Gotta get me some poutine ...

[KOWBOY]

Nice day at the office ...

 

[KOWBOY]

Please hold all my calls ...

 

[KOWBOY]

Got off at mile marker 285 to get to Boone, NC. Rode through a rain shower ‘bout the last 10 miles on the Parkway. Got to town and fueled up and then commenced to try to find a bar. College town here so all I found was some yuppie-ass cafés packed with young’uns. I swear I ain’t havin’ a licka luck findin’ a decent biker bar on this trip. And the clouds opened up … real bad. Took refuge under various porches as I tried to find a hotel. Ended up here at the Mountain Villa Motor Lodge. Rooms are big and clean … and real old. Sandwich and 6-pack from the gas station for my 7-course meal this evenin’. Laid out all my leathers to dry and opened up my Saddleman bag that sits on my seat. It’s been fantastic for my weeks worth of clothes and computer stuff … and a most excellent backrest to boot. ‘Cept my s*** in it got wet. Even with the sexy rain cover on it. Truly hard to believe. My camera and computer obviously still work so no real damage but certainly disappointin’. Reckon I’ll pick up a garbage bag to put under the rain cover. Still rainin’ but looks dry for the next coupla days. Over a 1000 miles so far. Pretty cool. Just gonna keep peckin’ away at it ‘till some Fella in a silly uniform asks me to see my passport.

 

[KOWBOY]

DAY 6 … 223 miles … 1310 total.

Mornin’ broke cool, cloudy, and damp. Put on all the leathers right from the get-go and eased straight outta town. Boone, NC didn’t do much for me. Not too much sleep. Folks in the room on one side of me were drunk and fightin’ … folks on the other side were drunk and fornicatin’. Put a nice 20 miles or so in before started lookin’ for at least a cup of coffee. Could see a lil’ civilization so turned off. Coupla hun’erd yards put me at Freeborne’s Eatery and Lodge. ‘Bout a 25-room motel, restaurant … and a bar. Place was wall to wall bikes. Had I only known! Oh well. Got me a big ol’ plate of French toast, eggs, and sausage and filled my coffee mug. Crossed the Virginia state line but they make me wear a friggin’ helmet too so weren’t no big deal.

Whoever it was that designed and built the Blue Ridge Parkway obviously rode a motorcycle. Covered 200 miles of it today and there’s just not a bad spot on it. As you go north, the mountains turn into hills and there’s houses and farms along the sides. Scenery’s still phenomenal and the twisty, two-lane is unbelievable. Sun finally broke out ‘bout noon and I stopped just short of Roanoke to pull off the leathers. Almost feel guilty for ridin’ this road … they should charge a toll or something. It’s just too perfect.

 

[KOWBOY]

Stopped at quite a few of the overlooks and drove thru a bunch more of ‘em for a look-see. Hadn’t bothered with any of the visitor centers or museums or the other tourist attractions. Do have a soft spot for ol’ cabins though. This pair was sittin’ off the side of the road and there weren’t even a turnout to look at ‘em. Weren’t no traffic so I just parked on the edge of the road for a closer look. Excellent craftsmanship and some big timbers in the two-story cabin.

 

[KOWBOY]

So called it a day at mile marker 85 at the Peaks of Otter Lodge. (The ‘Peaks of Otter’ are the two nearby mountains). No refrigerator, microwave, television, telephone, cellular service, or wi-fi … not a single luxury! But it’s where all the cool kids stay and they charge accordin’ly. Place is packed. Happen to hit it at ‘Naturefest 2012’. Bunch of tree-huggers celebratin’ somethin’ or other. But they do got a bar and a restaurant. Bar’s open 5 to 9. Never made it to the restaurant. Old man tendin’ bar opened lil’ early for me and proved to be quite the local historian. I do ‘preciate some good conversation. Also met a group of rude, loud, obnoxious bikers from New York. They said I talked funny. And they gave me some damn-fine directions on how best to get from here to The Great White North on a scooter. We had a large time. Old man tendin’ bar stayed open lil’ late for me too. Room and a 12-pack at the bar … 2 bills. Life is good. Here’s pictures of the front of the lodge and view out my back porch.

