New England...Here We Come

Over the past few years KC and I have done bucket list motorcycle tours that begin with a week's vacation or so with our lovely wives (who are BFF's and daily workout buds) in a luxury resort nearby our starting point.

Getting outfitted in Moab in '14.

Sherry and Karen flirting with The Law in Jerome, AZ.

Once the couple's trip ends and the girls fly home, the motorcycle tour begins.

Hot tubbing in Ouray, CO...Tour the Rockies 2015

From Durango to Telluride...the Aspens in '16 were perfection.

We've followed this model for our Moab trip ('13),  then Tour the Rockies /Denver to Glacier NP ('15) and last year's Four Corners Tour /Albuquerque to Taos to Pagosa Springs to Telluride to Mexican Hat to Telluride ('16).

Posing for an Indian tourist in Silverton, CO...Four Corners 2016

This year's trip breaks the western mold we've been following and points us due north for the New England area...a first for KC and Karen but a region that is somewhat familiar to this Yankee.  Departure is scheduled for September 16 and return for October 1.

Leaving Sedona in our 4WD vehicle...Four Corners 2016

The plan is for KC and I to trailer our 2106 BMW R1200GSA's to a secure parking area near Albany, NY.  The girls will fly into Albany and the four of us will head north to The Whiteface Lodge in Lake Placid, NY in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains.  We'll spend three nights there exploring the Adirondacks, hopefully catching the fall colors in their prime.  We'll then head east to Mount Washington and will stay at a very nice lodge there in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  Mount Washington is notorious for its erratic and often extreme weather...having held the record for the highest wind speed ever recorded on the planet (231MPH) for a very long time.  They have recorded temperatures of -50F and normally only experience temperatures in excess of 60F on an average of 13 days a year.

Riding up Moki Dugway from Valley of the Gods in southern Utah...Four Corners Tour 2016

Moki Dugway was SPECTACULAR!!!!  Four Corners Tour 2016

The final stage of the couples trip is the ride back to Albany where we'll drop the girls at the airport.

The motorcycle trip will begin immediately following this.  We're planning on six days of riding which will take us through the Catskills, the Finger Lakes,

My first bike...a Honda ST1300 posed at south end of Canandaigua Lake in 2011...my first long distance motorcycle tour.

Canandaigua Lake...a jewel in the Finger Lakes taken in 2011

along Lake Ontario to Lake Champlain.  We'll then use our Butler Map to find great roads across Vermont and New Hampshire and end up on the Maine coast near Kennebunkport where I plan to gorge myself on lobster rolls.  We'll then motor back through Green and White Mountains and end up back near Burlington, VT.  On our final day we'll ride south and end up back in Albany.  We'll load the bikes and haul ourselves back to north Georgia two days later.

Beartooth Pass from Tour the Rockies 2015

Deadhorse Point take during Moab trip 2013.

Friends and family have cautioned us about weather in New England, particularly in the mountainous areas, in late September.  My initial reaction is to give a polite "thanks" and then ignore this.  KC and I have ridden in some cold and wet weather before (Livingston to Great Falls, MT comes to mind as does New Years Eve over Cherohala Skyway).

From Livingston to Great Falls;  Rain, snow and freezing temps.  Tour the Rockies 2015

On the other hand, one is always well advised to listen to the locals especially if they have motorcycling experience.  So, I am preparing for cold and wet weather and am seriously evaluating upgrading my riding gear (can you spell Klim?), riding gloves (maybe waterproof and heated Safe and Warm gloves??) and the ultimate cold weather accessory...Wunderlich Handlebar Muffs.  Nothing fun about a cold wet motorcycle ride, let alone a string of such days.  Its uncomfortable, distracting and poses a safety risk.  So, dear reader, trust me on this, I will be prepared!