NEED YOUR HELP

[DE OPPRESSO LIBER]

Just had a thought about your ride across the Kancamangus (112) to Conway. Instead, when you get to Bear Notch Road, you will have ridden the best part of the Kanc already. Bear Notch has just been repaved and has some great twisties. Fred W will tell you why they call it what they do!! It will bring you to Bartlett. Take a right on 302 to Glen and rte 16 up to Gorham. It won't take any longer. You'll also avoid a lot of tourist traffic in N Conway.
N Conway has it's own reasons to go there (Hurricane Mtn Rd :crazy: , Cathedral Ledges, Whitehorse Gear), but it doesn't sound like you have the time this trip.

+1. And do the Mt Washington auto road on Rt 16 if you have the time. If not, MAKE time! Worth the trip IMHO- a helluva lot better than that city **** driving you'll be cursing yourself for as you're riding it! Just my .02 centavos!

 

[Fred W]

Bear Notch has just been repaved and has some great twisties. Fred W will tell you why they call it what they do!!

+1 on the recommendation of Bear Notch Rd. I use it to avoid the North Conway outlet shopping mecca on every opportunity.

Also a great lil' section of twisties. But beware!! (Take it from one who knows) There really are Bears in there... :blink:

QUOTE (Big-B @ Jul 20 2010, 06:54 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Duff's in Buffalo has the best Chicken Wings.
What? What about the Anchor Bar in Buffalo? Afterall, they are the place that invented Buffalo wings. I've not tried Duff's but the Anchor Bar is worth a stop. And if you are a wing and Good Beer man, Brown's Brewing Co in Troy, NY is a MUST stop. Their wings may be better than the Anchor!!

I went up through VT/NH/ME out to Bangor and I used the Greens and Whites route from last year as the basis for my ride across VT and NH. It was 2 really good days of riding. Rt 17 in VT was a great road.

Awesome! I didn't know that you had done that.

I'm glad someone got some use out of those GPS routes. (But this year's routes are going to be even better!! )

 

[VanHarlan]

Definitely Duff's for wings in Buffalo . . . all us locals know that . . .

https://www.duffswings.com/

 

[Fred W]

In that case, I definitely defer to the local knowledge...

and I'll check em out next time I'm in town.

 

[Barry 07 FJR1300AE]

I did a lot of that same route in 08, and I grew up in the shadow of NYC in NJ. If you must go to Ground Zero I understand, but frankly I say don't go into the city, ever. (Maybe on Sunday morning, it would be the best of the worst time).
If you do go down town, the best view of is the top of Rockefeller Center, AKA GE Building, "Top of the Rock." You can see uptown and downtown.

If you skip downtown NYC, then when you come south from Boston on your Day 6 take Rt 15 across S Conn it parallels I-95. Shoot across I-287 after you cross into NY state, to Saw Mill River Parkway. Take that south to 9A, then cross the George Washington Bridge to NJ on I-95 again. Then I-78 south to exit 148, Liberty State Park. Nice view of the Statue of Liberty there. While you are riding south on I-78 / Rt 1 to get to Exit 148 you can see lots of NYC skyline.

Also note that your trek westward out of NYC on your Day 7 through northern NJ and northern PA on Rt 6 is going to be SLOW-W-W. In the beginning in northern NJ you have stop lights at nearly every corner, 25 MPH zones all the way. I suggest since there is nothing to see there you should take Rt 280 out to Pompton Lakes area then pick up your route. Plan on 12-14 hours to get to Erie.

I currently live on Rt 6 in NW PA. You are close to me on your route, and I am on the Assistance list if you are in need. We're heading to SD and WY on Friday, but we'll be back a day or two before you are in my neighborhood.

Sorry this is a little late; have a great trip!!

So glad to get this info! We are still up in the air about riding into NYC and also Boston. We would love to ride thru Time Square, see Ground Zero and also the Statue of Liberty, just dont know if we want to fight traffic. Definatley not if it is going to be HOTTTTTT. I am glad you gave me that info on Rt 6. Agreed nothing to see, but didnt know the area. I think I will alter some of my maps to include your changes as a plan B if things arent going as planned or if we find more interesting things to do elsewhere. Again thanks for the help!!! I hope to be getting my Assistance list soon. Enjoy your trip out west.

 

[Barry 07 FJR1300AE]

Barry,
Here is a little advice from a Maineiac for day 4, in Maine. Rte 2 to Skowhegan is nothing special. If you can possibly add a couple more hours, you should go from Gorham, NH up rte 16 to Errol (some good high speed sweepers), continue 16 north to Wilsons Mills, ME, to Oquossoc. Then 17 to Height Of Land (awesome view), a 15 minute side trip. Then double back to Oquossoc and go to Rangeley. Take 16 over to Stratton and 27 to Kingfield (ride up to Sugarloaf ski area), then to Madison and Skowhegan. All this is some serious MOOSE country. If you see a car on the side of the road for no apparent reason, they may be watching a moose.

