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Ride Report: Fall Trip to the New Hampshire Mountains
- Thread starter ZOMGdonuts
- Start date
bigpoppa
Well-known member
@ZOMGdonuts whats your camera set up like?
These dont look like cell phone photos
These dont look like cell phone photos
ZOMGdonuts
Well-known member
Haha really? They actually are cell phone photos from my Galaxy S21 FE...I even had to compress them to half size to get them to upload here
ZOMGdonuts
Well-known member
Day 5 Rest Day - Mount Washington & Some Hiking ~90km
Day 5 was the bucket list day for me. I had been dreaming of riding up the Mount Washington Auto road for a long time, and it was the impetus for going on this trip in the first place. I knew of course that going at this time of the year, I wasn't likely to get a good view or have beautiful weather at the top, but I still wanted to do it.
Of course, that's exactly what happened. It was a beautiful 17-18 degrees at ground level, but around 1 degree and completely in the clouds on the summit. The road up was a real experience. Very steep ofcourse, but not all that scary. I had some awesome views on the way up and then I entered the clouds and could hardly see a meter in front of me. Still kept going, made it to the summit where a bunch of ADV bros were hanging out. One thing of note, I had heard that the road had a short unpaved section but I think they must have paved it recently as it was paved the whole way up when I went.
Car drivers and I think the people who came up on the train were looking at us like we're crazy. I kept hearing whispers of "wow they came up on motorcycles!" Several people commented that I'm "one brave soul." The funny thing is that I feel like I would feel a lot safer on a motorcycle on that road than in a car. Cars are too damn fat and you can't see anything! On a bike I feel way more in control.
25 USD toll to get up was definitely steep. But I'm glad I did it, even though the summit views weren't visible. There were awesome views on the way up and the experience itself was worthwhile. After visiting the museum and eating a small lunch at the top, I made my way back down and went to nearby Pinkham Notch for a hike. Ended up on some really sketchy barely marked trails completely alone. It was definitely out of my comfort zone for hiking as I felt like I could easily get lost, but I managed to get through it and ended up really enjoying the hike in the end. I doubt it was the best hike in the area, and I probably should have done more research but oh well.
After the hike, I checked out "Diana's Baths" near Conway, which were a super cool waterfall/canyon like area. And then watched the sunset from the Cathedral Hill nearby.
From a riding perspective, NH 16 up to Mount Washington from Conway was a really nice and scenic road. I took it easy this day though, and really enjoyed the rest off the bike.
Mt. Washington from the ground level
Shot as I was entering the cloud line
Parking with the cool kids
It was very windy and cold up here.
Such a cool road - on the way down
Back at "ground" level
Day 5 was the bucket list day for me. I had been dreaming of riding up the Mount Washington Auto road for a long time, and it was the impetus for going on this trip in the first place. I knew of course that going at this time of the year, I wasn't likely to get a good view or have beautiful weather at the top, but I still wanted to do it.
Of course, that's exactly what happened. It was a beautiful 17-18 degrees at ground level, but around 1 degree and completely in the clouds on the summit. The road up was a real experience. Very steep ofcourse, but not all that scary. I had some awesome views on the way up and then I entered the clouds and could hardly see a meter in front of me. Still kept going, made it to the summit where a bunch of ADV bros were hanging out. One thing of note, I had heard that the road had a short unpaved section but I think they must have paved it recently as it was paved the whole way up when I went.
Car drivers and I think the people who came up on the train were looking at us like we're crazy. I kept hearing whispers of "wow they came up on motorcycles!" Several people commented that I'm "one brave soul." The funny thing is that I feel like I would feel a lot safer on a motorcycle on that road than in a car. Cars are too damn fat and you can't see anything! On a bike I feel way more in control.
25 USD toll to get up was definitely steep. But I'm glad I did it, even though the summit views weren't visible. There were awesome views on the way up and the experience itself was worthwhile. After visiting the museum and eating a small lunch at the top, I made my way back down and went to nearby Pinkham Notch for a hike. Ended up on some really sketchy barely marked trails completely alone. It was definitely out of my comfort zone for hiking as I felt like I could easily get lost, but I managed to get through it and ended up really enjoying the hike in the end. I doubt it was the best hike in the area, and I probably should have done more research but oh well.
After the hike, I checked out "Diana's Baths" near Conway, which were a super cool waterfall/canyon like area. And then watched the sunset from the Cathedral Hill nearby.
