Covered Bridges of Southern NH - 2010

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I will be just getting back the day before from a week long trip with the wife on a run of the BRP. Unfortunately, had to pick and choose between EOM and having the chance to spend some much needed "alone time without the kids" and her first time doing the parkway and the Dragon/surrounding area.... MEM won't have me, Aroostook won't leave me alone, so I figured this would be the best compromise!
Will definitely miss not being able to go on this one, but will have to sit this one out since I'll be with my kids for this weekend. Will try to get a Mt Washington ride formed up once I get my October schedule put out at work. Had a great time last weekend and a pleasure meeting everyone!
Are you going to NAFO, CJ?? :rolleyes:

 
Yeah, Joann and I will also just be getting back from NAFO on the Weds night before this planned ride weekend.

We'll also be riding the BRP and SLD either on the way down, or the way home, or maybe both directions, just a piece each way.

I chose this 1st weekend in Oct for this ride (rather undemocratically) for several reasons:

It is the weekend immediately following NAFO, so any of our wandering (or lost) Canadian friends trying to find their ways back home from NAFO might stop off for a day of fun with the New England gang.

The foliage should be close to peak. I've heard several reports saying that the growing season (and therefore the foliage season) are ahead of normal schedule this year. Not sure how credible that is. In any case, I believe that the colors are best at the front end of peak. You get more reds and oranges. Late color tends to be oranges and browns.

IF this did happen to get rained out, we would still have the following weekend to make a go of it, and the foliage should still be decent. The later we go into Oct the duller the colors will be.

And the colder it gets. :cold:

There you have it.

 
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We booked a campsite at the Seven Maples Campground in Hancock for Friday through Sunday.
I just put this campground into my favorites. Michelle and I might be able to make this ride. We would love to do it camping. We just bought a Kompac Kamp mini mate motorcycle camper to pull behind the FJR and want to make good use of it as much as possible.

Eric

 
We booked a campsite at the Seven Maples Campground in Hancock for Friday through Sunday.
I just put this campground into my favorites. Michelle and I might be able to make this ride. We would love to do it camping. We just bought a Kompac Kamp mini mate motorcycle camper to pull behind the FJR and want to make good use of it as much as possible.

Eric
Geezer & I will be @ site#59 on Fri-Mon

 
We booked a campsite at the Seven Maples Campground in Hancock for Friday through Sunday.
I just put this campground into my favorites. Michelle and I might be able to make this ride. We would love to do it camping. We just bought a Kompac Kamp mini mate motorcycle camper to pull behind the FJR and want to make good use of it as much as possible.

Eric
Geezer & I will be @ site#59 on Fri-Mon
Ok great thanks for the info. I still have to request that Saturday off so we will see how that goes.

Eric

 
Bad News, potential Covered Bridge riders...

Yesterday I purposefully rode up Rt 31 through Greenfield, NH past the site of the Yankee Siege Trebuchet and, although the big pumpkin hucker machine was standing there, the entire area was eerily quiet.

Upon checking their website today I find out why:

Important Notice!
Fall 2010 - Yankee Siege has retired from competition.
Also, there will not be a pumpkin throwing season in Greenfield this year.
We're sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

So... there will be no late afternoon dash to the pumpkin chucker in this year's Bridges ride. :(

Hopefully they will revive it in years to come.

 
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Wow! That was sweet!!

But in this case, these guys are pros. No silly slingshots here. Visit the web site that I linked to above and you'll see that they set the world record for pumpkin chuckin from a trebuchet and now it seems they are taking a little hiatus.

Hopefully they are just waiting for someone to break their record and will come back again to retake it.

 
Watermelon up the nose can't be good. That had to hurt.

I say we commandeer the trebuchet and show those guys how to chunk some pumpkins.

