Ride Report: Fall Trip to the New Hampshire Mountains

[ZOMGdonuts]

Hey all, I literally just got back today after my big awesome trip of the year. I thought I'd post a belated ride report as I didn't bring my laptop with me and couldn't post as I went.

I had an amazing trip and want to share it with ya'all!

A little bit of backstory: I started riding in 2019 and managed to take my first week-long trip in 2020. This was to Saguenay in the last week of September and I had such an awesome time that I really wanted to continue touring, and Fall is such a wonderful time for it. I've been thinking of the next location for a Fall trip for a long time, but kept coming back to the White Mountains in New Hampshire. It's a distance that's doable (for me) within a week from the GTA and I'd heard so many good things about the area. I really wanted to go in 2021, but there was too much stuff going on (COVID fears, getting married, etc.)

This year, we closed on a house in the first week of September and were busy moving to Mississauga from Richmond Hill (after moving from Kingston - ironically I was now farther than ever before from this promised land). My goal was to do this trip in the last week of September and I'm glad we managed to get the personal lives sorted out enough for me to go.

Why the last week of September? Honestly, I think the colours would have been even better had I gone first week of October. But I think with Fall touring you really have to balance weather with foliage and the later you push into October, the more you risk bad weather...At least that's how I see it.

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For history, here is my first ride report from Saguenay: Ride Report: A Newbie's Odyssey to Sanguenay

In the summer of this year, my wife and I took our first expedition (on the bike) to the States. We rode through Penssylvania, skimmed Maryland and came back over the Canada Day weekend. The ride report for this is here: Ride Report - First Expedition South to NY and Pa.

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Alright so let's get started with the ride report!

Day 1 (Saturday): Mississauga to Parham, Ontario ~330km

This one was only half for the trip. I worked in Kingston for almost 5 years and developed good relationships with my colleagues. They invited me to one of my old coworker's retirement party that was being hosted by my ex-boss at his beautiful cottage in Parham. I scheduled my trip around this event and was able to ride out for the first day and meet them there.

Left home around 11, took the 407 to get out of the city and then took the country roads to get to Parham. Arrived around 3:30, in time for cottage games. I was really happy that on this ride I had the chance to re-ride one of my favourite roads in the Province - Mountain Rd. between Tamworth and Parham. I missed this road a lot this year and loved the chance to take the new bike on it. Not too many pics from this day as it's just good 'ole Ontario.



This is the steed of choice for the trip. I got this Yammy in April with 10k km on it and I've absolutely fallen in love with it. The engine on this bike lights my heart on fire (though I feel like a tune would really help un-restrict it). And yet it's very comfortable for long trips. The quickshifter is my favourite thing in the world and I can't live without it anymore. I probably spend 60% of my time with Cruise Control on. Riding position is excellent, handling is really really good. More road feedback than you would expect and very nimble too. It's also a lot prettier in person than I think in any pictures I've seen.

I got used to packing with the wife and despite taking all the boxes, I had plenty of space left as I packed very minimally for the week. a

A few choice mods - top box, mad stad windshield (amazing), Pyramid Plastics Skid Plate, custom seat upholstery (courtesy of Wrenchwerx in RHill), SW Motech Engine Bars, mud huggers, knee pads, etc.

Unfortunately my Rever messed up and I don't have good tracking of the route from Day 1 & 2. I'm substituting approximations but it's not exact. For instance, this ride was not 6.5 hours long as I took a bunch of highway. Distance is about right though.



Best part of this day was getting to see my ex-coworkers new truck! He somehow had this beauty imported from Japan. So cute!

 

[ZOMGdonuts]

Day 2: Parham to Ticonderoga, NY ~515km

I think this was the longest day of riding I've ever done and it left me quite tired. My initial plan had been to start this day in Kingston, but since the coworker party got moved to Parham, I started the day there which extended the range. Since I was in the area, I had to ride the best road in the province on the way out (IMHO) - Desert Lake Road. It was so so good, and I'm so familiar with this road having ridden it so much when I lived in Kingston, that it really really felt like being back at home.