From a riding perspective, NH 16 up to Mount Washington from Conway was a really nice and scenic road. I took it easy this day though, and really enjoyed the rest off the bike.
Mt. Washington from the ground level
Shot as I was entering the cloud line
Parking with the cool kids
It was very windy and cold up here.
Such a cool road - on the way down
Back at "ground" level
ZOMGdonuts
Well-known member
More pics from day 5!
View from the look out at the end of the hike. On the right side of the road down there you can see the parking lot where the bike was. Farther down than it looks!
Another cool shot from the hike
Diana's Baths, which was worth a casual stroll
Nice spot for sunset
Nice lady offered to take a pic of me without the helmet and stuff on
View from the look out at the end of the hike. On the right side of the road down there you can see the parking lot where the bike was. Farther down than it looks!
Another cool shot from the hike
Diana's Baths, which was worth a casual stroll
Nice spot for sunset
Nice lady offered to take a pic of me without the helmet and stuff on
ZOMGdonuts
Well-known member
Day 6: N Conway to Lake George, NY ~433km
It was with a heavy heart that I woke up to start this day's ride as I knew it was the beginning of the end. It was time for the return journey. It was cold too. Around 10 degrees when I set off, and got down to 7-8 with lots of wind through the higher altitudes. Heated jacket did the trick though, and thankfully there was no rain.
I had a lot of fun on this day. Revisited some of the favourite roads but also took a more direct route across NH and VT.
I definitely enjoyed the Kancamagus HWY more this day than the first time. I also started it from Conway (instead of skipping part of it with Bear Notch Rd.). This side closer to Conway was really fun. It was a bit tighter (still long sweepers) following a river and I managed to not get stuck behind someone. It was fun! The views were still great and the colours were really beginning to turn as I left.
I took a couple of new roads through NH and one of my favs of this day was the Stinson Lake Rd. I think every road through Vermont was a repeat, but I didn't mind as they were still great fun. Brandon Mountain Rd. was a favourite on this day. The lower altitude in the mountains was really noticeable going from NH to VT to NY. They definitely visibly shrunk over the day haha. It was also noticeable how much more colour there was in NH than the other two States
I opted to take a more southerly route through NY this time. So I tried crossing at the Ticonderoga ferry only to realize that I didn't have the required $7 cash (oops) lol so I rode north Crown Point and came back south. And then I was on the most surprisingly good road of the day. This was NY 9N (Lake Shore Dr). Wow! This road was so much fun! A large chunk of it was lake-side with mountains across the water and a twisty shore hugging road. It then went into the forest and got fast and wild. I really recommend this road to anyone riding in the area! It was a genuine surprise.
Lake George itself was a really cute town. I watched the sunset by the water and a had a delicious gyro dinner
First stop on the Kanc return
More views from the Kanc
Didn't get a Welcome to Vermont pic on the way in
Somewhere in Vermont
Stop by Lake George along the awesome Lake Shore Rd. (NY 9N)
Sunset in Lake George
The biggest surprise of the day!
It was with a heavy heart that I woke up to start this day's ride as I knew it was the beginning of the end. It was time for the return journey. It was cold too. Around 10 degrees when I set off, and got down to 7-8 with lots of wind through the higher altitudes. Heated jacket did the trick though, and thankfully there was no rain.
I had a lot of fun on this day. Revisited some of the favourite roads but also took a more direct route across NH and VT.
I definitely enjoyed the Kancamagus HWY more this day than the first time. I also started it from Conway (instead of skipping part of it with Bear Notch Rd.). This side closer to Conway was really fun. It was a bit tighter (still long sweepers) following a river and I managed to not get stuck behind someone. It was fun! The views were still great and the colours were really beginning to turn as I left.
I took a couple of new roads through NH and one of my favs of this day was the Stinson Lake Rd. I think every road through Vermont was a repeat, but I didn't mind as they were still great fun. Brandon Mountain Rd. was a favourite on this day. The lower altitude in the mountains was really noticeable going from NH to VT to NY. They definitely visibly shrunk over the day haha. It was also noticeable how much more colour there was in NH than the other two States
I opted to take a more southerly route through NY this time. So I tried crossing at the Ticonderoga ferry only to realize that I didn't have the required $7 cash (oops) lol so I rode north Crown Point and came back south. And then I was on the most surprisingly good road of the day. This was NY 9N (Lake Shore Dr). Wow! This road was so much fun! A large chunk of it was lake-side with mountains across the water and a twisty shore hugging road. It then went into the forest and got fast and wild. I really recommend this road to anyone riding in the area! It was a genuine surprise.
