What you are about to read is a chronicle detailing my final long distance motorcycle trip. I'm considering it a final trip as I seem to have lost interest in riding the last few years and am seriously considering selling my Goldwing. Whether or not I end up purchasing another ride is still up in the air, but it probably won't be a bike worthy of long distance touring.

 

But anyway, this isn’t about my quitting… it’s about living the dream one more time. You see, my wife and I used to take week long motorcycle trips when we were younger. Sometimes we would have an actual plan and sometimes we would get to the end of the driveway and say "Left or right?" and keep on doing that until we found an interesting place to go.

 

After not having done so in many years I yearned for the days on the open road seeing new things, meeting different people, and having new experiences. While I knew in the back of my mind that our travelling days were over, there was always that little glimmer of hope that an opportunity to take one last road trip would someday present itself.

 

If such an opportunity would present itself in the future, my 2005 Road King would have been a fine enough way to travel but, after 16 years of ownership, I was ready to try one more Goldwing which would make any trip more comfortable.

 

So, just last year, in 2021, I purchased a 2003 Honda Goldwing solely for the purpose of traveling as much as possible in one years time. Didn't have a clue how much traveling would be done or where I would go but at least I would be ready if an opportunity arose.

 

One destination that always comes to mind is my cousin Rob's place in Dalton, Ohio. I had ridden there three other times and and always enjoyed those times visiting Rob and his wife, Carol. Great people and great roads equals great times.

 

I had been hoping to visit Rob at least one more time for over 5 years now but something always seemed to come up and prevent me from riding out for a visit. However, this year was different as I finally had the time, the money, and the right bike all at the same time.

 

A quick email exploring the possibility of returning to Ohio one more time was enthusiastically accepted and plans were begun. At first, finding the right time for both of us was a bit challenging but we finally were able to settle on a week in early September. Having, earlier this year, participated in a days ride of The Patriot Tour, the plan was made to meet him at Erie Harley-Davidson in Erie, PA for the closing ceremonies. From there we would ride to Ohio where we would catch up with each other and do some riding on some of their best roads.

 

The plans were firmed up, the bike was readied, and, finally, the time came to ride!

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DAY 1

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Fremont, NH to Sayre, PA

Friday, September 16th, 2022

 

 

The route: 101/9/7 - 87 South - 90 West - 88 South - 86/17 - Best Western Grand Victorian Inn on Cayuta Avenue in Waverly, PA

 

360.0 miles 7:30 hours Starting temperature - 55*

 

 

Waking up at dawn in anticipation of my upcoming adventure all I had to do is wait until the sun arrived to warm up the air a bit as the bike had been packed the day before. A light breakfast and a big hug to my wife, Carol, and it was time head out. Finally hit the road at 8:45 to partially sunny skies and immediately started singing Willie Nelson’s “On The Road Again” as Carol and I had done so many times before on our motorcycle adventures.

 

Quickly found my way onto Route 101 which was to be my home for the next three hours or so all the way to Troy, NY. Looking on a map you will see that routes 101, 9, and 7 form one contiguous road all the way from the NH seacoast out to Route 87 in NY. My first quick stop of the day was to take a picture pointing out the birthplace of Horace Greeley who famously said: "Go west, young man." Back on the road the next stop was at a gas station on the Vermont border that Carol and I always stopped at on our trips out this way and was borne out of tradition more than an actual need to stop.

 

Back on the bike I continued west toward my next quick stop at the top of Hogback Mountain for a couple of quick pictures and a bathroom break. The road both up and over the mountain is a lovely high speed set of curves which was, unfortunately, marred by a number of construction sites that brought speeds down and occasionally stopped traffic by flagmen.

 

The first stoppage was the worst as the wait was over 10 minutes but a nice conversation with the flagger made it easier to bear. Once we were moving again there were only a couple of other brief stops.

 

With Hogback Mountain in my rearview mirror I continued west until finding the New York border at 12:25. Traffic remained light until nearing Troy where the road widened to 2 lanes each way and it became bumper to bumper for a couple of miles. The best part of this traffic, if there was to be any, was that it was all on a downhill slope and didn't require clutch feathering. Once the traffic was worked through, the transition through routes 87, 90, and 88 was a piece of cake.

 

Soon after, running low on petrol, I stopped for gas at a little station in Schoharie, NY where I suffered my one and only mishap on this adventure. Yes, I dropped my bike here. Sad, but true.

 

After filling up I needed to go back inside in order to get my change so I started the bike and rolled forward into a parking space. Got my change and decided to take a short break and have a snack of Town House Crackers that were kept in the bikes trunk before hitting the road again. When I finished and mounted the bike I began backpedaling the bike out of the parking spot. Unfortunately, this is where I met my Waterloo and neglected to notice that there was a recessed storm drain lurking a few feet behind me. My left foot found the exact center of that cursed drain and by the time it found purchase on the grating the bike was already leaned too far over to save, try as I might. You can see the damned grate sitting between the four cars in the picture.

 

Luckily for me there were a couple of other motorcyclists sitting in the window having lunch who immediately rushed out and helped me right the ship. One of them wasn’t even yet close to the bike when he commented that one of those storm drains had also taken him out a long time ago. Fortunately, no damage was done except to my ego.

 

The only other worthwhile incident of note was 16 miles before I reached my final destination of the day. Something inside me told me to stop at the upcoming roadside rest area. There was certainly no need for me to stop being so close to the hotel, but stop I did.

