9 replies to this topic

[yamafitter]

The A plan went bust as I woke up in the morning and it was raining. I just don't like starting a ride in the rain. The forecast was bad. My knee was sore and my back was twinging from an awkward moment the previous week from an incident with the dirt bike. So we went to Plan 'B', start the next day.
The day was my birthday and my only real job for today was to get to Ben & Jerry's for ice cream. I stayed off the slab and followed the north shore of Lake Ontario joining up with the Loyalist Parkway down near Picton. I rolled onto the ferry for a short little ferry ride and then it was on to the Thousand Islands to cross into the States. There was no traffic on the first bridge and Duty Free had my favorite rye whiskey in stock. The weather was good, the XM Radio on the Zumo was pumping out the tunes, the FJRer was humming and it was time to go play around Lake Placid. Hwy 30 from the Fishing Ponds back onto Hwy 3 was especially memorable as traffic was almost non-existent and the few Harley types were good about letting me ride by.
I don't really remember stopping for lunch since I was on a mission to make Ben & Jerry's. After leaving the Lake Placid playground it was on to Essex to roll onto another ferry which had just docked and unloaded just as I arrived. My timing was perfect. I then used my Zumo to run the back way over to the App Gap and had a great run up and over with no traffic. As I rolled past Mad River Glen the roads got wet but the skies were clear. Traffic picked up on VT100 going north but it was all good as I rolled into my goal for the day with time to spare...



I had Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream in a chocolate dipped waffle cone. It was decadent.
After giving myself one massive ice cream headache I rolled into the Commodore Inn to dominate and win the first stage.
I celebrated my victory with a few well poured ryes.

Next post - NERDS Tech Day....

[RaYzerman19]

Heck of a way to spend a birthday, Bill. I inspected your rye bottle, good thing you didn't light any candles around that!!

[yamafitter]

After having breakfast at the Commodore Inn it was still a little early to head over to Ed's for Tech Day plus I needed to pick up a few items I had forgot so I headed up the mountain access to Stowe to check things out ...





If you continue up the road you would go through Smuggler's Notch but I had to get back since I had promised Ed that I would help with doing a CCT change. I was the first to arrive at Tech Day giving me another stage win and I wanted to try the unauthorized TBS on my bike so it was time to get into the bowels of my FJR ...



The use of a small table rather than propping up the tank was a good tip and makes it much easier to access the adjustment screws. I had earlier removed the air injection junk and installed the Wyn-Pro covers which explains the neater appearance of my engine compartment. Soon other folks started to arrive ...



Airboss and Ed. Note Ed's manometer for doing the Throttle Body Sync. I don't know if Ed has ever posted the plans to this unit but it's not difficult and would be a good addition to anyone's garage. The next to arrive was Sooze and BikerGeek. Here is the more photogenic of the two ...



The guest of honour, Don Carver arrived along with this doofus that Don had found in a ditch somewhere around Owosso Michigan ....



Dolly and Dolly's daughter which we believe was sired by ScooterG at SW-FOG last year also arrived ...



Ross arrived and had ordered the parts for doing a CCT change but the parts had not arrived. Ross had used Ed's address as a delivery point so rather than having to ship Ross' parts across the border when they arrived, Ed gave Ross his parts and delayed installing his new CCT till later. Ross is from New Brunswick but as we started removing the tank we were noting some differences in Ross' bike. There was a tee in the vent line that my bike does not have and when we went to remove the right lower fairing there was three screws in the bottom instead of the usual one. Two of the screws were holding a bracket for an evaporator can. It turns out that Ross had sought the bike down in Connecticut but the bike was a Californicator with all the silly additives. This literally made it a pain to remove as if one attempts to do this while the bike is still hot it is quite easy to burn oneself on the exhaust pipes while trying to get at the bracket bolts for the can.
The CCT took a little longer than usual since Ed's tools were not quite the correct ones required but we improvised and got the job done.
We had earlier attempted to diagnose some problems that Ross had encountered while coming over to Stowe but really could not find anything obvious so after doing the CCT we test ran the bike and ran into some problems with a very rough idle. There was some discussion of a skipped timing chain even with our precautions but considering the earlier symptoms I was more inclined to believe the problem was elsewhere. After a TBS we were able to get the bike to hold idle but there were still issues. Ross has started a separate thread on this issue but after a trip to the local dealer it appears as if #2 cylinder is not firing.
By the time we got all the plastic back on Ross' bike everyone had left and was back at the Commodore drinking. Folks are drinking and I'm not there put me in a foul mood so it was time to get back. A few dirt roads later (thankfully the weather was nice and the roads were not wet) I was back mingling with the other NERDS.
During the taxi ride back to Ed's for the campfire I did some backseat driving since the driver had no idea how to get to Ed's. Fortunately my sense of direction is far superior to Bungie's and we arrived in time for the food before FJRob1300 had vacuumed up all the food.
At the end of the night we loaded up the drunks in the Mexican taxi while the few remaining of us took a more civilized transport back to the Commodore.