 

[KOWBOY]

DAY 7 … 205 miles … 1515 total.

Man what a great night’s sleep! Room had fancy screen doors on both the front and the back so had a most excellent fresh, cool, mountain breeze goin’ through the room. Woke up ‘bout 2 for a beer piss and threw the extra blanket on the bed. Neat place … glad I stayed there. Sunshine thru the open window woke me up. That’s right … sunshine! Nice and cool but clear and bright. ‘Bout friggin’ time! Blue Ridge Parkway ain’t perfect after all though. Last 20 miles was some pretty damned shabby blacktop. Potholes were hard to see in the shadows of the trees. Had pavin’ equipment ev’rywhere though so lookin’ good for improvements real soon.

 

[KOWBOY]

So 85 miles later brought me to the end of the legendary road. 469 miles of freedom. But the end of somethin’ only means the beginnin’ of somethin’ else …

 

[KOWBOY]

At the Northern end of the Parkway you go over an overpass for I-64 and you begin the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. Same deal, different name. Lower speed limit and cost 10 bucks for a scooter to enter. A bright sunshiny Sunday weren’t the best timin’ for me. Lots of tourists doin’ 25. Illegally blew by most of them to do my part to uphold the bad image of bikers.

Still a very pretty road and since it’s a National Park, the blacktop was in excellent shape. Stopped at a visitor’s center ‘bout halfway through to grab a sandwich since I ain’t et in over 24 hours.

 

[KOWBOY]

So after a 105 miles of the Skyline, the road dumps you off in Front Royal, VA. Time to stop. Went into the downtown area to find me a beer. Did in fact find a tavern there for a coupla cold ones but place was pretty yuppie. Barmaid was kind enuf to show me some pitty and directed me to a biker bar. Found the Knotty Pine and the owner quickly proclaimed it to be the best in town. As bikers came and went, I’d have to agree. Had more than a few and eased on to find a hotel. Struck gold again. The Shenandoah Motel. American owned and remodeled back to original from the 50’s I’m guessin’. Lots of character. Very, very clean. Way cool … 43 bucks. Know I gotta buttload more hotels in my future but gonna be hard to top this one. Sandwich and a 6-pack form gas station across the street and I’m all set.

 

[Fireman]

Nice story and beautiful pics. Ride easy old man!

 

[KOWBOY]

Nice story and beautiful pics. Ride easy old man!

Thank you my friend.



DAY 8 … 260 miles … 1775 total.

‘Nother fabulous day wakin’ up to the sunshine comin’ into the window. Put on the jacket and eased on out on the road.

Drastic change from the last 575 miles to be back on normal roads with traffic, stop lights … and havin’ to watch traffic signs for directions. Missed a turn somewheres right early in the day. Stopped at a gas station to get directions and the two fat chicks there didn’t have a clue. Nor did they have a map for sale. No problem. Know for a damn fact that Canada is to the north. Saw a road labeled “north” and off I go. ‘Cept sun’s off my back shoulder. That can’t be right. Headin’ more west than north. See a road labeled ‘east’ so make the turn. Seem to be headin’ more south than east though. Ended up cuttin’ through West Virginia for no real reason. Did have some mighty-fine pancakes at the Southern Belle Restaurant and Truck Stop. Don’t believe there’s been a truck stop there in many, many years. Tough to add syrup when the hotcakes are bigger than the plate. Got back into Maryland and took another road labeled “north” and all is well. In fact, still on that road. Who says you need a GPS??

Stopped at Jim’s Tavern and was flirtin’ with the bartender when she made the comment that I was now in Pennsylvania. Ain’t had the helmet on since.

Was passin’ through Carlisle, PA when I seen Appalachian Harley-Davidson. Made a u-turn and went into the service department. Last coupla days I done lost my super-pimpin’ Kuryakyn drivin’ lights. Figured I needed new bulbs. Service Manager quickly proceeded to spin me a sad tale of how he was short-handed, blah, blah, blah. So went to the parts department and told the boy I needed some bulbs. He went out to my bike and looked at my s***. Said might be able to make somethin’ work. So ‘bout an hour or so later we had disassembled the lights, modified the bulb assemblies with some cuttin’ and solderin’, and ended up with a pair of 55-watt PIAA bulbs instead of the cheap-ass 35-watt bulbs that were burnt out. Paid 80 bucks for the 2 bulbs and then slid the boy 2 twenties for his effort. You can’t be a beacon if your light don’t shine.

