September 16 weekend ride

[dmf109]

My friend with the Wee and I are going to be heading to NY on the weekend of 9/16 & 9/17. The route is not set, nor anything else for that matter. I'm pushing to camp out Friday night and Saturday night. He wants to swing by Orange County Choppers and do whatever on the way and back. I'm up for anything that involves some good action. Anyone else interested in joining in?

[RedAnt]

One possible destination we looked at was this:idea:

http://www.ausablechasm.com/index.htm

It would include a Ferry ride from Burlington VT. The 16th weekend sounds like the correct time-frame to me (after labor day, and before foliage).

Where is OCC located on a map? We're not married to the above destination, but it did sound interesting. I would be looking for some good roads across VT and maybe around the Port Kent area in NY.


Possibly SnowTrooper might be interested, as he should have a Strom by then! :D :

[RedAnt]

I found OCC on a map from this link.

http://www.orangecountychoppers.com/occweb_ver2.php

Looks like that's a long way from the top of VT. What else is there to see around there? Like I said, we had just been looking for someplace to go.

[VtSTROM-K5]

Dan I 'll check my schedule for the college but pencil me in . tenatively
:?
also if your interestted you might look at the Thousand Islands area as a possible destination.. Just a thought . :)

[dmf109]

Ausablechasm sounds like a great destination! OCC is someplace my friend has been wanting to go to, not sure if as a laugh, as neither of us like choppers, or just for the heck of it. Personally, I think that time of year lends itself better to camping out (no bugs) and that cool north air is great for riding. I wonder if it'd be possible to head north for a good time, then head south and still make OCC on Sunday, and finally home to southern NH by Sunday evening?

So, it's still in the planning stage, but I definitely want some sort of ride. I hope you 2 (and others) can make whatever ride happens. Oh, and Jack- the link you gave doesn't work. I'll check the web for Thousand Islands and see what I turn up.

[dmf109]

1000 islands- sounds great! I've never been to upstate NY. I had never been to upstate VT until last weekend, and man, is it nice! I kept thinking I was riding through some mountain wonderland (and trying to keep up with jackpiner57 !) Pretty crazy the different sights we have so close to our doors.

I looked at the 1000 islands and think there, and the Ausablechasm are both places I'd love to see. It seems we do all think alike :D .

[jackpiner57]

Thousand Islands sounds like a great time!

VtSTROM-K5 mentioned a Dinosaur BBQ place somewhere up near there that has the 3 B's. Beer, Blues, BBQ! That right there is enough for me to go! He would make a good tour guide for this ride. :wink:

Alexandria Bay is a cool place. I used to live in Waddington near the St. Lawrence River and fished all over that area.

I have to check my schedule to see if I can make it.

[xrochester]

I've frequented the 1000 Islands area for the past 20 years or so. If you've never been there, I highly recommend it. One caveat though - the motorcycle riding up there is a little on the boring side. Mainly straight and flat roads and unless you're riding right along the water, you'd barely know you were even close to such a beautiful river.

Here's my recommendations:

- The most incredible view of the Islands is from the top of the 1000 Islands Bridge. Don't miss that. You can see the whole river for miles in both directions. You can't stop on the bridge, but you can go slow and stand up on your Strom to see the St. Lawrence in all it's glory.

- Check out the antique boat museum in Clayton. It is truly amazing. It's only 15 mins from A-Bay.

- If you're camping, I recommend Wellesley Island State Park. You can get sites right on the St. Lawrence seaway that are just amazing. It will be a ghost town at this time of year, so you should have your pick of the litter. If you need recommendations on specific camp sites, let me know. I've stayed in every area of the campground and know the choice sites.

- Alex Bay will be a ghost town too, so you should be able to find a nice hotel room cheap. I like the Edgewood Resort.

- If you cross over to the Canadian Side, take the 1000 Islands Parkway (nice!) through Gananoque to Kingston. Kingston is a very, very cool small city. I would consider spending the night up there. Then, there is a ferry that takes you from Kingston to Wolfe Island and then from Wolfe Island back to the US which is also highly recommended:

http://www.citylifeontario.com/kingston/wolfeislandferry.html#usa

You can even cruise around on Wolfe Island for a while.

But if you want to truly experience the 1000 Islands, the only real way to do that is by water. I would jump on one of the many tour boats and take a tour. You will love it - I promise!

Also, the water is very clear due to the zebra mussell, so bring a mask and snorkel. Here are some shots I took up there in August:

http://rochesternet.com/photos/IslandsUW_8-1-06/

Hope this helped. BTW, I'm headed up to VT/NH in early October for V-Strom leaf-peeping. I'll need some recommendations on where to ride for that trip.

[RedAnt]

Thousand Islands sounds like a great time!

VtSTROM-K5 mentioned a Dinosaur BBQ place somewhere up near there that has the 3 B's. Beer, Blues, BBQ! That right there is enough for me to go! He would make a good tour guide for this ride. :wink:

I have to check my schedule to see if I can make it.

First let me say that I hope you can make it. I for one am not married to that weekend, we could slip it a little bit?

Secondly I like the sounds of the Dinosaur BBQ. Could we figure out a way to camp someplace nearby so that we would go there for dinner, and a short ride home? My guess is that it's an evening venue? :?:

[dmf109]

First let me say that I hope you can make it. I for one am not married to that weekend, we could slip it a little bit?

Secondly I like the sounds of the Dinosaur BBQ. Could we figure out a way to camp someplace nearby so that we would go there for dinner, and a short ride home? My guess is that it's an evening venue? Question

I second and third this! I'm open every weekend except the last one of September and the last one of October.

[dmf109]

I think we found a candidate for trip leader: xrochester

[RedAnt]

Also, the water is very clear due to the zebra mussell, so bring a mask and snorkel. Here are some shots I took up there in August:

http://rochesternet.com/photos/IslandsUW_8-1-06/



Very cool photos. I can't believe there are that many fish hanging around down there. Kind of makes us feel stupid that we can't catch them easier!

[VtSTROM-K5]

Ok , Couple of things to put out here :
!1 the dinosuar is a first come first served kinda place so if we want to see the band , who ever it is, we pay and then we stay till ? ... cause its a packed house any sat and they don't take reservations.

2 the welllsley Island camp ground is approx 2hrs from syracuse,,

3 the St. Lawrence valley is pretty flat as XRochester stated , that said the secondary roads or the area are about as strait as a rattle snake. the black lake , Balmat , Piercefield ,Colton, , Basicly all of St. Lawrence county is good riding. also If you guys are up for a little roughing it type camping I know of half a dozen free areas that have V-strom written all over them ( none of which are near the T.I. area.

4 I can be packed in an HOUR :wink: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[DJ-TROOPER]

Hello I'm the new guy. friend of DMF109 and personally offended by the term weestrom. It's too falic. But anyways. Dan really enjoyed the trip last weekend. I suggested one somewhere I've never been, like the liberal state of Vermont and NY. As a republican I am not supposed to go there, but I 'm feeling daring, but I must remain 50 miles from Hilary Clinton at all times. I look forward to meeting to you. Long live the adventureman.

[JohnS.]

Well, I'll certainly be in the Thousand Islands on the weekend of the 19th, but mostly because my wife and I rented a houseboat that week to cruise the islands. So, sorry, can't come along on this adventure...

Keep the rubber side down, and have a great trip wherever you end up.

If you do head down to Orange County Parts Swappers, I recommend NY State Route 23A west of Catskill as something to include.

JohnS.

[jackpiner57]

Hello I'm the new guy. friend of DMF109 and personally offended by the term weestrom. It's too falic. But anyways. Dan really enjoyed the trip last weekend. I suggested one somewhere I've never been, like the liberal state of Vermont and NY. As a republican I am not supposed to go there, but I 'm feeling daring, but I must remain 50 miles from Hilary Clinton at all times. I look forward to meeting to you. Long live the adventureman.

Hi DJTROOPER,

It's better than Wee Stream though. :)

As far as VT being liberal, not all of us are!

As far as Hillary goes, I like to be within 350 yds. of her. Any further and she'd be out of range. :twisted:

Great photos! :D

[BHazz]

Hey Guys.

I will probably sit this one out. For me, going up that high is beautiful but it takes up the good part of 3 days. I have to spread out these trips.

Canada in Oct. is a definite possibility.

This month, I am going to do my best to make it to the Catskills. That will be a 1 or 1 1/2 day trip, max.

Have Fun Everyone! :P

[VtSTROM-K5]

[quote="jackpiner57"][quote=
As far as VT being liberal, not all of us are!

As far as Hillary goes, I like to be within 350 yds. of her. Any further and she'd be out of range. :twisted:

Sir, May I recomend the Remington 700 in the 7mm. Magnum w /175g Siera HPBT . :evil: :roll: :roll:

[MiloFu]

23A is an awesome road, when it is open...it's been closed since the really huge rains early in the summer. Believe it or not, I read in a local newspaper from that area that 23A won't be opened until late fall, or even the winter. So, scratch that from your itinerary until next spring. If you are ever in that general area, be sure to check out the village of Phoenica, which is very popular with bikers because so many of the roads in the area are very enjoyable (Rt. 214 Hunter to Phoenica, rt.42 from rt. 28 to Lexington). The whole area is great.

[jackpiner57]

[quote=jackpiner57][quote=
As far as VT being liberal, not all of us are!

As far as Hillary goes, I like to be within 350 yds. of her. Any further and she'd be out of range. :twisted:

Sir, May I recomend the Remington 700 in the 7mm. Magnum w /175g Siera HPBT . :evil: :roll: :roll:

Well actually, I was thinking of my Wrist Rocket and fresh moose poop. :shock: :lol:

[RedAnt]

Well actually, I was thinking of my Wrist Rocket and fresh moose poop. :shock: :lol:

If you're getting moose poop 350 yards it must be colder up there in VT! Here in the Seacoast NH we don't have frozen moose droppings yet, or very many Moose for that matter. :roll:

After reading through all the comments it seems that:

1. 1K Islands is cool, but perhaps not the best riding area? :(

2. The Dinosaur BBQ also sounds like a very cool evening event but could take up a lot of time waiting in line Saturday night, or maybe even afternoon? :?

I guess that leaves us still without a real great final destination, but it's the journey we're interested in anyway. I don't have any really good roads in mind, but I'm willing to generate a map with a possible route on it. I'll look through the suggestions on this post, put the possible destinations and the suggested roads on the map. Maybe then a trip will fall out of it all. :idea: If not I'll make something up and present it for feedback. Look for something posted on Sunday.
:shock:

[dmf109]

RedAnt, I agree. I think any ride that takes us through the mountains and twisty roads like the August one should be great. As a plus, the leaves will be brightening, and the air cooler and crisper (I hope). If we could do some nice dirt, then even better!

So, may I get a show of hands as to who can make whatever ride occurs the weekend of the 16th? Also, who wants to campout?

Thanks

PS: I went through the mountains again on Friday for work. Now and then a really nice shot of color appears amongst all the green. I think in 2 weeks it'll be really nice.

[VtSTROM-K5]

dmf109, Redant ,& all ,
When would you guys want to leave??? I'll probably head up on thurs
nite after work and camp in the Tupper lake area then continue on on friday. but I happen to know some dirt roads in the area and some primitave camping areas . As I stated before the St. Lawrence & Franklin County areas are great riding areas. SO Count me as having my hand raised :D :D

[dmf109]

VtSTROM-K5, the earliest I can leave is 5:00 on Friday from Manchester. I like the idea of you leading a ride through St. Lawrence and Franklin County- hitting as much dirt as possible, with a nice campfire Saturday night amongst the wilds of Vermont!

