Motorcycle TourM

agazine

MARCH 2014

Volume 20 No. 3

Destination: Downeast MaineBald Eagles on the DelawareTake a ride along the river to glimpse these wonderful avians

Shira’s Ice Cream Run is BackAt least this month, with some special Maine treats

Monthly Columns • Products • Events

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Brian Rathjen • Shira Kamil ~ PublishersContributors: Jeff Bahr, Mark Byers, Bill Heald,

Mike Stackhouse, Dr. Seymour O’Life

BACKROADS • POB 317, Branchville NJ 07826Phone 973.948.4176 • Fax 973.948.0823 • email editor@backroadsusa.com • web www.backroadsusa.com

For Advertising Sales Information: 973-948-4176BACKROADS (ISSN 1087-2088) is published monthly by BACKROADS™, Inc. 2014. All rights reserved. BACKROADS™ may not be reproduced in any manner without specific writtenconsent from the publisher. BACKROADS™ welcomes and encourages submissions (text and photos) and suggestions. Include phone number with submissions. BACKROADS™ willonly return material with enclosed sufficient postage. The written articles and opinions printed in BACKROADS™ are not necessarily those of the publisher and should not be con-sidered an endorsement. The Rip & Rides® published are ridden on the sole responsibilty of the rider. BACKROADS™ is not responsible for the conditions of the public roadwaystraversed. Please respect the environment, read your owner’s manual and wear proper protective gear and helmet. Ride within your limits, not over them.

Motorcycles, Travel & Adventure

MONTHLY COLUMNSFREE WHEELIN’.................................................................................4

WHATCHATHINKIN’..........................................................................5

POSTCARDS FROM THE HEDGE .................................................6

ON THE MARK ..................................................................................7

THROTTLE BLIPS ..............................................................................8

BACKLASH .........................................................................................9

THOUGHTS FROM THE ROAD ...................................................10

INDUSTRY INFOBITES ...................................................................11

MYSTERIOUS AMERICA...............................................................14

BIG CITY GETAWAY........................................................................16

GREAT ALL AMERICAN DINER RUN.........................................18

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UPCOMING EVENTS CALENDAR ..............................................48

W H A T ’ S I N S I D EFEATURES

THE LAST CORNER - DOWNEAST MAINE .............................22

SHIRA’S BONUS ICE CREAM RUN............................................36

BALD EAGLES ON THE DELAWARE.........................................38

NYC IMS 2013 .................................................................................43

PRODUCT REVIEWSNELSON RIGG CL-202 SPORT TANK BAG...............................41

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GERBING NEW EX GEAR .............................................................42

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The Good Traveler

Steel band in the distance and their musicfloats across the bay While American women in moo-moostalk about all the things they did today And their husbands quack about fishing asthey slug those rum drinks downDiscussing who caught what and who sat on his buttbut it’s the only show in town

A Cowboy in the Jungle – Jimmy Buffett

I was recently in a deep discussion with a woman who has stated nu-merous times that she doesn’t trust strangers and that, given the chance,they will almost always cheat, rob or hurt you.

This woman is highly successful in her career. She has a wonderfulhusband, two great kids and a splendid upscale home in the suburbs.

Her life is set up just so, and very nicely I might add.She is basically living the American dream.There is nothing wrong with the dream – it is not just what Shira

and I wanted with our lives.In our talk I countered that, in my opinion, most people on the

planet – given the chance – will be, if not just helpful, also kind andcompassionate to strangers. Especially if those strangers are in need.

She strongly disagreed stating that the staff at the resort hotel on theirlast vacation to Bermuda, were nice, pleasant and courteous but, shewouldn’t consider them good or even friendly people for it, hinting thatif they weren’t getting paid they would probably not help them at all.

It was with that statement that she made my point.She and her family are tourists – not travellers. There is a huge difference.Tourist vacations are more or less the same, usually to a nice, safe island

resort or crowded bus tours to famous places, with little, if any, rubbing el-bows with the real locals, other than said hired hotel staff and chatchka hawk-ers found at every one of these places around the globe.

I often wonder just what these staff workers really think of the Americanofamilies who come to their hotels? Not much really.

I can see why this woman would think these folk didn’t really like them.I have seen how some American ‘tourists’ really act, not only to locals, but

to other tourists as well. Bus people especially.I also know you get back what you give out in this world.Now I know this family was only looking to have a relaxing time with the

girls away from home and the 9 to 5, but when the staff has to go out of theirway to make sure all is well with guests that are far wealthier than they beforetrudging back to their less than stellar homes… well, who is to blame themfor being a bit miffed?

Worse still, if tourists come off as if they have ‘royal blood’in their veins or are just not genuinely friendly, then locals will

immediately pick up on that and treat you the same way in re-turn.

This happens the same way all around the planet. It isuniversal human nature.

Travellers, on the other hand, rarely act in this manner.Rather then looking at the painting of life, we are more anintricate part of the tapestry.

Ted Simon, famed traveler and author of the book‘Jupiter’s Travels’, states in the film ‘Why We Ride’ that“Motorcycles have put me in touch with wonderful people.

As a result of that I have an elevated idea about how goodeverybody in the world is…”

That is because when we travel by motorcycle, locals seeus as more like them and part of their world.

Instead of a large tourist bus that empties out dozens of demanding andloud tourists, they see the rider on the motorcycle rolling into their town, likeTed Simon, as a traveler, someone less intrusive and that belongs there atthat moment.

F R E E W H E E L I N ’

BRIAN RATHJEN

Page 4 MARCH 2014 • BACKROADS

(Continued on next page)

SprinG ahead

Looking out the window, I find these twowords hard to believe. There is ‘feets’ ofsnow out the office window, no matter howmany times I check the temperature it doesn’t move above the teens, andeven our intrepid office cat, Spenser, has given up the attempt to sneak out-side to chase those menacing sparrows searching for crumbs.

But the visits to the garage to reunite with the ironhorses gives one hope that the sun will prevail andthe snow will, someday, turn to rivers of replenishingand cleansing water to wash the salt and sand fromour beloved asphalt playground.

To bide our time, we are doing the regular planningof rides, plotting of routes for our Spring Break inMay to Marion, Va and looking ahead to where wemight bring you folks in the Fall. For those joiningus in Marion, we won’t be having a group ride southas we’ll already be down that way attending MortonBMW’s Spring Fling Rally in Natural Bridge, VAMay 16-18. For those with extra time and inclination,you might want to look into that and extend your south-ern riding time. You can find the details on their web-site: www.mortonsbmw.com

Taking a look at our Upcoming Events calendar, thereare plenty of rides and rallies to fill your daily planners.If you don’t happen to be joining in our annual VernalVoyage, you can head north and partake of a couple ofopen house events and bring home lots of goodies. BothWhitehorse Gear and Twisted Throttle will be openingtheir doors to you in May to celebrate the return oflonger days. No matter what you ride, you’ll find some-thing to fit you or your bike’s fancy at their shops.

While you’re up that way, why not take advantage ofthe magazine that you’re holding in your hands and me-ander further north to the great state of Maine. Thesepages are chock full of tremendous travel ideas, desti-nations and eateries to fill miles and miles.

As always, before getting back in the saddle, do a thorough inventory ofyourself, your gear and your motos. If you’ve been off the bike for the wintermonths, perhaps a two-wheeled warm up is in order. Whether it’s just headingout to a parking lot with some cones or a more in-depth learning experienceis in order, make sure your mental acuity is at the proper level to put youback, safely, on the road.

Take a look in the gear closet and see what still fits, what’s got some ageon it and needs replacing and what just needs a good shaking out. There’s somuch great riding accessories available today that perhaps it’s time to replacethat 5-year old helmet, those gloves that have taken you to so many destina-tions they are worn through, or that jacket that just doesn’t seem to keep therain out anymore.

Last, but certainly not least, is that riding buddy wait-ing for your return. Spend some time now checking thefluids, nuts and bolts and all those nooks and crannieswhere the critters love to spend their winters. Tires, bat-tery, chain, etc - get them all up to snuff and safe foranother season. Whether you’ve got an old friend ornew acquaintence looking forward to its next ride out-ing, some TLC goes a long way to help it treat youright.

Here’s to the returning leaves, the mercury rising andfeeling the warm sun on your face. See you on the road.

W H ATC H AT H I N K I N ’

SHIRA KAMIL

BACKROADS • MARCH 2014 Page 5

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Free Wheelin’

Over the years we have had bike troubles in some re-mote areas – some places that ‘tourists’ will never see,only to have locals go out of their way to help in anyway they could. In places like Morocco, Colombia,Bosnia and Baja we have had locals offer to help simplybecause they knew they could.

For sure there are bad people in the world, but usingcommon sense can save you a lot of heartache and pain.

But, I have found that when really traveling 95% ofmost people in most countries will be genuinely friendlyand helpful.

I do my best to stay away from the other 5%.I dare say if this woman’s family went for a more lo-

cally intensive journey – say rented a jeep in Bermudaand rode away from the cushy resort and really got ataste of the local culture and what really makes upBermuda, they would have a far more fulfilling adven-ture and the kids would see and learn far more as well.

I’ll go as far as stating that you can’t say you have re-ally been to a far away country if you spent your timebehind a fence - a fence that most of the locals will onlyget to look in on.

If that is all you do then you have cut yourself andyour family short and wasted a great opportunity.

The world is big, beautiful and, for the most part, trulyfriendly - it is time to really go see it.

a neW Bike Called TempTaTion

Motorcycles and the creatures that create themcan be wily beasts. I’ve been riding, writing aboutand pondering these machines for more years that Icare to admit, and yet they still manage to surprise me on a regular basis.Sometimes these unexpected moves and closely-guarded new products area bit disappointing, and other times they almost seemtoo good to be true. I have a great example of the latterthat has just officially surfaced, and to be fair this bikehas been rumored for a while (as is so often the case)as the European market has already been saying therewould be a US edition in the offing. The bike is the2014 Honda VFR800F Interceptor (and InterceptorDeluxe), and the reason this bike is very appealing tome is not what is new but rather what is old. I need tobe clear and state this is no retro bike, but it does em-brace the attributes of a motorcycle of the past that hassomehow managed to return over two decades later.The machine from so long ago is the 1991 HondaVFR750F, and I know this motorcycle intimately be-cause I own one and have spent many happy miles on it.Meanwhile the years have flown by, and I’ve watchedthe VFR grow and change over the years, ultimatelyswelling to a 1200cc version that was amazing but a bit farfrom what I thought the VFR should be (no offense to Honda in the least-they just took the bike in a different direction than I was hoping for). Sufficeit to say, I never thought we’d see a bike like the old VFR again. That was,like so many predictions, a bit off the mark.

This became clear when the new VFR was announced, I have been shockedand fascinated by how familiar it seems. While many will assert it is a closerrelation to the VFR800 that was arguably more contemporary than the old

’91 750, I beg to differ. The new Interceptor goes Back to the Future by dis-carding the side-mounted radiators of the later versions and going with a con-ventional front mounted unit (like mine), a more upright riding position(ditto), and of course the famed 90-degree V-Four engine although it’s herewe hit a pothole. My VFR has gear-driven cams as opposed to the chaindriven unit I assume the newbie has, but that’s no big deal although I lovethe sound of those gears whizzing around in the cases. What the new bikedoes have (and a feature that was introduced back in the early 2000’s) is theVTEC system that in this case lets the engine breath on two valves per cylin-der at lower RPMs and then switch to four valves per cylinder as enginespeed increases. According to Honda this is in order to boost low-end and

midrange horsepower and torque without compromisingtop-end response. For some reason the VFRs I’ve riddenwith this electronic wizardry didn’t do it for me. I’m not surewhy, but I just didn’t like the system’s feel, response andeven auditory expression. Hopefully this latest system willwork better in terms of my own personal sensibilities, forafter all this is all that matters, right? Of course.

Otherwise, I think Honda may have hit this new Intercep-tor out of the park in terms of adopting the things I wouldlove to have had on my ’91. There are two versions, the reg-ular and the Deluxe, and from here on out I’m focusing on

the latter as it is the one I’m most interested in thanks to the ex-tended feature package. Both bikes have adjustable seat heights,

which is a great addition and a nice 5.2-gallon tank. Unlikethe last Interceptor the transmission is a 6-speed “manual”with no optional clutchless unit (that I am still not wild

about). The paint scheme cracks me up as it mirrors my ’91’sbrilliant red finish with gold wheels and details. The Deluxe has

ABS and Traction Control, as well as heated grips, fully adjustable front forksand even self-canceling turn signals (could the engineers realize I’m old andforgetful, and eligible for AARP membership?). Oh, and let us not forget thecenterstand, which no touring rider should be without. As I recall, when Ipurchased my ’91 new in 1993 as a leftover model I had the centerstandadded on delivery as it was optional in those days as well. Deja with someVu, man! Oh, and something that always bothered me about the ’91 was (of

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Page 6 MARCH 2014 • BACKROADS

UnlearninG To ride

In aviation, technology presents crews with more “assistance” than ever.The most influential device is a Heads Up Display (HUD), on which crucialinformation is shown, allowing pilots to see data superimposed on the outsideworld instead of looking at the instrument panel. Like lots of good things, aHUD comes at a price: many pilots become so dependent that when HUDsfail, they are left virtually unable to operate the aircraft. These pilots areknown as “HUD Cripples” and are why most instructors regularly disablethe HUD during check rides. One must still demonstrate proficiency whenthe technology fails.

The same is true of motorcycling: when the technology fails (or is absent),one must still know how to ride. New motorcycles are full of rider-assistancegadgetry like multi-mode traction control, antilock brakes, and multi-modeelectronic suspension adjustment. I don’t bash these marvels, for they offerexcellent safety and convenience. If suspension adjustments are easier, forexample, more riders are apt to properly match the settings to the load. I reg-ularly dial the preload knob, but seldom adjust the small rebound dampingscrew way down on the bottom of the shock. I’d probably adjust it more ifit was easier; however, I should still know how to function when the buttongoes wrong.

Power control is something relatively new and pres-ent mostly on sportbikes, although it’s becoming moreprevalent on naked bikes and others as the horsepowerwars rage on. I’ve always been of the mind that powercontrol is in my right hand and I still ascribe to that phi-losophy, but in foul weather or an accident-avoidancesituation (or both), the presence of a rider aid keepingthe rear wheel hooked up is an advantage. A rainy in-tersection with an unseen patch of oil or a wet tar snakewill make even delicate throttle movements potentialadventures. But when the “TC Fail” light comes on, doyou park it or do you get yourself home? I suspect youdo the latter. I would.

I have a love/hate relationship with Antilock Brakes(ABS). They are perhaps the best things to ever happento the rear wheel of a motorcycle. The typical scenariois one of a panic stop wherein the pilot overbrakes therear and the bike swaps ends, with a predictable lowsideor highside crash. Braking unloads the rear and the footis a terrible fine-motor-control operator, so it’s very dif-ficult to modulate the rear brake with sufficient finesse.ABS takes care of that for you…IF it is present and

working. There’s the rub: counting on ABS to save your ass is becoming themotorcycling equivalent of a HUD Cripple.