 

I had barely shut off the bike when a 30'ish woman got out of the back seat of an SUV that was parked to my left. She apologized a couple of times stating how embarrassing it was for her to ask but pleaded for me to help her with gas money. She started to ramble on about how her father was out of his mind and having issues and they needed help. Most of what she was saying was unintelligible due to either my already poor hearing or the constant din of road noise coming from the highway. All I really knew was that she was asking for my help.

 

At first I was going to politely decline giving her anything at all but that something inside me spoke up again and suggested that I was there for a reason and should do what I can. So I handed her a $20 bill and wished her good luck.

 

As they were driving away you could see the older gentleman seated in the passenger seat and he did appear to be somewhat dazed and confused. Whether or not it was a scam didn’t really matter at that point as I had a little extra money and could afford to take the chance to help someone that was in need.

 

Good deed done I immediately got back on the bike and proceeded to the Best Western Grand Victorian Inn where I arrived at 4:20. Checked in and while cleaning up I noticed that there was a slight burn all over my face. Yup. As always, I neglected to even think about putting on some suntan lotion before I headed out. That’s all right though. A little color in the face is nothing to worry about. However, I’ll be sure to grab some before hitting the road tomorrow.

 

Decided to rest a bit since the hotel restaurant didn’t open until 6:00 so I sat down in the chair for a spell and watched a little bit of TV. When the time finally arrived, wishing to celebrate my first successful day on the road, I decided to order the most expensive item on the menu. Unfortunately, it turned out to be Fish & Chips for $12.99. While not what I was hoping for it was a large piece of fish with a basket of fries but both were actually pretty good – just not what I was hoping for. Washed it down with a nice IPA and called it a day.

 

Note: One thing that really stood out on this first day's trip was that every single stream, river, and lake that came into view was decidedly low on water. It's one thing to realize that there's a drought at your home but some it's something completely different when you see it play out over the course of almost 400 miles!

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DAY 2

 

Sayre, PA to Erie Harley-Davidson

Saturday, September 17th, 2022

 

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The route: 86/17 – 90 West – 430 West – 290 West – Route 5 South – Erie HD

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252.2 miles 4:00 hours Starting temperature - 57*

 

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Why on earth am I headed to a Harley-Davidson dealer in Erie, PA when I ride a Honda you may ask? Well, I'm going there to participate in the final ceremonies of this year's Patriot Tour. The Patriot Flag Escort traveled 14,500 miles through all 50 states over 110 days promoting unity and patriotism in a world filled with division and negativity.

 

Earlier this year I had participated in one of their daily rides here in New Hampshire and was invited by my cousin Rob to meet him in Erie for the closing ceremonies. Since this tied in perfectly with my plans to visit him in Ohio, the offer was accepted.

 

Getting back to my ride, I woke at 5:30 and headed down to the free breakfast at 6:00. It was an excellent way to start the day except for the lousy coffee, runny scrambled eggs, overcooked sausage, and watered down cranberry juice. But, for the price, who could complain?

 

There are many people who say that the only way to see the country is by taking secondary roads instead of the super slab. While that may be the right way for other parts of the country, on this next part of my trip I would certainly disagree.

 

The main road for today was Interstate 86 / State Route 17 which is also called the Southern Tier Expressway. During the 200 mile stretch of this lightly traveled road it provided numerous excellent elevated vistas of this beautiful part of the country. It also provides many opportunities to get off the road and do a little sightseeing if one is interested in doing so. Some such sites are:

 

• Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Museum and Center for Comedy

• Seneca Allegany Casino

• Corning Museum of Glass

• Zippo & Case Museum

• Tioga Downs Racetrack (along with many other tracks)

 

But I digress. This road provided a memorable ride into Erie, PA. In fact, I was so impressed with the gorgeous views that one of my favorite Barbershop quartet songs immediately came to mind and set the tone for the entire rest of the trip. It’s a simple song that really reaches into my soul and I get emotional every time I hear it. Every time a special view presented itself, or when meeting new people, this song immediately started playing in the background of my mind and helped me solidify the events that were unfolding around me.

 

While I’m sure that your interest is piqued and that you would like to know what this song is, I’m not going to tell you right now. What I will do is embed the link to the performance at the end of my story where, hopefully, it might help put into focus how I felt during this week long adventure. The song has been covered by many artist but, in my opinion, none have sung it with this much emotion. Enough said.

 

As you hopefully may recall, yesterday I was inexplicably drawn into a roadside rest area only to find that someone needed my help. Today the same thing happened but yielded a different result.

 

Once again, for no apparent reason, something was telling me to pull into an upcoming rest stop which happened to be the Allegany River Rest Area. While no one was waiting for me to arrive and ask for help, I was treated to the nicest rest stop that I have ever seen. In one corner of the building was a large wall of stained glass and the entire inside of the building was dressed in a native American motif. Also, outside there was an interesting plaque with an old Seneca legend about the turtle and the beaver. I've posted a picture of the story below for you to enjoy.

 

After reading this plaque I glanced across the highway where there were 15 hawks of some kind circling very low where they had undoubtedly found lunch. A beautiful sight that, somehow, seemed quite fitting for this area.

 

All too soon this part of the trip was over and, after taking a couple of wrong turns in Erie and seeing the great artwork shown on the right, I finally found Erie Harley-Davidson with the help of another rider. Rode right up to the parking lot marshal who was organizing riders into their proper spots and Mike Schleicher, who is a friend of Rob's, was there right on the spot and said that he’d take care of me. The next thing I know, I was parked right in front of the pack and was presented with a VIP wristband! I will say that it felt odd though, parking a bright orange Honda Goldwing in front of all those black Harleys.