[RedAnt]

VtSTROM-K5, the earliest I can leave is 5:00 on Friday from Manchester. I like the idea of you leading a ride through St. Lawrence and Franklin County- hitting as much dirt as possible, with a nice campfire Saturday night amongst the wilds of Vermont!

Looking at the maps, that Tupper Lake area looks to be a great base camp location. It's in the middle of that upper section of NY. From Londonderry to Tupper Lake is 5hrs 15min (direct to Ausible Chasm would be about the same). Leaving 5pm that puts you there just after 11pm, if everything goes well. That doesn't sound great to me, but I could leave earlier on Friday, we just wouldn't be meeting for the ride up there. That puts us exactly 24 hours behind VtSTROM-K5:shock:

The furthest point, the 1k isle bridge, is about 7hrs from Dover. Perhaps we might make better time, but we also don't really want to be driving lots of super slab. And you would then be getting there around 1am with a 5pm start. :(

If the Tupper Lake area is an ok drive for the two of you, perhaps VtSTROM-K5 can do some scouting in the area on Friday and return to Tupper Lake Friday night?

:oops: OCC seems a long way away from the other areas, but with the suggested roads around Phoenicia might be a good trip by itself. The closest Dinosaur BBQ is 100mi from the 1k isle bridge, kind of in the wrong direction.

:arrow: Here's a map link with all of our points on it: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://www.sr.unh.edu/~rea/strom_sep16/sep15th.gpx.kml

Any other thoughts?

:idea: My plan at this time would be for a Saturday trip from Tupper Lake to 1k isle bridge and back along the St Lawrence and back down to Tupper Lake. I think VtSTROM-K5 might be able to plan a better Saturday ride that I can makeup. How about giving us some locations and I'll try to stitch them together? We could end Saturday someplace else, as long as we don't mind carrying all our gear for the entire trip (I'm in favor of leaving gear especially if I'm 2up again). An optional ride home on Sunday could take us past the Ausible Chasm area, assuming we don't get there on the Saturdays ride.

Here's an example route: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://www.sr.unh.edu/~rea/strom_sep16/sep16_take1.kml

The Saturday ride is 334miles (8hrs). Sunday is 70miles (1.5hrs) to Ausable and an additional 270miles (6hrs) the scenic way to Dover. Both days avoid many highways and attempt to pick scenic roads from a map??? Both also have many places you could shorten the trip if necessary by cutting out extra sections or taking a highway.

[dmf109]

RedAnt, I like the destination, but 5 hours is a bit much for a Friday night. What about a campout in VT Friday night (somewhere within 2-3 hours of Manchester/Dover), then pack up and head out first thing Saturday morning for the 1k bridge. Then have lots of ride time the rest of Saturday, camp Saturday night, then do however many miles/hours it takes us Sunday to get back to southern NH? If Mrs. RedAnt comes, then maybe we can distribute your load amongst us so you aren't carrying all your gear the whole trip. I had some spare room left on my bike from the last trip and could easily carry one of your sleeping bags and probably fit other gear in a side case. Just a thought.

DJ-TROOPER- when you bless us with yur presence again, then please chime in here :D . What time do you leave the base on Friday? Is it possible to do a direct route from there to a good camping spot? If so then I can cut out of work early and meet you there and ride up with you.

[VtSTROM-K5]

Dan , Rob& Ann, DJTrooper, and all others interested :
I Have friday off as a floating holliday . But I don't need to go toTupper that day .Where were you thinking of spending the night Fri.?? I can meet you there ,or I can set up a base camp other than Tupper lake. Somewhere we all can get to on sat. morning in a decent time frame . but first could redant plot the route below for me (i mean us) with a time track if possible ( wow this is starting to look like a Stromette post.)

1st I don;t know how to post the maps . :oops:
2nd I see alot of riding :D , But are you going to take any sight seeing trips ( Boat tour s) .
3rd I have a list of waypoints if your interested : (see note 1^ )
1. Leave Tupper on Rt.3 to Seaveys corners Rt. 56.
2. Right on 56 to Colton .
3. left on 68 out of Colton toCanton.
4. Canton to Renselear Falls.
5. Rens. F. to DePeyster on 184 to Pope Mills.
6. PopeMills p.u Rt 58 to Moristown .( Fuel stop ? )
7. Morristown p.u. 12 to A-Bay ( for an indeterminate amount of time ) :o
8. Cont. on 12 to Clayton , to p.u. 12e south to North shore rd.
9. Loop N.S.Rd to 12E to Brownsville there p.u. Millitary rd .
10. Millitary rd to rt 12
11. Rt 12 to342 to Pamelia.
12. Rt. 342 to Rt.11
13. Rt 11 to Rt.26 ( Ft. Drum rd) over to Rt.3 north
14. rt.3 to Deferiet (l. on Rt 3a)
15. Rt.3a to star lake (fuel stop) ( Camp for the night ? )
16. Rt3 back to tupper .
17. Sunday rt. as suggested.

18. Thats My Interpretation of the day:shock: this would be senic , with a great cross section of some great roads. But it will be a long day with sight seeing in theIslands..
If some one (SMARTER) could load this as a map I think it would be a great ride..IMHO
19. I'm Packed ........ :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
20. Jackpiner57 your being verrry quiet , Whats your input??

[VtSTROM-K5]

Oh Yeah , Tom , Great avatar!! :shock: You should use a filter on that lens to take some of that sickly tint out of yur skin ( Kinda looks Green'ish ) :P :lol: :lol:

[RedAnt]

Dan , Rob& Ann, DJTrooper, and all others interested :
I Have friday off as a floating holliday . But I don't need to go toTupper that day .Where were you thinking of spending the night Fri.?? I can meet you there ,or I can set up a base camp other than Tupper lake. Somewhere we all can get to on sat. morning in a decent time frame . but first could redant plot the route below for me (i mean us) with a time track if possible ( wow this is starting to look like a Stromette post.)

1st I don;t know how to post the maps . :oops:
2nd I see alot of riding :D , But are you going to take any sight seeing trips ( Boat tour s) .
3rd I have a list of waypoints if your interested : (see note 1^ )
1. Leave Tupper on Rt.3 to Seaveys corners Rt. 56.
2. Right on 56 to Colton .
3. left on 68 out of Colton toCanton.
4. Canton to Renselear Falls.
5. Rens. F. to DePeyster on 184 to Pope Mills.
6. PopeMills p.u Rt 58 to Moristown .( Fuel stop ? )
7. Morristown p.u. 12 to A-Bay ( for an indeterminate amount of time ) :o
8. Cont. on 12 to Clayton , to p.u. 12e south to North shore rd.
9. Loop N.S.Rd to 12E to Brownsville there p.u. Millitary rd .
10. Millitary rd to rt 12
11. Rt 12 to342 to Pamelia.
12. Rt. 342 to Rt.11
13. Rt 11 to Rt.26 ( Ft. Drum rd) over to Rt.3 north
14. rt.3 to Deferiet (l. on Rt 3a)
15. Rt.3a to star lake (fuel stop) ( Camp for the night ? )
16. Rt3 back to tupper .
17. Sunday rt. as suggested.

18. Thats My Interpretation of the day:shock: this would be senic , with a great cross section of some great roads. But it will be a long day with sight seeing in theIslands..
If some one (SMARTER) could load this as a map I think it would be a great ride..IMHO
19. I'm Packed ........ :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
20. Jackpiner57 your being verrry quiet , Whats your input??

I moved the start to Star Lake and I got a little lost on step 13, so check that I did what you wanted there. The numbers from Star Lake to step 15 are: 242mi (5hrs 39min). That sounds a lot better to me. What I had in mind on mine was that we could cut out that NE corner if we ran short, essentially taking your morning route backwards. I just pulled my trip out of what looked like good roads on a map. If you've been to these places in your route I'm sure you picked a better route, and we should scratch take1.

I'm not sure if this would work but if you ended up at Star Lake overnight on Friday, perhaps we could meet you there and drop our gear at your site Saturday morning? Most likely we'll have already been on the road for 2-3 hours by the time we got to Star Lake.

dmf109 how about if we stayed in Fort Ticonderoga on Friday night 167mi (3hrs 27min) from Londonderry. That puts us 126mi (2hrs 40min) from Star Lake, or 86mi (1hr 45min) from Tupper Lake on Saturday morning. I think that would be doable if we had a 8am target time for breakfast near one of the Lakes.

Changing the Sunday start to Star Lake gives us 115mi (2hr 25min) to Ausable and 270mi (5hr 50min) Ausable back to Dover. Note that we could take a ferry from Port Kent to Burlington (cutting out the near Canada part North of Lake Champlain). I haven't checked ferry schedule, but the ferry takes one hour but saves us two hours of driving.

Here's the new map: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://www.sr.unh.edu/~rea/strom_sep16/sep16_take2.kml

[RedAnt]

The ferry times look reasonable. They start at 10:10am and run about every 2hrs 20minutes from Port Kent.

http://www.ferries.com/central_schedule.asp

[JohnS.]

This is shaping up to be good. Shame I still can't make it though...

[RedAnt]

This is shaping up to be good. Shame I still can't make it though...

I'm sure we'll miss you.

BTW I just posted a link to the end of the Adirondack ride report with the route on a GoogleMap.

Here's the link: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://www.sr.unh.edu/~rea/stromtrooper/strom_adirondack_20060624.gdb.kml

Seems like this new trip is going to hit some of the same location, but cover a lot of new ground too.

[VtSTROM-K5]

redant,
thank you :o . first off, Google maps doesn't have the Detail of Delorme Maps But I lived there for 10 years & the area was my sales territory So I know some great roads.IMHO... I think that the start point on sat. morning can be where ever you guys land on fri. nite.. But may I suggest D.A.R. State park in W. Addison, Vt. Also the overnite in the Star Lake area was in mind for sat. nite if we ran w/ camping gear all day.and we were running late. :)

[xrochester]

You VT and NH guys will be passing near an interesting geologic feature of NY State you may not be familiar with. It's called the Tug Hill Plateau (see attached pictures).

This is just an FYI only as I'm sure you won't have time to explore this area on this ride, but something to keep in mind for some other time when you're feeling like doing some exploring. I've had some great dual sport rides up there on my XR as it has dirt roads running all through some very remote areas. Lot's of cool places to explore.

It's best known for it's epic snowfall amounts and popularity with snowmobilers. Levels of snow reaching 200 inches are not uncommon, since Tug Hill has a high elevation and its location in relation to Lake Ontario leads to ideal conditions for accumulation of lake effect snow. The hamlet of Montague located on Tug Hill owns the single day New York State record of snowfall with 78 inches (6 feet, 6 inches). Another Tug Hill hamlet, Hooker, holds the state record for annual snowfall. Hooker also received an extraordinary accumulation of snow in the winter of 1976-77, with a total accumulation of 466.9 inches – approximately 39 feet.

http://www.rochesternet.com/images/ny2.gif (alt+p)

http://www.rochesternet.com/images/tughill.gif (alt+p)

[jackpiner57]

20. Jackpiner57 your being verrry quiet , Whats your input??

I still don't know if I can go yet. If I can, I'm happy with anything you guys want to do. I'll just follow that ugly looking green salesman that knows the roads. :D

I thought my skin looked OK, it's the tooth I'm worried about! :lol:

[DJ-TROOPER]

I could get out of work by 3:30 and be in Manchester by 5, Dan and ready to go. Where exactly is that again? Something about Yellowstone National Park? NY? Going to visit Champy? Or is there just a long drinking
binge in Vermont? Let me know I'll be there. I'll be the one pulling the Airstream. (It's amazing what that 650 can do) DJ

[RedAnt]

When locating Tug Hill Plateau I looked for a better campsite location so that we wouldn't have to go as far on Saturday morning. I found one on Long Lake (South of Tucker Lake), that's only 1hr 30min from our new Friday night D.A.R. campsite. The "take2" trip extended to LongLake ends up about 7hrs 40min, so I re-factored once again to attempt to adapt. We're getting back up there in time again this one is 293mi (7hrs 12min). I've taken us off the main roads a little again, so I've probably added 20 minutes to the trip. This one still needs the "local knowledge" touch.