And I’m guilty as charged: the vast majority of my road miles are on BMWmotorcycles that have magic sensors and servos that make rear braking sim-ple. No amount of indiscriminate mashing of that foot lever will result in rearwheel shenanigans; consequently, I’ve become lazy and my riding techniquehas degraded. This was brought to my abrupt attention one day when I wasriding my SV650, which doesn’t have ABS, and I came upon a stalled busthat required prompt deceleration. Used to the BMW, I overbraked the rear,resulting in a pretty attention-getting tail wag. Fortunately, training to keepmy eyes up the road and ride it out kicked in and I made a controlled stop.

I have fresh motivation to be wary of ABS: I recently acquired a 2006Suzuki V-Strom 650. It’s an excellent bike in excellent condition, but theonly wizardry it contains is fuel injection - it has no ABS. Consequently, Ihave some unlearning to do. It takes 14 days to establish or break a habit, soI need a solid two weeks of riding the “Wee” at least, in addition to someparking lot stopping practice, to get me ingrained at having an unassistedrear brake. While I have other non-ABS motorcycles, most of my miles areon an assisted bike, so it’s easy for bad habits to creep in. I really need totake the Wee to a riding school and/or track day.

That’s the real lesson of rider aids like traction control and ABS. If we letour basic skills deteriorate to the point where we’re in trouble without them,what are we going to do when confronted with a situation in which they’reinoperable, or in my case, when the moto we’re operating doesn’t have them?As Yoda said, “You must ULEARN. Hmmmm.”

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BACKROADS • MARCH 2014 Page 7

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BE SEEN.all things) the logo on the tank. My aged angel has theword HONDA in white letters, while I always preferredthe flying wing logo. In fact, the thing I liked the mostabout the 1200 Interceptor was the winged logo that wasboth nostalgic and very classy. It looks like the ’14 hasa very similar take on this theme that looks superb. I al-most view this as a really strong incentive to get myastride this new V4, as if they channeled what kind ofInterceptor they’d want me to build. Other than theVTEC (although I shall reserve judgement until I sampleone), there’s only one other thing I would change andthat’s the mass. At 537 lbs. ready for the road, theDeluxe VFR800F weighs right about the same as mybike, which I always thought could lose a few pounds.But, the bike has always handled the weight beautifullyand no doubt the latest iteration will be even better inthis regard. For those of you dying to know, yes, color-matched saddlebags will be available as an option. So,it looks like this could be a very fine ride (VFR) thatpays homage to one of the greatest machines ever made.Hey, I can’t help but be biased. The ’91 really has beenthat good for me, and many others as well. I look for-ward to checking out this tempting sport-touring reboot.

Bad TripS

For reasons unbeknownst to me bad luck comesmy way almost every time that I plan a motorcycletrip. This nasty, ultra-frequent phenomenon has nowmoved well beyond the chance stage. In fact, I won-der if a band of mischievous moto-gremlins lay in wait for me to formulatea plan and then, acting as impish spoilers, do their devilish best to ruin mymoment in the sun. It’s gotten that bad!

Sound like paranoia on my part? I don’t think so. Here are just a few ex-amples of this demoralizing force in action. Sadly, there have been more.Many more.

Item: I had been looking forward to the Killington Classic motorcycle rallyfor some time. Publisher Rathjen was sending me there on behalf of Back-roads. This meant I’d get to wear my reporter’s cap and enjoy all the compsthat come along with a typical press junket. Yippee!

When I arrived at the host hotel I made for their heated indoor pool. A niceswim would help to get the kinks out of my sore, road-weary body.

Or so I thought. After swimming a few laps I decided to switch over to the backstroke. I

often do this in my own pool so this wasn’t out of the ordinary. As I swam Ifelt a small pinch in my shoulder. I didn’t think much about it and continuedswimming.

A few hours later that pinch had turned into a debilitating throb. “I must’vepulled a muscle” I reckoned cerebrally. Talk about gross understatements!

For the next three days I was forced to play the role of sidewalk com-mando. There was simply no way that I could bear the pain without the con-tinuous application of ice packs. Mega doses of Advil and frequent cursinghelped to get me home post rally, but just barely. My wonderful New Englandtrip had proved an absolute bust. Damn!

Item: A few months after the Killington debacle I signed on for a Back-roads rally in Vermont. I had been to a few of these in the past and alwaysenjoyed them immensely. Those glorious rallies had signaled the end of mygood luck stage but I couldn’t know it yet. I became painfully aware thatsomething was working against me, however, the very first night of my staywhen I awoke with searing pain in my neck.

“What in hell is it now?” I asked myself in an incredulous tone. I would later learn that a pinched nerve was in fact responsible for my pain.

Of course the agony stayed with me unabated for the entire trip. Why would-n’t it? The gremlins, you understand, will not be denied!

Item: I have suffered through countless other ruined trips - always onesthat I have planned to the hilt with great anticipation - but allow me to show-case my most recent disaster.

The 2013 incarnation of Backroads’ Fall Fiesta was a genuine hoot for all,save for one hapless gent (me). For personal reasons I was looking forwardto this rally more than any that had preceded it.

My Thursday ride to the host hotel in Williamsport, PA went well enoughbut that was before the gremlins realized that ol’ Jeffy-boy was on the rollonce again. To make up for their oversight, they decided to zap me with asuper-painful toothache the very next day.

If you’ve ever gotten a toothache on a Friday evening you know the sheerfolly of trying to find a dentist to help you out. An exhaustive Yellow Pagessearch of Wilkes Barre area dentists turned up zilch. Apparently modern den-tists believe that pain only arrives on weekdays.

That or the golf course beckons. With no help to be found on Saturday and my natural aversion to crying in

public, I pointed my bike towards home. Luckily, my tinted shield hid myshame.

“I’m sick of this crap!” I shouted to myself between sobs. Next time I goon a trip I’m not planning it since it obviously gives the gremlins time tocounter my moves. No sir! I will let my trip happen spontaneously; organi-cally, with no trumpeting or aforethought whatsoever.

That ought to stop the little bastards.Geez, I hope!

T H R O T T L E B L I P S

JEFF BAHR

Page 8 MARCH 2014 • BACKROADS

Hey Backroads,Kudos for your outstanding editorial. I agree with absolutely everything

you wrote! Sixteen of us went with Moto Discovery last March as we wereeager to ‘feel’ the culture before the absurd barriers between our countriescome down. We were on a People to People Cultural Exchange and spent alot of time with locals and felt the trip was as important as any of our othermore exotic global exploits to places like Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Ethiopia,Japan, Mongolia or Russia.

Governments may run countries, but people are pretty much the same allover the world, with similar values about family, education and community.For every one of the 11 million Cubans that live under communism, welearned that virtually every one of them has a relative living in America!

Burt Richmond

Burt, We agree and have had so many positive calls on this. It’s a big world

out there. We hope to ride it all!

Folks,Your article in February made me smile. That is my frustration with many

of the women I ride with. They are rock stars when we are scooting along,but if I make a wrong turn leading, I have to find the perfect place to do a u-turn. By myself, I just slow down, put my butt on the high side, turn my head

and reverse direction. I want to share with you my ‘ah-ha’ experience thatput me on this path. And also put the taste of dirt in my mouth that I lovemore than tar now: www.americansupercamp.com. This class is amazing!You have probably heard of it and I think you should give it a go.

Kim from the North

Brian & ShiraI really enjoyed reading about your Rome to Sicily tour. Terry and I did

that tour with Edelweiss in 2006 and your write up made it seem like we hadjust done it yesterday. Terry is currently with a friend on Marco Island andI’m sure she’ll enjoy it too when she returns. Good read.

Ron Minor

BACKROADS • MARCH 2014 Page 9

BACKLASH Letters to the Editor

email: editor@backroadsusa.com • ph: 973-948-4176

Got something to say?

We’d love to hear it.Letters may be edited,never censored, to fit.

Page 10 MARCH 2014 • BACKROADS

Am I my brother’s keeper?

Many times over the last few years I have asked myself that question. I

have ridden over 500,000 miles solo and with groups. When riding alone you

can start when you want, stop when you choose, and travel at the speed you

desire. The downside of this is you have no one to share your enjoyment with.

When you travel with a group you share a camaraderie and brotherhood,

which is a rare and beautiful thing. You also get to wait while the late arrivals

chat with their friends, adjust their mirrors,

empty their bladders, and order a cup of

coffee that they should have had at home

before leaving on this trip! Once on the

road we get to travel at the slowest riders

pace and stop when the person with the

smallest tank or weakest bladder needs to stop.

A gas stop with a group usually means some-

one else will need to have a smoke, a snack, a

toilet break, or will just wander off to check out

the locals and engage in a long winded discus-

sion about motorcycling and its dangers. Back

on the road and you will soon discover that some-

one forgot to fill up his tank at the last stop. In an

effort to stave off boredom someone will practice his

weaving maneuvers while someone else will slow down and

speed up just to hear his “lifesaver” pipes rap off. Lunch breaks

will be done by consensus, which means that someone will be

starving while someone else (remember the guy who forgot

to fill up his bike and bought a snack instead?) isn’t hungry.

Lunch is always too expensive or too cheap or not the right cuisine. Don’t

forget, I only had water and crackers and you had a 3-course gourmet meal.

Back on the road, not yet, someone has to call the office, the wife, the girl-

friend on the cell phone. Now just another quick minute or minutes as we

adjust the mirrors, helmet, and radio station (we rode out of range of some-

body’s favorite PBS station.)

Later that day, not enough miles down the road, we stop for the night.

Let’s not forget the motel has to have HBO, a pool, king size beds, and an

overhang right in front of your room for you to park your bike. At registration

we need to negotiate our room price based on our AARP, HOG, or PBA dis-

count (does that include breakfast?) Settle into your rooms

with a plan to meet in 2 hours for a dinner run. For-

ward 2 hours ahead, and wait in the lobby for the

group. We discover who found a bar in the joint

next door? Who passed out from exhaustion in

their room? Who couldn’t wait for dinner and is

in the lobby vending area eating Cheetos and

Skittles with a Fresca to wash it all down.

Riding groups rarely run like clockwork.

Fast forward to next morning.

The ride is supposed to leave at 8am.

But, it will not.

Who got hammered last night on dollar Buds in

the joint next door. Who’s cleaning their bike with

hotel towels? Who’s warming his bike next to a

stranger’s window? Group rides, gotta love ‘em!

This ends my rant for the month. That’s my story

and I’m stickin’ to it.

THOUGHTS FROM THE ROAD Byrd

I’M HUN-

GRYI GOTTA PEE I NEED A SMOKE BYRD, JUST PERFECT THIS PLACE IS TOO… MY BUTT HURTS

ONE-ON-ONE TRAINING WITH KEN CONDON

Have you ever wondered whatbad habits you have that you aren’teven aware of? Have you wonderedjust how proficient your skills re-ally are? Have you struggled withtricky maneuvers? Are you anxiouswhen you ride through challengingcorners? Are you someone whowants to learn all there is about rid-ing a motorcycle well? Then maybeone-on-one instruction can help.

Ken Condon, columnist for Mo-torcycle Consumer News and au-thor of Riding in the Zone isoffering one-on-one personal instruction for street riders. Training will in-clude real-time feedback using two-way communication. Ken will help youadvance your riding proficiency while you tour the beautiful Berkshire Hillsof Western Massachusetts and the twisties of Southern Vermont. For moreinformation, visit www.ridinginthezone.com.

WHY WE RIDE GETS AMA’S AWARD

The AMA Hazel Kolb Brighter Image Award honorsits namesake, Hall of Famer Hazel Kolb, and salutesindividuals who have generated positive publicity formotorcycling. For 2014, it is given to the productionand directorial teams of two remarkable motorcyclingfilms: “Why We Ride” and “Road Warriors, The Bleed-ing Edge of Motorcycle Racing.”

“We would to like thank the AMA and its membersfor this award,” said James Walker, producer of “WhyWe Ride.” “Being recognized for doing we what loveto do, which is telling stories that inspire audiences toembrace the passion of two wheels and to live everydayto its fullest, is a great honor. On behalf of our pro-ducer/director Bryan H. Carroll and writer/co-producerChris Hampel, thank you!”

You can get your own copy of Why We Ride atwww.WhitehorsePress.com

H.O.G. GETS NEW LOGO

From the beginning, the iconic H.O.G.® logo hasrepresented the passion of its riders. No matter wherein the world you might find yourself, chances are you’llalso find a fellow rider wearing that very same logo.Recognition of this global symbol of freedom, inde-pendence and love of the open road has always createdan instant and powerful bond.

But 30 years of anything – even a good thing – is along time. So Harley went to their members, to leadchange and direct where to go next with this powerfulsymbol. They talked to members around the world atrallies, events, chapter meetings, training sessions andgas stations. They even took a few formal surveys.What H-D heard confirmed what they also felt: that thetime has come to refresh the look. The faithful told

Harley they wanted an ‘evolution’, not a ‘revolution’. And when H-D putfour new designs up for a vote, more than 100,000 people raised theirvoice, and the results were clear.

The new logo captures the spirit of the original, evolving the de-sign while still being instantly recognizable by legions of H.O.G.members around the world. The Harley-Davidson Bar & Shield is atits heart, declaring H.O.G. as the official riding club of H-D®. Nowmore than ever, the world will know that H.O.G. and Harley-David-son® are one and the same, completely inseparable. Finally the eagleshifts its gaze to the right as it looks forward to new horizons andendless opportunities for adventure, fun and friendship as H.O.G.begins the next chapter of its journey.

WHAT A LONG STRANGE TRIP….TEAM STRANGE CELEBRATES 30TH ANNIVERSARY

BY TAKING A TRIP DOWN OWN GRAND TOUR MEMORY LANE

Team Strange is world renowned for its incredible long distance motorcy-cling events and its subtle humility, but they have also run their fair share ofinnovative GTs over the years, including the recent Smoke Chasing GrandTour. This year, they are recreating their past GT glory in honor of their 30th

BACKROADS • MARCH 2014 Page 11

Sometimes, you can’t help but smile.Vulcan® 900 Custom is an easy motorcycleto like. First, the bike’s custom styling oozes attitude from it’s big front tire to the blacked out mufflers and other parts thattypically wear a chrome coating. The drag-style handlebar and the low-slung seat put the rider in the perfect position toget the most out of this easy to ride yet powerful cruiser.The name may be Vulcan® 900 Classic, but you should hear “definitive.” This midsized cruiser has the timeless goodswrapped in a long, low package with a presence that’s larger than its name. From its two-tone ebony and metallic graypaint scheme to its spoked wheels, this Vulcan garners attention wherever it goes. Details, like rider floorboards and tank-mounted instrumentation that includes a handy fuel gauge and an easy-to-read analog speedometer, only strengthen thebike’s ties with tradition.

Experience the full line of Kawasaki motorcycles,sales and service we have to offer.

TOWN & COUNTRY CYCLE CENTER115 Route 23N • Hamburg NJ • 973-875-2111www.townandcountrycyclecenter.com

Vulcan® 900Custom or Classic

Affordable and Stylish Package

INDUSTRY INFOBITES News from the Inside

Anniversary by reinventing and re-running four, of their founder EddieJames’, immensely popular grand tours - “Team Strange 30th AnniversaryGrand Tour”, “I’ve Been Everywhere Grand Tour”, “Presidential GrandTour” and “Touch Em All Grand Tour.”

