Day 8 - Back to New England
Because we had suffered through all of the grueling I-81slab on Monday, we had time to mix up the route a little bit for our last day. From Poconos Lakes we cut across some rural roads across the southern portion of Upstate NY and up through the Hudson Valley.
Bridge from PA into NY State
Staying on the New York side of the Western Mass border we ran up along Rte 22 all the way up to Bennington, VT.
Rte 9 across Vermont is one of those roads that I just never get tired of. Big high speed sweepers, awesome views, and passing on the double yellow is allowed!!
Up on Hogback Mountain
Coming down off of Hogback into Brattelboro there was a lot of Irene damage being repaired. I had heard that this section of Rte 9 had been closed for a while. I could see why as the stream runs very close to the road bed here.
Through Brattleboro and on back to the Live Free or Die state.
Where the color is coming on, just in time for the Covered Bridges ride this weekend!! :yahoo:
Home again, home again. To a warm welcome, no less...
And so it ends. Now there is time to reflect back on what it was... or wasn't.
It wasn't an epic touring adventure by nearly any standard. Hell, we only covered 2,986 miles in those 8 contiguous days of riding. Most days we covered only between 350 and 400 miles, though we spent an average of 10 hours to do that each day.
It was really great to see some old friends, and make some new ones at EOM. That's a given.
It was a real kick to ride a bit faster and harder than we generally make a habit of on the ride on Saturday. When the roads are so predictably smooth and hazard free as they are "down south" it's a whole lot easier to be smooth. Now I have to gear back for the New England road moguls again.
It was an unbelievable amount of incredible scenic splendor to take in for so many days in a row. Sensory Overload is not just a cliche.
It was very enjoyable to spend so much "quality time" with my wife and our very good friend (especially now) Mary Ellen. I hope it was as special for you as it was for us.
And it was the epitome of a CBA ride.
So to answer your question dcarver, I can't really put a finger on one single thing that "made this trip". All I can say is that, when you are out "on the road" on a motorcycle every moment is special and precious. It isn't any one thing that "makes it special" for me. It's the whole package. The whole enchilada. There really isn't anything that I'd rather do, even if I don't quite know why.
I hope that you've all enjoyed this report. All photographic credit must go to pillion photographer TMJ, though I did invest a whole lott'a time in filtering, cropping and photo editing. You can click here for the slideshow of all of our finale Day 8 - Back to New England
And now I think it's time to get back out and ride some more...
Because we had suffered through all of the grueling I-81slab on Monday, we had time to mix up the route a little bit for our last day. From Poconos Lakes we cut across some rural roads across the southern portion of Upstate NY and up through the Hudson Valley.
Bridge from PA into NY State
Staying on the New York side of the Western Mass border we ran up along Rte 22 all the way up to Bennington, VT.
Rte 9 across Vermont is one of those roads that I just never get tired of. Big high speed sweepers, awesome views, and passing on the double yellow is allowed!!
Up on Hogback Mountain
Coming down off of Hogback into Brattelboro there was a lot of Irene damage being repaired. I had heard that this section of Rte 9 had been closed for a while. I could see why as the stream runs very close to the road bed here.
Through Brattleboro and on back to the Live Free or Die state.
Where the color is coming on, just in time for the Covered Bridges ride this weekend!! :yahoo:
Home again, home again. To a warm welcome, no less...
And so it ends. Now there is time to reflect back on what it was... or wasn't.
It wasn't an epic touring adventure by nearly any standard. Hell, we only covered 2,986 miles in those 8 contiguous days of riding. Most days we covered only between 350 and 400 miles, though we spent an average of 10 hours to do that each day.
It was really great to see some old friends, and make some new ones at EOM. That's a given.
It was a real kick to ride a bit faster and harder than we generally make a habit of on the ride on Saturday. When the roads are so predictably smooth and hazard free as they are "down south" it's a whole lot easier to be smooth. Now I have to gear back for the New England road moguls again.
It was an unbelievable amount of incredible scenic splendor to take in for so many days in a row. Sensory Overload is not just a cliche.
It was very enjoyable to spend so much "quality time" with my wife and our very good friend (especially now) Mary Ellen. I hope it was as special for you as it was for us.
And it was the epitome of a CBA ride.
So to answer your question dcarver, I can't really put a finger on one single thing that "made this trip". All I can say is that, when you are out "on the road" on a motorcycle every moment is special and precious. It isn't any one thing that "makes it special" for me. It's the whole package. The whole enchilada. There really isn't anything that I'd rather do, even if I don't quite know why.
I hope that you've all enjoyed this report. All photographic credit must go to pillion photographer TMJ, though I did invest a whole lott'a time in filtering, cropping and photo editing. You can click here for the slideshow of all of our finale Day 8 - Back to New England
And now I think it's time to get back out and ride some more...
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