Laconiawesome (wet weekend)

Day ONE - 436 kms:
     My better half decided to see us off so we headed out to breakfast a little late (we had to make sure the kiddies were on the bus) and met up with most of the group a little after 8:00 am, we would meet up with 2 more in Kempville after we ate.  We rode off to meet up with the other 2 and that is when our adventure started just after 10:00 am.  My wife stayed behind as we rode off, she went for coffee and a person in line looked at her strangely... she told him how she had to watch the kids...  he thought we had left her behind.
   The boarder crossing into the US was not an issue and we started our ride into NY state.  It started off as any country ride but after we hit the sign that said Adirondack State Park it got a whole lot more fun.  Up and down hills and lots of long drawn out curves all along Hwy 3 through the park, at the 210 km mark we arrived at Tupper Lake for our first fuel up.   

     By 2:00 pm we were back on the road, on our way along Hwy 30 then 28 through the Adirondack's, past Long Lake, watching the creeks, rivers and lakes pass by as we snaked our way on to Lake George.  Just before Lake George we started see many bikes passing us by in the opposite direction, I assumed they were coming from Americade.  As we made another turn we came into a small town with bikes lining the street, Warrensburg Bike Week was on, we should have pulled over and taken a look but our group got separated by some cars so it was just not meant to be.  But of course the silver lining is that will just be part of the next trip to Laconia!
     We started to see signs that Lake George was just 5 miles.

     This however was not our final stop that day, we traveled another 45 mins. down Hwy 87 into Cliffton Park where we would spend the night before heading back up to Lake George to take in Americade.

Observations for the day...
      Awesome roads... great trip so far other than waking up to rain... not a big fan of rain (oh no....)
     Great weather, fabulous roads, good friends...
     Awesome ride down, Hot and Sunny, Great Scenery.
     Great route, pushing bikes is fun!! Lesson - always wear sun screen

Day TWO - 351 kms:
     Well we awoke to a light rain that appeared to be stopping.... that's not too bad.  We had a few hours before we were going to leave the hotel, the rain did not stop, then our bike that needed to be push started most of the day yesterday would just not start.  We tried to figure it out, there was nothing obvious so, we managed to push it to get going and we were off to Lake George.
     I can't really say I enjoyed Americade, it was just too spread out for me.  I like to be able to park my bike and explore most of what is going on.  There was one bike that appeared to be home made that everyone stopped and took a picture of, we were parked near it and watched all the attention it drew.  The light rain continued and just did not seem to want to stop.

     We left Lake George just after 1:00 pm and took Hwy 9L to hook up with Hwy 4, if you ever get the chance make sure you ride these 2 road, they are tree covered, up and down, sweeping curves that just bring a smile to your face.  The sun might not have been shining but it just didn't matter.  We then headed along Hwy 7 to hook up with Hwy 89, and then we had issues... 
     At around 2:00pm we stopped for a quick drink, the one bike would just not start, we tried boosting it with a car but it would not keep an idle.  We was decided that a new battery was in order, but where to get it.  I took off in search, found a garage that knew were a bike shop was, Puppy showed up with the battery, just in case I needed it for size.   After calling the shop they said we could get a battery but they were closing in 15mins...  who closes a bike shop on a Saturday a 3:00pm!!!  Puppy headed off to get the battery and I went back to the group to update them on our progress.  The battery came, the bike started, the rain started to come down hard, and we were off. 
     We hooked up to the 89 and the rain was bad, up and down these valley's the temperature can change a lot, we were getting cold, we decided better safe than sorry (we were only about 30 miles away from our stop) to pull over and warm up. That was a very good decision, peoples hands were shaking from the cold trying to drink coffee...  there are times that you just know you should stop, I'm glad we had the common sense to do it, we were back on the road and came into Concord, NH

Observations for the day...
     Awesome ride??? Yeah, not so much!  Rain, Rain, Rain!!! But, a new battery, a warm room and a shower, the memories??? PRICELESS
     Awesome Roads but not so nice weather.  Weather was cold but the route we took to NH was amazing
     Yet another fantastic route, fantastic architecture, we freaked some old guy when asking for a boost, Ahhh the Joy!