All four GT’s run form March 1st to October 31st and you can sign uptoday. Find out more and join today at www.teamstrange.com

AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL MOTORCYCLE EXPO NOW 4 DAYS

2ND YEAR SHOW SCHEDULE OPTIMIZED: OCT. 16-19, 2014Marketplace Events Motorcycle Group, producer of the American Inter-

national Motorcycle Expo (AIMExpo), has announced the 2014 show willbe a four-day event held on October 16-19, 2014. Last year’s inaugural eventwas five days.

In the short time sincethe launch of AIMExpo,show management hasreceived a significantamount of feedback fromthe Powersports industryhailing the event asmuch needed and anoverwhelming success.Based on input received,and keeping with AIM-Expo’s mission of pro-viding the most effectiveand efficient platform for B2B and B2C commerce, AIMExpo will be stream-lined by one day.

Orlando, Florida’s Orange County Convention Center remains the hostvenue for the event. Exclusive trade and media days will be held on Thursdayand Friday (October 16 & 17) with the show expanding to include consumerattendees on Saturday and Sunday (October 18 & 19).

AIMExpo is powersports’ only combined trade, media and consumer eventin North America.

“Since the beginning, a core goal has been to serve as a catalyst forchange,” said Larry Little, General Manager, Marketplace Events MotorcycleGroup. “This means listening and responding to the needs of the industry.Our post show surveys of exhibitors, trade and consumer attendees, coupledwith the extensive conversations we have on a daily basis with our customersand partners, clearly pointed us to the decision to go to four days.”

The new four-day format will ensure AIMExpo remains a highly-produc-tive and well-organized event while increasing the efficiency and cost effec-tiveness for all participants.

The inaugural AIMExpo featured 392 exhibitors including manufacturersand distributors Yamaha, Erik Buell Racing, Suzuki, KYMCO and TuckerRocky/Biker’s Choice, among others. AIMExpo 2014 has already bookedover 200 exhibitors and is on track to surpass the launch year in both sizeand scope.

PowerSports Business Institute @ AIMExpo, the events’ highly regardedindustry education program will also return offering attendees invaluablelearning opportunities not found anywhere else. Additionally, Motorcycle &Powersports News, the event’s official media sponsor, will again be produc-ing AIMExpo show publications including the Show Directory, Show Dailiesand Souvenir Consumer Program.

Companies looking to take advantage of the AIMExpo platform shouldcontact one of the sales representatives toll free at 855-MCShows (855-627-4697).

Be sure to stay tuned to the AIMExpoUSA.com web site and keep up todate on the continued progress by visiting AIMExpo’s social media pages.“Like” the American International Motorcycle Expo on Facebook by visitingthe AIMExpo page, and “Follow” on Twitter: @AIMExpo.

WOMEN RIDERS JUST HAPPIER

Riding a motorcycle improves a woman’s feelings of overall self-worth,compared to women who don’t ride, finds a U.S. survey commissioned byHarley-Davidson.

Kelton conducted the survey and interviewed 1,013 U.S. adult female rid-ers and 1,016 U.S. adult female non-riders. The survey also found:

Page 12 MARCH 2014 • BACKROADS

— More than twice as many always feel happy: 37 percent of riders vs. 16percent of non-riders.

— Nearly four times as many always feel sexy: 27 percent of riders vs. 7percent of non-riders.

— Nearly twice as many always feel confident: 35 percent of riders vs. 18percent of non-riders.

— 53 percent of women who ride cite their motorcycle as a key source ofhappiness and 74 percent said they believe their lives improved since theystarted riding.

— 51 percent of riders were content with their physical intimacy vs. 35percent of non-riders.

“Riding a motorcycle is the ultimate form of freedom and self-expression,so it makes sense that women riders are happier in life and, in general, feelmore fulfilled,” Claudia Garber, director of women’s outreach for Harley-Davidson, said in a statement.

The survey was conducted May 20 to May 28 and has a margin of error of3.1 percentage points

INDIAN MOTORCYCLE AUCTION RAISES $30,000TO BENEFIT MILITARY SERVICE MEMBERS AND THEIR FAMILIES

Indian Motorcycle®, America’s first motorcycle company, today an-nounced that its one-of-a-kind custom 2014 Chief Vintage motorcycle, cre-ated in support of the “Operation Ride Home” program for the benefit ofU.S. Armed Forces personnel and their families, sold on the auction blockon Sunday, January 19. This unique motorcycle, fea-turing the lowest publically available 2014 VIN num-ber, was sold at auction for $30,000 by Barrett-Jackson,the world’s greatest collector car auctions, in Scotts-dale, AZ and the full auction price has been donatedthrough Jack Daniel’s Whisky and Indian Motorcycleto the Armed Services YMCA program Operation RideHome. The winning bidder was George Munstermanand wife Mary Brinckerhoff of New York. MSRP for astock 2014 Indian Chief Vintage is $20,999, indicatingthe generosity of the winning bidder, who jumped anadditional $4000 as bidding slowed to secure the mo-torcycle for his collection.

For 2014, the first model year for the new IndianChief under Polaris Industries’ brand stewardship, thefirst 1901 units off the assembly line were speciallybadged with commemorative serial numbers in honorof the company’s founding in 1901. In partnership withJack Daniel’s Distillery, the ‘No. 7’ serial number offthe line, a Red Indian Chief Vintage model, was cus-tomized by Klocks Werks of Mitchell South Dakotawith just the right touches to create a truly unique mo-torcycle. Hand-laid pin striping, painted Jack Daniel’slogos and Operation Ride Home logo and a customizedseat combine to create a unique and collectible custommotorcycle

“Operation Ride Home” is a partnership program be-tween Jack Daniel Distillery and the Armed ServicesYMCA designed to help service members and militaryfamilies travel to their homes across the country thisholiday season. All proceeds from the auction of thecustom Indian Chief Vintage bike have been donatedby Indian Motorcycle to the Operation Ride Home pro-gram. The program assisted 836 individuals for the2013 holiday season.

“For nearly 113 years the U.S. military has been anintegral part of the legendary Indian Motorcycle brand,and many of this company’s proudest achievements re-volved around our support of this country’s war ef-forts,” said Steve Menneto, vice president ofmotorcycles for Polaris. “It was a pleasure to partnerwith Jack Daniel’s and the Armed Forces YMCA insupport of Operation Ride Home, and all of us at Po-laris Industries and Indian Motorcycle are honored todonate the proceeds from the auction of this unique andsymbolic motorcycle for the benefit of America’s mil-

itary personnel and their families.”For more information please visit www.indianmotorcycle.com

MIC CELEBRATES 100-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

The Motorcycle Industry Council celebrated its 100th anniversary andcommemorated this milestone by honoring the association’s past as well as

continuing to support motorcycling’s fu-ture. Initially incorporated on Jan. 8, 1914,in New York, NY, the fledgling Motorcy-cle Manufacturers Association was startedby a group of executives and enthusiastsand would eventually become the research,advocacy and promotional organizationthat is today’s MIC.

“We’ve certainly come a long way,” saidMIC Board Chair Mark Blackwell. “Thisis not only a proud moment for everyonewho’s been a part of the MIC, it’s also sig-nificant for the motorcycling community

as a whole. As we celebrate this milestone, it’s important to remember thatfrom the very beginning, the MIC’s mission has been to preserve, protectand promote motorcycling and we look forward to continuing with that mis-sion into our next century.”

BACKROADS • MARCH 2014 Page 13

Mike Stackhouse

androSCoGGin SWinGinG pedeSTrian BridGe

BrUnSWiCk-TopSham, maine

Here’s another one of those “in my back yard” rides that I never botheredto stop and look at. On the way back from a coastal ride last year, it happenedto be the right spot for a break, so I pulled in. The Androscoggin SwingingBridge is on the National Register of Historic Landmarks and its there for avery good reason. First a little history.

In the 1800s, the Cabot Manufacturing Company expanded its cotton milloperations in Brunswick and had 35,000 spindles operating with 550 opera-tors employed. Many of the workers were French-Canadian and lived in ten-ements on the Brunswick side of the Androscoggin River. By the 1880s,health and sanitary issues became a concern with the overcrowded tenementsand it was decided housing on the Topsham side of the river would help al-leviate the issues. To make the housing more attractive, a pedestrian bridgeacross the river was proposed. After an 1891 meeting with the John A. Roe-bling Sons Company (of Brooklyn Bridge fame) the design for a solid sus-pension bridge was created. A suspension bridge in Skowhegan, Maine hadcollapsed around that time due to weak cables, and because of this, the Top-sham Land Company wanted a stout bridge. The Roebling Company wasjust what they were looking for.

Construction began in May of 1892 and housing in “Topsham Heights”across the river was already under construction in preparation of the bridge’scompletion. The bridge was completed (with temporary planking) by Sep-tember and reports from that time reported a “substantial” bridge with nosigns of vibration, even with a number of pedestrians crossing at the sametime. Price to build? A lofty $2,000.00.

Once built, it was found to be a bridge for more than the planned mill work-ers. Children attending the Saint John’s Catholic School, Brunswick HighSchool and those attending services at Saint John the Baptist Catholic Churchused the bridge as well.

In 1906, when the Town of Topsham appealed to the commissioners ofCumberland and Sagadahoc Counties to have the structure designated a pub-lic highway, those using the bridge to go to parochial schools swayed the de-cision. Brunswick opposed the move saying “they didn’t know anyone that

needed to use the bridge” and did notwant to be responsible for the mainte-nance. The officials from Topsham, inturn, pointed out the 375 RomanCatholics that lived in Topsham andused the bridge, saving the towns$6,000.00-$7,000.00 a year. The petitionwas granted…

The bridge served silently for yearswith the wooden towers at each end re-placed with steel ones in 1915. Thesetowers are still in place today despite theheavy damage the bridge received in thegreat flood of 1936.

The spring flood of 1936, caused byrain, snow melt, and ice dams, com-pletely destroyed the decking and rail-ings of the bridge. In spite of thepounding the water gave the bridge, thecables were not damaged and the origi-nal towers still stand to this day.

In 2006, major repairs to the bridgewere done costing in excess of$350,000.00. Site work on both sides ofthe river, concrete foundation work,steel work, etc. was addressed during therepairs. A non-profit 501 (c) 3 foundation was started called SaveOurSwing-ingBridge.org in 2008 to help fund the work and upkeep. After the repairs,there was a grand re-opening on Sept. 8, 2007.

The great thing about the bridge is, if you are touring up the Maine coastand go through Pleasant Street in Brunswick to get back on the highway, youride right past it. Coming south from Bath into Brunswick, it will be directlyto your right as you come up from under the Main Street Brunswick overpass.It’s a great spot to stretch your legs and there’s a great view up and down theriver. Standing on the bridge the day I was there, I could only imagine hun-dreds of mill works heading to or returning from work. I’m glad I finallytook the time to stop.

Dr. Seymour O’Life

maine’S GreaT Gold SWindle

And fourteen hours later I was down in AdelaideLooking through the want ads sipping Fosters in the shadeI’m Mr. Bad Example, take a look at meI’ll live to be a hundred and go down in infamy

Mr. Bad Example- Warren Zevon

I have spent a good deal of time along the peaceful shores of Maine, andespecially enjoyed watching the sunrise first in the USA - in the coastal townof Lubec.

Nice, quiet, peaceful Lubec is a special part of this Mysterious America.With all this peacefulness and beauty one would be surprised to learn that,

crime, treachery and such foolishness would happen in this little town ofLubec.

Who would think the greatest gold hunt fraud, in modern-day history, hap-pened on this rocky shore - the furthest east spit of land of the United Statescontinent.

I know I was shocked….

Morton’s BMW Motorcycles Presents

Dr. Seymour O’Life’s MYSTERIOUS AMERICA

Page 14 MARCH 2014 • BACKROADS

Gold. Boy, has this element caused trouble through the centuries! Whenanybody hears this word, his or her brains go gooey. The Spanish particularlygo Ga-Ga.

Do you think you are immune? You are not. We can all go ‘gold’ fanatical.When we think crazed gold minors, don’t we think…. California (that is

why that state is so manic anyway), but the wildest gold craze happened in…Maine?!

Who would think the craziest story of gold scam would happen on therocky coast of Maine.

To this day when men say they are here to help…. it always seems that themen behind these things say they work for God.

The year was 1897, and arriving on the cold shores of Mainewas a stranger named Reverend Prescott Jernegan, who ar-rived in Lubec and made a bold claim: he couldextract gold from seawater.

Locals were interested.Seriously… ‘stranger’ means a

lot here.According to Jernegan, self-

proclaimed scientist and geolo-gist, (like myself) the incredibletides that surround the regionbrought into the Atlantic tonsof gold, copper and other min-erals each day.

Personally, as a geologist, Ibelieve this is true.

But…. There always is a - but.What if someone had a system that

would bring in a small, but reasonable,bit of Au, each day?

What if it could really be true?Would normally stoic New Englanders be

sucker… ‘fooled’ into such a game?

To dupe the locals he used so-called “Accumulators” of electri-cally charged rods in iron pots.Fooling many, he actually hidthe gold beneath a wharf in theBay of Fundy during the night.He and his accomplice, CharlesFisher, preached with fervent en-thusiasm as they built their fac-tory and encouraged inspections,which reversed doubters togreedy high-stakes investors.

Seriously the “Accumulators”looked like the orange bucketsfrom Home Depot.

Each morning just a touch of gold would be found in each bucket.But the truth was a bit wilder.Every night, Jernegan, and his cronies, would swim undersea and drop a

touch of gold nugget in every bucket.Stocks were sold, money was raised, and capital was on high.What could possibly go wrong here?Times were good… for years!But, can business get too good?It can.And, before they knew it that number of “Accumulators” he locals had

bought into got so big that they didn’t have enough feed gold to keep the lo-cals and their money interested.

Jernegan and Fisher had hundreds of laborers accelerate factory expansionuntil July 1897, when Jernegan and Fisher fled. Word has it they ended up inAdelaide, and enjoyed their ill-gotten gains with happy and very Australiangirls.

The story goes that Warren Zevon heard this tale and penned a song for it.Warren is not around so we’ll never know if this is the truth.But, Mister Bad Example seems to fit. ~ O’Life out!

BACKROADS • MARCH 2014 Page 15

Mike Stackhouse

CoaSTal BoTaniCal GardenS

132 BoTaniCal GardenS dr., BooThBay, me

WWW.maineGardenS.orG • 207-633-4333

open all year 9am-5pm • apr.-oCT. adm.: $14/adUlT • Free oCT.-april

Some folks have a green thumb. I have a black thumb. How black is it?When I bought my new house I figured I’d get a plant and add a little green-ery to it. I went to a flower show and talked to some folks who recommendedan “Aluminum” plant. (No, that isn’t the Latin name I’m sure…) They said“you can’t kill them”. Well after two years, it got so bad that Nadia decidedit would be best to put it out of its misery. Now this isn’t to say I don’t ap-preciate a fine garden. The house I bought had been lived in by the samewoman since she was a child and she obviously spent a lot of time plantingand tending the gardens. I have a lovely yard that blooms from the beginning

of Spring to early Fall. I love it. And, I petrified I’m going to kill it all. Notquickly, but a slow agonizing death by way of neglect or lack of maintenance.Thank Gawd I have Nadia.