 

Shortly thereafter, Mike's wife, Mary, joined us and we all chatted for quite a while before they had to head off to conduct business. These two people were some of the nicest people that I’ve ever met and made me feel as though we were all long time friends.

 

Only a couple of minutes later while I was wandering a guy by the name of Rick started chatting me up and we talked about bikes and things for about a half four. (Boy these Erie people are friendly, aren’t they?!) The next thing you know it was 2 o’clock and the posse from the last leg of the Patriot Tour showed up pretty much on time with over 100 bikes in tow which was when my cousin, Rob, arrived.

 

Now, for those of you that know him by the name of ‘Bob’ there’s a reason why I’m referring to him in this story as ‘Rob.’ You see, both his father and grandfather had first names of Robert so you can imagine the confusion that this might cause during family get togethers. So, at least in my story, it’s going to be ‘Rob.’ You can call him what you want when you write yours.

 

Shortly after the posse arrived a ceremony was held in order to hand over the flag to the final flag carrier for this event who would lead us into Liberty Park for the final celebration. Pictures of the entire group were taken and, somehow, I ended up being right next to the American flag and stand out as, unlike most HD people, I was wearing a white T-shirt. (That’s me… always have been a little bit ‘different’ and see no need to change at this stage of the game.)

 

After the ceremony we broke for about an hour and were treated to hot dogs, chips, and cupcakes in celebration before heading out on a short, police escorted ride to Liberty Park. There the final ceremony was held but, unfortunately, Rob and I missed it as we had just purchased a couple of beers and were sitting on a hill catching up with each other before realizing what was going on behind us.

 

The rest of the afternoon was spent chatting and listening to music with new friends Mike & Mary, Ken & Jackie, Paul, and Rob. Before dark it was decided to take a short ride of maybe 100 yards to the Sloppy Duck Saloon for dinner. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see the overly friendly duck that generally roams around the place - even letting you pick him up! So, we proceeded to our tables where Jackie offered all of us wet towelettes to clean our hands before dinner. Shortly thereafter is where a fatal mistake was made!

 

You see, while we were all having a great time relaxing and chatting, Mike made the mistake of telling us all about a recent Ice Cream Challenge that he had won. It was a game between two major players to see how many different ice cream establishments one could eat at during the summer months. In the end, Mike won it by a landslide by having ice cream at 81 different places! He protests that it was actually 82 but the award states an official count of 81 and all photo evidence has been destroyed so we have to go by the official count. Sorry, Mike.

 

Why would this be considered a fatal mistake, you may ask? Well, it’s only because one member of our little group decided to have fun with this interesting bit of information and, at every chance imaginable for the next 18 hours, attempted to learn as much as possible about this event much to the chagrin of Mary. Will include a little more information regarding this subject matter later.

 

After dinner we saddled up and rode over a passel of bumps with a few pieces of good road thrown in for good measure and arrived at Mike & Mary’s place around 8:30. Being the first guest in line I was offered my choice of the two guest rooms and chose the one with the dolls and a teddy bear on the pillow. Don't judge me!

 

Once again, while cleaning some of the road grime off of my already sunburned face, I came to the harsh realization that sunburns can get even more painful if you forget sunscreen on the second day. Trust me… I won’t forget again tomorrow!

 

We all sat and chatted about various topics for a couple of hours that were interspersed with inquiries by Paul on all things ice cream. Paul, in my eye, looks a lot like Jeff Bridges and has a great dry sense of humor which is making the evening enjoyable. Later, he regaled us with his story of having a mild heart attack that ended up transforming itself into a $22,000 bill for a med-flight to the nearest hospital that could perform the necessary procedure. Money well spent indeed but, ouch, that bill must've hurt as much as the heart attack!

 

Eventually we all got tired and reluctantly decided to call it a night at some point in time. What time it was, I don't have the foggiest notion. All I can tell you is that my body said "You're done for the night, buddy" and I didn't argue.

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DAY 3

 

Erie, PA to Dalton, OH

Sunday, September 18th, 2022

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The route: Hundreds of back roads undoubtedly laid out by M. C. Escher

 

246.3 miles

 

 

I’ll start this day with an easy question: Guess what I did today? Yup. Went brain dead again and didn’t even think about sunscreen until we were well into the ride to Rob’s. Well, it’s too late to worry about it now as the damage is already done so I’ll just deal with it from now on. It couldn’t get much worse, could it? Nah!

 

Today I woke right around 7:00 and by the time I freshened up everyone else was already seated at the kitchen counter with Paul already asking about more ice cream details. The breakfast was delicious as Mary cooked us scrambled eggs, sausage, toast with jams provided by Rob, zucchini bread, orange juice and coffee. Light years better than the breakfast I had at the hotel. Thank you, Mary!

 

While we were feasting, further questioning by Paul had Mike producing the actual winning prize from his Ice Cream Challenge which was a lovely framed certificate. This was where the discrepancy of how many ice creams that were actually consumed was discovered. While Mike insisted that it was 82 the only real certified proof we had was the number 81 on the certificate. At one time, Mary had all of the photos but they were all deleted once the contest was over. When asked if he might attempt to defend his title and increase the total account the following summer it was suggested that, health wise, it may not be such a good idea.