Lake George itself was a really cute town. I watched the sunset by the water and a had a delicious gyro dinner
First stop on the Kanc return
More views from the Kanc
Didn't get a Welcome to Vermont pic on the way in
Somewhere in Vermont
Stop by Lake George along the awesome Lake Shore Rd. (NY 9N)
Sunset in Lake George
The biggest surprise of the day!
Thanks for all the pictures and the writeup. Brings back a lot of good memories of the Adirondacks. Between snowboarding and motorcycling, we've spent quite a lot of time in that area.
One road that's a hidden treasure is Tracy Road just NW of Ticonderoga. You can hit it leaving Lake Placid. We stumbled onto while riding around the area. Super-short, but it's where all the sportbikers go to drag knee around the corners. Virtually no traffic as well, so no being stuck behind RVs.
goo.gl
One road that's a hidden treasure is Tracy Road just NW of Ticonderoga. You can hit it leaving Lake Placid. We stumbled onto while riding around the area. Super-short, but it's where all the sportbikers go to drag knee around the corners. Virtually no traffic as well, so no being stuck behind RVs.
Co Hwy 6 to 1530 Co Hwy 6
goo.gl
ZOMGdonuts
Well-known member
Thanks for all the pictures and the writeup. Brings back a lot of good memories of the Adirondacks. Between snowboarding and motorcycling, we've spent quite a lot of time in that area.
One road that's a hidden treasure is Tracy Road just NW of Ticonderoga. You can hit it leaving Lake Placid. We stumbled onto while riding around the area. Super-short, but it's where all the sportbikers go to drag knee around the corners. Virtually no traffic as well, so no being stuck behind RVs.
Co Hwy 6 to 1530 Co Hwy 6
Happy to oblige! I've always enjoyed ride reports, including your own!
Unfortunately I missed that road!! Damn, wish I'd taken it but I will keep it in the bank for next time!
I’ve ridden 9N from top to bottom and back again so many times. We used to attend Americade in Lake George for years and stayed at a fishing resort north of town. Bolton Landing is also a great place to stay. We base-camped there and rode the ADK mountains and VT. Thanks for the excellent photos!
Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
ZOMGdonuts
Well-known member
Day 7: Lake George, NY to Syracuse-ish ~374km
The journey homeward continued. I realized afterwards that I could have ridden farther, but I'd been conservative in planning. I think this was a combination of this day being faster roads and also my stamina had increased after getting used to riding every day. Nonetheless, it was nice to have a relatively easy day (though once again, it was quite cold - stayed dry though!)
I really got to enjoy the Adirondacks on this day. The first day through had been very wet so it was nice to actually see the mountains with the colours coming out. The biggest difference I found between this area and VT/NH was water. It was Ontario-esque with many more roads running by rivers/ lakes, the mountains in the distance. The mountains themselves were less spectacular than those in VT and significantly less so than the NH ones (at least in my eyes)
The first and most awesome road of the day was the N Shore Road (NY 4) along the coast of Sacandaga River. My god, what a blast this road was! I hadn't expected that much fun on this day but it was an excellent start to the day! After that, things were not too tight/twisty. There were fast sweepers and very scenic roads. The mountains around Indian Lake were awesome, felt notably taller, and the Adirondack Trail (NY 30 in that area) was superb. State Hwy 28 is what I took to get West and this road was quite nice as well, lots more civilization around it.
As I left the mountains, I felt sad of course of having left the twisty roads behind as well. But the twisties had one last hurrah for me and that was NY 46, Gorge Road. Wow! What a blast! This road was bumpy in places, but it was a completely unexpected blast to ride. Definitely recommend it to make getting to the mountains a little bit more entertaining!
Day 8: Syracuse-ish to NY ~417km
Thus the journey came to an end. Not too much to say about this day. I tried to take a mix of country roads and highway and managed to find some decently entertaining roads on the way back. There was nothing to write home about of course, this part of NY felt much the same as the great slog we're all familiar with to get the Highlands or Muskoka.
I had one excellent discovery though! I normally ride listening to music on my Cardo. When not riding, I love listening to Audiobooks, and I was always hesitant about combining audiobooks and motorcycles as I just didn't want to be distracted. I decided though that on a day of highway and straight country roads, I would give it a shot. And it turned out to be excellent! The time flew by so fast and I still felt very focused on the road. I think I will keep this trick to make those long highway jaunts a bit less daunting in the future.