Now, because I can appreciate the work involved in not killing a garden,you can be sure I was floored by the Coastal Botanical Gardens in Boothbay,Maine the first time I saw them. I returned to the gardens, which are at 132Botanical Gardens Drive off Bakers Island Road, when I made the BackroadsFall Festival a couple years ago. The 250 acre garden was 16 years in themaking. Planning, planting, and building of the original 128 acre purchase,which included 3,600 feet of tidal shore frontage, was completed enough toopen on June 13, of 2007. However, due to drainage and light conditions, itwas redone afterwards.

The idea of the garden was hatched by a grassroots organization thatthought Maine need a Botanical Center and some even went as far as puttheir homes up for collateral to fund the project. Through different stages thegarden has grown over the years and includes a welcome center, a children’s

Page 16 MARCH 2014 • BACKROADS

Hanover Powersports Presents

BIG CITY GETAWAY daytrip ideas to get out of the daily grind

garden, an education center as well as the Lemer Garden of the Five Senses.The Garden of the Five Senses was one of the most remarkable things I’ve

seen in a garden. The layout of the 1 acre garden allows people in wheel-chairs, people who might not be able to see or hear and others, to be able tonavigate through a garden that is made to be touched, smelled and evenheard. Plants are at a level that even someone in a wheelchair is able to runtheir hand along a fuzzy leaf, or run their hand through the water of a water-fall. All plants have very special traits either in the way they smell, feel, look,etc. and are a delight to our five senses. As with the rest of the gardens, itchanges throughout the season.

It’s difficult to touch on all facets of the gardenas its scale and the number of things to see is as-tounding. Add to this the fact that Maine’s climateand especially the weather on the coast is ex-tremely fickle so it just numbs the mind to thinkof the variables and logistics involved to bring thegarden together. As we toured the gardens, I no-ticed dramatic changes from the last visit, withtrees and plants having spread or grown bigger andnewly introduced species having been planted. It’sone of those places where you sort of get lost inthe beauty and wander. There are hanging veg-etable gardens, rose gardens, a forest pond garden,a Rhododendron and perennial garden, a medita-tion garden, you name it, it’s probably there.

There are sculptures and works of art throughoutthe garden too. Stone animals, stone whales thatspray water from their blowholes, and other piecescatch your eye and in some cases beg to betouched. We were totally transfixed by a metalsculpture, in the middle of the gardens, by GeorgeSherman. The multi pivoted sculpture moves inways that do not seem possible and the result isjaw dropping. It was simply hypnotic and every-

one I’ve brought to the gardensgets transfixed as well, so it’s notjust me.

The inner child in me loved theBibby and Harold Alfond Chil-dren’s Garden. With whimsicalsculptures, gates made from gar-den tool, a pond, a very cool treehouse with a rope walkway andeven a story room and chair, thereis much to entertain both child andthe child-like. (That would beyours truly…) I watched childrengoing through the garden the dayI was there and the smiles wouldmake even the biggest sourpussgrin. Give in to your inner rug ratand make sure to check it out ifyou are there.

Besides all this, there are hikingtrails along the shore, seminars, artshows and the amazing welcomecenter. If you find yourself inMaine’s mid-coast region, doyourself a favor and set some timeaside to explore these remarkablegardens. The Coastal BotanicalGardens has a good website andseminars and shows are listed forthose interested. Just plug the ad-dress into your GPS and take anice ride up the Maine coastline toget there. Spring, Summer or Fallthere is something to see.

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BACKROADS • MARCH 2014 Page 17

Five iSlandS loBSTer Company

1447 Five iSlandS road, GeorGeToWn, me 04548

207-371-2990 • WWW.FiveiSlandSloBSTer.Com

We love it, in a conversation, when we hear…. “I know this place…”This is usually followed up by some tantalizing tidbit

of something interesting, wonderful and just plain neat.So here we are to say – I know this place.When riders head up to the Downeast portion on

Maine a few things will usually flit through theirminds. Rocky seacoast, small fishing villages, odd di-alect and lobsters.

Yes, the American lobster, Homarus Americanus, isone of the big players in these parts. For hundreds ofyears, men have made a living off these blue-blooded(based on copper, not iron) invertebrates and the yearlycatch in Maine has exploded over the years, yet thesedelicious bugs have retained their sustainability.

Lobsters shady past…In North America, the American lobster did not

achieve popularity until the mid-19th century, whenNew Yorkers and Bostonians developed a taste for it, and commercial lobsterfisheries only flourished after the development of the lobster smack, a cus-tom-made boat with open holding wells on the deck to keep the lobsters aliveduring transport. Prior to this time, lobster was considered a mark of povertyor as a food for indentured servants or lower members of society in Maine,Massachusetts, and the Canadian Maritimes, and servants specified in em-ployment agreements that they would not eat lobster more than twice perweek. Lobster was also commonly served in prisons, much to the displeasureof inmates. American lobster was initially deemed worthy only of being used

as fertilizer or fish bait, and it was not until well intothe twentieth century that it was viewed as more thana low-priced canned staple food.

How times change.These days some riders will travel hundreds of

miles to their favorite lobster pound.We now have ours - Five Islands Lobster Com-

pany, at the end of the road in Georgetown, Maine.Set against Sheepscot Bay, where you will find some of the deepest and

coldest Maine coastal waters and nestled in the fishing village islands ofGeorgetown, also known as “the prettiest harbor in Maine”, Five Islands Lob-ster Co. stands out in a sea of dining options with the perfect combination ofexceptional food and classic Maine atmosphere.

We were turned onto this gem by a local rider we met while in Acadia Na-tional Park when the conversation turned to lobsters; and he was fairly pas-sionate that we must seek out Five Islands Lobster Company.

We are always game for good food.

Page 18 MARCH 2014 • BACKROADS

GREAT ALL AMERICAN DINER RUN tasty places to take your bike

What we found was nothing less than phenomenal!Riding down to the wharf we parked the bikes and did a quick look around.This place is a working pier and their catch comes right out of the chilly

Atlantic. A wide part of the dock had a good number of picnic tables, enoughto handle the large crowds that flock here each nice day and Five Islands im-mediately brought home that “What Maine is All About “ feeling.

Open from May until mid-October you will not be disappointed if youmake the trek to this part of the coast and unlike some other pounds we foundthe service here to be quick, easy and pleasant.

No waiting on a line for an hour just to order.Keith Longbottom, and his happy crew, serves up hard shell lobsters and

soft shell, known as “shredders” which are very sweet and need no tools toget at, as the shells usually come right off. All their lobsters are cooked inseawater and they know what they are doing as this place serves up over20,000 lbs. of lobster each season.

But, that is not all that is on the menu.You can get locally caught mussels and freshly dug clams.All brought out to you and your friends, on the dock, by the staff.

This Maine Shangri-La also has a number of sandwiches.Crab roll and their “Somewhat Famous” crab cake sand-

wich. Grilled or fried haddock, grilled salmon and “Jenny’sSpecial” which is two great tastes that go great together -Grilled haddock sandwiched with a crab cake on top andtopped with lettuce and your choice of sauce.

You can also order a number of different seafood basketsincluding fried clams, scallops or shrimp or just your basicfish & chips.

We had come for one specific sandwich – the most fa-mous sandwich in Maine – The Lobster Roll!

At Five Islands they claim their lobster rolls are the fresh-est in Maine, and looking at the large number of traps stillin the water holding the days ingredients we do not doubtthis.

The pound’s staff picks their own lobster meat daily andadds just a touch of mayonnaise, served on a buttered, grilled hot dog bunwith lettuce.

Shira had the regular roll, but me, being a glutton, went for the “Big Boy”which got some comments and stares from surrounding patrons.

When it came to the table even I was in shock.This was a lot of Homarus Americanus I tell ya!But, ever dutiful, I persevered and did the Great All American Diner Run

proud!For those of you who prefer their food land-based Five Islands has a wide

selection of burgers, steak & cheese, chicken and hot dogs as well.For those unable to visit but crave the sweetest lobster around, they ship

live lobster overnight. Call 207-371-2990 or email them at orders@fiveis-landslobster.com for details and estimates.

So, next time you are riding Downeast Maine search out Five Islands, inGeorgetown; it has everything we look for in a great restaurant. Fines roads,superb ambiance and scenery, friendly staff and here in Maine, the best lob-ster you will find.

BACKROADS • MARCH 2014 Page 19

QUoddy head STaTion B&B823 QUoddy head rd., lUBeC, me 04652

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How about historic, charming, with the most superb

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part of these United States of America?

We thought that might get your attention, so read on

McDuff ‘cause We’re outta Here!

Back in 1806 President Jefferson commissioned alighthouse to be built on the easternmost point of thenew nation at West Quoddy Point.

The new West Quoddy Light was placed there fortwo reason. First to guide mariners away from Maine’sdangerous rocky shore and to let England know thiswas United States land and to best respect that.

Over 200 years later this point is still home to thefirst and most famous lighthouse in the nation.

The Birth of the Coast Guard

Sumner Kimball was born in 1834 and enteredBowdoin College at 16. Active in politics, he was ap-pointed to the Treasury Department by President Abra-ham Lincoln at the beginning of the Civil War. In1871, he became head of all government Life-Saving

Page 20 MARCH 2014 • BACKROADS

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Stations. Realizing that more functional ar-chitecture was needed, Kimball overlookedthe design and construction of twenty-five“1874–Type” Lifesaving Stations. TheUSLSS, with Kimball as General Superin-

tendent, was officially established in 1878.During this time many agencies took part in protecting our nation’s coast,

USLSS being one of them. Eventually all these groups were consolidatedinto what is now the United States Coast Guard; the nation’s oldest and itspremier maritime agency.

One of the first stations was at West Quoddy Head.As years went by new stations were built and the old West Qouddy Head

Station fell into disuse and disrepair.Enter Bill Clark.Bill is no stranger to refurbishing colonial buildings as he was the master-

mind in restoring and operating Randall’s Ordinary in Connecticut, whichwe featured a few years back.

When we heard Bill was involved in the West Quoddy Head reconstructionwe knew we would soon be heading north and east.

Riding into the station you immediately have that nautical feel. The viewof the bay and the smaller lighthouse locally called the “Spark Plug” are wideand expansive.

I had seen pictures of this place when Bill took charge and I do believe hewas either a brilliant reconstructionist and a man with vision or just nuts. Iguess the former is more the truth, as today the West Quoddy Station is sim-ply wonderful.

The bluff top, ocean-view property, now accommodates guests in anovernight cabin, four-apartment lodge, and four-bedroom Station House.

When we stayed there we had to swap rooms in the Lodge due to previousreservations, but the move was easily handled by Bill and staff and bothrooms were super and either one would do for us.

The other accommodations that we looked in on were equally as comfort-able and home-cozy.

The actual West Quoddy Lighthouse is just a short ride, mere minutes,from the Station and we made it a point to ride to the lighthouse a few min-utes before dawn to be the first folks to see the sunrise in the USA that day.

At the Station you will also find a fast turning windmill with an output of2.3 KW per hour. Each of the 3 carbon fiber blades are 3.7’ long with anoverall 6’ radius. This feeds right into Bangor Hydro grid and gives the sta-tion a nice “green” touch and look.

The Town of Lubec is just a few miles away and has a number of greatNew England-style restaurants (think incredible lobsta’ and chowda’) andthey even have an Irish pub on Water Street, so meals and entertainment areeasy to find.

Whale watching is a big thing up here and when we visited we crossedinto Campobello Island, which is part of New Brunswick, Canada and is onehour ahead of the US, to head out looking for leviathans. There is also theRoosevelt Cottage, where FDR spent a good part of his youth.

Getting to the island is very easy as you just cross over on the RooseveltBridge but, make sure to bring your passport as you will need it both waysespecially returning to the United States.

For us a great day’s ride exploring the area and an early dinner capped offby a bottle of wine on the Station’s deck watching the sunset over JohnsonBay and the deep 20 foot+ tides come in and out just cannot be beat.

We think you will agree.Why not take a journey and find out for yourselves?

BACKROADS • MARCH 2014 Page 21

hen we were standing at Cape Flatteryin Oregon, looking out over the waterfrom the most northwestern point inthe 48 contiguous states we real-ized that we had ridden to threeof these points of this nation,but had never been to themost eastern point – WestQuoddy Head Lighthouse,

outside Lubec, in Maine. It is much like living inNew York City, yet never going to the top of theEmpire State building.

Technically Madawaska, Maine is the most northeastpoint, but West Quoddy is the most eastern and is as farnorth as you can get on the eastern US coast, and that,was what we were looking for.

Lubec has lots of lobsters as well. We knew as soon as we came home we would soon be

on the road again and heading to Maine and the last cornerwe needed to touch.

We had a long week to play with so we packed up the bikesearly on a Monday morning, Shira sporting her brand newJesse hard cases on her BMW F650GS and my 1200GS readyfor a week on the road.

We planned to meander on a GPS route Shira had createdand overnighting with our friends John and Lynn at their newhome in Massachusetts.

We looped up through lower New York state and

the beautiful Hudson Valley. Every time I ride along this part of theriver I easily see why there is an entire painting style named for her.

We crossed at the Mid-Hudson bridge and found lunch at TheDaily Planet in LaGrange before scooting into Connecticut and rid-ing up near Lime Rock Park.

There was a private sportcar club running the track that day andthe few drivers we talked with enjoyed the bikes as much as we didtheir cars.

Reaching the Housatonic River we ran into a snafu as our bridgewas closed. We went to Plan B and rode along some gravel roadstill we found a crossing and then doubled back south along the

eastern side of the Housatonic.

Oh watch out for that gravity storm, it don’t give no warning sign!……Jimmy Buffet

Getting back on Shira’s route we crested a paved hillon the tiniest of roads only to run into deep graveland rocks. I snapped up on the pegs and piloted theGS through the muck but at a steeper down hillsection the month’s worth of heavy rains had cut afew deep ruts, just about the size of a 120/17 inchtire.I had slowed down over the crest and got to the

bottom still rolling but Shira, who was a bit behind mecleared the top of the hill at speed and immediatelyburied her front wheel into one of the ruts.

I watched in my mirror as she valiantly fought toget the GS out of the tiny arroyo hoping her skillwould win out. She went right then left and then adeep divot tore the bars from her hands and she andthe GS slammed into the rocks and dust.

Hard.Frack! I ran back as she hopped up and yelled

she was okay.

Page 22 MARCH 2014 • BACKROADS

The Last Corner

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Except for a fairlylarge and gruesomebruise on her thigh shewas, but her new Jesseluggage had taken amajor hit. Hard enoughto bend the aluminumside bag a good distancefrom the bike. To theircredit the hit was veryhard and just about any

other bag would have been jetti-soned, but the Jesse’s camlock heldtight and the bag, although basicallyjunk, still was firmly attached. Goodfor Al Jesse.

