Back from a weeks CB750 touring holiday to the Adirondacks, NY state. Was riding the CB750K4 with the g/f on the back. We had a tank bag (Chase Harper), saddlebags (Motopak), tent, sleeping mats, sleeping bags, backpack and small bag. See pic of the bike fully loaded.
First day, we rode from Boston to Morrisville, VT and stayed at a very nice Inn – Innkeeper was also a beekeeper and an excellent homebaker! Delicious breakfast! The road from I-89/Rt 4 going up Rt 100 is wonderful – very quiet and no traffic and weather was good – we managed to outrun the storm that was chasing us. There is an excellent café in Morrisville, VT – the BeesKnees and we stayed there all night listening to a solo bluegrass player. Us and about 3 other people. So while not very busy it did have a very laid back easy going atmosphere. Great place to go for dinner/beer.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=114709608412216668621.00044fbfe88e146ef09d8&ll=44.439663,-73.33374&spn=0.939316,2.406006&z=9First nights accomodation:
Outside ready to roll....
Green mountains of VT
The next day saw us ahead of the storms again and riding up through the islands of Lake Champlain and then across into NY state.
Crossing Lake Champlain
Hyde log cabin
Crossing into NY state
The roads here are empty, windy and desolate.
We rode for miles and miles through minor roads that were lined by forest, not seeing anyone for long stretches. I did wonder what would happen if I would get another “lucky” puncture. Fortunately this would be a puncture-free trip We rode down through Lazy Mountain and then onto Rt 3 and in the Adirondacks region properly -amazing roads!! Good surface, great corners, lots of up and down and empty! Wonderful! Weather was a bit on the cool side but no rain. After riding on almost empty roads for a while we arrived at our campsite –Rollins Pond – 4 miles from the road and lakeside camping – very nice!
To go for a shower you had to ride for 4 mins – about 2 miles at 15 mph – yes that was hard! Campfires, beer and hiking were the next few days as well as visiting Saranac Lake and Lake Placid –highly recommend visiting the Olympic Ski jump area – really worth it. I also saw the Ice ring where the USA team won against the Russian ice skating team…the road to the campsite from Saranac Lake was along Rt 3 and then Rt30 – the Rt 30 section that we did the couple of days we were there was all tight sweeping turns that were excellent to ride. Wonderful to do at the start and end of the day.
Lake Placid - yes its real snow!
Waterfalls...
Practicing ski jumping in summer - wearing shorts, lifejacket, ski boots and skis!
The real ski jump
and from the top
and 1930`s view
I won...whatever it was we were doing
Bobsled in the rain...
A little bit slow with no snow...
More empty roads....sun comes out...
Raquette lake store...not much else...picnic by the lake
One thing I was worried about was leaving a bike with luggage and two helmets at the side of the road at a trail head (unlocked) while we went on a 4hr+ hike….was no problem the two times we did this. Great people in NY state – very friendly wherever we went. Another must see is the Adirondacks museum in Blue Mountain lake – excellent museum! We stayed at Long Lake at the Sandy Point motel – again can recommend this – had its own sandy beach with kayaks, boats etc for rental. Very well priced.
View from Sandy point....
On Thursday we woke up to heavy rain (lucky we were staying at the motel this time) and rode to the local diner in full rain gear. However by the time we were finished breakfast the rain had stopped and we made our way slowly to Saratoga Springs for more camping at the Whispering pines campsite (about 8 miles outside S.S.). The ride down was very good – long sweeping curves, empty roads and fast.
Packing in the rain...
Saratoga Springs was an excellent find! Interesting main street, great cafes, bike parking is easy, lots of bikes around, interesting museum in the park and very very relaxing spa baths. Just what you need after riding 900+ miles. And the fact it was 88F and humid helped a lot as well.
Riding to the Vt after 2 days at Saratoga Springs we rode along Rt 29 to Rt 22 and then got a little lost, ending up on some minor backroad, riding in the middle of nowhere finally coming out at Salem, NY on Rt 22! Finally after trying to go over an unpaved mountain pass as it started raining we decided to go via Bennington/Rt 7 and its here we encountered our first ride in heavy sustained rain. All the way to West Dover, VT where we were staying our final night at the Deerfield Valley Inn – again a great place – very welcoming and very relaxing. Next day (today) with sever thunderstorms forecast we set off early riding Rt 9 to Brattleboro in early morning fog before breaking into hot sunshine around Rt 119 which led us to Rt 12 and Fitchburg and then Rt 2 to Boston. All in all a great ride, managed to dodge a few cops along the way, and finished 1250 miles later. The bike did very well and no problems at all. Now needs a minor tune-up as I could hear the valves tapping a little.
Gear report for 2-up riding.
1. The rack on the back was very useful – stored a tent, and 2 sleeping mats on the bottom layer. On top of this a small backpack with both sleeping bags (mine is 5` x 9`), spare shoes, stove (MSR pocket rocket), small pot and other small items. On top of this was a small bag with books, magazines etc
2. Saddlebags – Motopak 40 litre – very good and solid and contained our clothes – one bag each. Roomy enough and easy to fit to bike and yes works with passenger footpegs!! The g/f would usually get on first and move back followed by me. Only problem with the saddlebags was the liner on the inside came away exposing the foam backing inside. Still usable though. Have fold out rain covers that worked!
3. For rain – I used goretex waking trousers and gaiters – the gaiters are great for keeping your shoes (I was wearing hiking boots) dry.
4. Chase Harper tank bag – large – had this since 2001 and love it. Fills up with a lot of stuff. No longer waterproof but was good enough.
5. Sigma bicycle computer was a great addition - accurate according to roadside speed limit recorders and gave roughly same trip distance as stock speedo. Very handy to have!
Cost of gas for regular was $3.99 leaving Boston and got up to $4.35 in NY state. Wasnt until VT on the way home it got cheaper again. Total cost of gas put on my debit card (made a few cash purchases but not that much) = $110. If I had gone by car (1995 VW Jetta, 26mpg on a good day) would have cost $200+ for gas.
Touring 2-up on a CB750 – yes can be done and no problem. Could it be comfier? Of course but everywhere we went we had someone talking to us about out antique motorcycle.
Thanks for listening,
Cheers
Andy