Another new map: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://www.sr.unh.edu/~rea/strom_sep16/sep16_take3.kml

[RedAnt]

... I'll be the one pulling the Airstream. (It's amazing what that 650 can do) DJ

At least I wont be the one with the MOST weight! :)

[xrochester]

One other thing - there's a nice abandoned railroad bed that runs all the way from Philadelphia (NY) to Clayton. I wouldn't have mentioned it, but your revised route is taking you somewhat near to it. I haven't done it in several years, but from what I can remember, it was a nice ride through the countryside. It's pretty straight and flat, as most rail beds are, but it's also nicely maintained by a local ATV club.

If interested, go here: http://www.rivergatewheelers.com/

And click on 'maps'. and then click on Jefferson County. I haven't been there in a while, so I'm not sure if you would catch any flak for riding on it.

[VtSTROM-K5]

redant , the ferry @ Ticconderoga is a different sched. this is the link"
http://www.middlebury.net/tiferry/#schedule
that ferry stops running as of today at 5:45 pm So ....
Keep me posted as to where you think you'll be camping on fri nite , :?

[RedAnt]

redant , the ferry @ Ticconderoga is a different sched. this is the link"
http://www.middlebury.net/tiferry/#schedule
that ferry stops running as of today at 5:45 pm So ....
Keep me posted as to where you think you'll be camping on fri nite , :?

I think we're talking about different ferry crossings and days. Friday night I moved us up to your DAR campground. That's using a bridge to cross.

The ferry that I posted is the one from Port Kent to Burlington that we could take on our way home Sunday (instead of the loop up over the lake near Canada). Taking that Ferry would give us a ferry ride AND save 1 hour of driving time. Driving time could be better or worst than the ferry, but it's nice to have the option.

Still not sure about the Saturday loop though. Note in take3 I changed it around to move the campsite to the Long Lake area, which made your loop too long again. Please take a look at what I did and see if you can fix it. :)

[RedAnt]

One other thing - there's a nice abandoned railroad bed that runs all the way from Philadelphia (NY) to Clayton. I wouldn't have mentioned it, but your revised route is taking you somewhat near to it. I haven't done it in several years, but from what I can remember, it was a nice ride through the countryside. It's pretty straight and flat, as most rail beds are, but it's also nicely maintained by a local ATV club.

If interested, go here: http://www.rivergatewheelers.com/

And click on 'maps'. and then click on Jefferson County. I haven't been there in a while, so I'm not sure if you would catch any flak for riding on it.

We have one of those types of trails here that I've done on my DRZ. Ours wasn't much fun on the DRZ because it just felt like a ride down a dirt road. I felt I could do that legally on any dirt road, and the trail had a 25mph speed limit and lots of ATV traffic. I think the ATV terrain is getting really squeezed in our area. The trail also had a lot of sand an whoops in it which wouldn't be that much fun on a Strom. I'm sure the one there is a little better, but I would rather find some nice twisty roads that also have views. Any idea if I picked reasonable ones up on the Tug Hill Plateau?

At this point we seem to have more than enough to do. What we could really use is somebody to say "don't miss this!" and "why would you want to waste your time in that area". Unfortunately I think we could fill a four or five day trip with interesting things to see in the area! I'm a little worried that if we don't trim it down a little we'll just drive quickly past a lot of beautiful sights, and end up feeling like we didn't get to see much.

BTW I looked over your on-line pictures. You've got a great eye for photos! You've captured the Kanc, the NH Whites, and the Maine coast very well. Looking over your finger lakes pictures I can see another area to explore, unfortunately it's still further from home.

Thanks for your all your input.

[xrochester]

Any idea if I picked reasonable ones up on the Tug Hill Plateau?


Yes, actually going down Flat Rock road, which is on your route, is a good choice to give you a taste of Tug Hill from what I can remember of it, although I'm most familiar with the Southern part of the hill. My friend just pointed out to me that because of some big huge windmill power project up there, those roads may be widened and resurfaced with gravel. If that's the case, they probably lost a lot of their character as back-country dirt roads.

Also, I've often wondered about Number 4 road, which I've pointed out on the attached map. I'm guessing it's considerably more scenic and backcountry-ish than taking Route 28 from Inlet over towards Tug Hill. It goes right by Big Moose Lake and the Stillwater Reservoir. If you decide you take that, please let me know how it was. I'm dying to find out!

At this point we seem to have more than enough to do. What we could really use is somebody to say "don't miss this!" and "why would you want to waste your time in that area".


Sounds like vtStrom05 is your guy. Having lived up there, it sounds like he'll be that excellent tour guide you're looking for!

Looking over your finger lakes pictures I can see another area to explore, unfortunately it's still further from home


If at anytime in the future, you guys want to do a Finger Lakes tour, just let me know. I'd be more than happy to be your personal tour guide. Plus, you're more than welcome to stay at my place if you ever make it up this way. I live in Rochester, but it's only an hour to the heart of the Finger Lakes region.

http://www.rochesternet.com/images/number4road.gif

[RedAnt]

Any idea if I picked reasonable ones up on the Tug Hill Plateau?


Yes, actually going down Flat Rock road, which is on your route, is a good choice to give you a taste of Tug Hill from what I can remember of it, although I'm most familiar with the Southern part of the hill. My friend just pointed out to me that because of some big huge windmill power project up there, those roads may be widened and resurfaced with gravel. If that's the case, they probably lost a lot of their character as back-country dirt roads.

Also, I've often wondered about Number 4 road, which I've pointed out on the attached map. I'm guessing it's considerably more scenic and backcountry-ish than taking Route 28 from Inlet over towards Tug Hill. It goes right by Big Moose Lake and the Stillwater Reservoir. If you decide you take that, please let me know how it was. I'm dying to find out!

At this point we seem to have more than enough to do. What we could really use is somebody to say "don't miss this!" and "why would you want to waste your time in that area".


Sounds like vtStrom05 is your guy. Having lived up there, it sounds like he'll be that excellent tour guide you're looking for!

Looking over your finger lakes pictures I can see another area to explore, unfortunately it's still further from home


If at anytime in the future, you guys want to do a Finger Lakes tour, just let me know. I'd be more than happy to be your personal tour guide. Plus, you're more than welcome to stay at my place if you ever make it up this way. I live in Rochester, but it's only an hour to the heart of the Finger Lakes region.

http://www.rochesternet.com/images/number4road.gif


Looking at the map I wonder why I didn't pick that Number 4 road? I guess I figured that VtSTROM-K5 might just look over what I did and change it enough so that it wouldn't matter. I kind of think that "take3" is a little too long. I'm looking for a way to rein it in a little. Seems like if we need to drive 1.5hrs before the ride to get to the starting point, then something more like a 6 hour target time sounds better to me. That is the magic that VtSTROM-K5 actually did for us before I moved the starting point on him! I think the 7hrs might be ok but we're likely to feel rushed. I know that in our NH/VT trip people didn't feel too comfortable driving after dark in Moose county. I pushed the envelope a little in our August 26th ride with my gps track into the logging roads that ended in a dead end. Don't tell anybody but I'm not sure why they are willing to let me plan a trip, after that one. If we don't change the trip too much I'll see what adding that road in does to our times. My guess is that it doesn't change things too much. The bad news is that if we run late it could end up being in the dark (as it's the last leg of our loop). That's what the rest of the group is for, sanity checking my choices!

As far as your offer to lead a ride. Be careful what you wish for, I know at least I'm likely to take you up on it!

Thanks so much for all your help.

[RedAnt]

I looked at my City Navigator V8 and realized why I didn't pick that road. On CNv8 it's a dotted line, less than the road we got dead-ended on last trip. I would have never risked that one. But I doubled checked on GoogleMaps and they do show it looking like a nicer road. I triple checked on my older version of Delorme and they show it being a better road too. If it's newly updated it might be REALLY good at this time???

It adds about 15 minutes to the trip IF you believe the CNv8 times for the dotted road, that only they seem to have as little better than a donkey trail. My guess is that it's a good road and that it would not only be the 5 miles shorted, but would also be faster.

If we end up staying at LongLakeCamp, it's about 50 minutes drive from our site. I'm dumb enough to explore it for you, I might even have some company. "Stillwater Reservoir" is about 1hr 30min from our site, and the midway point between what CNv8 has as the "bad" section of that road. In less than 3 hours of my life I should be able to confirm what the road is like. If I splat into a moose I will request that you say a few words about my service towards the greater good of Stromkind for the last few moments of life. :D

[jackpiner57]

Well I ordered some camping gear, so I guess I'm going!

I plan on camping out Fri. night. Where?

Sat. ride around St. Lawrence County. Camp where?

Sun. morning ride home.

[crowtdog]

Well I ordered some camping gear, so I guess I'm going!

Tom, Don't forget your Pillow! :wink:

Enjoy your ride guys.

[RedAnt]

Well I ordered some camping gear, so I guess I'm going!

I plan on camping out Fri. night. Where?

Sat. ride around St. Lawrence County. Camp where?

Sun. morning ride home.

Glad to hear you can join us!

Friday night probably has at least two options. I'm not even sure which one I'm doing yet.

VtSTROM-K5 I believe is heading up Thursday and intends to camp somewhere in NY. From my point of view it would be great if he was someplace we could meet Saturday morning and leave our gear for setup later Saturday night.

A scheduling limit on dmf109 has he and DJ-TROOPER leaving Friday night around 5pm from Londonderry/Manchester. That puts them at the D.A.R. campsite sometime after 8:30pm.

Anne and I (and my friend Tucker) could leave earlier in the day and go a little further, or we could wait and ride up with them at 5pm.

I'm not sure we have a final route planned yet. The map link ending in "take3" is the last one on the table. The "take2" one is a nice length and was VtSTROM-K5 approved, but the DAR campsite is a couple of hours from that starting point, and we would be carrying our gear all day Saturday (as we don't stay at the same sight).

If we had to leave today I would say we would be driving the "take2" route on Saturday. Logistically that makes the DAR camp site to the starting point a LONG ride Saturday morning. In that case I might leave earlier and go all the way on Friday afternoon/evening, and feel bad for dmf109.

I'm sure we'll iron it all out over the next few days and have a final plan soon.

[jackpiner57]

Well I ordered some camping gear, so I guess I'm going!

Tom, Don't forget your Pillow! :wink:

Enjoy your ride guys.

Thanks for the reminder! I think I'll use my polarfleece jacket this time. :lol:

[VtSTROM-K5]

OK this is getting harder by the minute. DAR State park closed for "THE SEASON " on monday according to the web site. I can't get the map links to work from redant and I think I'll call it a nite. :x

[jackpiner57]

For Friday night campers in VT.


