9/22/10 – Flying Through Puny Little States

Today I rode through Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York. I had planned to ride through New Jersey and into Pennsylvania, but I’m getting way ahead of myself. Before we dive into details of my day, I’d like to share some non-statistical data with you: 97% of all truck weigh stations are closed; and 10% of all motel bath faucets are plumbed backwards. Here’s my unscientific proof: I’ve passed more than 100 truck weigh stations and only 3 were open; and after around 30 days of living in motels, I’ve experienced 3 where the hot and cold water were backwards.

Anyway, when I checked-out this morning, I asked the gimongous front desk lady if there were any attractions I should see in the area. She said I should see “The Grand Canyon of VT”. Quechee Gorge is nothing like the Grand Canyon, but it’s beautiful in its own special way. I spent a few hours riding around the area, snapping photos of the gorgeous scenery, colonial homes and covered bridges.I hiked around the lake and took some pictures. Unfortunately, the autumn colors don’t translate well to film today in the hazy sunshine and the colors are a bit muted this year due to lack of summer rain. I stopped into the VT Institute of Natural Sciences to see their birds of prey, but unfortunately the tour started 10 minutes before I arrived and I couldn’t wait for the next one.

I headed south and was in Massachusetts within an hour. I pulled into a rest stop and Met Eddie, who is a 60-something biker and a part-time lawyer. He had stopped to call a client. He saw my CA license plate and came over to ask about my trip. I told him details of my journey and he had been to every spot I’ve traveled. It turns out Eddie has six bikes and no cars. The 2003 Harley he’s riding has 233,742 miles on it! This summer he finished 46th out of 700 in the Hoka Hey Challenge [http://www.hokaheychallenge.com/], a ride from Key West, Florida to Alaska. The winner got $500,000 of prize money and he rode 22 hours per day and slept on the roadside 2-hours a day for 9 days. Eddie is one of three people I’ve met who recommends riding the Dragon’s Tail though North Carolina [http://www.tailofthedragon.com/]. He also recommended I ride the Blue Ridge parkway from VA to Cherokee, NC. You meet some cool people on the road.

Today’s ride was lovely until I got to Springfield, MA. At that point, New England becomes part of the sprawling east coast metropolis that is definitely not good motorcycle riding country. Springfield, Hartford, Danbury, White Plains, they’re all just jam-packed and not fun to ride through. I stopped for gas in Danbury, CT around 7PM and it was hot and humid. As I left, I Saw lights flashing to my right, but when I looked, it was gone. After a few minutes I realized it was lightning strikes. I headed southeast and soon encountered a torrential downpour. Fortunately, I pulled into a nearby rest stop and planned to wait out the storm. After more than an hour, I got into full rain gear in 80 degree heat and rode 5 miles to Armonk, NY and a La Quinta Inn. It was a harrowing ride in the dark though sheeting rain, thunder and lightning, but it’s nice to be dry in a cool room tonight.

Tomorrow I’m looking forward to a real Philly Cheese-Steak sandwich in Philly.