Obstacles and Opportunities

With full recognition that "shit happens", I have laid out the approximate route for our motorcycle trip through New England.  I say "approximate" because one never knows when one will be presented with obstacles and opportunities that demand that THE PLAN be thrown overboard.  When the "Worlds Largest Ball of String" sign appears, suggesting that we take an unscheduled turn, we will, by God, make that turn if its suits our fancy.

Having said that, we'll need to know whether to turn right or left out of the hotel each morning and with that reality in mind, I created a "plan".  Also, given the need for these two pensioners to have solid WIFI, high thread count sheets and a flat screen TV to watch each night, the destinations laid out in the plan are pretty well set in concrete....can you spell Hampton Inn?

Day One:  Albany to Penn Yan, NY.

Today's route takes us quickly away from the Empire State capital city and into the Catskill Mountains.  Heading west through these ancient mountains we'll motor along the southern tier of New York, pass through Ithaca and Watkins Glen and then skirt along the western shoreline of magnificent Seneca Lake.  Halfway to Geneva, we'll steer due west and cruise into Pen Yann which is situated on the north end of Keuka Lake .

Day Two:  Penn Yan to Watertown, NY.

Today we'll head west towards Naples, NY which is situated at the south end of Canandaigua Lake.  The first third of this ride takes us through my childhood/teenage/college age stomping grounds and I won't need a map for the first few hours. We'll ride up the western shore of Canandaigua Lake, through Cheshire and into Victor...where I grew up.  From there, the route is iffy..its unfamiliar territory for both of us and Butler maps doesn't cover it.  Oh well, just a couple of wanderers depending on the kindness of strangers.  Our day ends in Watertown, NY...a genuine shit hole if there ever was one.

Day Three:  Watertown, NY to Plattsburgh, NY.

This plan is credited to Mike Miller, who HATED my original plan to ride along the St. Lawrence Seaway.  Mo betta, he said, to seek out the secrets of the Adirondack Mountains...his old stomping grounds.  The people at Butler Maps happen to fully agree...all of the roads beyond Booneville are highly rated motorcycle roads...sounds good to me!!

Day Four:  Plattsburgh, NY to Kennebunkport, ME

Today's route starts in New York, crosses Vermont and New Hampshire and ends up near Kennebunkport, ME and the Atlantic Ocean.  We will ride the best roads Butler offers and pass through the White Mountains and the Green Mountains.  I expect this route will reveal some of the most New Englandish scenes we will see on the entire trip.  If we make it to the coast (and why wouldn't we?) I plan to stuff myself with lobster rolls.

Day Five:  Kennebunkport, ME to Burlington, VT

Today our route is a bit of backtracking though I'm sure we'll find a different route back to Vermont.   Mike Miller helped on this route as well and he and Butler maps collaborated to pick out some really great roads.

Day Six:  Burlington, VT to Albany, NY

Today will be our final day on the GS's.  It is mostly mountain roads through western Vermont and uses very highly rated roads courtesy of Butler Maps

Our Gear

My 2016 GSA basking in the fall sun in Silverton, CO...from Four Corners Tour 20016

KC prepares to remount after breakfast in Silverton, CO...Four Corners Tour 2016

This year's motorcycle tour will be done aboard our BMW R1200GS Adventures.  Both bikes are equipped with the BMW OEM Adventure panniers and are loaded from an option standpoint...so we have the full electronics packages, including ABS, ride modes, cruise control, GPS, heated grips, etc., etc., etc..   They're powerful, comfortable, capable mile munching feats of German engineering.

Lunch break in Ozarks in 2016

UPDATE:  One of the advantages of being a BMW motorcycle dealer is that KC gets to see every new bike that hits his showroom floor before the public can smear them with their greasy fingerprints.  Because of this, he spotted a 2017 GS Adventure in Triple Black with his preferred low suspension and arranged to trade in his 2016 GSA for it.  I must say, it is a flat out gorgeous bike.

KC's 2017 Triple Black GS Adventure

We'll use Sena 20S bluetooth intercoms to stay connected and to give us easy access to our music libraries.

KC at the Budville Trading Company on Old Route 66 west of Albuquerque ...Four Corners Tour 2016.

KC will be wearing his Klim gear and he has RAVED about this on past rides.  He claims it is cool when its hot, warm when its cold and dry when its wet.  I plan to stick with my Aerostich Darien suit, though if the weather looks particularly cold/wet I may wear my Aerostich Roadcrafter suit.  There's a slight chance I will cave in and buy a Klim Badlands suit...but I am resisting at this point.  Having said that, I am willing to concede that Klim has set the bar for four season adventure touring suits and at some point I'll probably cave into to the insistent Klim exposure and praise to which I am being submitted.

GS Adventures with Mexican Hat in the background...Four Corners 2016.

I used Butler Motorcycle Maps to plan our route.   Butler Maps are the Gold Standard for motorcycle route planning and we've used these maps for our last two trips.

Butler Map for New England

Butler Maps show the best motorcycle roads

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!