This looks like a good place to camp. But, we wouldn't get to Port Kent, NY until 10:00 am.

http://www.enjoyburlington.com/Campground/Map1.cfm

http://www.ferries.com/central_schedule.asp



Also there is this one:

I am waiting to see if there is a vacancy. Arrival in Essex, NY would be at 7:20 am or 8:20 am or 8:50 am. This one looks like the better choice if available.

http://vtfpr.anr.state.vt.us/parks/htm/philo.cfm

http://www.ferries.com/south_schedule.asp

[VtSTROM-K5]

Or you can camp here
www.dec.state.ny.us/website/do/camping/campgrounds/crownpoint.html
Which is Right across the bridge .Senic Beauty that it is........and for Saturday we can Set up at the this one in the morning and return sat nite if you want : www.dec.state.ny.us/website/do/camping/campgrounds/cranberry.html

let me know and I Will make reservations :D

[RedAnt]

Or you can camp here
www.dec.state.ny.us/website/do/camping/campgrounds/crownpoint.html
Which is Right across the bridge .Senic Beauty that it is........and for Saturday we can Set up at the this one in the morning and return sat nite if you want : www.dec.state.ny.us/website/do/camping/campgrounds/cranberry.html

let me know and I Will make reservations :D

The Crownpoint one sounds fine for Friday night. I certainly understand not wanting to drive much more than the 3.5 hrs from Londonderry starting at 5pm. So I have to respect dmf109 in that decision.

It would be nice to have an opinion from everybody on the following two questions. If we can get some idea of peoples feelings on these I'll run another set of maps through with new locations (CrownPoint camping) and possible return to another location Saturday evening (like TupperLake or StarLake).

1. Do we all want to camp together on Friday night, even if it's not the optimal spot to base the trip from? The up side is we all stay together and there's no group that has to drive the extra 1.5-2.5 hours Saturday morning just to get to the starting point! The down side is that we either have a longer Saturday or we don't return to the Friday night site and we lug all the camping gear around on Saturday.

2. If we all stay together Friday do we make that a two night stay, so that we can leave gear, or do we pack up and carry everything all day Saturday to a new campsite?


I personally like the idea of leaving all the heavy gear behind. That seems to only be possible if we have two campsites on Friday night, and the CrownPoint campers drive to the others Saturday AM (really early) to leave gear and return in the evening to setup. A trade-off I'm willing to make. I suppose when we make reservation for Saturday night we could ask if we could drop some gear when we pass by earlier in the day. Couldn't hurt to ask.

That said, I'm OK with carrying all my gear around Saturday. Anne will be a little less comfortable, and the bike will be heavier. On the plus side we will all be heavier and together the entire time. It also makes logistics a little easier since we don't have too get all the way back to a base camp. I can go either way without much trouble. If anybody has any strong opinions please let us know so that we can pick one and move forward.

[dmf109]

Ok, let's see. If we do Crown Point, NY on Friday night, and I leave Londonderry at 5:00, then the WORSE case is that myself and DJ-TROOPER arrive at 9:30- not too bad. Not too good, but oh well. I say we go with it. I can leave earlier than that, but again, it's the worse case. I'm thinking this will allow us to start a bit later on Saturday than the last ride, correct? I'd like to have a good hour AFTER sunrise to collect myself before we hit the road in the morning.

So, I think that answers everything. We should now be able to get the final trip generated.

Dan

PS: jackpiner57 - glad you can make it!

[VtSTROM-K5]

redant, I say we lug gear on sat. and If you need to I can take a little of the load on my bike to make the S.O. more comfortable > Hi Anne . :)
If You let me know by saturday nite who will be in attendance it would help.
Not that the place's will be packed or anything but I will be where everyour going to be on friday nite with a fire going and Hot dogs & beverages on site if you want .
:lol: :lol:

[jackpiner57]

Or you can camp here
www.dec.state.ny.us/website/do/camping/campgrounds/crownpoint.html
Which is Right across the bridge .Senic Beauty that it is........and for Saturday we can Set up at the this one in the morning and return sat nite if you want : www.dec.state.ny.us/website/do/camping/campgrounds/cranberry.html

let me know and I Will make reservations :D


That works for me! :D

[jackpiner57]

"with a fire going and Hot dogs & beverages on site if you want".
:lol: :lol:

Please be more specific here. :?

[VtSTROM-K5]

TO ALL I SAY , ALE AND SAUSAGES. HERE HERE!!

[RedAnt]

So if I understand this correctly we're all going to stay Friday night at some campground on Crown Point. We'll then all be together by Friday 10pm.

We'll pack up our gear Saturday morning and head off on our journey and breakfast.

I'm going to take a look at the "take2" trip and see how much of that we can do starting at Crown Point. I'll post again a little later. I'm guessing that our target time should be less than 7hrs? I doubt we're going to get below 6hrs because we're starting so far south and east.

[dmf109]

So if I understand this correctly we're all going to stay Friday night at some campground on Crown Point. We'll then all be together by Friday 10pm.

We'll pack up our gear Saturday morning and head off on our journey and breakfast.

I'm going to take a look at the "take2" trip and see how much of that we can do starting at Crown Point. I'll post again a little later. I'm guessing that our target time should be less than 7hrs? I doubt we're going to get below 6hrs because we're starting so far south and east.

That sounds like the plan. Can't wait.

[jackpiner57]

TO ALL I SAY , ALE AND SAUSAGES. HERE HERE!!

Oh, Oh, me first! Would this be classified as "adventure dining?"

[jackpiner57]

Ok, let's see. If we do Crown Point, NY on Friday night, and I leave Londonderry at 5:00, then the WORSE case is that myself and DJ-TROOPER arrive at 9:30- not too bad. Not too good, but oh well. I say we go with it. I can leave earlier than that, but again, it's the worse case. I'm thinking this will allow us to start a bit later on Saturday than the last ride, correct? I'd like to have a good hour AFTER sunrise to collect myself before we hit the road in the morning.

So, I think that answers everything. We should now be able to get the final trip generated.

Dan

PS: jackpiner57 - glad you can make it!



Thanks Dan, looking forward to it. :D


VtSTROM-K5, Are we travelling different roads than the last ride? :?:

[RedAnt]

OK this should be pretty close.

I used the old take2 VtSTROM-K5 suggested Saturday route (loosing the xrochester Tug Hill Plateau), but starting from CrownPoint. The time from CrownPoint to StarLake is 7hrs 11min.

On Sunday I added a few minutes to take us on some new roads that look really nice on our way to Ausible, making the time to Ausible from StarLake 2hrs 35min. I also played a little with the last part of the Sunday trip, mostly in NH.

Here's the new map.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://www.sr.unh.edu/~rea/strom_sep16/sep16_take4.kml

I found out one more piece of information. When questioning my friend Tucker about these plans he said he intended to find a motel near our campsites and travel back there after sitting around our fire. I've located two such hotels, close to these areas, so I don't see any real problem with that. Once we reserve our campsites I'll have him do likewise.

So I believe that makes 6 of us camping for both nights.

RedAnt
& Anne
jackpiner57
VtSTROM-K5
dmf109
DJ-TROOPER

[RedAnt]

Are we travelling different roads than the last ride?

If I have the last trips route correct there are a few roads that you road last time, but most of them are new. The duplicate roads are from Tupper Lake to Crown Point, everything else is new. The Tupper Lake area seems virtually impossible to avoid. I believe you'll be doing that section in the opposite direction this time, if that helps any.

What I have for the 6/24/06 trip is:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://www.sr.unh.edu/~rea/stromtrooper/strom_adirondack_20060624.gdb.kml

[RedAnt]

Some of our trips roads are on this site: http://www.motorcycleroads.us

[VtSTROM-K5]

OK !! were 6 campers For 2 nights . :D

Tom, the rt3 trip segment from Tupper to Seaveys corners will look different due to the fact that we will be traveling at only 60 - 65 mph :wink:

[jackpiner57]

OK !! were 6 campers For 2 nights . :D

Tom, the rt3 trip segment from Tupper to Seaveys corners will look different due to the fact that we will be traveling at only 60 - 65 mph :wink:

Well I didn't want to lose you guys! :oops:

[jackpiner57]

May I make a suggestion?

Crown Point to Minerva, then Minerva to Tupper Lake. Googlemaps will show the route. It goes through Long Lake. Just thought it would be a nice change from the last trip. I have done some of it and it's nice.

It takes you past Penfield Pond, Eagle Lake, Paradox Lake, Schroon Lake and others.


EDIT: This would add 1/2 hr. to the trip.

[VtSTROM-K5]

tom, thats a great road & That 1/2 hr can be shaved in a couple places . Also I might add that we were all impressed with your Previous time management skill last trip to the ADK's :lol:

[jackpiner57]

tom, thats a great road & That 1/2 hr can be shaved in a couple places . Also I might add that we were all impressed with your Previous time management skill last trip to the ADK's :lol:

OK, that's it. You will be eating at least SOME DL650 roost this trip. :twisted:

[VtSTROM-K5]

:shock: WHAT? :twisted:

Hey group look at the map and tell me whats your take on the following to get over to tupper :in Port Henry pick up Tarbell hill rd> to Windy Hill / W.Moriah rd > over to Ensign Pond rd to Rt 9> south on 9 to Blue ridge rd (C.R.2) over to 28N :? I think this would be a good road route with out going too far south to head back north , your thoughts everyone?? :?

[RedAnt]

:shock: WHAT? :twisted:

Hey group look at the map and tell me whats your take on the following to get over to tupper :in Port Henry pick up Tarbell hill rd> to Windy Hill / W.Moriah rd > over to Ensign Pond rd to Rt 9> south on 9 to Blue ridge rd (C.R.2) over to 28N :? I think this would be a good road route with out going too far south to head back north , your thoughts everyone?? :?

I don't see a problem with changing to go down near Long Lake again. I also thing the smaller direct roads might help. I'll run the numbers both ways in the morning and spit out another map.

I'm a little worried about time. Adding 30 minutes puts us just shy of 8 hours drive time. I kind of liked it when VtSTROM-K5 had us down to 5hrs 30min, with plenty of time to smell the roses. I was thinking the 7+ hrs was kind of long. In one of my earlier loops I had some shortcuts that could get us back if we were running late. In the current Saturday plan we only have a one place I can see us making up any time, that is taking a direct route from 1k isle bridge to the Star Lake campsite. I guess on the plus side we'll know we're running late by the time we get to 1k isle bridge area.

The NH contingent should note that the Sunday ride is on the long side for us too. There are some shortcuts but it means 89 & 93 nearly all the way, which is kind of the trip North too.

I'm find with the longer day. Just pointing out that it's going to be long. :roll:

[jackpiner57]

:shock: WHAT? :twisted:

Hey group look at the map and tell me whats your take on the following to get over to tupper :in Port Henry pick up Tarbell hill rd> to Windy Hill / W.Moriah rd > over to Ensign Pond rd to Rt 9> south on 9 to Blue ridge rd (C.R.2) over to 28N :? I think this would be a good road route with out going too far south to head back north , your thoughts everyone?? :?

That's definitely a shorter/quicker route. If we're pressed for time I'd say it's pretty good. I have travelled the CR2 (Blue Ridge Rd.) part of that before (about 15 yrs. ago) and from what I remember it was nice.

[jackpiner57]

I kind of liked it when VtSTROM-K5 had us down to 5hrs 30min, with plenty of time to smell the roses.

Good point RedAnt.

If we leave the Crown Point area at 9:00am, it will give us 9 hrs. to be at the Star Lake Camp by 6:00pm. It's dark at 7:30 now.

If we whittled the ride time down to 7 hrs. it would give us 2 hrs. to smell roses. Is that enough time? Or should we do more whittling?

[jackpiner57]

We could go from TI bridge to A-Bay, then to Governeur and then over to Star Lake.

That should cut out quite a bit of time.