Next Post - the Mt. Washington Ride

[yamafitter]

The Mt Washington Ride

It was decided earlier that we would get away early and Ray would take point for the ride over to Mt Washington. The weather forecast on the Mt Washington Observatory website was not ideal but we decided to risk it and make a final decision to take a run to the top based on our own visual observation. MEM joined us and Bill from PA also joined our group. It was a nice scenic route over to New Hampshire as we turned onto the toll road. Conditions looked good so it was time to put on some warmer gear for the ride to the top ...



As we headed up we got delayed by some cagers and the bikes were overheating from the trials riding we had to do so Ray decided to use one of the pullouts for a photo op ...



Note some of the road in the lower left of the photo. Marry Ellen wanted to play some hide & seek ...




MEM was checking out how much further it was to the top as I got this photo of the peaks across the valley ....



Another group of NERDS had got past us at the pullout and we followed them up to the top having to stop on the dirt section of an steep uphill for a cager that panicked. That was some fun to get rolling again. We got to the top and checked out the building where the observatory crew measured the world's highest recorded surface wind speed at 231 mph in 1934...



We caught MEM and Ray standing at the highest point in the eastern part of North America ...



I headed down first and found a vantage point for a photo op of the rest of the group making their way down ...













Once down to the bottom we turned south and headed down to Conway for some pizza and ice cream. We then went over to the top of Cathedral Rocks to check out the views ...





I was disappointed there were no climbers since I had nothing to throw rocks at. Here is the manditory photo of the motley crew we had in tow at this point in the proceedings ...



That's Ray, Geezer, ?, Mem, Bill from PA & ?. Sorry I'm old and senile and can't remember everyone.
From this point it was a spirited ride back to Stowe for more tire kicking and rye in the parking lot.

Next Post - DCarver & Bungie in Candy Butt Tourist Mode.

[wheatonFJR]

That's griff standing next to Geezer.

[MEM]

That's griff standing next to Geezer.

And griff's brudder, Ed (Amish FJR), standing next to me

[yamafitter]

The 6 Gaps & a Notch

The next day Bungie wanted to ride the 6 Gaps and I stepped up to the plate to lead. We also dragged along that Californicator Candy Butt, Carver. I had a bit of a panic at the start as I went to start the route from the parking lot and Mr Zumo decided to do a recalculate and took a 300 km route and shortened it down to 20 feet to the end. While I would agree that this is a shorter route it wasn't what I had intended so I had to make a quick run back to the room and wake up Mr Acer, dump Mr Zumo's new but not quite improved route and reload the originally intended trip.
Fred had warned people about this earlier but I wasn't sure which way to turn out of the parking lot and given all the grief I give Bungie about his sense of direction I was not about to get us lost 5 feet away from the motel. So with the route reloaded we got pointed in the proper direction and off we went. The first gap was the App Gap also known as VT17 at Mad River Glen. Check out the bumper sticker on the guard rail at the top of the gap...



I took the opportunity to have Don Carver take a few runs for the camera at this point while Bungie took a smoke break ...





Here how it looks from the other side of the road ...



It was then south down to the Lincoln Gap where we sampled some of Fred's infamous gravel and dirt roads. In the dry they were completely harmless and actually fun though I had the front tire sliding on some of the dirt downhills if I went in a little too hot.
We then rolled back onto VT100 where I pulled off at the Granville Waterfall for a photo op. Bungie blew by so I thought he wanted to lead. We didn't even go 200 meters before Bungie gave the U-Turn sign. So much for Bungie leading.
Here is the intrepid leader at rest ...



The dumbfounded look is pretty normal when Bungie is in the lead. We then did the Middlebury & Brandon Gaps before stopping in the Rochester Cafe & Country Store for lunch. I had the Philly Cheese Steak with fries that was quite good. I know Don took some food porn shots that I hope he has posted up. Since I was leading and wanted to ride I don't have any more photos from the day since I haven't yet figured out how to use my Nikon DSLR from the saddle at pace.
After lunch we went over the Rochester Gap and finished the last gap at Roxbury that also featured sections made of something other than pavement. As we went north near Montpelier we hooked up with some other NERDS to swing around to the north to run up Smuggler's Notch. Just before gassing up there were a number of police cars, fire trucks and other emergency vehicles coming towards us. I pulled in to a store parking area to let them by and all these vehicles also pulled in. I know I was riding a little sporty but I didn't think there was any need to send out every authority in the county after us. I the end it wasn't us they were after and we went a little further up the road to gas where we chatted up a local FJR rider who was out with his buddies.
On the run up to the Notch I blew off a Lexus but I should have stayed behind since Bungie reported that a couple of babes jumped out of the car at the top and did an impromptu photo shoot. I did have an unimpeded run to the top of the Notch that was quite fun in its own right.
The only negative of the trip was the 3-way stop at the bottom of VT108 in Stowe. I didn't know the way around this and got caught in an ugly little bit of traffic and caused my AE to overheat and generate a shift code error. When you get this particular error the bike goes into neutral and stays there until you completely shut the bike off with the key and reset everything. Great fun when your stuck in traffic.
I got the bike back to the motel without further incident and after a few ryes this small issue was soon forgotten.