Ended up followin’ highway 11 North. Runs right along the Susquehanna River. Right pretty. No pics tho since there’s also a lot of bars. And they opened at 7. That’s serious.

Made more miles than I wanted due to my scenic side trip through West Virginia. But found Taps Bar and Grill in Berwick, PA. Bartender had the most beautiful pair of … eyes. And they had Original Coors and a huge Angus burger.

Somehow navigated ‘nother quarter-mile to the Red Maple Inn where the dot-head checked me in. Tryin’ to watch the Cowboys on the tee-vee. Picture is blue on the right and green on the left. Room’s clean enough though. Life is good.

Remember … ain’t on the road TO freedom … the road IS the freedom. But there’s a fine line ‘tween chasin’ somethin’ and runnin’ from somethin’.

 

[KOWBOY]

Day 9 … 260 miles … 2035 total.

Cleared 2000 miles and still in the good ol’ USA … who’d of thunk friggin’ Canada was so damn far away??

Woke up this mornin’ and it was rainin’. So went back to sleep. Woke up coupla hours later like a lazy ol’ hound dog and it had quit rainin’. Radar on the blue and green tee-vee seemed to show the line of rain had passed and the next one was hours away. Loaded up the scooter and off I went. Lots of water on the roads and heavy black clouds across the entire sky. Did some really nice two-lanes in the Pennsylvania countryside. Dairy farms bought killed me with the stench. Great lil’ towns along the way. And they all had bars!

Crossed into NY and slapped the helmet back on my noggin. Then made another wrong turn. Went ‘bout 20 miles when I knew s*** weren’t right. So pulled into a snow mobile dealer to get directions. That’s right … a snow mobile dealer. He thought it was funny that I couldn’t find Canada. Once he figured out where I screwed up he gave me a scenic route to get me back on my route. I was a lil’ concerned it was just “Have Fun With the Redneck Day” but his route was fabulous and his directions perfect. Thank you Mr. snow mobile man!

Highway 30 runs around the huge Pepacton Reservoir. Sun came through the clouds for just a second and I was able to get a pic.

 

[KOWBOY]

Just around the bend I seen a lil’ sign sayin’ it was the drinkin’ water for New York City. I couldn’t resist. I pulled the bike over again and hiked down the bank … and pissed in it.

Highway 30 really is a beautiful road. These mountains are small but very nice. Whole lotta seat-time today with all the 30 mph zones but a great day without a single drop of rain from the constantly threatenin’ skies. Low 70’s all day.

So here I sit at The Colonial Motel in Cableskill, NY. Somewheres between the Catskills and the Adirondacks. Had a sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich at a gas station this mornin’ and two tuna fish sandwiches from a gas station this evenin’. And a whole bunch of beer today. Reckon I’ll try to eat better tomorrow.

 

[KOWBOY]

DAY 10 … 265 miles … 2300 total.

Canada’s a myth. It don’t exist. Or would you believe I missed the turn to an entire friggin’ country??

Rained all night again but had stopped when I woke up. Nice hot shower didn’t quite work out since there weren’t no hot water. No problem … packed up the scooter and hauled ass. Solid black clouds. Put in ‘bout 50 miles and passed the North Hampton Diner. Looked invitin’ so made a quick u-turn and pulled into the parkin’ lot. Best I can figure I was just a tad bit north of Bumfawk, NY. Normally the extreme high quality of the loaded omelet smothered with sausage gravy would be the topic of my review. It was beyond delicious. But that ain’t the storyline here. The owner lady was the hostess, the waitress, the cook, the busboy, and the entertainment. I ain’t never seen nothin’ like it in my life. I got tired just watchin’ it all happen. She was like a machine. Food was superb, nobody lacked for nothin’, and she carried on ‘bout 3 conversations the whole time. She should be cloned and the world would be a better place.