[RedAnt]

:shock: WHAT? :twisted:

Hey group look at the map and tell me whats your take on the following to get over to tupper :in Port Henry pick up Tarbell hill rd> to Windy Hill / W.Moriah rd > over to Ensign Pond rd to Rt 9> south on 9 to Blue ridge rd (C.R.2) over to 28N :? I think this would be a good road route with out going too far south to head back north , your thoughts everyone?? :?

This turns out to only add about 15-20 minutes to the trip. Sounds like a winner to me. That makes the only section that we backtrack on the section from Sevey to Tupper Lake. The new trip total is 322mi (7hrs 26min).

Just to test out a couple of shortcuts I did the following. The trip as shown on "take4" is 108mi (2hrs 31min) from 1k isle bridge to Star Lake.

(shortcut a) If we drove strait down 81 and by Natural Bridge we its 80mi (1hr 44min).

(shortcut b) The direct route on my mapping software (through Gouverneur) is 67mi (1hr 37min).

So my gut feeling that we really don't have any shortcut is kind of correct. It looks like a great trip, I just don't think we can make it much shorter. We also don't have a lot of choices to trim time along the way if we ever get behind. I'm OK with that.

I don't know the area we'll be riding in, but it seems to me that the worst case is that the last hour or so of the trip is in the dark. That means the section by Fort Drum would be at night. I know that when we drove in NH some of the group worried about driving after dark, are any of those people on this trip?

I'll put up "take5", and I think we're getting down to the end of this, since there's not a lot left that can change. Could anybody use the route in another format? I think I can translate to almost anything. If you would like say a Delorme version of our route, let me know. It might be best if you gave me a sample so that I can confirm what I'm creating is the same format.

[RedAnt]

Here's "take5" of the trip.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://www.sr.unh.edu/~rea/strom_sep16/sep16_take5.kml

Saturday 322mi (7hrs 26min).

The Friday and Sunday times differ for everybody but:

Friday 171mi (3hrs 35min) from Londonderry (+30min from Dover)

Sunday 386mi (8hrs 32min) to Dover (+20min to Londonderry via Rt28 shorter options exist too using 89&93)

[dmf109]

Looks good. So we camp Friday night at Crowne Point, correct? Where are we camping Saturday night?

[RedAnt]

Looks good. So we camp Friday night at Crowne Point, correct? Where are we camping Saturday night?

Someplace near Star Lake. My software doesn't have a campground close, but I believe VtSTROM-K5 has some idea of a place?

[jackpiner57]

We are doing the A-Bay loop counterclockwise right? :?:

Sat. night - Cranberry lake or "unauthorized camp"? :?: :D

http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/do/camping/campgrounds/cranberry.html

[RedAnt]

We are doing the A-Bay loop counterclockwise right?

Saturday is counter clockwise.

[jackpiner57]

BUMP for EDITING


We are doing the A-Bay loop counterclockwise right? :?:

Sat. night - Cranberry lake or "unauthorized camp"? :?: :D

http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/do/camping/campgrounds/cranberry.html

[jackpiner57]

I vote for Cranberry Lake campground.


Or do we want to camp out near the thousand Islands?

http://camping.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=camping&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.adirondacks.com%2Fcamping.html

[RedAnt]

Sat. night - Cranberry lake or "unauthorized camp"? :?: :D

http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/do/camping/campgrounds/cranberry.html[/quote]

Cranberry Lake looks like the right location to me. We got to Star Lake on take2 when VtSTROM-K5 liked that area. I figure he has an idea where he wants to camp around there? I was leaving that to him, but the one you found certainly fits the bill. I figure we wait until he checks in. This board has been having some troubles the past two days. He might have been unlucky on the times he checked it.

My guess is we just need VtSTROM-K5 to say, that take5 looks good. Move the camping spot to X and we are final! Then we can book our sites and do nothing for a few days.

[VtSTROM-K5]

Hi guys & Gals , Well I was finaly able to log on.:x take 5 is a go as far
as I 'm concerned. W e don't need reservations for theCrown Point I was at the Dealers today to order a new rear tire & after I went toCrown Point Campground, They are a ghost town after labor day . I will get there friday after noon and get us 2 sites like we did in Bath ( only near the water ? )
2 sites 1 nite 35.00 :)
for saturday nite : Cranberry Lake is pretty much the same .SO ...........
I think we are a GO .. and I believe everyone on this trip will be ok with a possible hour or so of after sundown riding if it comes to that.
In case your reading these Stromette , 7,000 miles in 4 months , :wink:

[RedAnt]

Cool. I'll change the Saturday night campsite to Cranberry Lake and get a final route out. Glad that we're ok for a little evening drive, as it's quite possible if we take our time.

All we need now is some good weather. :!:

[RedAnt]

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://www.sr.unh.edu/~rea/strom_sep16/sep16_route.kml

Friday total 171 (3hrs 34min) from Londonderry (+20min from Dover)
Saturday total 338mi (7hrs 49min).
Sunday 371 (8hrs 17min) for longest travelers

Just because we're counting. I've had my Strom for 39days and I've got 2313 miles on the odo. I guess I can't claim the first 4 miles as mine though, apparently the dealer must put a couple on it by NH law.

[VtSTROM-K5]

I'm counting on His weather connection, the 1 & only Jackpiner57 to once again come thru for us as he did for the june ADK run...... :D :roll:

[jackpiner57]

OK Jack,

It's not going to rain during this ride!

(Somewhere in the world)


We wouldn't need reservations for any of these State Park campgrounds. We could just ride until we felt like stopping to camp. That way we could have time to set up camp and wouldn't be riding in the dark. :D

http://nysparks.state.ny.us/regions/thousandis.asp

Scroll down to map.

[dmf109]

I'm counting on His weather connection, the 1 & only Jackpiner57 to once again come thru for us as he did for the june ADK run...... :D :roll:

Looks good so far: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?CityName=Kingston&state=NY&site=ALY

[VtSTROM-K5]

[size=6][color=red]OK Jack


We wouldn't need reservations for any of these State Park campgrounds. We could just ride until we felt like stopping to camp. That way we could have time to set up camp and wouldn't be riding in the dark. :D

http://nysparks.state.ny.us/regions/thousandis.asp
Nystate parks campsites are different they require reservations of 2 nights and are administered by a third party, Similar to Ticketron . This involves an additional charge incurred. Crown point that & Cranberry lake are administered by the DEC and dont require reservations after labor day.

I know But we need to ballance out for the return trip on sunday as some would end up w/10 - 12hrs ride . that being said ; I know of several non-state park camping areas ( read Primative camping sites ) should we feel that were stretching it too far. :o
But I believe the final take will be enjoyable & not unreasonably long. see you all friday. :D

[jackpiner57]

Nystate parks campsites are different they require reservations of 2 nights and are administered by a third party, Similar to Ticketron . This involves an additional charge incurred. Crown point that & Cranberry lake are administered by the DEC and dont require reservations after labor day.

OOPS! Sorry, I should have done a little more researching. :oops: Cranberry sounds good to me! :D

And thank God it has an amphitheater! :wink:

[VtSTROM-K5]

No problem . An amphiththeatre is that where they show fishing movies????

[jackpiner57]

No problem . An amphiththeatre is that where they show fishing movies????


No, you knucklehead. It's where they show stag films. You know, hunting movies! :wink:

[VtSTROM-K5]

OH! MYBAD :(

[RedAnt]

No problem . An amphiththeatre is that where they show fishing movies????


No, you knucklehead. It's where they show stag films. You know, hunting movies! :wink:

I don't know, we're passing awfully close to the Canadian Ballet. Maybe next trip. :shock:

[jackpiner57]

I don't know, we're passing awfully close to the Canadian Ballet. Maybe next trip. :shock:


:lol: :lol:

[VtSTROM-K5]

OOOHHH The " Balet" that would be a great idea
the "BREWERY & BALET " Tour of 2007? :roll: :twisted:

[jackpiner57]

OOOHHH The " Balet" that would be a great idea
the "BREWERY & BALET " Tour of 2007? :roll: :twisted:

I think you're onto something here Jack.

I doubt we would have enough time to do Canada though.

If we bring some tutu's, (sorry, I only have the one that I forgot to return to the rental place) after a few brews, who knows what could happen? :oops:

Do you think anybody else has done it? (I'm gonna check the ADV riders forum.) Maybe we'd be the first, and the photo's would prove it!

As long as I'm not doing peeeroooetts in my sleeping bag, I'll be ready to ride in the morning.

UUUGGGGHHH. I'm goin ridin'.

[VtSTROM-K5]

Slightly off topic but I Need to check on photo link so ill try here first :?
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m83/VtSTROM-K5/Stromrider1007.jpg
Full frontal Beauty
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m83/VtSTROM-K5/Stromrider1005-1.jpg
On the "Penny tech Pit Stand for 6000 mi Oil & Filter change

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m83/VtSTROM-K5/Stromrider1008.jpg
My Penny Tech Camera Mount Made from the top mount of my Radio Shack Tripod, 1ea 4-1/2" 1/4-20 bolt , 1ea 2 1/4" dia. X 1/2" thick Nylon cutting board piece cut w/ Hole saw , Mongoose BMX Handle bar Stem ,w/ tapered End Cut square.
:lol: :lol: :lol: YEAH!!!WOOHOO

[VtSTROM-K5]

ok Now how the H311 Do I link to them in thegeneral forum?? :evil: :evil:

[dmf109]

Jack- why post to the general forum; this here's where the action's at! 8) BTW, nice camera mount.

Ok, so just 5 more days until the fun begins. I went and washed my 'Strom (even used a small brush to get all the nooks). Then I lubed the chain, changed the oil and checked the tires (both about 3-4 psi low). So, I AM READY!!!

I PM'd everyone from the last ride that haven't posted. None can make it that aren't already accounted for (still waiting on Pink). snowcommuter - you've been quiet since you got your bike, enjoying it? Are you able to make this ride?

Let me know everyone if I should bring anything to eat. I make a mean egg & cheese omlette that resembles scrambled eggs with cheese!

dmf109

[GreatWhiteHunter]

Holy cow! When you guys plan a ride, you really plan a ride.

Redant sent me a msg about this thread and I'd like to join in if that's alright. After reading through your thread I would like to meet you in Tupper Lake Saturday morning and at the very least do that loop with you guys. I may have a bud along that also owns a Strom. He lives in Tupper Lake and that's where I'll be staying Friday night.

I know the area to the west of Tupper along your route fairly well and would love to offer any insight that I have on the area. I may not be a great source of history or even a very interesting addition to your group but it sounds like I'll fit right in. ;-)

[jackpiner57]

How did you post them? Photobucket or something similar?

I don't know how you would link them, but you could just post them in Gen. forum? Then you could delete or leave them here?

Glad to see your bike is ready. Or, are you waiting on a tire?

I hope I get my new rear tire by Thurs. so I can mount & balance it.

I think I need a new chain too. It stretched a lot over the last couple of rides. That usually happens when it's at the end of it's life. :( I don't want it to break, cuz that would be really bad. :( I'm going to check the sprockets tomorrow too. I'll have to blue or red label them in order to get them on in time for the ride. :shock:

I'll also have to get a chain rivet tool. I don't want a master link.

[jackpiner57]

Holy cow! When you guys plan a ride, you really plan a ride.

Redant sent me a msg about this thread and I'd like to join in if that's alright. After reading through your thread I would like to meet you in Tupper Lake Saturday morning and at the very least do that loop with you guys. I may have a bud along that also owns a Strom. He lives in Tupper Lake and that's where I'll be staying Friday night.