We took stock of the situation andmy thought was to cancel the tripand return home; if only to getShira’s Honda and start over again,but she would have none of that talk.

We used a few Rok straps I al-ways carry to secure the bag a bitbetter and we carried on to John andLynn’s – this time avoiding anymore gnarly gravel. We arrived inthe late afternoon and I have to sayour friends have scored a little palace and a fine new home. It was fantasticand so was the meal the night.

Later John and I went to work on trying to straighten out Shira’s Jesse bagand we did a halfway good job with a 2X4 and a maul. Although not thatpretty it was at least not hanging out in the wind and with the Rok strapsdoing their thing we decided to continue on with the journey and just shoot

her bike from the left side.We were up and rolling by 7 am the next morning, making time along the

Massachusetts backroads and rolling through tiny towns, along small forestsand farms. Every town here seems to have a great stream, waterfall and cov-ered bridge and the small churches with the tall steeples that seem to be foundonly in this part of the United States.

We crossed into New Hamp-shire on a road so small neitherstate knows it’s there, and stoppedfor breakfast at a diner called Ma-madukes, in the tiny town of Troy.I mention Mamadukes as it wasone of those local eateries thatsimply shines. The breakfast was“wicked” good, and if you are inthe area check it out. You will notbe disappointed.

I had created today’s route andwent looking for some of the pavement wehad never ridden on before in New Hamp-shire and did just that.

Along the way we stopped to see DanielWebster’s birthplace.

One of the most famous statesman ofthe mid-1800’s, he was, according to hisbiography, “An ardent conservative and athoroughgoing elitist, and he reveled in it.”During his 40 years in national politics,Webster served in the House of Represen-tatives for 10 years (representing NewHampshire), in the Senate for 19 years(representing Massachusetts), and was ap-pointed the United States Secretary ofState under three presidents. Very impres-sive, but his birthplace was a humble

brown building deep in the woods of New Hampshire.

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We rode through Loudon and Weirs Beachstill bustling, but without nearly as many bikesas you would find here in mid-June. We couldhave ridden the Kancamagus Highway, butchose another route to the south instead andvectored over towards the small hamlet ofMadison and the largest glacial erratic in theAmerica’s, the Madison Boulder. It measure 87feet long, 23 feet wide and 37 feet high andweighs some 46 hundred tons.

It was left at this spot in New Hampshiresome 25,000 years ago when the mile thick icesheet of the Ice Age retreated; it is a stunningbit of geology and a wonder to see.

Not far from Madison is North Conway andone of our favorite stops in the motorcycleworld – Whitehorse Press.

Part warehouse, part motorcycle generalstore, part publishing company WhitehorsePress has, for years, been supply riders withsome of the coolest, most interesting and musthave riding products in the world.

And besides, they aregreat friends of oursand any excuse tospend some time there

works with us. Besides it gave Notso and Pepe achance to hang with Notso’s cousin Stillso.

While in the Mount Washington / Kancamagusarea do yourself a favor and drop by.

After buying some gadgets and gizmos we headedeast in Maine and the mountain town of Bethel.

Shira had booked a room for us at the very “Rider-Friendly” Chapman Inn and we quickly made our-selves at home and went of to explore the town.

There were a few cuteshops and one I especiallywanted to visit; Linda Clif-ford’s that sells Scottish,Irish and Celtic good.Shira’s new “Trinity Ring”looks marvelous on herfinger.

A scrumptious dinnerwas found at S.S. Milton,

just a short walk from the Chapman and the bed that night felt especiallycomfortable after two long days on the road.

The Chapman Bed & Breakfast should change their name to Breakfast &Bed, as the owners Fred and Sandra served up some of the best breakfast Ihave seen in a B & B in a long time. Eggs any style or omelets –with two,three or four eggs. Pancakes, cereals, yogurt, fresh sliced fruit and the home-made home fries were the best I have tasted anywhere.

And, they served very healthy portions. We were good till dinner.Bethel has a lot going on in and

around it and is home to the World’sLargest Snowman. Back in 1999 thetown created Angus, King of the Moun-tain that was 114 feet tall and didn’tfully melt till sometime in June. Theydid it gain in 2008, with the largestsnowwoman, and will probably repeatthe feat sometime in the future.

Since we were in the “Biggest,Largest, Best-Mode” we rode over toBryant Pond, just a few miles east. Inaddition to having the only 3-story out-house in the world they also have theWorld’s Largest Telephone.

It seems that the local family who ranthe telephones from their home in

2901 Bethlehem Pike, Hatfield, PA

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BACKROADS • MARCH 2014 Page 25

Bryant Pond refused to give up the old-style crank telephones. Eventually mod-ern technology prevailed and cuttingedge rotary phones came to BryantPond.

Shira got a kick out of taking a pictureof the giant cranker with her iPhone andposting it on FaceBook at the same time.

We were heading in a general north-east direction and we had made suchgood time north we were a good dayahead of schedule so we went lookingfor stuff. By stuff I mean things cool, in-teresting and quirky. We had a full day.

First off let us talk about the feud be-tween the great state of Maine and themlying MoFo’s in Minnesota.

The bottom line, and thetruth is that Paul Bunyan, andhis Ox Babe, were born inMaine. Bangor to be exact.

One our way we rodethrough the town of Rum-ford. Here we found the firstof two Paul Bunyan statueswe would see this day.

Located right along thefalls at the Brookfield PowerPlant, he stands like a sen-tinel over the town. Down

below, near the falls, is a superb memorial to Edmund Muskie, who grew upin the area. If Webster was a staunch conservative, Muskie was a hard-line

Democrat who served his state with honor and helped create both the CleanAir and Clean Water Act. He ran for Vice-President with Hubert Humphreyagainst Richard Nixon.

The town did him proud with this great monument.It would not be a road trip for us if we didn’t search out an ice cream stop

for Shira and we did as we rolled up to Gifford’s World Famous Ice Cream.This family-run operation has 5 different locations and has garnered acclaimand awards from around the world. Yes, they do have ice cream competi-tions.

We tried a sampler of 5 differentMaine-based ice creams and couldunderstand why Gifford’s is so wellknown.

Ice cream in the morning. Lifedoes not get better.

I had us routing through the cityof Bangor, as we wanted to seePaul’s real birthplace (stupid Min-

nesotans) and the huge statue thatstands there, but first we had twoother quick stops.

The Stand, The Shining, Carrie,

It….. we all know who we are talkingabout here, right? The master of themacabre, mystery and monsters –Stephen King.

Page 26 MARCH 2014 • BACKROADS

A life-long Maine native, you can findKing’s house right off Broadway in Ban-gor, Maine. It’s not hard to miss, whatwith the bats and dragons on the wroughtiron fence and the scary demeanor of thehome itself.

I have long been a fan and haveread many of his books (The Stand3 times!) so it was very neat to seewhere he has done much of his cre-ating. Who wouldn’t like to knockon his door for trick or treats onHalloween?

Another interesting thing to see in Bangor is the Crestof the Maine.

This was salvage from what was left of the USSMaine, that was blown up in Havana Harbor and led tothe start of the Spanish American War. The city did agreat job with this memorial and it is well worth thestop.

On the way out of town we did stop to see Paul Bun-yan’s birthplace and the monstrous statue (brought toevil life in Stephen King’s It by the way), we stoppedfor a quick digital moment and then hightailed it out ofthe city.

Heading up Route 9 the towns faded away and soonwe were riding though what looked like the PlanetEndor with forest and hills all the way to the mountainsmiles away. Occasionally we’d flash by a gas station orgeneral store but for the most part this region of Maineis very remote.

At the Canadian border we decided to stay state sideand found the International Motel right outside Calais.

Pulling in we saw some other BMWs travelling fromKentucky, so we figured we were in the right place, es-pecially with the St. Croix right along the motel and arestaurant next door.

Unpacked and showered in one of the largest motelshowers I have ever seen, we then had a stroll along theSt. Croix, which, being part of the Bay of Fundy, had amassive low tide. The water was so far gone you couldalmost walk across to Canada. Calais does not havemuch happening on a Wednesday, or other days for that

matter, but we did find a little barcalled South of the Border which hada cold beer and an orange soda.

We ended up back at the moteltalking bikes with John and Jay fromKentucky and then made it an earlyevening.

We were heading south early thenext day making our way to the 45th

parallel – the halfway mark between theEquator and the North Pole.

The month before we found a 45th Paral-lel sign in Salem, Oregon and we have seenthem elsewhere in both the northern andsouthern hemisphere.

They are always very cool to find, butalong Route 1 in Maine you can find the old-est such marker in the United States.

The 45th Parallel is way older than Amer-ica, but it wasn’t until July 4, 1899, thatAmericans erected a monument to acknowl-edge its existence. The monument is a hunkof pink granite, now worn and stained withage, surrounded by picnic tables in a small

BACKROADS • MARCH 2014 Page 27

rest area on US 1, north of thetown of Perry, Maine. En-graved on it are the words,“This stone marks latitude 45degrees north, halfway from theequator to the pole.” The mon-ument cost a reported $8.00,and in fact it sat in a barn forthree years before someone re-membered to put it up.

In 2008, at considerably more ex-pense than $8.00, the state of Mainespruced up the rest area and erected aninterpretive sign next to the granitehunk — part of a renewed recognitionof the lure of the 45th Parallel.

Nearby we found a quirky storecalled the 45th Parallel with all kindsof trinkets and whatnots. This is oneof the coolest shops we have ever runinto and has an eclectic mix of funky

decorative accessories, nautical ware, fun souvenirs, sterling jewelry, exoticantiques, humorous signs, neato toys, interesting doodads, and cool homeaccents for your cabin, castle, or humble home. We stocked up on a number

of items and thankfully the owner, Phil Pas-corelli, promised to ship it all back to New Jer-sey for us.

When riding up this way make it a point tostop at the 45th Parallel we are sure you willfind something very cool to bring home.

Looking for breakfast and a ferry, we headedinto Eastport. Built on a series of islands andlinked to the mainland by a causeway built byFranklin Roosevelt, this place is the most east-

ern town in the United States.

Here we found the Waco Diner. The Waco (named for the WashingtonCounty) is the oldest diner in Maine and the most northeastern diner in the

nation. We love things like that but what we really lovedwas the breakfast they served here. My bagel, salmonand eggs were too much – even for me – and Shirabarely finished her country scramble as well.

We strolled around the town and found another giantstatue, this one of a Fisherman and it turned out thisstatue now has a connection to September 11th as it isdedicated to a fallen firefighter from that fateful day.

We felt it was time for an ocean voyage so we hoppedonto the ferry to Deer Island and our friends to the north- Canada.

On the sail we crossed by a pod of Minke Wales, notmuch larger than dolphins. They swam by the ferry,gave us the once over and then quietly disappeared.

Deer Island was just a stopover point to our real des-tination Campobello Island, but with a bit of time beforethe ferry there we rode around Deer Island taking in thesights of the small bit of land.

Crossing over to Campobello I scanned for more ma-rine mammals but had no luck.

Located on the Passamaquoddy Bay, Campobello ispart of the Fundy Islands and, in addition to its naturalbeauty and history, is famous for being the summer re-treat of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who spent summers hereas a child and continued to visit each year with Eleanorand his children.

Their summer “cottage” (okay the Roosevelt cottageis bigger than Backroads Central) is open for visits andthe park it is located on is the only park on the planetthat is watched over by two nations – the USA andCanada.

Page 28 MARCH 2014 • BACKROADS

Before we visited the Roosevelt Cot-tage, we cut across the island to the HeadHarbor Lighthouse. This great beacon is unique in that you can actually visitthe lighthouse, but only at low tide when a sand bar reemerges and you canwalk out to the point.

Unfortunately when we were there so was the tide so we took in the light-house from a distance, but it was still impressive.

Looping the island we spent some time along the black sand beach at Her-ring Cove, which was a favorite of the Roosevelt family.

Our last stop was the Roosevelt Campobello International Park.At the Edmund S. Muskie Visitor Center (I love when a story is tied like

a bow) you will find exhibits and a film about Roosevelt’s life. We touredthe elegant 34-room “summer home,” furnished with pieces from the era,and we took a stroll through the lovely flower gardens to the cottage itself.

Roosevelt called Campobello his “beloved island” and spending an after-noon here I could easily understand why.

From here it was just a few miles to the bridge back to the United Statesand another most eastern town of Lubec, Maine.

To make both Eastport andLubec happy one is a town andthe latter a municipality. Jeesh,local town rivalries, I tell ya!

For us this was the point ofthis entire ride. The most east-ern, if not northern, part of the48 contiguous United States.

West Quoddy Head inLubec is this point, located at44° 48.9 N • 66° 57.1 W lon-gitude. Since 1808, WestQuoddy Head Lighthouse hasbeen on the site to guide shipsthrough this waterway. Thepresent lighthouse with its dis-tinctive red-and-white stripeswas built in 1858.

I did not see any ‘No Motor-cycles’ signs so I kinda benttheir rules and rode the GS

down the dirt path and up to the lighthouse.I believe in the idea of “it is better to beg forgiveness than ask permission.”No one seemed to mind and some even began using the M-colored GS as

a prop - my pleasure to help.We found the marker for the most northeastern point, gave ourselves a hug

and a kiss, as we had now ridden to all four corners of the 48 states.

BACKROADS • MARCH 2014 Page 29

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The original lighthouse was commissioned by PresidentJefferson in 1808, to help mariners and to insure a presenceon our questionable border to the north with the British. Thenewer lighthouse, built in 1848, is 49 feet tall and has a 3rdorder Fresnel lens that can be seen for miles out to sea.

This is also one of the foggiest places on the coast and thefirst fog horn in the United states was placed here.

Inside the lighthouses center there was aposter for the middle of the USA in Lebanon,Kansas.

Kansas? Ouch.That’ll be another story and another time.Shira had booked us for two nights in the

area at the Quoddy Head Station, an old CoastGuard station that has been reborn as a verycool inn.

We took our room and some quick showersand then sat outside to enjoy the cool Fundybreezes and stunning Maine scenery.

Seafood was on our minds that night as werode back to Lubec.

In the restaurant we found the owner of the inn, Bill,who mentioned that when the sun dropped and the fogrolled in that this was the time to see the lighthouse dur-ing the time it was really working – at night.

By the time we were finished with the lobsters nighthad fallen and the region’s infamous fog had rolled in.

Following Bill’s suggestion we rode back out throughthe mist, sometimes using just the yellow center line tovector in the right direction. The GPS told me when theland should be ending, but I didn’t need that as the fogcleared for a second and a stunning full Blue Moon, thesecond this month, appeared as a giant orange ball re-flecting off the water.

We stopped and just watched it for a bit before ridingto the lighthouse and turning off the GS.

Darkness enveloped us, and every ten seconds or sothe parking lot filled with the mighty Fresnel lens’ lightburning through the fog that had returned and thefoghorn’s deep tone filled the air.

It was eerie and wondrous all at the same time.

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Page 30 MARCH 2014 • BACKROADS

We drank it all in and then headed back to the inn to get an early bedtimeas we would be back at the lighthouse at 5:30 am to be the first people in theUnited States to see the sunrise this morning.