After this road, I highway'd over to the Alexandria Bridge and crossed over to the US. Painless crossing and then it was on to new territory and new lands.

Then the rain started. And it did not stop. Temperature was 12-14 degrees, and it just rained and rained. If it didn't pour down, it was drizzling, and I still had a good 400km to go. So I got on with it. Now, I don't mind riding in the rain, and I mostly came prepared. In the Fall I like to double up on waterproof layers. I don't think you can afford to get wet when it's so cold out. So I'm running: base layer -> heated jacket -> Sweater -> Goretex Riding Jacket -> Rain Jacket. It might be a lot for some, but I get cold easily so I'd rather over-do it on days like this.

But my downfall was the boots. I've had these Alpinestar boots for so many years. They're super warm and comfy, but the sole started ripping. Before the trip, I naively tried to repair it with Sugru. Naturally, this did not hold past the first day. And my feet got soaked. Awesome.

The next issue was that my pinlock wasn't sealing fully so I had some fogging issues. Not too bad, but annoying. Anyways, enough whining.

After some drudging through the flatter parts of NY, I started getting into the mountains. It was awesome seeing the views with the clouds - when I could. One of the worst parts was how much the clouds obstructed the views. I didn't actually realize how much I was missing until the next day and until the return journey. Oh well! The roads were great fun. My favourite on this day was probably the N Hudson - Moriah Road. Absolutely amazing. But at the same time, I was exhausted by the time I got to it, and it was raining so hard and getting dark that the low visibility had me feeling really sketched out about deer-men on the road sides so I couldn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to. Definitely one to revisit though!!

My biggest disappointment of this day was that I didn't brave going to the top of Whiteface Mountain. I was really looking forward to it, but I got there and it was just pouring down. The guy at the toll booth told me there's no point whatsoever going up as it's all just cloud and rain, and I felt cold/tired enough to agree. Oh well, I will come back to this one!


The weather was fine until I reached this post-border stop. Went in for a bio break. Came out 5 mins later and it was raining. It did not stop until I was long asleep many hours later.






Lunch stop trying to hide from the rain while eating gas station pizza lol


Some areas were very Ontario-ish




Maybe one of my fav pics from the trip! If you're curious, the dangly thing on the right is a bicycle lock I use to lock my gear to the bike when I go out for a hike or walk or something.

As I mentioned in my first post, this was an approximate indication of the route. The actual distance was 515km

 

[ZOMGdonuts]

This is the damage to my boots! It's happened on both sides. Anyone know a good way to repair it? Apparently Sugru is no go lol

The N Hudson to Moriah road in NY is awesome!

 

[PrivatePilot]

Looks good, a similar route thus far to what I did 3 or 4 weeks back. Some nice scenery and roads out there, that's for sure.

 

[bigpoppa]

looks nice!
So no more arrivecan stuff to deal with the border now I assume?

Smooth sailing now?

 

[robertv19]

Awesome ride report! I love my T9 GT. What top box is that? It may be my next mod. Cheers!


Sent from my iPad using GTAMotorcycle.com

 

[PrivatePilot]

So no more arrivecan stuff to deal with the border now I assume?

Officially, it's optional now.

I'll probably continue to use it as it's my understanding that it can speed up the process at the border still, so meh. I've used it 7 or 8 times in the last 12 months now and it's really only a pain the first time - beyond that it saves all your info so it's about a 30 second thing telling the app where you're crossing, when, and a few other questions.

We are heading south in a few weeks for a cruise and will probably opt to use it again on the way back.

 

[shanekingsley]

View attachment 57793
This is the damage to my boots! It's happened on both sides. Anyone know a good way to repair it? Apparently Sugru is no go lol

The N Hudson to Moriah road in NY is awesome!
View attachment 57794

Not sure where I’m Mississauga you live, but I took a couple pairs of boots to the shoe repair place in a South Common Mall and they did a great job for not very much money. Take your boots there and see what they say.