I know the area to the west of Tupper along your route fairly well and would love to offer any insight that I have on the area. I may not be a great source of history or even a very interesting addition to your group but it sounds like I'll fit right in. ;-)

Welcome GWH, Glad to have you!

[VtSTROM-K5]

GWH, WE welcome all . if your Cell phone capable we can give a fairly accurate ETA to Tupper.
:)
tom, to answer the 1st question : yes. Photobucket : 2nd answer
No The tires will go on, on the 30th. as I plan on getting the TBS and having the dealer do that as I don't have the tools OR the time at present .but next tbs will be up to me... :?
This just in :
6-10 Day Forecast for Tupper Lake

On The Spot Weather

15 Friday: Partly CloudyHigh 71°F Low 52°F Precip. 20 %

16 Saturday Partly Cloudy High 68°F Low 51°F Precip. 20 %

17 Sunday Partly Cloudy High 65°F Low 48°F Precip. 20 %

:D :D :D

[RedAnt]

I like the idea of giving GWH a call, do we know if there's cell access around the area?
:idea: If we don't know the cell coverage we should have a backup. I suggested in a PM that if we had a breakfast destination (say <90min from our campsite) that would be a good place to meet. Preferably a REALLY GOOD breakfast!

I also have been emailing snowcommuter and he's probably not going to make it. He has some other plans on nearby weekends and doesn't want to push the family time too far out of the picture. I'm still secretly hoping his other plans get canceled and he can come with us. :twisted:

In a moment of weakness early Sunday morning I ordered a new jacket (rushed shipping too). Here's hoping it fits, otherwise Anne will have a really nice new jacket for our trip. :oops:

It's getting closer...

Question for dmf109: Do we want to try to drive up together, or just meet at the campsite. I think Anne, Tucker and I could leave our area as early as 2pm. If we waited a couple of hours we could meet up with the two of you? My preference would be to just head up and spend the time looking around, maybe taking more secondary roads. Mainly because making a meeting time always puts more stress on everybody. But if you wanted the company and a guide, we could wait.

[dmf109]

RedAnt- it'd be great if we could ride there with you (we're both GPS-less). We're set to leave Manchester at 5:00. Does that work for you? Or we could meet up later on in the ride at a place we all know how to get to.

In a moment of weakness early Sunday morning I ordered a new jacket (rushed shipping too). Here's hoping it fits, otherwise Anne will have a really nice new jacket for our trip. I splurged on a pair of very nice cold weather gloves. My next purchase will be a pair of gators. So, I plan on being ready for anything!

[RedAnt]

RedAnt- it'd be great if we could ride there with you (we're both GPS-less). We're set to leave Manchester at 5:00. Does that work for you? Or we could meet up later on in the ride at a place we all know how to get to.

In a moment of weakness early Sunday morning I ordered a new jacket (rushed shipping too). Here's hoping it fits, otherwise Anne will have a really nice new jacket for our trip. I splurged on a pair of very nice cold weather gloves. My next purchase will be a pair of gators. So, I plan on being ready for anything!

OK, any ideas of a meeting place in Manchester? We could meet for dinner, but I would rather drive a ways and stop someplace a couple of hours into the drive. Looking at the map, I would say we should meet at the Dunkin Donuts on route 3A (just off Rt93 exit 10 (east side of 93 about .25mi from ramp, past Target). I've never been there, but that's what the map shows. Should we say 5pm?

[dmf109]

Sounds good. D&D off exit 10 at 5:30. Let's go with that. I'll let you know if anything changes.

Also, I PMd you my number.

[VtSTROM-K5]

Redant , I know that the Crown Point area has cell service.
So if we called him just prior to roll out we could all meet @
the Lumberjack inn on rt 3 that would put us approx 2 hours out .. just a suggestion.jack :)

[jackpiner57]

Well I measured my chain today and it's over the service limit.

The CS sprocket looks like this. A bit hooked.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i291/jackpiner57/2006_0911adironacksmap0011.jpg

I hate to put a new chain on worn sprockets.

I can get a new chain put on at Land-Air in Burlington on Fri. morn. but can't get the new sprockets until next week.

[VtSTROM-K5]

Tom , How about Keene or Lebanon?? :?

[GreatWhiteHunter]

Ok, I'm going to throw a kink in this chain and suggest an alternate route for Saturday morning, same final destination just a different start.

Head through Keene valley and you'll find exactly what you're looking for. Excellent breakfast and fantastic roads.

So it would go something like this...

At the center of Port Henry, there is a circle and you'll want to go left (up the hill) this is Broad Street and turns into Tarber Hill Road. Past the cemetary, bear right on Dugway Road and go straight on Witherbee Rd. to a left on Tracy Rd. When this ends, take 73 North. This will bring you through Keene Valley and eventually to Rt 3 just North of Saranac Lake.

Here's the good part. The breakfast place you'll find on the east side of Keene is known the world over for their pies, they send them just about everywhere. Don't want pie in the morning? Well they also have the most fantastic homemade strawberry jam you've ever tasted. It's called The Noon Mark Diner and it's on Rt. 73. You should be able to find them on the web. They'll be on the right side of the road just as you come into Keene Valley.

[GreatWhiteHunter]

Here's the website for the Noon Mark Diner.

http://www.noonmarkdiner.com/index.html

This would be a lot closer than the Lumberjack (in Tupper). I'd be tempted to meet you there if you go that route.

[VtSTROM-K5]

tom I P.M.d you....

[dmf109]

GreatWhiteHunter- I have no problem with your idea. Also, the breakast menu looks good. I vote yes. RedAnt- could you plug this into your GPS and see what it does to the trip?

Thanks

[jackpiner57]

Jack and Dan I PM'd you both.

[RedAnt]

At the center of Port Henry, there is a circle and you'll want to go left (up the hill) this is Broad Street and turns into Tarber Hill Road. Past the cemetary, bear right on Dugway Road and go straight on Witherbee Rd. to a left on Tracy Rd. When this ends, take 73 North. This will bring you through Keene Valley and eventually to Rt 3 just North of Saranac Lake.


That route is really close to an earlier "take4" route. With one deviation.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://www.sr.unh.edu/~rea/strom_sep16/sep16_take4.kml

We ended up going futher south by request of jackpiner57, if he's ok with the change back, I'm find with it.

Should I make up a new map and see how it works out with the new stopping points and the diner?

BTW anybody with Garmin MapSource (jackpiner57 this means you) can download the route and send it to their gps by using this link:

http://www.sr.unh.edu/~rea/strom_sep16/sep16_route.gdb

If you do it from the machine with MapSource it should just open.

[jackpiner57]

Hey guys,

Land-Air should have both of my sprockets in on Friday. They already have the chain.

Going with the OEM front and a 46 tooth Sunstar rear. The OEM rear sprockets are backordered. :?

Thanks Jack and Dan for your help! :D

[dmf109]

Hey guys,

Land-Air should have both of my sprockets in on Friday. They already have the chain.

Going with the OEM front and a 46 tooth Sunstar rear. The OEM rear sprockets are backordered. :?

Thanks Jack and Dan for your help! :D

Excellent!

[RedAnt]

Making the changes back North again doesn't affect us too much.

The "route" time for Saturday was 7hrs 49min. Making the changes suggested by GreatWhiteHunter ("route2") changes us to 7hrs 38min, with a known breakfast stop around 32miles (43min) after breaking camp.

I have a new version of the map "route2":
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://www.sr.unh.edu/~rea/strom_sep16/sep16_route2.kml

Oh ya, I forgot to mention that our new Dunkin Donuts meeting place Rt93 exit12 is on the map now, as well as an approximate location for the Noon Mark Diner.


Here's a weather link for Star Lake (still looking good):
http://www.weather.com/outlook/homeandgarden/home/weekend/USNY1400?from=36hr_topnav_home


Again all of these maps are available from the URL: http://www.sr.unh.edu/~rea/strom_sep16/

[jackpiner57]

Do we really want to change the route for breakfast? The Miss Port Henry Diner got a good write up and it's on our planned route.

[dmf109]

Do we really want to change the route for breakfast? The Miss Port Henry Diner got a good write up and it's on our planned route.

I think that was done so that we could more easily meet up with GWH.

[VtSTROM-K5]

I think port henery for breakfast is ther way to go here JMO

[RedAnt]

Do we really want to change the route for breakfast? The Miss Port Henry Diner got a good write up and it's on our planned route.

It didn't matter to me which way we went. I guess must have missed the Miss Port Henry Diner comment. Where is that? I would like to add it to the "route".

I wasn't exactly sure why we went South other than you wanted too. I figured since we had a suggested road that was known to be good we should consider it. I was leaving that decision up to you. Sounds like you prefer the Southern route, and we have a second, so I would vote we keep the original Southern "route".

I would like to add the Miss Port Henry Diner. I'll look back over the thread but f it wasn't in the thread can somebody locate it for me?

[jackpiner57]

I just called and found out the Miss Port Henry Diner is closed.


This place was recommended by a local girl:

Swan's Brookside Cafe
15 Dock Lane
Port Henry Beach
518-546-3058

I called, and they have a good breakfast menu. They open at 7:00 am.

[jackpiner57]

I wasn't exactly sure why we went South other than you wanted too. I figured since we had a suggested road that was known to be good we should consider it. I was leaving that decision up to you. Sounds like you prefer the Southern route, and we have a second, so I would vote we keep the original Southern "route".

I think that some of us that did the last ADK ride have done the Saranac,Placid, Tupper route many times. It is also rather "Highway like". The only reason for suggesting the southern route was to ride some new territory and hopefully smaller more interesting roads.

[RedAnt]

I wasn't exactly sure why we went South other than you wanted too. I figured since we had a suggested road that was known to be good we should consider it. I was leaving that decision up to you. Sounds like you prefer the Southern route, and we have a second, so I would vote we keep the original Southern "route".

I think that some of us that did the last ADK ride have done the Saranac,Placid, Tupper route many times. It is also rather "Highway like". The only reason for suggesting the southern route was to ride some new territory and hopefully smaller more interesting roads.

Since I don't know the roads in the area I'm certainly looking to you guys for guidance for exactly this reason. I don't really want to pick highway like roads. That's why I wanted to give the GWH route fair play, since he makes it sound nice, and it looked nice on the map upto Saranac. Seems like it's hard to ride this area without hitting the three roads leading into Tupper Lake.

Since there are two of you agreeing we should go South, I certainly vote that way too. I'll put the new Swan's Brookside Cafe on the map.

[b]GreatWhiteHunter[\b] now that we know our breakfast destination would you like to meet us there or should we just call you when we're leaving the diner?

[VtSTROM-K5]

Jackpiner57 what time do you expect to leave land air? & Are you going to head for C.P.Campground right from there???

[jackpiner57]

Jackpiner57 what time do you expect to leave land air? & Are you going to head for C.P.Campground right from there???

The sprockets are supposed to be there by noontime. I can have the chain put on earlier though. Did you want me to put them on at your place? I would be there at about 2:00. Or did you want to leave earlier?

[RedAnt]

I would have made this one "route" but figured people might want to actually look at the old one so see the change.

:idea: This version uses the Southern route to Tupper Lake but also takes the good twisty road suggested by GWH. It adds about 5 minutes, and the road comes highly recommended.

New trip is 344mi (7hrs 54min) including the breakfast stop. As much as I hate to say it I believe we should get an early start Saturday morning. And I love my sleep. :roll:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://www.sr.unh.edu/~rea/strom_sep16/sep16_route3.kml

[GreatWhiteHunter]

What time will you be in Port Henry? My bud and I might want to try to meet you for breakfast.