Next Post - Grand Isle & Lake Placid

[yamafitter]

Grand Isle & Northern A'dacks

Jack (bbdig) asked me if I would lead a group over to the Lake Placid area. I always have fun when I go to Lake Placid so I was game. In the morning before breakfast the group had swelled to 6 bikes and when we lined up at 09:00 there were a total of seven other bikes to make sure they found their way over to New York State and back. No one else bothered to load the route so it was up to Mr Zumo on my bike to get the job done. If the others were aware of some of the earlier issues with the Zumo 600 series they may have not shown as much confidence in the leader but ignorance is bliss as they say. I had done all the software and firmware updates and had both my fingers & toes crossed.
First run was the top of Smuggler's Notch. Unfortunately traffic dictated the pace and two vans near the top were playing at who could be the slowest turtle. It was very frustrating. Since I was leading I decided to focus on just that and left the camera behind. I left it to others to photo document the trip.
With a group this large it was a little difficult to find good passing opportunities for the group so our pace in the morning was not what I had hoped for and I had concerns about how long it was going to take to get everyone around the route. One of the riders was on a VMax and only had a fuel range of 200 km which added some extra stops into the trip.
The ride up to Grand Isle was scenic but not very technical and after a fuel stop for the VMax and a bio-break we did a transport section along Hwy 11 in New York before turning south towards Lake Placid. The first backroad was fun and the pace quickened considerably. This definitely brightened my mood as now we were getting into the fun stuff. I also played the role of the rabbit on Hwy 30 between the Fish Ponds and back to Hwy 3. I had ridden this earlier on my way to NERDS and I wasn't about to let a few Harleys spoil the fun. Ian & Collin were in tow and we definitely had fun. we got a short rest break as the rest of the group gathered back up. I knew Fred had planned for us to have dinner in Lake Placid but it was already past 13:00 when we got to Saranac Lake and I found us a nice little cafe in the downtown area that was right on the river where we watched the Mayor's Cup Race float by while we had some very nicely prepared sandwiches.
After lunch the route took us through downtown Lake Placid. Being Saturday I know the traffic would be bad but I figured some of the folks may have never been to Lake Placid and there is a lot to see so I stayed on 3 instead of taking the bypass and headed downtown which while busy wasn't bad by Toronto standards. We then continued east and a little south and came to the highlight of the ride, Tracy Road. Again I played the role of the rabbit and was working the PR2's through the sweepers from one end to the other. It was a blast. AS the group gathered back up everyone had big smiles after such a fun road. It was time to find gas for the VMax and at 194 km from the last gas stop we rolled into Port Henry and found gas. It was only 114 km back to Stowe from this point and it was time to head down to Crown Point to catch the free ferry back to Vermont.
We talked to some Harley type folks on the ferry who were nice to us so I let them lead up VT17 until they turned off towards Rutland and we continued up VT17 towards the App Gap. When VT116 & Vt17 split it was hammer time and I had a great ride up the App Gap. We gathered everyone at the top for a short break and I wanted everyone to know to watch out for the descending hairpins. It was on one of the hairpins that while I was exiting a Subaru in full drift mode came flying up the other side. Owen was behind me and just about got clipped as the Subaru had its tail over the yellow line. Owen made a correction that almost put him into the guardrail as he was between the guardrail and the solid white line marking the edge of the road. Fortunately for Owen there was solid pavement in that area and he was able to gather it up but it was definitely a pucker moment.
The last stop of he day was at Ben & Jerry's for a well deserved ice cream cone. BBdig being a true Yankee gentleman paid for my ice cream since I had successfully navigated the route and got everyone back safe & sound. We pulled back into the motel just before 19:00 and had just enough time for a shot of rye and a shower before dinner.

Others have covered the final ride home so I would just like to take this opportunity to thank Fred (not Ed), Ed (not Fred) and all the other volunteers that put on such a fun event. I met some new friends and caught back up with some old friends and thoroughly enjoyed the entire proceedings. Many thanks to all that put their misguided trust in me and Mr Zumo as I led those overly trusting souls into the backwoods of Vermont and Upstate New York. I think we found some fun along the way.

I know I will be back next year though I hope not to spend as much time under Ross' bike next time.

And that's a wrap....

[dcarver]

I now humbly apologize for giving you grief about your 'big camera lense' and 'compensating for a small xxxxx'.. That camera takes amazing hi reso pix!

Thanks for leading the 6 gaps, and even though ol' Bungie n' me held up the parade for you, it was really fun!

Hmm, today my gps said 'turn in 533 miles'....

[Bustanut joker]

Just entered Iowa then?
You big pussy.. I'd have been in Nevada by now.