 

As Paul continued with his incessant queries, Mary took a few minutes to feed the neighborhood chipmunk. Even though it is referred to as belonging to the neighborhood, rumor has it that the rest of the neighbors would be thrilled to see the little critter dispatched.

 

Somewhere around 9ish we all headed out for a trip around Presque Isle State Park and the Perry Monument. The monument is dedicated to Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry who was a prominent naval squadron leader during the War of 1812.

 

The trip around the isle was a nice relaxed ride with many water views with the first stop being the monument. As we were attempting to take a group selfie an older woman sitting on a bench offered to take one for us. She related to us that she used to love riding and had to stop doing so in her early 70’s. Later, another group selfie was going to be attempted right at the monument but another couple offerred to do the job for us. We then continued on our ride around the isle with a brief bit of off-roading in deep sand with no one being any the worse for wear.

 

With Presque Isle now behind us we embarked on an interesting journey in the general direction of Harmony, PA where lunch was to be had. With Mike in the lead we must have taken every conceivable road that might, somehow, work us toward our goal. How he is able to keep all of those twists and turns in his head without so much as a mild stutter is beyond me. Perhaps he moonlights at Rand McNally?

 

Eventually we stopped at a gas station in a small town where Mike & Mary would turn back home in order to attend a birthday/axe throwing party. While we were all chatting a young man came over to us and explained that he rode his bicycle over from the next town and it got stolen. He then asked for some money so that he could get back home. The first thing Mike asked him was whether he had reported the theft to the local police. Once he said “No” it was over and he was declined a handout.

 

Now, you might be surprised by this but at this point I actually walked inside the gas station and looked for some sunscreen. Yes, I know it’s hard to believe, but I did! The only size they had appeared to be for a family of twelve who spend their entire lives outside in the sun. Since there wasn’t enough room in my trunk it stayed on the shelf in the hope that the Osmond family may one day stop by. Oh, wait. They're Mormons not Amish.

 

Well, the time came and we all said our goodbye’s. Mike & Mary returned to Erie and Paul, Rob, and I headed off to the Harmony Inn in Harmony, PA.

 

Now I’ve been to the Harmony Inn a number of times already as Rob’s brother Mark lived only a mile or so away. But every time we’d visit him a stop to the Inn was always in order.

 

To be honest with you I can’t remember what I or anyone else ate - not that it really matters. I do know that I was completely parched and ended up drinking two glasses of water and two raspberry ice teas. Also, the waitress was telling us how she used to ride and throughout the meal couldn’t seem to keep her eyes off of Rob. Don’t think that she ever even glanced at Paul or me even once. At the end of the meal Paul generously picked up the tab and we were back on the road.

 

Once again we rode on a number of different roads and, at a stop sign in the middle of nowhere, Paul peeled off to head for home which was too bad as I really enjoyed his sense of humor. Eventually, Rob and I finally hit Dalton and his lovely gravel driveway around 5 o’clock. It’s always a squirmy ride up and down its length but I’ve never had a major issue yet. Even if I did, it would be well worth it as I equate their home to the mythical Shangri-La.

 

While we were moseying about before dinner we took a short walk to see Carol's workshop where she crafts her esquisite pieces of art. Walking away from the workshop I noticed a small green ball covered in prickly spines. Trying to gently pick it up was an excerise in patience and gentleness. Sensing my curiousness, Rob informed me that it was a Chinese Chestnut. Just a few yards away there was a veritable plethora of a different kind of round green balls without spines which turned out to be Black Walnuts. You learn something new every day!

 

The rest of the evening was spent chatting and catching up both Rob & Carol where I headed off to bed and was soon joined by a visitor. I had no sooner sat down to write a few notes regarding the happenings of the day when, Stretch, the family cat, came up to the room to see what I was doing. We exchanged greetings for a bit and, while I continued to write, she jumped up on the bed and laid there until I eventually drifted off for the night.

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DAY 4

 

The “Triple-Nickel” and “Rim Of The World”

Monday, September 19th, 2022

 

 

The route: Lots of windy road and great views

 

281.2 miles 7:15 hours

 

 

Thunder and lightning was my wakeup call today which didn’t bode well for an early start that was needed in order to complete both of these roads. So we did what any self-respecting riders would do in this situation: we ate breakfast!

 

Once again I was treated to a fantastic spread which was quite a bit more than my usual bowl of cereal routine at home. Delicious scrambled eggs, bacon, English muffins, zucchini bread, orange juice, and coffee filled the table. While I’m not used to eating very much at breakfast I did my best not to disappoint Carol and ate a little bit of everything.

 

As we waited for the rain to subside we took some time to perform a little rerouting of today’s ride since there wouldn’t be enough daylight for us to fully complete both roads. With our new route complete all we had to do is wait for the weather to change its disposition. Finally, at 11:00 we deemed the skies had cooperated enough and proceeded forward.

 

For those readers who are not familiar with the names of the roads we will be riding, they are part of Ohio’s “Windy 9.” Ohio’s Windy 9 is a motorcycling destination comprised of 9 routes that begin and end in Athens, Ohio. I had always wanted to ride the Triple-Nickel since I first heard about it and the Rim of the World route worked in perfectly for our days plans.

 

Riding toward Zanesville where the 555 begins we passed through Coshocton where we saw a street sign that raised our eyebrows. The sign was for WhiteWoman Street. This is what I found from the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum in Coshocton.