Rain moved in overnight and the morning found a bank of clouds coveringthe east. We rode to the lighthouse and enjoyed the brighten skies, but no sun– still it was nice to greet the new day there. On the way we almost ran intoa Mr. Porcupine out for a morning stroll – down the middle of the road!

Now I know why I always see them dead along the backroads.We rode back to Quoddy Head Station and realized we had a great view

of the east from the deck.Excellent. The next sunrise would be

a bit easier.We had planned to go whale watching

out of Campobello this day so we dou-bled up on my GS and rode back intoNew Brunswick only to be told theywere having no 10 am watch. No wor-ries here as we just signed up for the4pm whale watch, which would reallybe 3 pm as time jumps an hour whenyou cross into Canada.

We decided to take a ride south toMachias to see what was happeningthere, but were a bit disappointed in adrive-through town, although breakfastwas decent.

Shira had heard of a tidal phenome-non to the north called Reversal Falls,just outside the town of Pembroke.

We were not sure what we would find there, but it was well worth thesearch.

This little area is not easy to find, but a friendly lady at a local fuel stationgave us detailed directions all the way to the 2 miles of gravel road that willbring you to Mahar’s Point and one of the coolest sights in this part of DownEast Maine.

Here in the Cobscook Bay the mighty tides surge in at some 25 knots. The

power of this surge can causeother tides to reverse theirflow, resulting in a unique nat-ural phenomenon called re-versing falls. Whirlpools arecreated by the opposing cur-rents and fish get caught up inthe maelstrom and are easyprey to seals that wait for thedinner bell on the rocks.

The force of the movingwater is striking and we sat onthe boulders along the shorefor a good while just soakingthe entire scene in and watch-ing the occasional seal divedeep for dinner.

Heading back for our 4 pm whale watchwe crossed, for the 3rd time, back intoCanada and headed for the pier and ourboat.

Riding up the dock I could see a numberof good looking craft and then… our littleboat, the very little boat with the skipperworking feverishly on the outboard engine.

We weren’t going anywhere this day onthis boat.

But, to his credit the fellow called anotheroutfit that said they would wait for us toride to the other side of Campobello and inno time we were sailing past the lighthouseand into the bay.

Heading out we got treated to a lot ofthings non-whale – particularly some great birds. A pair of Osprey and a ma-jestic Bald Eagle perched high in a tall pine. A Great Heron and Cormorantand a number of sea birds as well.

BACKROADS • MARCH 2014 Page 31

We were not out long before we cameacross a pod of dolphin and then someMinke Whales.

About an hour into the trip, which wewere thoroughly enjoying as the day wasperfect for a little ocean voyage, we saw alarge blow, about ¼ mile away.

Finback Whales!

The second largest whale on theplanet these magnificent animals wereheavily hunted during the twentiethcentury and are an endangered species.Over 725,000 fin whales were reportedtaken from the Southern Hemispherebetween 1905 and 1976, as of 1997survived by only 38,000 today.

We saw six of them and they werebeautiful.

We spent nearly three hours and the

sun was just beginning to set as we sailed back to Campobello and rode backover the bridge to the American side.

We had one last dinner in the easternmost town and had the bikes packedthat night for an early start south to Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor.

Pronounced Bah Habba in these parts…Sunrise was picture perfect this next day and we were soon heading south

on Route 1 and 1A, doing are best to vector around the coast.Along the way we ran into another “Biggest” – this time a building that

was supposed to be a Blueberry. You needed to use a little bit of imaginationto make this happen.

Stopping for fuel I wassurrounded by a god-awfulfishy smell and it emanatedfrom large buckets full ofripe fish. The fellow driv-ing the pick-up truck theywere in explained thesefish were bait for lobstersand the ‘bugs’ love thisstuff and he planned on agood haul come the nextmorning.

This knowledge mightalter my “Only EatingLobster” plans that night.

Naaa….We headed up into Acadia National Park, the only National Park

located on an ocean. Originally created as Lafayette National Parkin 1919, the oldest National Park east of the Mississippi River, it wasrenamed Acadia in 1929.

We rode to the Visitor’s Center and watched a short, but very wellpenned, film on the park and then rode around the Loop Road, stop-ping at Sand Beach, filled with families and kids enjoying the spec-tacular day, and then paused by Thunder Hole, where the waves cancause a mighty roar and plenty of spray for those foolish enough toget too close.

Page 32 MARCH 2014 • BACKROADS

The road was fairly open even though itwas a Saturday in August and we stoppedhere and there for those digital moments.

We stopped by Jordan’s Pond for the oblig-atory tea and then made a run up CadillacMountain. We even had the entire road freeof traffic and made the best of these twisties!

Cadillac Mountain, named after the FrenchExplorer of the same name, is on the easternside of the island. Its green, lichen-covered,pink granite summit is, because of a combi-nation of its eastern location and height, oneof the first places inthe United States to

see the sunrise. Miles of carriage roads were originallybuilt by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. The mountains ofAcadia National Park afford riders views of the ocean,island lakes, and pine forests.

There is a reason this park is the second most visitedin the United States.

Shira had booked us a room at the Atlantic EyrieLodge, above Bar Harbor. A large place with oceanviews from every room it was the perfect place to parkthe bikes for the night and shuttle into town, which we

did; taking the shuttle bus into town and follow-ing Shira’s nose for not one - but two ice creamruns.

We spent the rest of the afternoon and into thenight strolling Bar Harbor, catching cocktails onthe water, shopping the touristy, and over priced,shops and finally a great meal to cap the night.

Bar Harbor is a neat town, but a bit more de-veloped, touristy and crowded for our tastes, sowe got an early startthe next morning andbegan our trek home,making a quick stopto visit friends Paul

and Diane Donoghue who vacation up here eachyear with the part motor home, part motorcyclegarage on wheels.

Looking at their camping spot we could seewhy they return each year to this stunning pieceof America.

Heading down Route 1 we had occasionalswarms of RVs and vacationer-packed cars head-ing south, but the bikes always made quick passeson these.

BACKROADS • MARCH 2014 Page 33

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Crossing over the Penobscot River we made aquick stop to ascend the Penobscot NarrowsBridge Observatory.

The Penobscot River Watershed covers some8,592 square miles, more than ¼ of the state ofMaine. Champlain came up this river when he wasexploring the New World.

For years the old bridge, the Waldo-Hancock,did the job of shuttling cars and people over theriver, but in 2003 engineers discovered a fatal rot-ting of the cables suspending the old span. Mainebuilt the new bridge, one of just a few in the world,called a Long Cable Stayed Bridge. It is 2,120 feet and is also home to thePenobscot Narrows Observatory, the first bridge observation tower in theUnited States and the tallest public bridge observatory in the world. (Anotherbiggest!) The tower reaches 420 feet into the air and allows visitors to viewthe bridge, the nearby Fort Knox State Historic Site, the Penobscot River,and Bay.

We took the elevator (thank God) to the top andtook in the magnificent view. You entrance fee alsoallows you to explore the Fort Knox Historic Site.This began construction in 1844 during a periodof tension between the United Kingdom and theUnited States over issues about the Canadian bor-der following the Aroostook War, sometimescalled the Pork and Beans War. The intent was todefend the Penobscot River and Bangor, Maine, amajor source of shipbuilding lumber. The Pork andBeans War was a confrontation in 1838 betweenthe United States and the British over the interna-

tional boundary between the British colony of New Brunswick and the USstate of Maine. Top level diplomats from the US and Britain met in Wash-ington and forged a peaceful compromise, the Webster-Ashburton Treaty in1842, which fixed the permanent border. The term “war” was rhetorical, aslocal militia units were called out but never engaged in combat. The event isbest described as an “international incident.” In the end the crisis involved

no actual armed confrontation between military forcesand negotiations between British diplomat Baron Ash-burton and United States Secretary of State Daniel Web-ster quickly settled the dispute.

Daniel Webster? Once again the story ties itself intoa bow.

This was also the first fort in Maine built of granite(instead of wood). It is named after Henry Knox, thefirst US Secretary of War, lived not far away in Thomas-ton, Maine.

Both the tower and fort were fascinating and we wereglad we took the time for a visit.

Along this route, and all over the Downeast, you willsee Lobster Pounds and signs for lobster rolls and allsorts of sea food.

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Page 34 MARCH 2014 • BACKROADS

We have tried a number and many a person has waited on the long line atRed’s Eats at the bottom of the bridge in Wiscasset, but we had heard of an-other place a little off the beaten track in Georgetown that offered not onlygreat ‘lobsta’ rolls’ but great ambiance as well, so we headed south on Route127 to Five Islands Lobster Company.

You’ll find this place on an activefisherman’s wharf nestled on one ofthe prettiest bays in the region. Dozenof picnic tables allow for plenty ofseating and we waited all of a minuteto place our order. Here you can haveit all but I went for the ‘Big Boy’ lob-sta’ roll which filled me up for therest of the day.

From here we felt we were startingour turn back to New Jersey andhome, but not before we made a stopin the city of Portland to visit our friend Loren Coleman and the InternationalCryptozoology Museum.

Here you will find one of the greatest collections of unknown, soon to bediscovered or newly classified animals. Yeti, Jersey Devil, Nessie and manyother mysteries can be discovered here.

We had written about the International Cryptozoology Museum a few yearsback but they have since moved to a far larger space and the new museum is

fantastic and you can easily spend a good deal of time here.From here we said goodbye to the coast that had been our companion for

so many days and headed west through the state of Maine and crossed, onceagain, into New Hampshire.

We have some friends in this region as well and it was good to see Richardand Dee Dee and their 1800’s farmhouse that they have refurbished into awonderful home.

We spent the night with our friends andgot an early start towards Vermont.

The plan was to ride till dusk and seewhere we were, grab a room and returnhome on Tuesday, but we had lunch inWilmington, and by early evening we hadrun the backroads all the way down to thelower Catskills.

Thus far on this ride we had stunningweather every day, but this day cloudscame in and we were getting sprinkled on.Near Phoenicia we just decided to keep on

rolling and as the sun was setting we rolled into Backroads Central, a bit asstired but happy to be home.

It’s always difficult to give a wrap up paragraph or two at the end of a greattour. Suffice to say we saw a lot of the ‘Biggest-Largest-Best’ along the way,with phenomenal scenery, scrumptious meals, great people and nearly 2,000miles of superb riding. All in all a great tour and one that is waiting for youjust a few days to the north.

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BACKROADS • MARCH 2014 Page 35

MamaDuke’s Diner • 603-242-7733226 Fitzwilliam Rd, Troy, NH

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The Chapman Inn • 207-824-26572 Church St, Bethel, ME

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Five Islands Lobster Co. • 207-371-29901447 Five Islands Rd, Georgetown, ME

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Shira’S ‘BonuS’ice cream run

Several loCaTionS in maine and in SeleCT markeTS in neW enGland

Well, it’s the middle of February, the snow is, once again, falling at a verygood clip, and that rotten rodent Phil has dashed the promise of Spring. I dostick my head in the garage every so often to greet my two-wheeledfriends and look forward to the return of warm,dry, sand and salt-free roads to adventure out andfind some tasty frozen treats to bring to you.

But, to bring some sunshine into your day, andsince we are featuring wonderful Downeast Maine,here’s a wintery nugget to whet your appetite.

Gifford’s Famous Ice Cream has been makingfolks smile since 1947. Like all great ice creams, along history is to be had, starting with Randall Giffordlearning the craft from his father-in-law Chester Mainin Connecticut. Randall and his wife, Audrey, grew up inthe dairy business, particularly the creation of super-rich icecream. Once the time came to sow their own oats, they made the moveto Randall’s home state of Maine where they started creating their own icecream history, with the first ice cream stand opening in 1980 in Skowhegan.There was no stopping them from there and today, with five generations in-volved, Gifford’s may have grown and modernized, but they are still servingup world-class, small town goodness in their home town in Maine.

We happened to be in the vicinity of their Ban-gor stand, which was opened in 1987. Unfortu-nately, we were passing through early in themorning, so thought we might just be able to snapa few shots and find some of their ice cream else-where in our Maine travels. Luck was with us,though, as there was a very friendly woman dili-gently taking charge of the stand before normalhours and more than willing to sell us some icecream for breakfast. Not one to turn away agolden opportunity, I ordered up their ‘OutdoorAdventure Series’ consisting of six scoops includ-ing Appalachian Trail (cream banana base withhoney crunch cashews and chocolate flakes),Campfire S’mores (graham base with chocolatechip crunch and marshmallow ripple), Flying Fishing Fudge (vanilla basewith M&Ms, cookie dough and chocolate chunks), Golden Road ButterBrickle (buttery base with crunchy sweet pieces of peanut brittle), Mt.

Katahdin Crunch (toffee base loaded with chocolatecoated English toffee rubble) and Muddy Boots(vanilla crammed full of rich caramel ripple andbrownie bits).

This last flavor was developed in 2012 for L.L.Bean’s 100th anniversary. Gifford’s is no stranger to

accolades and awards. Their Vanilla Bean wongrand prize at the World Dairy Expo in 2012, as didtheir Orange Sherbert. A bit closer to home, in 2013Gifford’s received the People’s Choice 1st Place at

the New Jersey Ice Cream Festival for their CampfireS’Mores. What!? An Ice Cream Festival right here in my

own home state and I’ve never been? Well, come this July 19,you better believe I’ll be pointing my two wheels to Toms River for the 12thannual Brain Freeze Bonanza. Find out more here: www.downtowntom-sriver.com/icecream/festival.htm

Okay, back to Gifford’s. The bowl handed to us was most impressive, anda perfect way to start the day. Between the two of us, we made pretty good

Page 36 MARCH 2014 • BACKROADS

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progress, savoring the creamy goodness of each flavor and lamenting whenthe bowl was empty. Luscious cream and crunchy innards enough to makeany tummy happy.

Being a Maine native, Gifford’s is very strict about what they put intotheir ice cream, with a pledge from their dairy farmers to not use artificialgrowth hormones and as many local ingredients as possible. While they dooffer a Maine Lobster Tracks flavor, no lobsters have been hurt in its mak-ing. It will tickle your senses with a vanilla base, lobster-colored chocolatechips filled with caramel all swirled with a unique éclair crunch. Sweet,tasty and a Maine original, just like Gifford’s. The other staple found inMaine is blueberries, and Gifford’s Maine Wild Blueberry ice cream fea-tures berries brought to you from Ellsworth. A summer day in every mouth-ful. Naturally, you can always find the basics – Vanilla and Chocolate. I’vealready mentioned their vanilla bean was award-winning but so is theirchocolate – it’s in the name – World’s Best Chocolate, winning in2007,2009, 2010 and 2011 at the World Dairy Expo and awarded 1st placechocolate ice cream by the national ice cream retailers association.

No matter how many awards they are given, the test comes down to yourreaction when the first spoonful enters your mouth. I guarantee you won’tbe disappointed with any flavor you get from Gifford’s. It will make yourmouth happy and put a smile on your face. That’s the best award anyone canask for.