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And that concludes my ride report! Thank you so much for following along! I promised last time that I would post more pics, and I hope I delivered. None of the pics have had any editing and they were all taken with my phone! I think I could still have done a better job, but I hope that this helps you guys in your own route planning to this area! I absolutely loved my trip and I'm super hyped to go back at some point (though I think my next journeys will take me farther South)
To be honest with ya'all, this trip required me to really overcome some mental hurdles. As much as I've always wanted to go, I really found myself second guessing if it's a smart move. And the only reason for that is because I was recently married and my wife and I had just moved into our own house. I dunno, I just couldn't stop thinking about leaving her behind if something happened to me. I literally called and upped my life insurance before heading out. Sometimes when you get in that headspace, it can be hard to look past it and I kept repeating scenarios in my head of yeeting myself off a mountain. At the end of the day though, I'm really glad I was able to convince myself to go. Life is too short to not do the things you want to, and I think she was happy to be rid of me for a while anyway
Also, I am sorry - I have very few pics from these last two days as I was just getting through the miles.
I believe this was around Lake Sacandaga
Somewhere on the Adirondack Trail
Saying 'Adios to 'ole George before heading out
Day 7 route
Excellent excellent excellent!
A very awesome surprise after the mountains!
Day 8 route - the familiar slog home!
End of trip stats! A solid 3000km, making it my longest trip to date!
The journey homeward continued. I realized afterwards that I could have ridden farther, but I'd been conservative in planning. I think this was a combination of this day being faster roads and also my stamina had increased after getting used to riding every day. Nonetheless, it was nice to have a relatively easy day (though once again, it was quite cold - stayed dry though!)
I really got to enjoy the Adirondacks on this day. The first day through had been very wet so it was nice to actually see the mountains with the colours coming out. The biggest difference I found between this area and VT/NH was water. It was Ontario-esque with many more roads running by rivers/ lakes, the mountains in the distance. The mountains themselves were less spectacular than those in VT and significantly less so than the NH ones (at least in my eyes)
The first and most awesome road of the day was the N Shore Road (NY 4) along the coast of Sacandaga River. My god, what a blast this road was! I hadn't expected that much fun on this day but it was an excellent start to the day! After that, things were not too tight/twisty. There were fast sweepers and very scenic roads. The mountains around Indian Lake were awesome, felt notably taller, and the Adirondack Trail (NY 30 in that area) was superb. State Hwy 28 is what I took to get West and this road was quite nice as well, lots more civilization around it.
As I left the mountains, I felt sad of course of having left the twisty roads behind as well. But the twisties had one last hurrah for me and that was NY 46, Gorge Road. Wow! What a blast! This road was bumpy in places, but it was a completely unexpected blast to ride. Definitely recommend it to make getting to the mountains a little bit more entertaining!
Day 8: Syracuse-ish to NY ~417km
Thus the journey came to an end. Not too much to say about this day. I tried to take a mix of country roads and highway and managed to find some decently entertaining roads on the way back. There was nothing to write home about of course, this part of NY felt much the same as the great slog we're all familiar with to get the Highlands or Muskoka.
I had one excellent discovery though! I normally ride listening to music on my Cardo. When not riding, I love listening to Audiobooks, and I was always hesitant about combining audiobooks and motorcycles as I just didn't want to be distracted. I decided though that on a day of highway and straight country roads, I would give it a shot. And it turned out to be excellent! The time flew by so fast and I still felt very focused on the road. I think I will keep this trick to make those long highway jaunts a bit less daunting in the future.
-------
And that concludes my ride report! Thank you so much for following along! I promised last time that I would post more pics, and I hope I delivered. None of the pics have had any editing and they were all taken with my phone! I think I could still have done a better job, but I hope that this helps you guys in your own route planning to this area! I absolutely loved my trip and I'm super hyped to go back at some point (though I think my next journeys will take me farther South)
To be honest with ya'all, this trip required me to really overcome some mental hurdles. As much as I've always wanted to go, I really found myself second guessing if it's a smart move. And the only reason for that is because I was recently married and my wife and I had just moved into our own house. I dunno, I just couldn't stop thinking about leaving her behind if something happened to me. I literally called and upped my life insurance before heading out. Sometimes when you get in that headspace, it can be hard to look past it and I kept repeating scenarios in my head of yeeting myself off a mountain. At the end of the day though, I'm really glad I was able to convince myself to go. Life is too short to not do the things you want to, and I think she was happy to be rid of me for a while anyway
Also, I am sorry - I have very few pics from these last two days as I was just getting through the miles.