 

“Whitewoman Street is named after a woman named Mary Harris. Mary Harris was the first identifiable person of European descent to live in the Coshocton County area, arriving there about 1745. They were Mohawks from Kahnawake, near Montreal, the so-called “praying Mohawks” due to their being Catholics in that Jesuit-led community. She had been taken captive by the Mohawks at age ten in 1704 in the famous Deerfield, Massachusetts Raid, along with over 100 other people. She became a Mohawk, marrying into that nation, with which she stayed her entire remaining life.

In Ohio living as a Mohawk she was so exceptional that she was known on the frontier as “The White Woman”. Around 1750 her town and the river on which it sat in the Coshocton area were named White Woman’s Town and White Woman’s River on French and English maps of North America.”

 

Unfortunately, my web search pointed out that there are discussions currently underway to consider changing the name of this street. Why people feel the need to mess with history just because it "might" offend someone, somewhere is beyond my comprehension.

 

Once we reached the beginnings of 555 Rob pulled over to the side of the road and said, “It’s your road. You lead.” This was a great idea due to the fact that he had ridden it before and especially since it’s the one road that I was looking forward to riding. This way, I could do so at my own pace.

 

Thanks to the mornings thunderstorms we were able to ride maybe 1/3 of its length which wasn’t as disappointing as I thought it would be. The curves on both roads were endless and always cambered correctly which made them even more enjoyable. The only issue for me was that all of the roads were still wet due to the storms which made me take the corners at a little more relaxed speed as, at the beginning of the ride, the tires could be felt sliding oh so slightly. This is probably due to the fact that the Goldwing has you sitting up higher than it would on a V-twin.

 

At Portersville we stopped at the Port 37 convenience store/gas station to take photos next to the Triple Nickel sign and pick up both a patch and a window sticker. While Rob was directing incoming traffic so that I could position my bike in front of the sign for the obligatory pictures, we began chatting with a couple of gents who pulled up in a pickup.

 

The older fellow was, I believe, 80 years old and told us how he had recently totalled his 4-wheeler into the back of a Ford Ranger pretty much destroying both. Luckily for him all he had to show for this event was a small cut on the back of one of his hands. The other gent, his son, wasn’t too pleased with his father’s escapades and suggested that it might be time to give up driving. Personally, I don’t think the older gent will be taking his son’s advice.

 

From there it was off to more fun on the twisties and we caught up with the 'Rim Of The World' where the roads were still curvy and hilly but the views from the top were fabulous. That is, if you were able to take your eyes off the road long enough to take them in!

 

The last major stop of this ride was to see the Big Muskie at Miners' Memorial Park. This is an enormous bucket that was used in excavating that could easily fit 4 cars or even a marching band.(However, I'm not too sure about the acoustics.) Not only was the bucket impressive but the chains that were attached to it were equally so!

 

From there it was a nice cruise home at, shall I say, a “good speed” when we were suddenly passed by a FedEx truck that made us look as though we were standing still. Guess that he didn’t want to sit behind no slow-poke motorcyclists. Within a minute or he was gone and we never saw him again.

 

Later on we came upon a slow moving van who appeared to be a day late on his Sunday drive. Cars were backing up behind us and, finally, there was a chance to pass. Rob made it around quickly and easily and I was right behind him with plenty of room to spare. However, just as I was square with the driver’s door I saw a flash of light brown at the rear of Rob’s bike. While he noticed nothing, my front wheel definitely contacted whatever it was but the bike remained well behaved with nary a twitch. Said a quick prayer of thanks and continued without even slowing.

 

When we arrived back at home base we sat on the porch for a while and chatted while drinking beer. As a result of that conversation I can still here Rob stating in his own inimitable way, "We wuz passed by a dam FedEx truck!"

 

We were then treated to an excellent steak dinner with rice, beets, and red wine followed by freshly made apple pie by Carol. What I did to deserve this kind of treatment, I do not know… and didn’t dare upset the apple cart by asking!

 

After a little more relaxing Rob and I ended up in his ‘man cave’ were we did a little document editing for a couple of certificates for those riders who successfully completed one of his planned rides. When done it was pretty much lights out for me and headed upstairs for the night. This night was different though as Stretch had obviously seen enough of me already and didn’t feel like visiting.

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DAY 5

 

The Lakes Tour

Tuesday, September 20th, 2022

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The route: Various roads around a number of lakes

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199.8 miles

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Per my request this was a relatively light day as I could tell that all of this riding was starting to wear on me due to the fact that I hadn’t previous ridden much at all this summer. Thinking that there were two 350 mile days ahead of me on my way back to the homestead, it might be best to take it a bit easier today.

 

It was already warm upon leaving Shangri-La but, to start out the day on a high note, we dined on fresh homemade apple pie from the night before and coffee. You can’t start a day off much better than this! They don’t know it yet but I’m beginning to make plans to become a squatter and move permanently into the upstairs bedroom before they have a chance to notice and throw me out.

 

Out on the road we gassed up and headed to Bair’s Powersports in North Canton to look at some eye candy. They had only about a half dozen new bikes on the floor and only one caught my eye: a 2022 Burgundy Springfield model. Would have like to take this one home but, alas, it is not meant to be.

 

Chatting with the owner, Brad Cheyney, about our proposed route for the day he had the displeasure of informing us that one of the main roads we were to traverse was closed to traffic. Armed with this bit of information we ventured out on our lakes tour with a couple more route modifications.