 
I went to the Yankee Siege website above, and I've seen the machine in Greenfield, but not in action. Their record was 2034 feet with a 10 pound pumpkin. There are a couple of reasons why they're retiring from competition. The cost to transport and compete in Maryland is about $15,000 that comes out of their pocket. Also, at 2000 feet they don't have a practice space big enough without endangering neighbors. And the machine is only about 5 or 6% efficient versus competing machines at 30 to 50% and they will inevitably break the record. This thing requires several tons of railroad track in the counterbalance to send the pumpkin on it's way, and has about reached the theoretical limit of it's abilities. Time marches on. The pneumatic machines that compete in a different class shoot them well over 3000 feet. Rumor has it that the Chinese have developed gunpowder and the Europeans will be using iron cannon balls instead of pumpkins! Eventually technology and mass production will reduce the size to the point where every man can own a hand-held version of one in popular sizes like .22 gauge and 45 caliber.

 
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Fred, thanks for putting this together... my conflicted schedule will not allow me to attend unfortunately.... will try to catch this next year!!

 
Hey Kids,

Looks like we are less than 2 weeks away from the 2010 Covered Bridges Ride (hopefully, weather permitting).

I have Shanghai-ed Professor ionbeam to help me out with the group leading duties this time, in case there is a group bigger than ~ 12 bikes we can split into smaller groups. We have both gone over this route a number of times, both virtually and on two wheels, so it is pretty much bullet-proof. We even have modified it a little from prior years to add a little more good roadways, and cut out some of the bumpiest ones.

You can download this year's GPS ride routes in either of two unique formats right here:

2010_Covered_Bridges_Tour.gdb

This is the Garmin proprietary GDB format file, with all route shaping points set on intersections. This will keep your GPS from constantly yakking in your ear about each upcoming viapoint and only announce the turns and Waypoints.

2010_Covered_Bridges_Tour.gpx

This file is the generic GPX format file, which can be used on any GPS. The viapoints on this one have been moved to just after each intersection so you will get the turn announced first, and then hear some other garbage about what viapoint you just went by.

Or, you can just show up at Fiddleheads' Cafe at the appointed time and follow along for a fine day of sightseeing and New England riding.

See you all then!! :yahoo:

 
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Hope everyone going on this trip has a good time. Colors are starting to look good most places. I will not be able to make it as the wife and I will be in Maine that weekend.

Tom

 
Just a little teaser for this upcoming ride. According to the NH Fall Foliage Report web site, the areas that we will be riding this weekend are due to be "just turning" which, as most locals will tell you, is the prime time to view the foliage. That is when the bright reds and oranges come out. The more muted colors, yellows and browns, come out during what they call "peak".

Fingers crossed, it looks like maybe the weather gods will reward us.

 
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Paul and I plan to stick around and ride up Mt. Washington on Sunday if it isn't fogged over. If anyone else is interested you are welcome to join us.

 
If anyone is interested in meeting up with us at Haverhill/ Plaistow @ Rt 495 exit 51LMK. We will then be riding to Manchester, NH and can meet other rider(s) at Rt 93 exit 9. From there we will ride some nice back roads over to Hancock, scoring a bonus covered bridge along the way. If there is any interest I will post the times we need to hook up and still make Hancock with enough time to meet, greet, 'n eat before side stands up time.

Things have changed at Fiddleheads in Hancock. They have redone the parking out front making it pretty to look at, but user unfriendly. Fiddleheads does have parking around back but it is gravel and not motorcycle friendly. I suggest that we park directly across the street from Fiddleheads.

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Access to the parking in the rear is just to the left of the two barrels. The white sign points to the parking area.
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Hopefully they will have this out of the road before we go through :lol:

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We will be riding past this, wouldn't this make a fine front lawn ornament? No vigilance needed to see this.

Mast.jpg


This however, is an Easter Egg to look out for:

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Good idea, Alan.

If folks make a little 45 degree angled parking line down the street across from Fiddleheads, we'll get the "OFLU" picture out of the way and we won't have to fight for the parking spaces in front with all the townies. :thumbsup:

 
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