He also tells me that the southern route you all are planning is fantastic riding. According to him it's a great way to go.

Don't worry about us, we'll catch up with you guys somewhere, we know the roads you'll be on, just need to know when you'll be where.

[RedAnt]

Since it seems like we're done, I did a little cleaning up. I also put on Gas stops for Saturday and Sunday.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://www.sr.unh.edu/~rea/strom_sep16/sep16_final.kml

Saturday after cleaning is 338mi (7hrs 46min). All maps and Garmin .gdb (and google .kml) files are available at http://www.sr.unh.edu/~rea/strom_sep16/

:arrow: I'm going to see how this stuff prints out tomorrow and I'll make Saturday directions sheets for everybody, maps too if viable.

My best guess as to when we'll be eating breakfast Saturday morning? 7:30am, if we shoot for 7am. :evil: Did I mention I hate mornings. Anybody else care to make a guess?

[dmf109]

RedAnt My best guess as to when we'll be eating breakfast Saturday morning? 7:30am, if we shoot for 7am. Evil or Very Mad Did I mention I hate mornings. Anybody else care to make a guess?.

I'd rather leave camp at 8:00. Reasons:
A.) Some of us are getting in late.
B.) Going to be damn cold in the morning.
C.) Riding at night sucks second place only to riding in the cold.
D.) Hmmm...no 'D', except I really don't want to have to break camp at 7am.

Anyone else agree?

[RedAnt]

RedAnt My best guess as to when we'll be eating breakfast Saturday morning? 7:30am, if we shoot for 7am. Evil or Very Mad Did I mention I hate mornings. Anybody else care to make a guess?.

I'd rather leave camp at 8:00. Reasons:
A.) Some of us are getting in late.
B.) Going to be damn cold in the morning.
C.) Riding at night sucks second place only to riding in the cold.
D.) Hmmm...no 'D', except I really don't want to have to break camp at 7am.

Anyone else agree?

In spirit I'm certainly on your side. But last time I know the group got an early start. This time I'm assuming the VT guys are expecting the same?

If people want to start early I would support that, just because of all the driving time, almost 8hrs. Leaving at 8am puts us at the evening stop at 4pm, assuming correct time estimates AND that we NEVER stop. Adding in some low stop time estimates: (45min X 3 for meals, 15min X 3 for gas stops, and say 1.5hrs in photo stops or rose smelling) totals to another 4.5 hrs or 8:30pm.

That 8:30pm is about the time we'll be getting into Crown Point on Friday too, maybe 9:30 with a nice warm diner someplace. I would love to have time around the fire each night too, but I'm thinking we're likely to turn in early.

I should also state that my friend Tucker drove an hour on Monday night in the low 40's and now questions his available gear for this trip. There is a good chance that he will bail on this trip, which doesn't affect us too much as he was going to get a hotel room (also partly due to not having all the right gear). His feeling is that he might not be ready for this as his first trip. He may be correct.

I think we all should plan to carry us much WARM gear as possible, given our limited space. I know what to take backpacking, but I'm still working out what's needed for bike touring. The last trip showed I was fairly close, but I'll have a few more things this time, like: gators, waterproof gloves, an extra layer. Last time I was very happy to have brought the cheap Walmat PVC coated nylon rain-suit, warm gloves, and a neck wrap.

[dmf109]

I got home last night at 10:30. It was COLD. Fog was developing on the roads. I was mostly fine from the waste up. It was just my legs and ankles that were cold. So, I plan on packing some thick fleece pants and rain pants. I figure wearing both will be good, oh and gaiters too. One thing that disappointed me was that the new cold weather gloves I just bought didn't help my finger tips too well. Other things I'm bringing: warm socks and a fleece vest to wear under my jacket (with the liner in), and lastly I may buy a baclava (sp?) for my face.

Also, I humbly bow to the interest of the group in leaving early. I guess 7am wasn't too bad last trip.

[RedAnt]

I got home last night at 10:30. It was COLD. Fog was developing on the roads. I was mostly fine from the waste up. It was just my legs and ankles that were cold. So, I plan on packing some thick fleece pants and rain pants. I figure wearing both will be good, oh and gaiters too. One thing that disappointed me was that the new cold weather gloves I just bought didn't help my finger tips too well. Other things I'm bringing: warm socks and a fleece vest to wear under my jacket (with the liner in), and lastly I may buy a baclava (sp?) for my face.

Also, I humbly bow to the interest of the group in leaving early. I guess 7am wasn't too bad last trip.

I've considered buying a balaclava too. Might even see what EMS in Concord has if we get there early. I think fleece under raingear is what we'll be waring too. Our leather gloves with thinsulate worked well last time, except for the rain. This time I also have that pair of neoprene gloves for wet weather. I used them Monday night for a 10 mile trip and 42F seemed like the acceptable edge for them (not sure I spent enough time on bike to be certain). I'm hoping the gaiters solve the problem, but multiple socks and tightening pant legs helps a lot as well.

Still not looking like we have anything weather-wise to worry about yet: http://www.weather.com/outlook/homeandgarden/home/weekend/USNY1464?from=yest_topnav_home

I kind of feel the same way about 7am. It's too early, but it didn't seem so bad last time. A lot of times when I'm excited about doing something I don't sleep that well the night before. My guess is this is one of those times, hopefully making it easier to get up at 0-dark:30. If we're lucky those maybe everybody wants to start at 8am! I'm good with that too, it's just that I see the need to support the early folks this time.

[dmf109]

RedAnt: I PMd you about Friday.

[jackpiner57]

I don't know about you guys, but I'll be up by 4:30am and ale farting loudly. If I'm still drunk enough I'll be pulling the poles out of neighboring tents.:twisted:

No, I'll be ready to go whenever everybody is ready. No big deal.


Jack can't make fun of me like at the BMW rally ride this time. Well, at least not because of my sleeping bag and pillow! My sleeping bag was bigger than me (rolled up in a trash bag) last time and I brought my pillow from home. Someone called me a girl. :oops:

I got a new sleeping bag and tent! And I'll use my polarfleece for a pillow like a real man! They both fit into one E21 sidecase or my Cortech tailbag! Compact. I just don't know where I'm going to fit everything else. :?

Everybody bring earplugs! If you don't, you won't even be getting to sleep by 7:00am! Ask Jack why. :wink:

[VtSTROM-K5]

There's no reason to have to start any earlier than 8:00am. We have 2 days to do this. if need be and we're running late and don't want to return to Cranberry sat. nite I know Half a dozen Places to make camp. 8) we travel at our own pace.No Worries :D

Tom, You have the new tent &a new sleeping bag, your kit (& of course a clean set of SKIVVIES) You polar Fleece and EAR PLUGS . that should all fit?!?!?!:roll:


I"ll Bring a bunch Of Plugs. :) You 'll be Happy to have me around @ CRANBERRY LAKE :shock: :?

[jackpiner57]

Tom, You have the new tent &a new sleeping bag, your kit (& of course a clean set of SKIVVIES) You polar Fleece and EAR PLUGS . that should all fit?!?!?!:roll:


I"ll Bring a bunch Of Plugs. :) You 'll be Happy to have me around @ CRANBERRY LAKE :shock: :?


Add to that:

Raingear, insulated pant liner, enough food to fill my tent at Cranberry Lake, clothes for the amphitheater show, Etc. :D

I like bears Jack, please do not scare them away. Or I'll be handing out earplugs to them too.

[dmf109]

Ok everyone, just one more day! I'm very excited about this!

Now for 2 some updates:
* DJ-TROOPER may not make it due to medical reasons. I'll know for sure tomorrow (and nothing serious, more an inconvenience for him).
* My new jacket HAS NOT arrived. But I emailed New Enough about it. Turns out the supplier dropped the ball. New Enough will be shipping another jacket to me tomorrow, over night, no charge to me. Damn, that's what I call service!

Lastly, should I be bringing food, and if so, what?

And thanks for reminding me to bring earplugs! Sleeping beside a running chainsaw ain't easy :lol:

[RedAnt]

It's nice that we're all lazy and on nobodies time schedule! :D
I couldn't have picked a better group, I fit right in. I told my boss the other day the I'm working towards giving it 150% effort, only 140% more and I'll be there!

As I replied to dmf109 in a PM earlier, my friend Tucker has also dropped from our ranks. He's worried that if he doesn't like this trip it may sour him on bike Touring and he wants to give that a fair shot. He's worried that he doesn't have the right bike or equipment to enjoy this trip (he hasn't figured out yet everybody should own a Strom).

dmf109 and I are looking into leaving a little earlier now too, I would say that the best case is we MIGHT be in the area as early as 6pm, worst case we expected to get there around 9:30pm. What is the story on the sprockets? When do you guys expect to be in the Crown Point area on Friday.

On the plus side I did get my new jacket today, and it fits. Seems very nice and warm. I think these things needs some break-in though, I kind of feel starched. :?

I'm looking forward to the trip too. Although on my jacket tests runs this evening I realize that I need to drive the Wee more without the Givi topcase. Naked the bike feels really light and nimble, but I do get cold fast when not wearing clothes. :wink:

[jackpiner57]

What is the story on the sprockets? When do you guys expect to be in the Crown Point area on Friday.

I expect to get the new chain riveted on at the dealer on Fri. morning. The sprockets should arrive at the dealer sometime before 1:00. Then I'm going to Jack's to put the sprockets on. After that we're heading to Crown Point. Should arrive by 5:00.

If sprockets don't arrive, then I'll just run the new chain on the old ones and we'll be at Crown Point earlier.

Glad you guys are coming earlier. We can all have dinner together. :D

[RedAnt]

I expect to get the new chain riveted on at the dealer on Fri. morning. The sprockets should arrive at the dealer sometime before 1:00. Then I'm going to Jack's to put the sprockets on. After that we're heading to Crown Point. Should arrive by 5:00.

If sprockets don't arrive, then I'll just run the new chain on the old ones and we'll be at Crown Point earlier.

Glad you guys are coming earlier. We can all have dinner together. :D

Glad you could get it all just-in-time.

I'm not sure if we'll be there earlier or not. We'll have to wait for a dmf109 post to confirm this.

Looks like the NH faction will see some rain on our Friday drive. Otherwise I believe we're pulling out a good weekend!

[jackpiner57]

just went to warm up bike for an oil change. ran for about 10 sec and then died. tried to stsrt and only sputters. gave it a little throttle and runs on one cyl. rear plug wet. these plugs sre new. going to get another new set of plugs.

[RedAnt]

just went to warm up bike for an oil change. ran for about 10 sec and then died. tried to stsrt and only sputters. gave it a little throttle and runs on one cyl. rear plug wet. these plugs sre new. going to get another new set of plugs.

I carry two on my bike. Just in case it comes to that during the trip. Since my DRZ takes the same plugs I keep plenty on hand. I have 3 or 4 around the garage.

[dmf109]

I still can't get to the front plug! If mine ever went I'd be screwed.

Rotate the radiator up me arse! :evil:

[jackpiner57]

No good . I can't figure out what's wrong. Ignition cutting in and out. Running terrible.


It ran great when I put it away the other day.

Went to start it today and no go.

[jackpiner57]

Not throwing any codes.

[VtSTROM-K5]

Jackpiner57, Did you get the plugs changed? Did that help? :shock:

[jackpiner57]

new plugs. just drained tank and sending unit. found no water. added isopropyl and swished it around in there. going to get some gas.

[RedAnt]

new plugs. just drained tank and sending unit. found no water. added isopropyl and swished it around in there. going to get some gas.