 

Eventually we found our way to the first lake and it was amazing how much of it was covered by water lilies! As evidenced from day one of my trip it’s quite obvious as to how much of this country has been affected by drought. The ponds and lakes everywhere are so low that water lilies are taking over vast swatches of lake. They’re all still beautiful to look at though and those lilies are bound to be hiding some big lunkers!

 

It was right about here that Rob was almost taken out by what may have been a Tufted Titmouse of W.C. Fields fame. "Ahh, the tufted titmouse! Such melliflouous melodification!"

 

OK. Maybe it wasn't an actual Tufted Titmouse that almost did him in, but two different birds that day flew perilously close to Rob at eye level at some point. It was as though they were out for him but, fortunately, weren't able to complete their mission.

 

While the roads around the lakes weren’t as technical as those encountered yesterday they were still a joy to ride. Well, all of them except one. And that one almost took out both Rob and this scribe.

 

That road was so out in the middle of nowhere that I swear I heard banjos playing somewhere in the woods. Coming down a slight hill with close to a 120 degree right turn at the bottom, the road looked clear of debris of any kind. However, half way through the turn Rob’s rear wheel slid to the outside of the turn but his excellent riding skills saved the day without too much fanfare.

 

I, on the other hand, had my rear tire slide out in the exact same spot while Rob watched the excitement in his rear view mirror. Not as skilled a rider as he, my right foot instinctively reached out and dabbed the road as the bike uprighted itself. No harm – no foul in either case. Just a little puckering!

 

Just about 200 yards further on from that experience a hungry dog darted out from a house on the right (perhaps where the banjo music was coming from?) and was hoping to latch firmly onto Rob’s right leg. Fortunately, the famished canine wasn’t quick enough to catch his dinner today.

 

From there the ride was uneventful, except for the views, and a few hundred different roads that I suspect had us circumnavigating the entire state of Ohio. Finally escaping this road vortex I found that I had a hankering for an ice cream. Perhaps it was due to all the recent talking about Mike’s Ice Cream Challenge but an ice cream I must have.

 

Now, although he never stops on the road for an ice cream when riding, Rob somehow knew the perfect place to stop: The Deersville General Store. As we parked our bikes across the street I noticed a black and white cat sauntering towards the front of the building as though he owned the place. Turns out that he does!

 

This pompous feline, who goes by the name of Oreo, proceeded to block our entrance into the establishment by laying down directly in our path and looking up at us as though to make sure that we noticed him. We happily paid homage to his presence and took our paths around him.

 

A conversation with the clerk informed us that nobody seems to know where the cat came from. It appears that she just showed up one day and decided to make the place her home.

 

Once we finally decided on which flavor ice cream would make us happy we returned outside where there were a couple of benches and a nice table with an umbrella. As soon as we exited, Oreo knew exactly where we were heading and made himself comfortable on the patio table before we even had a chance to take a load off and sit down.

 

While he sat and watched us down our ice cream he appeared to be more interested in having us fawn over him rather than having a taste of our dessert. However, that didn’t stop him from sampling some of Rob’s confection out of his cup.

 

When finished with our ice cream we crossed the street back to our rides and watched in amazement as Oreo quietly strolled over into the middle of the street and calmly laid down as if he owned that place, too. The store clerk suddenly appeared from inside where she proceeded to calmly scold the cat for being so naughty and deposited her on one of the outside benches away from harm.

 

Back on the road we quickly reached Route 250 at Tappan Lake which was the road that was closed. It was unfortunate too as this was to be the highlight of today’s ride as the route followed the edge of the lake for a number of miles. Ah, such is life. Perhaps on a future trip this road will be open.

 

Getting close to home base we road right by Adventure Harley-Davidson and, even though I was asked, I declined an offer to stop. Now, normally, this wouldn't mean anything to anyone but Adventure was the shop that I credit for originally getting me on my former Road King. You see, at that time in 2006, Harley dealers in New England didn't seem to want anyone to take one for a test ride. Shortly after my first visit to Adventure I found the one Harley that actually spoke to me and the salesman asked if I'd like to take her out for a spin.

 

This, of course, shocked the hell out of me and I explained why to the salesman. He then told me that ANY bike on the floor be it used or brand new is open to a demo ride by any qualified rider. The very next spring after my demo ride and I was the proud owner of a used 2005 Road King.

 

Back to my current adventure (pun intended), more circuitous roads brought us back to the ranch where more time was spent on the patio chatting and relaxing with, of course, another beer where Stretch decided that he wanted to get comfy on my lap. Later we enjoyed a lovely meal of chicken, mashed potatoes (from the garden), the tiniest corn kernels that I’ve ever seen and beets. Oh yeah, I was also treated to some very smooth Scotch!

 

Instead of heading back out to the porch we all just enjoyed our time with each other at the kitchen table until, being the old man that I am, tapped out around 9:00.

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DAY 6

 

Back to Sayre, PA

Wednesday, September 21st, 2022

 

 

The route: Routes 103 – 172 – 93 – 76 – 80 – 66 – 6 – 220 – 199 – to hotel

 

375.7 miles 7:30 hours

 

 

Unfortunately, as all trips must come to an end, the time has come for me to begin my trek back home. Pretty much everything was already packed the night before so there was little to do in order to prepare for my departure when I awoke at 7. A quick glance out the windows provided a view of a beautiful morning that would make for a great day of riding.