I believe this was around Lake Sacandaga
Somewhere on the Adirondack Trail
Saying 'Adios to 'ole George before heading out
Day 7 route
Excellent excellent excellent!
A very awesome surprise after the mountains!
Day 8 route - the familiar slog home!
End of trip stats! A solid 3000km, making it my longest trip to date!
Excellent! Thanks again for posting this up.
Yeppers, our last ride we listened to podcasts on the superslab. My favorite is Star Talk with Neil DeGrasse Tyson. His episodes with Chuck Nice are f-n hilarious! And educational too!
So much YES in this. Just go and do it. Life is so very, very short. Don't wait for illness or tragedy to push you into re-examining your life and the choices you have or haven't made.
Yeppers, our last ride we listened to podcasts on the superslab. My favorite is Star Talk with Neil DeGrasse Tyson. His episodes with Chuck Nice are f-n hilarious! And educational too!
So much YES in this. Just go and do it. Life is so very, very short. Don't wait for illness or tragedy to push you into re-examining your life and the choices you have or haven't made.
bigpoppa
Well-known member
@ZOMGdonuts how do you like the rever app?
Did you use it to plan routes/rides?
Did you use it to plan routes/rides?
ZOMGdonuts
Well-known member
Yes I use it to plan most of my longer rides. I like it but it's not perfect. I think the biggest issue I have with it is that it requires an internet connection to get the turn by turn directions going. You can download your ride and if you have it on when you go somewhere without internet, it still works. But if you happen to use your phone to take some pics and re-open the app, sometimes you've lost the navigation and it won't reload it without internet. Really frustrating.
That said, the "Follow route line" works all the time, so that's great if you prefer it.
I'm certain there are better apps out there, but it's a good one. The main reason I got it is because of the built in Butler maps. It's excellent for planning a trip to the US as all of the best roads are highlighted. Literally for my last two States trips, I just tried to string together the good roads shown on Rever and it worked out great. I find it worth it for that alone.
bigpoppa
Well-known member
when you plan the routes and put them on your phone, does it change them in any way?
Like google maps seems to?
Google seems to always wants to find the shortest distance between 2 points and often ends up changing my waypoints and routes when I transfer to phone or email from the browser...
Wonderful write up and photos! Thanks for sharing.
Hell of a bike for a trip like that also!
Hell of a bike for a trip like that also!
They really are awesome machines!
I totally get this @ZOMGdonuts
I do find however that after a motorcycle trip, I’m in a better headspace when I return home.
It’s getting over the mental hurdle to go that’s difficult. Kudos to you for doing it solo. What a sense of accomplishment you must have!
ZOMGdonuts
Well-known member
Yeah I think Google is definitely a PIA to plan a trip with. Rever isn't too bad. It does change your route sometimes...But it depends on how many waypoints you use. If you use the waypoints smartly, it won't change it. Also, the "route line" function never changes, so if you can live without turn by turn and just follow the line, it should be pretty good.
One super annoying thing that happens with Rever is that sometimes if you move away from the Rever screen and come back to it, it forgets which waypoint you're on. So it'll try to send you backwards to the previous waypoint. Very annoying, but I got used to double checking the map before I set it up and if it is sending me back, I just click "skip waypoint" and it'll bring you back to routing to your next waypoint.
Rever is also useless if you're depending on audio instructions. It basically doesn't give you an audio prompt unless your phone is unlocked and it's showing. So you need to have your phone mounted to your bike (I use Quadlock). Also, I've found Rever to be very energy intensive. It drains battery fast relative to Googlemaps. Not an issue if you have a charger but something to think about.
Ultimately I use it because of the Butler maps. Everything else is okay if you can learn the tricks and workarounds but I'm sure that there are better apps for pure navigation.
Thank you sir! I agree, I felt awesome when I returned home although a bit remorseful that I couldn't be out for longer. It was just a 1 week trip though, many people here and elsewhere do much longer trips and I hope to join that club someday soon!
It was definitely one of my fav's when I was out there a month or so back.
I'm looking forward to going back out that way next year.
I've listened to thousands of hours of audiobooks while riding. And driving for that matter. I find it adds to my zen, absolutely. Has never effected my concentration.
As for Mount Washington, we totally lucked out the day we were there and the summit was in brilliant sunshine.
It's weird up there once you're above the tree line - I got definite "surface of the moon" vibes along some stretches of road.
Was $25 well spent - would do again.
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