) took us so close to Franklin we decided to stop and get some of that sausage we like so much. Well, I looked at the map and said to Laura "this nc28 route isn't a 'trucker friendly' road but it's ONLY 18 miles (how bad could it be?) and it would be about 30 miles to backtrack to Dillsboro to get on a 4 lane highway. What the hell, let's go for it". [The next day we're talking with Jerry and Michelle who live close and ride these roads a lot and I mentioned that we had pulled the T-H up nc28 from Franklin and it was a bit narrow and curvy. Jerry just laughed and said "folks around here call that road 'the Hellbender' and NO you shouldn't have been on it with your trailer"]. Had a good trout dinner that Ironhorse had fixed for us and good to see old friends and meet new (like Jerry and Michelle). Please forgive me for not remembering everyone that was there or even their names but in no particular order: Saw Ian and met his riding buddy from Maine Rick57 (who ragged me about not riding with them on the 3rd because it was TOO COLD), Calista and Curly Bill, Charles from Atlanta, Devilboy, Lobsterhunter, Golfer, Mike and his wife who rode a red KP, the guy from Alaska on a black KP, Anniversary #83, the other SSG, another Ness Vision, Tim and Deb on a MC Vision, Jerry and Michelle on a Venture, VisionBob Dean, Pete and wife on a SC, Burt and Diana, Ira and Melanie, Jethro, and others. PART 10 Fri 10/15 Sunny and cool - 47* at start of ride. As usual, the Vicsters are heading out in all directions.Tim & his wife Deb from PA said they wanted to ride the Dragon (the Tail of the Dragon)but at a more leisurely pace & was told to hook up with us (because everyone knows I 'ride a little slower'  . We met up with Jerry & Michelle at a turn out and they took us up to the Fontana Dam then over to the Dragon. After a short break for bathrooms and gift shop, Tim & Deb and Laura & I rode the Dragon. We met up with Jerry & Michelle and the guy from Alaska (never did get his name) at what used to be the Tellassee Store but is now a H-D retail store. BOO! HISS! Alaska guy and Jerry & Michelle went on to the Pumpkin Patch while Tim & Deb/Laura & I rode TN72 over to rt411 to Tellico Plains. We stopped for gas and then lunch at the Tellicafe. We wanted to ride the Cherohala Skyway back through Robbinsville to Ironhorse BUT Luke got us off on 68 instead of 143 and when we got to the intersection of 64 and 74 I gave the lead to Tim since he had 'marked' Ironhorse in his GPS. OOPS! :-( When we got back to Ironhorse laura & I had brats on the grill (OMG Luke cooking - will wonders never cease) then went inside to watch game 1 of the ALCS which the Yankees won. Sat 10/16 Laura & I went our own way this time (didn't want to get anyone else lost)while the rest went off for longer rides. We went rt143 through Robbinsville and onto the Cherohala Skyway to Tellico Plains. We stopped for lunch at the Tellicafe again then we rode north on rt360 to rt411 to rt72 and back onto the Dragon from the north end this time. Not much traffic on the Dragon for a Saturday afternoon. Good roads for us at a much slower pace than riding with others. Had a great prime rib dinner at the Ironhorse and then went to the T-H AND CRASHED. PART 11 Sun 10/17 It was 37* at 6:30AM. Loaded the Vis in the T-H and left at 8:15 headed south to Jax and hopefully WARMER WEATHER. Arrived Laura's house at 6 PM. A long run for us pulling the T-H. We saw a black Vision when we were stopped for lunch - don't know who it was or where we were when we stopped but it was somewhere on GA17 or US1. Mon 10/18 and Tues 10/19 Typing this travel log and vacuuming up stink bugs. The warmer it gets here the more the come out of hiding so I can vacuum them up. Total miles on the truck = 4367 Total miles on the Vis = aprox 700 (didn't keep as accurate records as I do for the truck). EDIT: Sorry about the typos - didn't see them 'til I posted it all up here and then read it Edited by CoolHandLuke 2010-10-20 3:17 PM | |||
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| hottierod |
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