Continued runnin’ up Highway 30. As advertised, it’s the two-lane ribbon of life through upstate New York … a 55-mph stretch of pure paradise. Havin’ worked in Staten Island, NY (arguably the a****** of the entire universe) for so many years, it’s truly hard to believe New York can be so beautiful. Got a few, very brief, COLD rain showers on the way but beat the odds again and escaped major rain. Tried to snap a pic ev’ry time the sun came out.

 

[KOWBOY]

‘Round noonday, I busted outta the Adirondacks and went downhill. Sun came out really, really nice and I pulled off the leathers. Hour or so later, I pulled over and got out the passport, registration, insurance s*** so I could enter The Great White North ... but never found the turn.

Got into Malone, NY and was thinkin’ pretty strongly that I done missed Canada. Stumbled into a bar called Fat Jack’s. A most excellent example of a bar. Don’t care where you are. The locals found it highly entertainin’ that I came all this way and then missed the whole country adjacent to us. Had a mighty LARGE time. Tried to defend myself by sayin’ I was a long ways from home and I knew better where Mexico was than Canada. Cook felt sorry for my stupid ass and proceeded to prepare me the absolute best chicken enchilada I ever done et. Life is full of surprises. Bartender told me to go to the Four Seasons Motel that his buddy was the manager of … so off I went. And I been sittin’ out front drinkin’ with that manger for too many hours. Room is exceptional. Life is good. Malone, NY has been very, very good to me.

Thinkin’ now I’ll try to find Maine. I like lobster …

 

[Texican]

DAY 10 … 265 miles … 2300 total.

Canada’s a myth. It don’t exist. Or would you believe I missed the turn to an entire friggin’ country??

Ya think anyone reading this doubts that you could miss the entire country?

 

[Domek]

Come on sir!

I know there are Mexicans in Canada!

if they can find it, I am sure you can.

great places.

 

[KOWBOY]

Day 11 … 197 miles … 2497 total.

Mornin’ broke sunny and clear. 64 degrees. And first thang I did was walk next door to the gas station and bought a map. I realize the problem is that on a bike your concentration level is so much higher that missin’ street signs is way too easy … ‘specially ridin’ solo.

Followed Highway 11 across the very northernmost part of New York and then crossed over into Vermont. Rode Highway 105 across the top of Vermont. Very scenic as corn fields, dairy farms, and small mountains eased on by. No pics though ‘cause I was hangin’ on for dear life. An absolute disaster of an excuse for blacktop. Terrible, terrible roadway. One 4-mile stretch was under construction and was friggin’ dirt. Road that in first gear. Took a detour at a crossroad ‘cause it was paved a lil’. Used my map a bunch. My arms and back are sore from getting’ beat up by the road.

Had an interestin’ gas stop in Island Pond, Vermont. Just ‘bout to get back on the bike when the street was flooded with cops, troopers, and sheriffs cars. Shortly behind was an 18-wheeler haulin’ a fan blade for one of the monster wind generator deals in the area. Not only a wide load but the longest damn thang I ever seen on a truck. Had to move parked cars in front of the shops to get the rig around the bends through town.

Crossed into New Hampshire and took off the helmet at the state line. Caught Highway 3 and was SO glad to be on a decent road. Problem is that I was catchin’ up with the low pressure system in the upper Northeast and hit a few showers. So called it a day at Colebrook, NH. Really nice supper of meatloaf and mashed potatoes and homemade apple pie downtown at Howard’s Restaurant.

So here I sit at the Colebrook Country Club. Nice lil’ mom and pop motel with a bar … and a golf course. No internet though.

 

[KOWBOY]

DAY 12 … 253 miles … 2750 total.

Woke up this mornin’ as the golfers were startin’ to roll in. Sunny, clear, and 58 degrees. Weather-wise, this was a phenomenal day to be on a scooter in the extreme Northeast. No threat of rain at all for the whole ride. Rode highway 26 down to Errol and jumped on highway 16 to ease into Maine. Mountains of New Hampshire were beautiful. Road was tolerable. Problem ‘round here is that these roads are usually 20’ under snow so they gotta hard life.