 

[ZOMGdonuts]

Officially, it's optional now.

I'll probably continue to use it as it's my understanding that it can speed up the process at the border still, so meh. I've used it 7 or 8 times in the last 12 months now and it's really only a pain the first time - beyond that it saves all your info so it's about a 30 second thing telling the app where you're crossing, when, and a few other questions.

We are heading south in a few weeks for a cruise and will probably opt to use it again on the way back.

The border crossing was super painless for me both ways. Barely any wait, they asked "Are you vaccinated?" I said yes. They nodded and waved me through. Never brought out the card, didn't even have to take my helmet off.

Awesome ride report! I love my T9 GT. What top box is that? It may be my next mod. Cheers!


Sent from my iPad using GTAMotorcycle.com

It's the OEM one! Came with the bike (bought it used)

 

[ZOMGdonuts]

Day 3 Ticonderoga NY to Vershire VT ~ 375km

Woke up on day 3 and praised sol for showing his happy face. Lots of hair-dryer-in-the-boots had left them mostly dry by morning and the rest of my gear was in okay condition so I set off for Vermont!

This might have been my favourite day as a riding day. The roads in Vermont are so much fun, especially the famous loop around the Green Mountain National Forest. Out of the 5 roads on this loop, my favourite was Mill Brook Rd. on the northern side. If there is a heaven on Earth, it is found on this collection of curves with great quality tarmac. Honestly, the trip out is worth it just to ride this road. Other awesome roads included the one into Bethel and the Chelsea Mountain road. There are so many great roads in Vermont, and I didn't want to blast through the State without hitting at least a bunch of them. I still left many on the table for a return trip!

I found Vermont beautiful. It was nice to actually be able to see the mountains, and I loved riding in the valleys with them in the distance. Wonderful state. The broad rural population seemed noticeably older and significantly more affluent than what you see just over the border in NY (at least based on my first impression). Went through a couple of touristy towns like Middlebury which seemed really really pretty.

Stayed dry the whole day. Until the last 20 minutes. I had ridden to a town called Bradford to pick up some fetuccine for dinner as my ABNB was in the middle of nowhere in the village? called Vershire. Literally the last twenty minutes of the ride, I was struck by Neptune's utter fury. Crazy storm, tons of rain and wind lashing across the road. It was great fun (not...lol). Sigh, another night of hair drying my boots. Oh well.

Awesome day. Vermont is the place to go if you want tight twisty roads. I think some of the roads had worse tarmac quality than NY but still better than what we find in the Ontario highlands.

Turned around as I was leaving NY to take this picture. Pretty nice view now that I could see the hills!

Just over the border

Maybe one of my favourite shots. I think somewhere near Bethel

My only somewhat sketchy ABNB (taken the next day)

Awesome route.


Pure bliss.

 

[ifiddles]

We rode the southern part of VT back in 2017 and had a blast...definitely a great area with some great roads and awesome scenery...nice ride report, love the pictures

 

[Lightcycle]

Great RR! Thanks for taking the time to post this up! I appreciate how much work it takes.

I know you're not finished the report yet, but where you left off is 45 minutes away from the start of one of my favorite roads in the area: NH 112 between Lincoln and Conway. Hope I get to see that in the next post!

If not... you gotta go back!!!

 

[sburns]

Wow yes that 1 route did look awesome... so why you scratching out your speeds?

 

[robertv19]

Vermont Route 17 or the Appalachian Gap is a must ride road. Brilliant!


