The break away 2012

[ordnance3466]

Every year I break away for a week or so and just ride. I try and get a buddy that can do the trip with me but most of the time people can take a week off for whatever reason (work, wife, etc..) In any case this is something I started 5 years ago and really enjoy. I did a write up on my trip last year which was a blast. I went throught he mountains in PA for that trip.

So for this year here is the basic plan:

Start - Watertown, NY
Day 1 - Lake Placid area
Day 2 - Montreal, CA
Day 3 - Baxter State Park, Maine
Day 4 - Quebec City, CA
Day 5 - Montreal, CA
Day 6 - Home

That is a rough plan but really the idea is not to have a goal or a destination in concrete, just to head in a direction and detour for anything that catches my eye.

$1200 is my budget. This allows for hotels, food, gas, and casinos

Hopefully this years trip is great. If you ever have a week you can do this I highly recommend it. If nothing else, you will be come intimate with your bike and all the comforts, or lack there of. The big lesson learned from last year's ride was the awful seat the FZ6 has. So this year I will be rockin the Corbin.

I plan to update with pictures and commentary as I go. Also if anyone has any good stops that I should check out let me know. (Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Quebec area)

Dan

 

[pookamatic]

Jealous... if you were doing PA this year, I'd join. My buddy and his dad have done something awesome like this (Blue Ridge, Florida, etc) for the past 5 years. This year? I get a bike and what do they decide to do? Golf.

Note on traveling to CA... call your insurance company and let them know. They should handle the rest... sometimes they send you a piece of paper in the mail, sometimes not. You just wanna be covered. Speaking of, consider medical evacuation/travel insurance. It sounds dumb and it's honestly a one-inna-million but it's also dirt cheap. I spent a week in Thule AB, Greenland and my company wanted me to get it.

While in Montreal, be sure to visit a strip club or two.

 

[markgm]

At first I read CA as California, and thought that sounded familiar to my last cross country trip, then though, wow, how are you going to do that in 6 days?!

Sounds like it'll be a nice trip, I'm looking to do something similar one of these days, but I figure I still have 2 more cross country trips in me so I can see all of the national parks west of the Mississippi.

 

[ordnance3466]

Hopefully that picture loaded. My first stop today was Lake Placid. Ate at a really good sandwich place just as you enter the the main drag....cant remember the name.

Anyhow, pretty nice riding day about 190miles down and no issues, other than my butt started hurting around 100miles on my new corbin.

The picture is all I am carrying minus helmet and jacket.

 

[ordnance3466]

Ok pic this time?

 

[ordnance3466]

Ok I am back from my trip. It was amazing. Again the FZ6 did not dissapoint.

Notes/Facts:

1. 1200 miles (about 200-220 a day), which to me is about perfect. I like to do things after I reach a destination, mainly hit a bar or two.

2. 51.5 MPG give or take 1 MPG for most of the trip.

3. Montreal is a blast. People speak both English and French for the most part and there is plenty to do.

4. Quebec City is cool but I did not get a good chance to get out and explore do to the heavy rain that day. However the little towns surrounding Quebec spoke French predominantly and I had a hard time doing basic tasks (converting Canadian to US currency at a bank for example)

5. Upstate Maine is awesome, the views are great but the bugs were really bad.

6. White Mountain National Forest in NH is a great place to ride for twisties and sharp curves. (RT 112 was great about 30-40 miles of nonstop twists). I actually ran into another guy on a BMW adventure style bike with sport bike looking tires on it and tried to keep up with him the whole way through the White Mountain area. We were doing probably 65-70mph throughout, which was enough to get very low during the turns...

7. I will post some pics when I get a chance.