SPECIAL NOTE:  A new hand gesture is born this day,  a tribute to Squirrel  ;o)

Day THREE - 254 kms:
     It looked like it was going to clear up, but a light sprinkling would not stop, it did not matter we headed off up the back road to Laconia on Hwy 106.  No helmet laws in NH. I took advantage of the opportunity, the state motto 'Live Free or Die'  I think this is how they lose bikers....

     We arrived coming in the back roads and parked right at the beach at the foot of the sign to Weir's Beach.

     We walked around, I got the patch, got the T-shirt, saw some special bikes, too many to post here other than a favourite I saw.

     We rejoined the group and got the proof of our goal accomplished.  (and a salute to Squirrel  ;o)

     Out of Laconia at about 2:00pm on Hwy 3 which lead up to the 25 along lakes and rivers, looking up into the mountains and the clouds.  I'll have to come back along this way again, I had ridden the 3 in the past but never the 25, I need to take it and stop more to take in this beautiful part of the country.  The rain never really stopped, it was constant all afternoon but was not as bad as the afternoon before. 

     A short hop onto the 89 north and then down Hwy 100 we pulled into the White Horse Inn in Waitsfield around 5:30pm.  We went off to a little place down the road called the Easy Street Cafe which served us up a great meal with beer from the state of Vermont.  Back at the Inn we congregated in the great room where we enjoyed a fire and good conversation, what a great way to end the day!

Observations for the day...
     The ride to Vermont was Spectacular!  Saw a dog pee on another dog - very funny!
     Rainy day again, Laconia was awesome, got me some new boots.  In the middle of the wilderness right now at an inn in Vermont, thinking of the Newhart show.
     What can I say but more freakn' rain!  Beautiful ride into Vermont.

Day FOUR - 443 kms:
Homeward bound...
     We woke up early, and had a great breakfast prepared by our hosts at the inn then it was time to hit the road, first up Hwy 17 up and down a mountain, this is the road I was waiting for, unfortunately we were once again faced with wet road, and this road being a challenge we did not want it wet.  Once we were onto the road, wet won out... better to be safe and go slow then faster and crash coming home.  I will however need to come back and ride that route a number of times, once will not be enough.
     We continued on our way, through many curves and bends until finally the Sky's looked clear, everyone stopped and took off their rain gear, and talked about the road we had been on so far that day.  Back to more riding and when Vermont ended... a little ferry ride over to NY was in order.  Somewhere along the line rain suits had to come back on also, that was going to be the cycle this day, on and off rain suits.

     Once in NY we again carried on with the twisty roads and beautiful scenery along Hwy 22 and 9N.  We went by Lake Placid on Hwy 86 and then stopped for Lunch at the 'Tail of the Pup' a strange little place in the Adirondack's... BBQ and seafood mix, the rain had stopped for a little while but the sky's were very Black and we would hit more rain.

     Back on the road and heading to Malone and Hwy 37, the last fun filled road on our adventure.  People were starting to get tired, it was a long day and at the Boarder we made plans to hit the highway and get home asap.  More rain hit us on Hwy 416 on the last part of our ride and then home safe and sound.

Observations for the day...
     A Great adventure had by all.  Thanks for the wet roads, the fine scenery and the companionship of just riding...  not a care in the world.  We may get wet but it is better than working.  Curves, that's why we ride.

Paws

Motorcycle Ride For Dad

First Saturday in June...  the kids are off at the grandparents, we have a early start.  6:30am we are on our way to meet for breakfast before the parade, we are suppose to be getting into the top group of riders, those with special permission to run up front.  We need to get there early to make sure this happens, if it doesn't we'll need to go to general population ;o).