 

Carrying my belongings downstairs found both Rob & Carol in the kitchen. Breakfast consisted of one of my favorite (even though I’m not Mikey) cereals – Life - along with some of the delicious granola that was cooked up by Carol the day before. A good cup of coffee to help me stay awake on the road and it was time to say my goodbyes.

 

Finalizing the packing of my mule for the week, Carol offered me a good sized bag of the her tasty granola for something to munch on during my trip and I was more than happy to accept the treat. Only a minute or so later she asked if I would like one of her coffee cups. As all of her firings are works of art I was thrilled to take one home!

 

Once our beasts were fired up we squirmed our way to the top of the gravel driveway for one last time. After taking one last look back - we were off.

 

Rob led me to the local Marathon filling station where we both topped off and said our final goodbyes. He then led me past the Tuslaw Middle & High School where Carol used to work up to Route 21 where we would part ways. One final wave to Rob as I reached the first hill on 21 and I was on my way home.

 

When the time came I pointed the Wing east on Route 76 and battled traffic & semis for it’s entire distance until finally finding Route 80.

 

At first, this new highway was extremely busy with all kinds of traffic. Nearing the junction of 80 & 680 I found myself getting hemmed into the middle of a 5 tractor trailers sandwhich. Not being enamored with the situation I bided my time and quickly slid over two lanes to my right, goosed it, and got around all of them just in the nick of time instead of being forced into taking the exit to Route 680. From there on end there was no problem with semis and, fortunately for me, the car traffic was extremely light. Here, too, the semis seem to love to run in packs but with so little cars around it was easy to just sit back and wait until the trucks finally got out of each others way.

 

After what seemed to be a long, long time, my next turn, which was Route 66, finally appeared right around Clarion. There I stopped at the first gas station for a bathroom break and a snack of Carol’s granola. Take my word for this: Granola is a much more tasty treat the Town House crackers! A short time later I was ready to ride again and found 66 to be quite the pleasant road. Just a plain old 2-laner with very little traffic and a decent road speed. While it was a nice road to sit back and relax on I don’t seem to recall much of anything worth taking the time to look at. The road was meant to get you somewhere quickly and nothing else.

 

The next stop was at the junction of 66 and 6 in the little town of Kane. The small gas station was a single pump station and it looked as though a grandmother and grandchild were doing all the work. Me being me, I used the available porta-potty just so I wouldn’t have to stop again until I needed more gas which would be in about 220 miles.

 

While I hadn’t ever ridden this part of Route 6 before I have always enjoyed the eastern part of it. Route 6 is a nice easy relaxed road with little traffic that flows through a number of small towns. Finally decided to take a quick break for a light lunch and stopped at the local McDonald’s in Coudersport, PA which was the first time I’ve stopped at this chain during my trip.

 

An older couple in a car to my right chatted me up and told me that they thought that my bike was beautiful and that the wife really loved the orange color. While they have never ridden, they have two nephews who ride Harleys.

 

Coudersport is one of those little towns out in the middle of nowhere where one can see himself retiring and living a relaxing life. Looking at the map there's probably not another town around it for 20 miles. It’s claim to fame is that it was where Eliot Ness was living when he died from a heart attack in 1957. Not surprisingly, there's a museum in town dedicated to Eliot but I didn't take the time to stop.

 

Back on the road it was a relaxed ride with only a couple of short stops. The first was at the intersection of 6 and 144 in Galeton. There wasn’t any traffic at the time so I took a long gaze to my right at 144 wishing that I could have ridden it once again. While I could have done so, I didn't because I felt that it was a special road that my wife and I had really enjoyed before and loved to talk about everything we saw as we road through it. Without her behind me it just wouldn't have been the same.

 

As I said, my wife and I have ridden 144 a couple of times and it’s our favorite road outside of New Hampshire. From Galeton it takes you through a number of forests and preserves and has almost no traffic during its entire length of 78 miles. At its southern end of Snow Shoe route 80 and Dubois H-D is close by if one is so inclined to stop.

 

A few miles down the road from Galeton on Route 6 is a little roadside rest area at which I made my next to last stop before stopping at the Best Western once again. This time not to use the porta-potty, but to take pictures. You see, when my wife and I rode 144 we would always stop here to take a break and chat about the great road we were just on. Figured that I’d try to bring back a couple of memories in pictures to share with my wife when I finally make it home.

 

From here there was only one more stop for a picture before making it to the hotel. Every time we were on this road we always got a kick looking at a giant gas pump at the B&S Convenience Store in Troy, PA, but we never stopped to get a picture. Seeing as this will be my last time in the area I was sure to get one!

 

Then it was off and running one last time before finally finding Route 220. Coming in to Sayre I recognized a gas station on the left side of the road that we had stopped at one evening when it was getting dark. At that time the bright lights were on and it looked as though the entire store and gas pumps were covered in gypsy moth webs. It sure was a sight back then and wish that we had taken a picture. Ahhh, memories!

 

Soon Route 199 came in to view which runs right through the heart of Sayre which would take me directly to my hotel.

 

Again, dinner wasn’t the greatest as I ordered a cheesesteak sub with chips and another IPA. From my seat at the counter I tried to help the bartender figure out where to place a length of LED lights for people to see. We both came up with a number of ideas but none of them worked very well. With my dinner finished I bid her adieu and headed back to my room.

 

Rather than wait till the morning I packed most of my gear but left my rain gear out so that I’d be ready for the mornings slog home in the rain. It’s odd that of the 4 times that I’ve visited Rob it’s rained on the last day at least 3 of those times. Well, at least the week visiting had good weather and that’s all one can ask for.