You can find a listing of Gifford’s stand locations and where you mightfind them locally on their website: www.giffordsicecream.com.

Until next time, even in the dead of winter, enjoy your ice cream often andI’ll see you on the road.

moUnT deSerT iSland iCe Cream

Three loCaTionS in maine • WWW.mdiiC.Com

Not wanting to overlook another Maine native, here’sa short bit about Mount Desert Island Ice Cream thatwill have you spinning your wheels straight to Bar Har-bor, or Portland if you’d rather.

When traveling, I like to do a little research to seewhat dairy delights I might find along the way. Duringthe Maine planning stages, I discovered that there wasa celebrity located at one of our stops. Seems that ourillustrious president Obama made a stop for some co-conut ice cream and gave it two thumbs up. Dependingon your leanings, you can take that however you like. Idecided to give Mount Desert Island Ice Cream my owntaste test. I was not disappointed.

Mt. Desert has two locations in downtown Bar Har-bor, a small walk-up shop near the drop off for the localshuttle at 7 Firefly Lane and a little bit larger one, justdown the street, at 325 Main St. Funny, I just couldn’tbelieve that both had the same quality so I had to tryboth.

Deciding on a sampling dish to sustain me until wemade it to the second location, I filled my bowl withBay of Figs, Atlantic Brewing Stout with Fudge, Viet-namese Coffee and Madagascar Vanilla Bean (to makeBrian happy as he opted to ‘share’ mine). As touted ontheir website, Mt. Desert Is. does artisanal small batches(no more than five gallons at a time) with organic milk

and cream from Maine Moos. The butter-fat is high, the air churned in is low andthat results in a VERY super dense,creamy and fresh tasting frozen concoc-tion. No matter what spoonful was hittingmy tongue, it was bursting with flavor.

In addition to their ice cream. MDIpumps out some wonderful sorbets withequally delicious flavors. How aboutsome Blueberry Basil (Maine blueber-ries, dontchaknow), Moscow Mule (per-sonal favorite of mine) or Mango JicamaHabanero? No matter what you settle on,you will have a smile on your face.

Linda Parker, the owner of Mt. DesertIsland Ice Cream, has been at the helmand personally churning out this celestialconfection since its inception in 2005.

They have gotten rave reviews and business has grown so much that Linda’s2014 resolution is to find a little help so that MDI Ice Cream can satisfy morediscerning palates.

The next time you find your motorcycle parked in either Bar Harbor orPortland, you’d be a fool not to make your way to Mount Desert Island IceCream for some of the best dessert ever found on Shira’s Ice Cream Run.

BACKROADS • MARCH 2014 Page 37

We’ve been riding to and along the upper Delaware River for decades.Years back, when an eagle or eagles were in the area the locals all knewabout it.

There was a time that such sightings were rare and I clearly re-member eagle ‘hunting’ with my cousins and uncle along the rivernear Narrowsburg, New York. In a comedy of errors we spotted alarge mature male in a tree. I stopped my truck, but my cousin, star-ing at the bird instead of the truck ahead of him, slammed into me.

The large bald eagle watched all this and simply flew away.“Why’d you stop so fast?” “Why weren’t you looking where you were going”?Photo op missed and a family yarn began.Yes, Barry - it is still your fault.

Return of our National SymbolThat ‘Family Guy’ moment was more than a few years back and these

days, especially in late winter and early spring you can find dozens of baldeagles floating on the breeze, nesting in trees and raising young in and aroundthe Upper Delaware Valley.

As we just stated until recently, your chances of actually seeing an eaglealong the Upper Delaware were slim. That has changed, thanks to recent co-operative efforts to improve environmental conditions and to re-establish thebald eagle in the eastern United States. After nearly disappearing from mostof the United States decades ago, the bald eagle is now flourishing acrossthe nation and no longer needs the protection of the Endangered Species Act.After removal from the nation’s list of threatened and endangered species in

2007, the bald eagle continues to be pro-tected under the Bald and Golden EagleProtection Act and the Migratory Bird

Treaty Act. With a better understanding andsome forethought the birds are flourishing.These days you will find many bald eagles mi-

grating to the Upper Delaware each winter in searchof open water, fresh and abundant fish and undisturbed

habitat. When lakes and rivers freeze over in northern por-tions of the United States and Canada, bald eagles movesouthward to areas like the Upper Delaware River Valley.It’s estimated that more than 200 different eagles use theDelaware River for some period of time during the win-ter months.

Depending on weather conditions, the eagles beginarriving in mid-December. By springtime most eaglesbegin the return flight to their breeding areas locatedto the north. Though each year the National Park Serv-ice has reported that there are more and more year

round “resident” eagles staying in the Upper Delaware,building their nests and raising their young.

Page 38 MARCH 2014 • BACKROADS

Bald Eagleson the

Delaware

I know he’d be a poorer man, if he never saw an eagle fly.

John Denver

® Paulinskill River Photography

You’re the only Eagle for me…Bald eagles normally mate for life, with a better batting average in this

than humans, but will secure other mates if one is lost. Both partners are in-volved with nest building and feeding the young.

Eagle nests are monstrous things, sometime 6 to 10 feet wide and verydeep.

Females lay 1 to 3 eggs and incubate them for a period of 35 days. Theyoung remain in the nest for 3 months, and are fully grown when they leavethe nest (fledge). By 5 months, the immature eagle leaves the nesting area.Migratory immature eagles often will return to the general vicinity (within200 miles) of where they were born when they reach maturity and are readyto find a mate of their own and build a nest. A bald eagle can live in the wildfor as long as 30 years.

Looking for Bald EaglesFirst off there are many different large birds that call

the river home but bald eagles are easy to identify. Look for the massive wingspan of 6-7 feet, twice the

size of any other bird of prey that you might see here.They are a deep brown and their heads are mottledwith white. When they soar, their wings are held nearlyflat, compared to the V-formation of a turkey vultureor the angled wing of an osprey.

Your best bet for spotting bald eagles is a leisurely ride up Route 97 fromthe Port Jervis area to north of Narrowsburg, New York.

Just north of Route 97 you will find the Rio Reser-voir, a 422-acre body of water, a dammed part of theMongaup River that flows from the north to theDelaware River. The Rio Reservoir is prime for bass,perch and walleye and that makes for the perfect placeto go searching for bald eagles.

We have brought many a ride up this way so morethan a few of you will be familiar with this region, butfor those who are not you will find plenty of places topull off the road to eagle watch and there are a numberof designated spots created specifically for eagle

BACKROADS • MARCH 2014 Page 39

watching created by the National Park Serviceand watched over by the Eagle Institute of theDelaware Highlands Conservancy.

delawarehighlands.org/eaglesThey offer some suggestions for successful

eagle viewing:• Remain in or near your vehicle at roadside

viewing locations.• Move quickly and quietly to observation

blinds, where you can remain hidden from viewwhile watching the eagles. (Blinds are locatedat Mongaup Reservoir and at Minisink Ford lo-cations).

• Avoid loud noises, such as yelling, car doorslamming, horn honking and unnecessary move-ment.

• Use binoculars and a spotting scope inteadof trying to get “a little bit closer.”

• Don’t do anything to try to make the eagle fly.• Consider joining a Delaware Highlands Conservancy guided field trip, at least for your first-time viewing

experience, to learn the best way to view eagles.

Here’s a little jaunt foryour eagle-viewing pleas-ure. While it’s best to sightthese magnificent birdsduring the winter months,you can still take this ridewhen the weather is morecooperative and catch oneor two. The osprey do re-turn to the area in March.Enjoy and remember to bekind and respectful tothese beauties.

Page 40 MARCH 2014 • BACKROADS

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In these days of larger and larger motorcycles it is good to see something getting smaller, smarter and more powerful.Take Shorai LFX Batteries, for instance.These batteries can save you up to 20 pounds on larger touring machines and with over two dozen battery option thereis a Shorai Battery for every application from motorcycles to ATVs and watercraft.These batteries operate at a higher voltage range during cranking allowing for far quicker starts and, being lithium-based, there is never any chemical degradation during storage.These batteries are typically smaller in size than the standard battery that came with your machine, but they all comewith special foam cut-outs for a custom and tight fit.All Shorai LFX Batteries come with a three-year limited warranty.Why carry a heavy standard battery when you can go lighter, smarter and more powerful with a Shorai LFX Battery.Find Shorai LFX Batteries at your dealer or log onto their website at www.shoraipower.com.

BACKROADS • MARCH 2014 Page 41

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year is the long awaited Gerbing EX Jacket with a Cordura shell and a max heatof 135 degrees Fahrenheit including certified protection on the back, shoulders,

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winter Holiday morning. Add the EX Pants for complete body warmth.Check out the new Gerbing EX heated gear products at gerbing.com or a Gerbing dealer near you.

Q KNOT ORIGINAL TIES TAME THE CABLE MESS IN YOUR TANKBAG

We all know that there are several ‘must-haves’ in one’s tank bag – duct tape, a small knife, a flashlight and…zip ties. Fromthe mouth’s of middle-aged men everywhere come the words ‘ if you can’t fix it, duct it.’ And this applies many times to zipties as well.We received a sample package of Q Knot multipurpose reusable ties by UT Wire™ and thought they might work like the ever-popular zip tie. While the concept is the same, they certainly aren’t as thin and maneuverable as the zip-tie but more likenedto a rubber band. Still very handy for organizing loose objects floating around in your tank or saddlebags. One example thatcomes to mind are the multiple cables that you may have running into your tankbag for communication, radar, GPS, etc. thatneed to be wrangled, but on a semi-permanent basis. Just wrap a Q Knot around these and tuck them in a corner of the bag.When they need releasing there’s no need to cut and reuse another zip-tie, just unlock the Q Knot.Made of thick rubber, Q Knots have plenty of stretch and durability and can be used over and over. They come in a variety oflengths and colors and can be found at Home Depot, major retailers or most online shops and sell for $2.99-$8.99.Find out more at www.ut-wire.com

Page 42 MARCH 2014 • BACKROADS

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For the second time in the same year the International Motorcycle Showby Progressive Insurance meandered into the Javits Center on Manhattan’swest side.

The show is usually held middle or end of January, but that was not thecase this year. We were told it was because the Superbowl was being held inNJ and the NFL had taken most of the convention center over at that time.We saw nothing on the Javits schedule that said as such. A quote from theWall Street Journal said, “An important catch for either state would be host-ing the “NFL Experience,” an expo that accompanies each Super Bowl in alarge convention center. The Jacob K. Javits Center, a natural host for theevent, is booked and won’t host Super Bowl events, said Leslie Buxton, aJavits spokeswoman.

But, by holding the event just a weekor two away from Christmas holidaysthe show saw a significant number ofvendors, both big and small, choosenot to attend. One bright light in theotherwise dimness was the attendanceof one Norm Smith from Switzerland.Many may know Norm from his BMWdays, and we were happy to host hisvisit to this year’s IMS.

In addition to the holiday crowds,mayhem and intense traffic that arrivesin New York City each December allthe hotels that are normally used by the

vendors, including Backroads, doubled, sometimes tripled in nightly rates.As many know the first real hard snow rolled into the region on Saturday

causing many riders and wannabe riders to change their plans or just hunkerdown and stay home. Both Friday night and Saturday afternoon – normallythe busiest of hours – were very light. After 3 pm on Saturday the Javits andthe motorcycle show was a ghost town – unless you count the 50 or so ‘DrunkSantas’ from SantaCon.

Sunday showed a much bettercrowd, but still not enough to makeit worthwhile for many of the ven-dors selling wares and gear.

We always try to make the best ofa bad situation and when thecrowds were there our booth was

busy and we always appreciate thekind words than many of youpassed our way. We have never leftthis show without feeling revital-ized and pumped about the upcom-ing season and Backroads.

As for the show itself, regard-less of the timing or weather, wefelt the manufacturers and manyof the aftermarket that did attenddid a smashing job. Indian, com-ing off a stellar first year, hadsome great machines there, asdid Victory and Harley-David-son. The big Japanese companieswere all there and all showingsome serious new machines,

many of which we hope to bring to you in future issues of Backroads. Onthe European front BMW had four new machines to show us and KTM andDucati also had fantastic displays and folks on hand to answer any question

BACKROADS • MARCH 2014 Page 43

PH: 516-541-1119 • 718-847-2015Email: Tramas847@aol.comWeb: Tramas.com • Tramas2Ride.com

THE MORE YOU KNOW THE BETTER IT GETS

TEACHING MOTORCYCLISTS SINCE 1966

Is Motorcycling For You?Here’s a great way to find out…

Already Riding Your Own Bike?Here’s a great way to refresh your skills…

A two-hour, first-touch experience with a motorcycle and not designed to teach a

person to ride. The INTRODUCTORY MOTORCYCLE EXPERIENCEwill help a potential rider determine whether motorcycling is a good personal choice,

as well as ensure a person is aware of the risks and requirements for being a good,

safe and responsible rider.

For riders who already have basic skills. Similar to the BRC, the Basic Rider-Course 2 is done on your own motorcycle at higher speeds. Informal classroom

component to discuss safety concepts based on past riding experiences and current

knowledge. For a BRC2 minus the license waiver component (no classroom activities

and no knowledge or skill test), there is a skills practice offering.

Event Recap • 2013 New York International Motorcycle Show • TIMING IS EVERYTHING

in detail.Triumph too had a great booth and a tremendous

looking Land Speed Machine, powered bytwo Rocket engines and ridden by veteranmotorcycle racer Jason DiSalvo, looking togo some 400 miles per hour later this year.

A few touring companies were on handoffering the chance to ride motorcyclesaround the world, including our friends atCeltic Rider Motorcycle Rental and Edel-weiss as well as others. For the adventurecrowd Twisted Throttle and ALT Riderswere in attendance and a good number ofriding schools were there as well, for folkslooking to learn the proper way.

Many local dealers had people at various booths explaining the machines andletting people know where they could get them and a few local shops, like HudsonValley, made the effort to secure their own booth space – something that was com-mon place years back and that we would like to see more of in the future. Theeconomy will tell.

SPRING BREAK 2014May 23-26

Ba

ck

of th

e D

rag

on

Ba

ck

roa

ds

Sp

ring

Bre

ak

20

14Join Team Backroads as we head to the south-

ern Virginia Mountains where we’ll call the Gen-

eral Francis Marion Hotel in Marion, VA home for

three nights. This region has some of the most

serious motorcycling roads such as the Back of

the Dragon and Claw of

the Dragon, with hudreds

of miles of incredible rid-

ing. In addition there’s

quaint towns, deep history

and phenomenal scenery.

We hope you can travel

south for what promises to

be a superb weekend of

riding and a memorable

Memorial Day Weekend.

Rooms are extremely limited so

BOOK TODAY.Rooms are $84 - $145/night + tax and include continental

breakfast. When booking please reference ‘Back of the

Dragon Backroads Group’ for discount.

General Francis Marion Hotel • Marion, VA

877-783-4802 • www.gfmhotel.com

Get out your maps and start planning now!

Call for a free brochure 877-255-9928

visitwytheville.com/motorcycle-trails.html

Page 44 MARCH 2014 • BACKROADS

The layout for this show was awesome - very large and spread out(probably a concession for losing the preferred date), allowing for farwider lanes to accommodate the crowds that never showed.