Sent from my iPad using GTAMotorcycle.com

 

[ZOMGdonuts]

Day 4 Vershire VT to North Conway, NH ~ 360km

The valley-mountain geography was so clear to me in this trip. I basically went through the infinite valley (Ontario/West NY) into the Adirondack mountains. Then through another valley before hitting Vermont's Green mountains. And then there was another valley before getting into New Hampshire.
But if yesterday was an amazing day of riding, this was one where the landscape really came front and center. The New Hampshire mountains around White Mountain National Forest are grand. They seemed noticeably taller to me than the prior States, and I found it hard to take my eyes off the incredible landscape. I ended up on less tight and twisty roads, and more sweepy scenic ones. It was amazing.

The first awesome road on this day was the Sawyer Hwy, which basically involved going up and back down a mountain. This one was tight and twisty and awesome. A little bit bumpy but no worries.

Directly after that, I found the Lost River Rd. very scenic Same with the area around Sugar Hill. Stopped by to see Mount Lafayette and then it was onto the world famous Kancamagus Hwy (NH 112 as referenced by sir. Lightcycle above!)

So about the Kanc. Don't get me wrong, it was beautiful. But this was not a light-your-heart-on-fire road. This was an "accept-your-fate-stuck-behind-an RV-and-enjoy-the-scenery" road. Personally I didn't actually think it was the most scenic road on the trip either...But I digress, it was very nice. My favourite part was at the end, I took the tight and twisty Bear Notch Rd. This one is not to be missed. It was amazing.

After the Kanc, I took a loop around White Mountain Natl' forest. The Crawford Notch Rd. was another fast but very very scenic road. The northern side of the park was a little bit more boring, but I still enjoyed it. I then skimmed my way into Maine to take route 113 south near Gilead. This was a really cool road! Narrow, twisty and going through a beautiful forest. Not many views but the ride itself was an awesome experience. Similar and maybe even more extreme was the Hurricane Mountain Road that connected 113 to North Conway. This one was super steep and very very narrow, but paved the whole way through. It was a blast to ride it!

I wanted to ride more on this day. The initial plan had been to go as far as Errol NH and then head south on the NH 26 through Maine before connecting to the 113. I decided to cut it short though because to be honest, I was feeling quite tired. I haven't done enough big rides recently so my stamina was a bit lacking, and unfortunately, I don't have the endurance to do very long rides like many of you guys do! 400km is usually a good amount for me in a day, but the twisty roads make even that much pretty tough!

Lots of pictures from NH. The colours started turning as I stayed and I noticed way more foliage on the way back than on the way out.


I think this one was from the Sawyer Hwy

 

[ZOMGdonuts]

More pics from Day 4!
In typical fashion, the landscapes just can't be captured on camera.








Met a cool Harley rider and a couple of ADV bros that took the pic on the Maine Rt 113 from Gilead. Seems like a popular spot for riders! And apparently it's part of the BDR?



Bear Notch Rd. is not to be missed. It's a must ride in the area!!

 

[Lightcycle]

So about the Kanc. Don't get me wrong, it was beautiful. But this was not a light-your-heart-on-fire road. This was an "accept-your-fate-stuck-behind-an RV-and-enjoy-the-scenery" road.

Haha, aw man, you gotta ride it when there's less traffic. I got up to a good speed on some of those sweepers in the middle section!

 

[ZOMGdonuts]

Haha, aw man, you gotta ride it when there's less traffic. I got up to a good speed on some of those sweepers in the middle section!

Sorry! Didn't mean to talk it down too much! It was definitely an awesome awesome road and 100% worth doing if you're there. I think part of it was that I'd hyped it up so much in my own head and I think I had an unfounded paranoia that since it's such a popular road, I have to be careful of cops so I was moderating the speed too. That said, I don't think I saw any police officers in the entire State of NH. In fact, there were hardly any speed limit signs. I think the official line is "State speed limit" but the implication is "Don't worry about it"

The lookouts were really nice though, and there were some nice corners that I appreciated more on the way back.

 

[robertv19]

That large, white building with the red roof in your pictures above looks like the Overlook Hotel from The Shining!

 

[ifiddles]

@robertv19 How to Visit the Hotel Where 'The Shining' Was Filmed