We meet up with everyone, we were over 20, I was thinking there is no way they will let this many people in, our escort a retired RCMP officer said no problem.  Breakfast went very late, we had only 1/2 hour till start time when the parade left, I was thinking this better work.  Guess what, it did, as we rode up to the start there was an enormous Canadian flag between 2 ladder trucks from the fire department there to ride through to start the parade.

Being at the start of the parade is different.  The big advantage is that you don't have to stop and start during the parade route, it is a constant flow straight through.  One thing I missed was there is a point in the route that you crest a hill and normally we would only see a constant stream of motorcycles in front of us leading the way, well with only about 100 bikes in front we only saw the lead police bikes ahead and empty road...  different but still a great experience.  Now a HUGE plus is that you are the first bikes into the stops of the poker run also which means you are some of the first out also...  Poker stops look like this, a confusion of bikes, coming in and going out.

We had great weather the entire day, a little overcast but great to ride in.  Another post I now need to get up for the enjoyment of others is how to move a large group through traffic.  For most of the ride I was back in the pack, we were getting separated a lot at lights, stop signs, and yields... I sure don't like that but the people up front, didn't seem to see any issues, well after lunch and a gas stop, I thought enough is enough.  I got to the front and from that point on, the pack did not stop.  I blocked at traffic circles, stop signs and lights, when I was finished (the pack was through) I would speed up to the front to do it all again (remember we had a retired police officer riding with us, and at times I thought, once a cop, always a cop, this may not turn out well...) this moved the group pretty well, some members had not seen this happen before so it was a little hairy for me to come back up around.

We made it to the last stop with the group still intacted and way quicker than expected.  And guess what, the first person to come up to me after was our friend the officer.  Here I am thinking... lecture time.  Out comes a hand and a big thanks for getting the group through so well, he says it was nice knowing they could keep moving, then his wife and others start saying the same thing...  It's nice to know at heart, we just care about each other and the ride...

At the end of the day a few more than 2300 people had registered (not sure how that translates to bikes) and over $400,000 raised for a very good cause.  There are rides all over Canada currently and I know interest to bring the ride to other countries, if you can, ride the ride and support it, as a male... I'll say thanks for doing it right now, and if you are male, you might want to thank those that ride the MRFD!  1 in 6 of us will get prostate cancer...  Think about it!

Paws

First Toolbag.... I've come a long way. Still a long way to go...

So, this is the first bag that I ever made,I thought it turned out pretty well but, I've learned a lot since then...

I'm planning on doing a tutorial soon so wait for that in the near future.

First - you have to get your pattern onto the leather and tool and stamp it as desired:

This one I did a celtic scorpion with some backgrounding where the cross overs are, I also did all the hole punching for stitching up (I actually dry fit each time).

Next - dye the piece and apply a finish to ensure it lasts:
Dying needs to be handled in a few steps remember lighter colours first....

Next - Add some hardware and remember anything else you want to do while it is flat:
You won't be able to use a mallet once the sides are on...

Last thing you need to do is stitch up the sides...  really it's that easy LOL...  (with about 10~20 steps in between that I didn't list):
I do a different stitch now with the sides, as I mentioned this was a first run...

I promise a tutorial with way too many steps before the summer is done....  I promise  ;o)

Paws

Leather Work

I got a new bike at the end of last year, a 2007 Kawasaki Mean Streak:

So now I have been adding leather to it (the pick in my title was my Drifter, I had done enough so it was time to move on.  I'll do a new titlebar photo soon).  I did a seat over the winter which changed the look a bit as well as the backrest.

I have a toolbag ready for it also, but I need to relocate the rectifier (done while getting photo's ready ;):

I also did a fender bib to cover over where the old pilon seat was:

My latest work is a little bag for the bars.  I had a lot of ideas bouncing around but decided to go simple, and quick as I don't plan to have it on all the time.  No photo yet, Once it is done I'll get one up.

But she is starting to look a bit different...

 

Leatherwork lets me relax when I can't ride....  with the rain lately that has been often this season...