Maine and back on our Goldwing motorcycle

[Carl Custer-2]

Harding Jested:
Denise, my wife, and I just returned from an extended holiday weekend
to Maine and back, I thought you might enjoy a few of our stories.

[Carl]: Nice tale thanks.
I've done I-95 and environs several times up to Maine (Guilford-Abbot
Village),  Once on a NX 650 with k-k-k-knobbies.
If you are in the vicinity, I highly recommend visiting Vanson in Fall
River, MA -- it's a moto must.  Also Brockton Cycle in Brockton MA is
a bah-gan hunting treat.
The past few years, I have headed for Bennington via secondary roads
then pick interesting cross mountain ways into Maine.
Did you know Warren, NH has a Redstone rocket?

Just returned from the annual Labor Day SabMag Feast north of Skowhegan.
This year, several of us joined in the Harmony Labor-Day Free-Fair
Skillet and Hammer toss.
FWIW:
<http://picasaweb.google.com/carl.custer/NOE09#>

Carl (Hammer tosser) in Bethesda
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[Joel Harding]

Thanks, Carl!
   I avoided I-95 like the plague, however, I've hated it since the toll
lines became huge in Delaware, since the roads are choked up in New
Jersey, the long lines in New York.  I took back roads through
Pennsylvania and wound up on I-78 crossing through the Holland Tunnel.
We crossed under I-95 in Connecticut and took State Route 32 way up
until almost in Massachusetts.  I only took I-95 from above Boston,
Massachusetts until we could start hugging the coast in Maine, but it
was open and very high speed up there.  Southbound I-95, was a totally
different story, even up in Maine.  I figured out a workaround after a
very quick map check, but the free maps at the welcome centers are less
than... detailed, so it was hit or miss.  
   The really good news is that my wife and I figured out how to pack
all our clothes in the saddle bags with some room left over, leaving the
trunk completely open for jackets, helmets and gifts.  The secret is in
the luggage, don't use anything with a stiff liner, I used a freebie gym
bag.  Yeah, we got strange looks when checking in at the Hawthorne Hotel
in Salem, Mass, a fairly upscale place, but we just wanted to sleep
after a nice meal.  Also, we minimized on what we brought, limiting the
amount of 'tourist clothing' we brought.  Our rain suits fit nicely into
the saddlebags as well.  I put the cover into one of the pockets beneath
a speaker and still had plenty of room left over.  I have a camera
mounted on a ram mount on the handlebars and took it inside each
evening, no reason to tempt fate.  
   The biggest problem was getting the EZ-Pass into position for the
toll booths.  I would retrieve the pass from a pocket and hand the
EZ-Pass to my wife and she would display it for the sensors, a very
dangerous move.  I bought an EZ-Pass holder from Amazon.com yesterday,
but shipping was more expensive than the holder!  I checked every truck
stop on the way home, hoping to find one, no luck.  I also found out
that some laws require the EZ-Pass to be securely mounted, so I was
technically breaking the law and didn't know it.  
 
Joel


-----Original Message-----
From: Carl Custer [mailto:carl.custer@...]
Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2009 9:24 PM
To: Joel Harding; List DC Cycles
Subject: Maine and back on our Goldwing motorcycle

Harding Jested:
Denise, my wife, and I just returned from an extended holiday weekend
to Maine and back, I thought you might enjoy a few of our stories.

[Carl]: Nice tale thanks.
I've done I-95 and environs several times up to Maine (Guilford-Abbot
Village),  Once on a NX 650 with k-k-k-knobbies.
If you are in the vicinity, I highly recommend visiting Vanson in Fall
River, MA -- it's a moto must.  Also Brockton Cycle in Brockton MA is
a bah-gan hunting treat.
The past few years, I have headed for Bennington via secondary roads
then pick interesting cross mountain ways into Maine.
Did you know Warren, NH has a Redstone rocket?

Just returned from the annual Labor Day SabMag Feast north of Skowhegan.
This year, several of us joined in the Harmony Labor-Day Free-Fair
Skillet and Hammer toss.
FWIW:
<http://picasaweb.google.com/carl.custer/NOE09#>

Carl (Hammer tosser) in Bethesda

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[Dave Yates]

Joel H offered:

   I avoided I-95 like the plague, however, I've hated it since the toll
lines became huge in Delaware, since the roads are choked up in New
Jersey, the long lines in New York.  I took back roads through
Pennsylvania and wound up on I-78 crossing through the Holland Tunnel.
We crossed under I-95 in Connecticut and took State Route 32 way up
until almost in Massachusetts.  I only took I-95 from above Boston,
Massachusetts until we could start hugging the coast in Maine, but it
was open and very high speed up there.  Southbound I-95, was a totally
different story, even up in Maine.  I figured out a workaround after a
very quick map check, but the free maps at the welcome centers are less
than... detailed, so it was hit or miss.

[Dave] I'm envious.  I've been up through coastal ME in a cage and was definitely wanting a bike.  I found US 1 to be not a bad choice, until dark that is when all manner of creatures came to the road side in a Stephen-King-esque way, staring at the cage...    
 
   The really good news is that my wife and I figured out how to pack
all our clothes in the saddle bags with some room left over, leaving the
trunk completely open for jackets, helmets and gifts.  The secret is in
the luggage, don't use anything with a stiff liner, I used a freebie gym
bag.  Yeah, we got strange looks when checking in at the Hawthorne Hotel
in Salem, Mass, a fairly upscale place, but we just wanted to sleep
after a nice meal.

[Dave] It sounds like I should intro your wife to my wife... ;-)  More on that in a follow up...I'm lucky to get half of the 3rd bag and part of the tank bag.  :-|  We've also stayed at the Hawthorne, btw.  I'll bet they still have road signs set up for several wrong turns when you try to leave (Salem) too.  Kinda creepy actually.

 
 Also, we minimized on what we brought, limiting the
amount of 'tourist clothing' we brought.  Our rain suits fit nicely into
the saddlebags as well.  I put the cover into one of the pockets beneath
a speaker and still had plenty of room left over.  I have a camera
mounted on a ram mount on the handlebars and took it inside each
evening, no reason to tempt fate.  
   The biggest problem was getting the EZ-Pass into position for the
toll booths.  I would retrieve the pass from a pocket and hand the
EZ-Pass to my wife and she would display it for the sensors, a very
dangerous move.  I bought an EZ-Pass holder from Amazon.com yesterday,
but shipping was more expensive than the holder!  I checked every truck
stop on the way home, hoping to find one, no luck.  I also found out
that some laws require the EZ-Pass to be securely mounted, so I was
technically breaking the law and didn't know it.  
 
[Dave] I set the GPS to avoid tolls and do all I can to avoid them.  Thus, no ez pass, no mount and usually no toll lines.  Of course, there are some places there isn't much choice :-\

Great work on the ride & write up.

Dave


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