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DAY 7

 

The Voyage Home

Thursday, September 22nd, 2022

 

 

The route: Routes 86/17 – 81 – 88 – 90 – 787 – 7/9/101 – HOME

 

358.5 miles 7:00 hours

 

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Well, this is it. One day more on the road of my last adventure. Don’t get me wrong; I’ll be glad to get home but some adventures you’d like to keep going longer. True?

 

Knowing that it was my last day I woke up at 5:00 hoping to beat the rain. Yeah, right! It was already raining so I went back to bed. Couldn’t really sleep so I got back up at 6:00 and, after making myself presentable, went down for <sarcasm mode on> another delicious hotel breakfast. <sarcasm mode off> In my attempt to finish it off in grand style it was all washed down with a Hostess cupcake.

 

Checking out the radar weather showed that all of the rain would be over in this area by 8:00 am so I sat it out and waited. It turned out that they were a bit off in their forecast and, finally, at 8:30 I said “Screw it!” and proceeded to load up the bike and got ready to depart.

 

Now the rain suit that I was going to be using was recently given to me by a good friend who recently sold his 2013 Road Glide Ultra. You see, the one-piece Triumph suit that I’d been using for years always provided the pleasure of a wet crotch in heavy rain which was probably due to its zipper which runs the entire length of the suit from foot to neck. Probably wasn’t a good design feature.

 

Anyway, I had this other suit on now and once outside it was time to zip it up. Surprise!!! While I had tried it on at home to insure its fit, never was it considered necessary to actually check the zipper. Yup. It was frozen at the base and nothing would make it budge. Drats! What to do. What to do.

 

After a moment of panic it was finally decided that, since it was only light rain and being behind the big windshield I shouldn’t be doused with too much water, the velcro strip was determined to be sufficient for today. And luckily for me, it was.

 

Filled up the tank across the street and headed out for home and, within 15 minutes of my departure, the rain stopped and saw no more for the day! Now, that’s not to say that the roads were dry. In fact, from Sayre to home I never saw one bit of dry road.

 

Okay, enough about the rain and wet roads. Somewhere around 10:00 I found myself getting chilly so decided to stop at a rest area and put on my Gerbing heated jacket insert before getting too cold. While the plug was always at the ready to insert and provide some nice warmth, it was never used.

 

The roads were lightly traveled and easy to deal with despite battling road wash all day and Troy, NY was the first real rest stop of the day at a tiny gas station. Chatting with the clerk he asked where I was heading and, when provided my route for the day, he expressed amazement before telling me that someone was just there who had driven all the way from Alaska - but in a car.

 

Continuing on in bumper to bumper traffic for another 20 minutes brought us all to the intersection of Route 7 and Route 279. Much to my amazement everyone else took 279 leaving me all alone on my ride into Bennington, Vermont.

 

From there the ride was calm, cool, and damp all the way to the New Hampshire border where, once again for old times sake, I stopped at the Shell station in Chesterfield. Looking for something somewhat decent to have for lunch, there was very little on display so I may, or may not, have had a large cookie for lunch. You decide the truth!

 

Two hours later the adventure was over and the Goldwing and I were sitting in my garage - wet but happy.

 

Not wasting too much time, the bike was unpacked and things put away. As providence would have it, the sun finally appeared for the first time today 30 minutes after making it home. Figured that it was a good time to wash the road grime off the Wing and not more than 5 minutes after drying it off completely, light rain started once again so she was put back in the garage for one final time.

 

Suddenly, the adventure was over.

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Conclusion

 

 

So, there you have it. It's a bittersweet moment when you realize that months of anticipation, planning, and hoping for good weather have all come to an end. But, while that period of time will soon fade from your memory, the actual recollection of the events that transpired on your adventure will last for the rest of your life.

 

Memories of Rob and Carol along with the new friends made on the road like Mike and Mary, Ken and Jackie, and Paul and all of the different people that were met at hotels, restaurants, gas stations, rest stop areas and various other places have changed how I view travelling. Will I ever see any of them again? Quite possibly, not. But that's not the point here. Meeting all of them has enriched my life in more ways than I could ever realize. Without them, my adventure would have been merely a ride and nothing else.

 

So, no longer will I travel solely in order to arrive at my final destination as I have done for the last few years as I've come to the realization that it's not the destination that matters. It's the people and the sights that you encounter along the way that is the important part of any ride. In a way, it's like the main character in the movie/TV show 'Then Came Bronson.' He didn't know where he was going or even where he would end up each day. But it didn't matter, as the people he met along the way and the sights he saw was the actual story.

 

I consider myself blessed to have been able to make this one last big ride and thankful for all the kindness and generosity shown to me by complete strangers. While I still plan on selling my ride on this trip, my 2003 Honda Goldwing, reflecting on my experiences on this trip I'm beginning to question whether I am really done with motorcycling or if I should still ride but do so with another mind set. Only time will tell of what will finally be decided.

 

So, perhaps this story won't actually be... My Final Great Adventure!

 

 

 

 

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Addendum

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In case you think that I forgot... well, I haven't. Earlier in this story I mentioned that there was a constant song that kept repeating itself in my head during my entire trip. This song really helped shape memories along the way knowing that, most likely, I would never see those sights again nor would I likely meet any of its participants again in the future.

 

So, as promised, here is a link to that song which was performed by the Barbershop quartet, Marquis. The name of the song is:

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I Will Never Pass This Way Again

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