In Calais, there is the Calais Motor Inn, and the International Motel. The Motor Inn looks nicer but it used to be a dump on the inside. Go for the International on RTE 1 just south of downtown. Get a room on the backside (annex) for a nice view of the river.

Of course, you will have to check the maps for yourself to see if you can make the time. Day 4 looks like a long day as is but these are some of my favorite rides. As always, if you need a tour guide or more info, send me a PM. Have a great trip.

Just had a thought about your ride across the Kancamangus (112) to Conway. Instead, when you get to Bear Notch Road, you will have ridden the best part of the Kanc already. Bear Notch has just been repaved and has some great twisties. Fred W will tell you why they call it what they do!! It will bring you to Bartlett. Take a right on 302 to Glen and rte 16 up to Gorham. It won't take any longer. You'll also avoid a lot of tourist traffic in N Conway.

N Conway has it's own reasons to go there (Hurricane Mtn Rd , Cathedral Ledges, Whitehorse Gear), but it doesn't sound like you have the time this trip.

PS: Get your booze in tax free NH. It's about 20% cheaper than in ME.

Charlie

Day 4 I think this is the route you are talking about. Bear Notch Road is a must do. Hope we see a BEAR!!! Honestly we would love to see more of Maine. One of the reasons for touring the North East. We have some extra time and will try to work this in. I would love to see a Moose while in Maine for sure. The views from Height of Land are awesome. What is your option on whether we can ride this in a day. I am thinking no, due to the off bike time and also the nature of the roads we will be riding. Lots of hills, twists, and turns in those 417 miles. If we break this up are there places to stay and plenty of towns along the way. I am not sure how rural Maine this is. Dont want to miss a gas stop or something if you know what I mean. Just let me know what to expect along this route. We would love to have an escort along any of this route. Or any of the other days for that matter. I took a look at Internation Motel. That is a for sure if we spend the night in Calais. I saved there address and number in my phone already. Thanks Charlie for this info. This looks like great stuff!!!

 

[Barry 07 FJR1300AE]

Thanks for all the great help guys. I am glad the Thread came back to life. I have learned alot from you guys the past couple of days. Sorry my replies got a little out of order I couldnt work on the maps on my iphone so I had to wait till I got home from work. Anyway I hope that everyone will go back and read through my replies and see if I am still on track. Fred I hope we get to see a bear along bear notch road. Not so much in the road but within sight. As for the chicken wings, I thought KFC had the best hot wings. LOL JK I cant wait to try them, I LOVE WINGS, and breasts too. Thanks guys for all the help!!!

Barry

PS I plan to start a new thread when we leave for the trip and keep it updated daily with pics, info and where we are staying. Please feel free to get a hold of me if you wanna join us anywhere along the way. There no info like LOCAL info.

 

[Fred W]

Day 4 I think this is the route you are talking about. Bear Notch Road is a must do. Hope we see a BEAR!!! Honestly we would love to see more of Maine. One of the reasons for touring the North East. We have some extra time and will try to work this in. I would love to see a Moose while in Maine for sure. The views from Height of Land are awesome. What is your option on whether we can ride this in a day. I am thinking no, due to the off bike time and also the nature of the roads we will be riding. Lots of hills, twists, and turns in those 417 miles. If we break this up are there places to stay and plenty of towns along the way. I am not sure how rural Maine this is. Dont want to miss a gas stop or something if you know what I mean. Just let me know what to expect along this route. We would love to have an escort along any of this route. Or any of the other days for that matter. I took a look at Internation Motel. That is a for sure if we spend the night in Calais. I saved there address and number in my phone already. Thanks Charlie for this info. This looks like great stuff!!!

I have fixed your above route here to include Bear Notch Rd and also Height of Land on Rte 17. That is the little out and back just before you get into Rangeley. I've also given you much better routing from St J's down to Lincoln, to the start of the Kank.

There are many opportunities for over nighting along the way. Maine is not THAT rural. It's not like being in the high plains or something.

Hope you have fun

 

[Charlie Hoss]

Day 4 I think this is the route you are talking about. Bear Notch Road is a must do. Hope we see a BEAR!!! Honestly we would love to see more of Maine. One of the reasons for touring the North East. We have some extra time and will try to work this in. I would love to see a Moose while in Maine for sure. The views from Height of Land are awesome. What is your option on whether we can ride this in a day. I am thinking no, due to the off bike time and also the nature of the roads we will be riding. Lots of hills, twists, and turns in those 417 miles. If we break this up are there places to stay and plenty of towns along the way. I am not sure how rural Maine this is. Dont want to miss a gas stop or something if you know what I mean. Just let me know what to expect along this route. We would love to have an escort along any of this route. Or any of the other days for that matter. I took a look at Internation Motel. That is a for sure if we spend the night in Calais. I saved there address and number in my phone already. Thanks Charlie for this info. This looks like great stuff!!!