Here's praying that it works!!! :!:

If you had just changed the plugs is it possible that the plug wires either aren't making contact or worse have a break in them? I used to check stuff like that with my timing light. I don't know if it works on bikes but I would think so? On my RX7 it seemed I always had to pinch the plug sockets a little to get a good contact??? Just giving ALL the knowledge that I have, I think I'm empty now. Hope you get it figured out quick AND it's an easy fix.

[RedAnt]

I just heard from dmf109 we're back on the original schedule, so we'll not be getting to the Crown Point area until between 9 and 10pm.

I also heard from snowcommuter he'll not be going and has found out a few things about the 2007 Stroms. I'll explain what I know at the fire pit.

[VtSTROM-K5]

Hello Everyone , Its Pouring rain here. I hope it clears tomorrow . I've a Favor to ask . Thru the last 10 Pages or so I have lost track of how many of us there will be camping :oops: Could we get a show of Hands PLEASE. & thankyou :)

[dmf109]

Hello Everyone , Its Pouring rain here. I hope it clears tomorrow . I've a Favor to ask . Thru the last 10 Pages or so I have lost track of how many of us there will be camping :oops: Could we get a show of Hands PLEASE. & thankyou :)

I believe it's the following:

dmf109
RedAnt
RedAnt's Wife
jackpiner57
DJ-TROOPER
You

I believe that's it.

Hey- got my jacket overnighted!!! Guess what! It doesn't fit!!! They sent me a Medium, vs the Large I ordered. I can barely get my arms through the sleeves! :evil: Time for a drink...

[jackpiner57]

Well I put a couple of gallons in and started it up.

At first, it ran like sh*t, almost like it was running on one cylinder, but I held the throttle at around 2000 rpm's and let it warm up. It sputtered and coughed for a few minutes and then started to run OK.

I don't think I'm out of the woods yet though.

I am letting it cool down completely, and then I'll see how it runs when it's cold.

If this is a fuel/water problem, then it is possible that there was water somewhere within the system that decided to come forth. The gas that I put in was heavily laden with Isopropyl. I did that to clean out the whole system of water. IF THAT'S WHAT THE PROBLEM IS.

I'll see in about an hour or so. :roll:

Gonna go make a really stiff Margarita.

[VtSTROM-K5]

dmf109 , Who did the Jacket come from?? Do you need a jacket for this ride ? I have a Weatherproof You could wear over your Regular M.C. Jacket If you need one. :? Let me know and I'll hook ya up :wink:

Jackpiner57: were you able to get it sorted out ? where are ya gettin the gas from? Did they get their tank filled prior to you gasin up last time? I ask because it mixes all the crap that is in ther tanks up with the fuel And it takes a couple hours to resettle ( I DONTCARE how good they think the pump filters are) :roll:

[RedAnt]

Hello Everyone , Its Pouring rain here. I hope it clears tomorrow . I've a Favor to ask . Thru the last 10 Pages or so I have lost track of how many of us there will be camping :oops: Could we get a show of Hands PLEASE. & thankyou :)

I believe it's the following:

dmf109
RedAnt
RedAnt's Wife
jackpiner57
DJ-TROOPER
You

I believe that's it.


I think that is the correct count for camping. My friend Tucker has bailed (but he had always planned on going to a hotel).

We do have the two NY guys meeting us on Saturday morning along the way. I have both of there numbers and can give them a call when we break camp/eat breakfast. As far as I know they would continue back to Tupper Lake area, where one owns a house, for Saturday night.

[RedAnt]

Sorry to hear about the jacket. Even if you need to take a run to walmart tomorrow you should get a cheap PVC coated nylon 2piece suite. It's going to rain I think for all of our trip to NY. You're going to want something to keep you dry. Those suites are less than $40 at Walmart and worth a lot more tomorrow night. I'll be waring the pants this trip. Last trip I had the hole suite and it worked great all day on Sunday. 8)

I sure hope that [jackpiner57[/b] got that bike trouble licked. I'll be awfully disappointed if we loose you on this trip. :!:

[jackpiner57]

1. I let the bike cool down completely.

2. Started up OK this time.

3. Ran well for about 1 min., then idle dropped to 1100 rpm's while sputtering very slightly for a few minutes.

4. Warmed up and ran well. Revved it up a bunch of times for about 10 min. Idle returned to normal (1350-1400 rpm's)

5. Shut off until tomorrow's test ride.


If test ride goes well, then I will be proceeding as planned. :D

If not, I will not be going on the ride. :(



Observations:

1. Gas cap does not seal properly. Gas leaks out when tank tipped forward. (had it on the ground and lifted the back up.)

2. Top of gas cap is not flush with silver ring around it. The front sticks up a little, creating a gap at the "O" ring seal.

3. It makes sense that water could enter the tank.

[jackpiner57]

I sure hope that [jackpiner57[/b] got that bike trouble licked. I'll be awfully disappointed if we loose you on this trip. :!:

Thanks RedAnt, My fingers are crossed! :)

[VtSTROM-K5]

That w/explain the water getting in . Do you know if the tank has to be sealed for the F.I. to operate properly ( Like cars & trucks do) ??
Maybe you should take it to land-air By truck tomorrow and let them Put it on the dum'puter ( :oops: )

[jackpiner57]

That w/explain the water getting in . Do you know if the tank has to be sealed for the F.I. to operate properly ( Like cars & trucks do) ??
Maybe you should take it to land-air By truck tomorrow and let them Put it on the dum'puter ( :oops: )

Jack, it appears that the fuel is pressurized within the pump itself. That would explain why the bike runs great until the water gets into the FI system.

EDIT:

The tank itself is not pressurized.

There is a bowl at the bottom of the fuel pump that has a filter in it. It is non-pressurized. This is a likely spot for water to accumulate. Then it is sucked up and pressurized and sent to the fuel injectors.

[RedAnt]

I managed to get all our gear into those 3 boxes again!

Glad to hear the bikes running acceptably once again. If you're correct about the gap around the fuel cap, I guess should consider my new tank back a rain cap for the fuel door. That's a lot better than the alternative of thinking of it as sandpaper for the tank paint.

Oddly it looks like just about the time we get to Crown Point Friday night (9-10pm) the rain will stop. We might have to drive the entire time in the rain but if we wait a few minutes once we get there we may not need to setup tents in the rain! The rest of the weekend looks good :D

[VtSTROM-K5]

N.E. Troopers , Tom has the bugs worked out and Will be joining us. :D
I'll meet him in Bristol around 1:30 this afternoon & we will proceed to get the Campsite set up . WEE will have Tom's cell so call if you need us .

:)

jack

[BHazz]

Looks like a great trip.
Have a lot of fun and ride safe everyone!!!
I expect a good trip report.

[dmf109]

BHazz: the trip was great! I just got home (about 7:10). I'll be posting a ride report as soon as I gather all the pics from the others. In the mean time, some stats:

Total mileage (for me, anyway): 920
Total number of V-Stroms: 7 (8, if you count the guy we passed somewhere in NY).
New faces: 3
Wipeouts: 1 (but not serious- DJ-TROOPER locked up his rear to avoid a bus full of orphans and puppies (ok, actually just a bad corner and deep sand, but not too much damage).

Can't wait for the next one!

dmf109

[GreatWhiteHunter]

Glad you guys had a good ride and super happy that I got a chance to meet you all. I'd appologize for my bud in Tupper but that would assume that I didn't already know he was an ass.

JK - I know he's going to see this thread so that was for his benefit.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to ride with one or all of you sometime before the season ends this year.

Oh, I know my bags are big but do they really make my Strom look like a bus? :lol:

[VtSTROM-K5]

( 9:45pm) N.E. Troopers : What a great week end This was:)
As dmf109 said, we met new people we learned the economics of camping after the regular season and we saw some beautiful places. :D
pics will be posted to Dmf tomorrow if possible. thanks everyone!
when do we go again??? :wink: jack

[RedAnt]

Anne and I got back to Dover about 9:30pm and then went to dinner. If felt just like one of our normal touring nights! :roll:

Our door-to-door trip distance was 940.1 miles. I haven't downloaded the GPS stuff yet, but it was running the entire time. We found some really nice roads on the way home. Turned out they had just paved the road we took for the last leg. It was really nice, and the weather turned out to be amazingly warm all evening.

Anne notes that the pillion seat is comfortable for only the first 900 miles, or three days (whichever comes first). I would concur that the stock Wee seat has nearly the same limits for the rider too. :?

Great trip. I'll put up some pictures and the track later tonight.

[VtSTROM-K5]

Good to see everyone had a good time & arrived safely. can't wait to see the ride report & Pics :D

[RedAnt]

OK I dumped the camera and gps.

I didn't get all the trip on the gps, as it turns out it doesn't store that many active logs at one time. I did get most of the trip though. It starts Saturday morning at the first turnoff after breakfast when we met up with the three guys riding the BMW, Connie, and SV.

Here's the link: http://www.sr.unh.edu/~rea/strom_060916/

Note that most of the pictures are available as the <200pixel thumbs, full, or <800pixels. The thumbnail and full sized ones are kind of obvious, but the 800 sized ones can be found in the .thumb800 directory. You can link to them directly in the report. Here's an example image.

http://www.sr.unh.edu/~rea/strom_060916/.thumb800/0916-114142.jpg
800pixel size (http://www.sr.unh.edu/~rea/strom_060916/.thumb800/0916-114142.jpg)

http://www.sr.unh.edu/~rea/strom_060916/.thumb/0916-103734.jpg
200pixel size (http://www.sr.unh.edu/~rea/strom_060916/.thumb/0916-103734.jpg)

Full sized version (not shown) is http://www.sr.unh.edu/~rea/strom_060916/0917-125109.jpg

[jackpiner57]

Had a great time with all of you! Moto Camping is a blast. Got home just as it was getting dark. After splitting with you, Jack and I rode to Milton,VT and then east through Hardwick and down to Marshfield. What a beautiful ride, and a nice way to end the trip. I know Jack had a long ride home from there!

A fall foliage tour sounds like a good ride. But where? Vermont? :D

[GreatWhiteHunter]

A fall foliage tour sounds like a good ride. But where? Vermont? :D

I would definitely make that ride, the whole ride!

[BHazz]

A fall foliage tour sounds like a good ride. But where? Vermont? :D

I would definitely make that ride, the whole ride!

Would a Northern Mass/Berkshires and Green Mountains, VT be any good for a fall foliage tour?

[GreatWhiteHunter]

A fall foliage tour sounds like a good ride. But where? Vermont? :D

I would definitely make that ride, the whole ride!

Would a Northern Mass/Berkshires and Green Mountains, VT be any good for a fall foliage tour?

Does the word "drool" mean anthing?

[BHazz]

From what I can tell. Oct. 7 or Oct 14 weekend seem to be the peak foliage months. This is a fall foliage forcaster: http://www.vtonly.com/forecast.htm

If we do go, I would probaby rent a hotel and at this time of year, the hotels fill up quick.
Sooooo, If y'all going, someone start a new thread for this trip.

VTStrom-K5,
What do you think, this or Maine?

[VtSTROM-K5]

I can't make the Oct. 7th weekend as I have a kayaktrip planned w/son Ryan
but the 14th is good for me . Oh , I almost forgot its the ride not the destination. so we go Berkies- So.VT ........ OK!

[dmf109]

The 14th sounds good. Don't care where, so long as it's good!

[JohnS.]

Got to bouce it off the wife, but the 14th is a possibility for me.

[dmf109]

http://stromtrooper.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8538

Only took me procrastinating 2 and a half weeks and only 2 hours to put together, but it's finally done! Phew!