You're right, this is really pushing it in one day. I guess it depends on how much of ME you want to see and if you can make up some time along the way. As with anywhere you travel, you will want to get off the bike some and look around. There are towns all along the way with usually inexpensive motels and restaurants, Gas is not a problem with the FJR.

My GF Arlene and I are retired so we are able to ride almost anytime. We just took a 350 mile ride yesterday to Bingham, Greenville, Jackman and home. You'll find Bingham (201N) on the map you included for the suggested ride. Very highly recommended. Generally good to excellent roads, scenic, very remote, and lots of moose. We didn't see any but I know they are everywhere. Dusk and dawn are better times for moose hunting but they can show up anytime, anywhere.

Just a thought, maybe we could meet in N.Conway, near the Kanc Highway. I could show you around there and then we could head for Maine. It's about one hour 40 mins from here. I'll PM you my cell number and we can talk about it.

 

[Barry 07 FJR1300AE]

Day 4 I think this is the route you are talking about. Bear Notch Road is a must do. Hope we see a BEAR!!! Honestly we would love to see more of Maine. One of the reasons for touring the North East. We have some extra time and will try to work this in. I would love to see a Moose while in Maine for sure. The views from Height of Land are awesome. What is your option on whether we can ride this in a day. I am thinking no, due to the off bike time and also the nature of the roads we will be riding. Lots of hills, twists, and turns in those 417 miles. If we break this up are there places to stay and plenty of towns along the way. I am not sure how rural Maine this is. Dont want to miss a gas stop or something if you know what I mean. Just let me know what to expect along this route. We would love to have an escort along any of this route. Or any of the other days for that matter. I took a look at Internation Motel. That is a for sure if we spend the night in Calais. I saved there address and number in my phone already. Thanks Charlie for this info. This looks like great stuff!!!

I have fixed your above route here to include Bear Notch Rd and also Height of Land on Rte 17. That is the little out and back just before you get into Rangeley. I've also given you much better routing from St J's down to Lincoln, to the start of the Kank.

There are many opportunities for over nighting along the way. Maine is not THAT rural. It's not like being in the high plains or something.

Hope you have fun

Thanks Fred, I thought I had changed my route to include the Bear Notch Road. Anyway thanks for the changes, this is great cant wait to ride these roads!!!

 

[Barry 07 FJR1300AE]

Day 4 I think this is the route you are talking about. Bear Notch Road is a must do. Hope we see a BEAR!!! Honestly we would love to see more of Maine. One of the reasons for touring the North East. We have some extra time and will try to work this in. I would love to see a Moose while in Maine for sure. The views from Height of Land are awesome. What is your option on whether we can ride this in a day. I am thinking no, due to the off bike time and also the nature of the roads we will be riding. Lots of hills, twists, and turns in those 417 miles. If we break this up are there places to stay and plenty of towns along the way. I am not sure how rural Maine this is. Dont want to miss a gas stop or something if you know what I mean. Just let me know what to expect along this route. We would love to have an escort along any of this route. Or any of the other days for that matter. I took a look at Internation Motel. That is a for sure if we spend the night in Calais. I saved there address and number in my phone already. Thanks Charlie for this info. This looks like great stuff!!!

You're right, this is really pushing it in one day. I guess it depends on how much of ME you want to see and if you can make up some time along the way. As with anywhere you travel, you will want to get off the bike some and look around. There are towns all along the way with usually inexpensive motels and restaurants, Gas is not a problem with the FJR.

My GF Arlene and I are retired so we are able to ride almost anytime. We just took a 350 mile ride yesterday to Bingham, Greenville, Jackman and home. You'll find Bingham (201N) on the map you included for the suggested ride. Very highly recommended. Generally good to excellent roads, scenic, very remote, and lots of moose. We didn't see any but I know they are everywhere. Dusk and dawn are better times for moose hunting but they can show up anytime, anywhere.

Just a thought, maybe we could meet in N.Conway, near the Kanc Highway. I could show you around there and then we could head for Maine. It's about one hour 40 mins from here. I'll PM you my cell number and we can talk about it.

Thanks Charlie, I agree with the pushing it. My original day planning was just a basis for a great trip anyway and now it is alot better. We have plenty of time so we are just gonna stretch all the days together and ride what we want each day enjoying the trip and live it day by day!!! Sounds great about meeting up, ill be in touch!!