This allowed for a phenomenal Custom Motorcycle Show and these ma-chines were all impressive in their own ways.

Another odd thing that was featured all weekend long was the School of

Rock where different rock bands,made up of high school studentsfrom various local schools per-formed classic rock songs. The kidswere all talented and we were farenough away that it was pleasantbackground music. But, for thebooths right next to the stage itproved to be a strain on the vocalchords as they could not talk to per-

spective clients and buyers while the bands were on stage.The layout here could have been far better thought out.In addition they also used the stage for discussions and interviews with

motorcycle celebrities - a far better use of this venue.All in all the horrid combination of pre-holiday dates, snowstorm and other

factors made this a lackluster New York Show. Probably the worst we haveattended in two decades of doing this event.

Let us hope next year things get back to normal.

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Stumpy’s YAMAHAYour Toy Store at the Shore

YAMA-HOTLINE • 732-776-55141207 Rte 35 South • Neptune, NJ • www.Stumpys.com

BACKROADS • MARCH 2014 Page 45

Page 46 MARCH 2014 • BACKROADS

M O T O R C Y C L E M A R K E T P L A C E ALL THAT GOOD STUFF

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Celebrate the Season withsome awesome barbeque!

If you go home hungryit’s your own fault

www.facebook.com/pages/Backroads-Motorcycle-Touring-Magazine/86102625812

‘Like’ us on Facebook for all the latest news, up-to-the-minute ridesand events and just cool motorcycle stuff. We often do impromptu lunch

or dinner rides, as well as weekend jaunts. Don’t be left out.

Are you ready for the most comfortable motorcycle saddle?A saddle that fits properly eliminates pressure points that reduce

blood flow. It takes a solid understanding of human anatomy

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The Ides of March are upon us - that means the snow is melting andthe roads will be clear very soon. Get your motorcycle and youready to ride with a complete check up of mechanics and gear.

BACKROADS • MARCH 2014 Page 47

M O T O R C Y C L E M A R K E T P L A C E ALL THAT GOOD STUFF

Sussex Hills Ltd.

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Tuesday ~ Sunday 11am-9pm

Brunch 10am-2pm • Closed Mondays

Call for Seasonal Hours

Excellent Ride Destination

Get BACKROADS delivered to your homeEVERY MONTH!

Just fill out the simple form and mail it along with payment to:

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MARCH 20141-2 • Motorcyclepedia Museum Kids Weekend. Weekend of games, movies and fun forthe kids. Scavenger hunts, games and rides, not to mention more than 500 antique, clas-sic and unique motorcycles and motorcycle memorabilia to look at. All indoors. Adults$11/3-12 $5/under 3 free. 250 Lake St, Newburgh, NY • www.motorcyclepediamu-seum.org • 845-569-9065

1 • 6.5 Infotainment Seminar. What’s new with Harley’s Touch Screen infotainment sys-tem? A lot! Stop in and find out. Enjoy a FREE lunch and a ton of great information. Sem-inar will take place from 1-2:30pm. Lunch from noon-2pm while it lasts. Bergen CountyHarley-Davidson, 124 Esses St, Rochelle Park, NJ • 201-843-6930

1 • The Modern Classics presented by Martin Motosports, Boyertown, PA. All Day. Cel-ebrates the motorcycles of the 60s, 70s and 80s that made big contributions to theireras with their technology, style, performance or establishing new trends. 1037 UngerLane, Boyertown, PA • 610-369-3120 • www.martinmoto.com

1 • Harley-Davidson Long Branch Seminar: Picking Up a Dropped Bike. It happens to thebest of us - maybe you parked on some soft ground at a rally or maybe the kids knockedit over in the garage, however ithappened, learn the best technique for lifting your bikesolo. Seating is limited, call for details and to reserve your spot • 671 Broadway, LongBranch, NJ • www.hdlongbranch.com• 732-229-8518

3-5 • North American International SuperShow, International Centre, Toronto Canada. TheBig One by the Airport. For full details visit www.motorcyclesupershow.ca or call 888-661-7469

6 • Rene Cormier's Speaking Tour visits Max BMW, 465 Federal Rd, Brookfield, CT • 6-8pm. As part of his speaking program, a Free trip to Africa is given away to a lucky at-tendee to one of these talks. For those who can make it out to Max's, we will be givinganother trip away!

7 • Cross Country BMW presents Rene Cormier Renedian Adventures Presentation. 7-9pm Rene Cormier is bringing his speaking tour to CCBMW to share his world-travelingexperience. www.CCBMW.com • 732-906-9292 • 911 Middlesex Ave, Metuchen, NJ

8 • 2014 Model Year Technical Forum. Learn all there is to know about the amazing newH-D models. We'll answer all your questions. Short seminar followed by open Q&A. Seat-ing is limited, call for details or RSVP on Facebook • 671 Broadway, Long Branch, NJ• www.hdlongbranch.com• 732-229-8518

9 • BMW Bikers of Metropolitan Washington Meeting and Tech Day. Club members willbe able to use the shop before the monthly meeting of the largest BMW motorcycle clubin the region. Take advantage of special sales and Morton’s BMW staff experience andadvice. For times see www.bmwbmw.org. Morton’s BMW, 5099A Jefferson Davis Hwy,Frederickburg, VA • 540-891-9844 • www.MortonsBMW.com

10-12 • Motorcyclepedia Museum Swap Meet. Clean out your garage and closets andmake some money. Check website or social media pages for times/dates of perform-ances. Motorcyclpedia Museum, 250 Lake St, Newburgh, NY • 845-560-9065 •www.motorcyclepediamuseum.org

11 • Jersey Shore HOG meeting. All are welcome. Charley's Ocean Grill, Long Branch,NJ 7:30pm

13 • University of Gravel Roads presentation by Rene Cormier at Morton’s BMW. Authorand motorcyclist Rene Cormier will entertain us with a multimedia show of his travels,as well as autographing his beautiful coffee table book. 6pm refreshments • 7-9 presen-tation. Morton’s BMW, 5099A Jefferson Davis Hwy, Frederickburg, VA • 540-891-9844 • www.MortonsBMW.com

15 • Harley Davidson Long Branch St. Patrick's Day Celebration. Whether you're Irish orjust wish you were, join us at 12pm for a free corned beef & cabbage lunch. Also pickup a limited edition St. Patty's Day t-shirt. 671 Broadway, Long Branch, NJ • www.hd-longbranch.com• 732-229-8518

15 • Bob's BMW 'Lighten Your Load' Seminar • 11am • Join us for an informative dis-cussion about how to keep the weight down and a demonstration of proper packingtechniques to enhance your safety and riding pleasure. Email Hanna.creekmore@bobs-bmw.com to reserve your space. Visit bobsbmw.com for more info. 10720 Guilford Rd,Jessup, MD • 301-497-8949

15 • Rene Cormier's Speaking Tour visits Frontline Eurosports, 1003 Electric Rd,Salem, VA • 3-5pm. As part of his speaking program, a Free trip to Africa is given awayto a lucky attendee to one of these talks. For those who can make it out to Frontline, wewill be giving another trip away!

7-16 • Daytona Bike Week • www.officialbikeweek.com

8-11 • Buzzard Bottom 7. Enjoy awesome roads and camaraderie, presented by BuzzardBrent and Poverty Riders Int'l at High Country Motorcycle Camp, Ferguson, NC, just 20miles off the blue Ridge Parkway. THis is a comfortable gathering for riders, not a con-structed rally. Camping rates apply and meals will be available. www.highcountrymo-torcyclecamp.com

22 • Harley Davidson Long Branch Group Riding Seminar. Riding with a group adds awhole new dimension to the experience, whether it's an impromptu ride or organizedrally run. Join us 11am-noon to learn the skills necessary for safe group riding. Seatingis limited, please RSVP on FAcebook or call 732-229-8518. 671 Broadway, Long Branch,NJ • www.hdlongbranch.com

22 • Bob's BMW Seminar 'Better Understanding your Insurance Policy • 11am • Pre-sented by Rider Insurance. Get a free gift along with a free quote. Email hanna.creek-more@bobwsbmw.com • 10720 Guilford Rd, Jessup, MD • 301-497-8949

26 • Harley Davidson Long Branch York Factory Tour. We'll meet and ride/drive to thefactory. Space is limited, please call for details and to reserve your spot. 671 Broadway,Long Branch, NJ • www.hdlongbranch.com• 732-229-8518

27 • Harley Davidson Long Branch Men's Only Tailgate Party. Fun and games with coldbeer, bbq, tailgating games and everything you want to know about riding. 6-9:30pm.Learn how to get starting riding from the basics to getting you up to speed. Seating islimited, please RSVP on Facebook or call 732-229-8518. 671 Broadway, Long Branch,NJ • www.hdlongbranch.com

29 • Bob's BMW Let's Ride Seminar • 11am • Spring is on its way! Is your bike readyfor the road? Let our expert technicians show you the important safety and performanceissues that are often overlooked in the zeal to ride as soon as winter loosens its grip.Email hanna.creekmore@bobsbmw.com to reserve your space today • 10720 GuilfordRd, Jessup, MD • 301-497-8949

APRIL 20142 • Victory Metuchen Victory Demo Day. Victory Demo Truck will be on-site for demorides. For full details please visit www.VictoryMetuchen.com • 732-906-9292

6 • Motorcyclepedia Museum Swap Meet. 10am-4pm. Motorcyclpedia Museum, 250Lake St, Newburgh, NY • 845-560-9065 • www.motorcyclepediamuseum.org

12 • Morton’s BMW Spring Open House • 9a-4p. Join hundreds of bike enthusiasts forone of the largest BMW open houses in the region, featuring demo rides, food, music,door prizes, sales and much more - ALL FREE. Morton’s BMW, 5099A Jefferson DavisHwy, Frederickburg, VA • 540-891-9844 • www.MortonsBMW.com

26 • Bob’s BMW Spring Open House. All brand riders are encouraged to join the fun.FOOD, PRIZES, ONE-DAY SPECIALS, VENDORS AND LOTS OF FUN. Motorcycle Dyno.On-site food trucks. Vendors contact hanna.creekmore@bobsbmw.com. 10720 GuilfordRd, Jessup, MD • 301-497-8949

MAY 20144 • International Female Ride Day • www.motoress.com

4 • Ramapo MC Spring Run. Most unique Poker Run combining marksmanship, hand/eyecoordination, intuition or just dumb luck. $15/entry • Sign in: 9am. Rhodes Tavern North,Route 17N, Sloatsburg, NY. Charity benefits Helen Hayes Hospital. Info - Dick Roberts• 201-767-3594

16-18 • Morton’s BMW 2014 Spring Fling Rally. A weekend of great roads, good food,interesting seminars, and terrific company, all at historic and scenic Natural Bridge, VA.$45 rally fee incl. vendors, seminars, route sheets/GPS data, scavenger hunt, door prizes,Sat. dinner and presentation. Optional Friday nite Brats & Brew dinner $20. Visit websitefor complete details • Morton’s BMW Motorcycles, 5099A Jefferson Davis Hwy,Fredericksburg, VA • 540-891-9844 • www.mortonsbmw.com

16-18 • 9th Annual Whitehorse Gear Open House. Expanded hours to accomodateeveryone. 9am-5pm with 10% off any non-sale items. Saturday enjoy morning coffee onus and enter for free raffle prizes. Free lunch at noon. NO SALES TAX. 107 East ConwayRoad, Conway Center, NH. GPS: N 44° 00.33' • W 71° 05.03/ Elevation 553 ft.

18 • Bergen County Harley-Davidson Freedom Run. For full details please visit websitewww.bergenharleydavidson.com

May 23-26 • Backroads Spring Break • Marion, Virginia. Info on page 2624 • 12th Annual Twisted Throttle Open House. You've probably heard by now abouthow much fun previous Twisted Throttle Open House events have been. Over 1,000 mo-torcycle riders of all kinds show up to enjoy some entertainment, food, and to see what'snew for the upcoming season. www.twistedthrottle.com

JUNE 20141 • Morton’s BMW Off-road training - exact date and details TBD. Stay informed withour News & Notes e-newsletter or check our website. Morton’s BMW, 5099A JeffersonDavis Hwy, Frederickburg, VA • 540-891-9844 • www.MortonsBMW.com

2-7 • World’s Largest Touring Rally Returns. Americade, Lake George NY. For allthe details and registration information visit www.americade.com

6-8 • AltRider Adventures Conserve the Ride Weekend. Ride the scenic, lush trails ofPennsylvania. GPS routes (created by the locals in Seven Mountains Conservation Corp.)for all skill levels on scenic off-road trails, 2 nights of camping at Woodward Caves inCentral PA, 5 meals including a special pig roast + adult beverages, off-road seminars,live EnduroCross race on a custom built track, prize giveaways from our sponsors. Findout all the details at www.altrider.com • info@altrider.com

14-22 • 90th Anniversary of the original riding rally- Laconia Bike Week. WeirsBeach, Laconia, NH. www.LaconiaBikeWeek.com • 603-366-2000

16 • RIDE TO WORK • www.RideToWork.org

19-21 • Mid-Atlantic Women’s M/C Rally. Gettysburg, PA • www.MAWMR.org

JULY 20142-5 • Wing Ding - Madison, WI • www.GWRRA.org

18-20 • AMA Vintage Motorcycle Rally. Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course - Lexington,OH • www.AmericanMotorcyclist.com

SEPTEMBER 20145-7 • Women’s Sportbike Rally VIII - Deals Gap, NC • www.WomensSportbikeR-ally.com

10-13 • Westchester Beemers NY Trio Tour 2014. Sport-touring ‘scavenger hunt’ event.3 consecutive daily rides begin and end at Hampton Inn, Elkins, WV base location. Dailyrides average 8.5 hours covering 350 miles. Limited to 33 riders. $50 incl. Sat. eveningclosing dinner, rider card and prizes for top three finishers. Discounted lodging arrange-ments in place at base location (304-630-7500). for full details call or visit 914-328-7909• www.triotour.org

Page 48 MARCH 2014 • BACKROADS

UPCOMING EVENTS CALENDAR What’s Happening

http://www.nolan-usa.com

ONLY Full Line KTM Dealer in the tri-state area

HUGE inventory of KTM Parts,Accessories and Apparel

honda.com ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET, EYE PROTECTION AND PROTECTIVE CLOTHING. NEVER RIDEUNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DRUGS OR ALCOHOL, AND NEVER USE THE STREET AS A RACETRACK. OBEY THELAW AND READ THE OWNER’S MANUAL THOROUGHLY. For rider training information or to locate a rider trainingcourse near you, call the Motorcycle Safety Foundation at 800-446-9227. Valkyrie and Interceptor are registeredtrademarks of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (07/13)

2014 Valkyrie®

Legendary Power • Groundbreaking Style

Dress properly for your ride with a helmet, eye protection, long-sleeved shirt, long pants, gloves and boots. Do not drink and ride. It is illegal and dangerous. Yamaha and theMotorcycle Safety Foundation encourage you to ride safely and respect the environment. For further information regarding the MSF course, please call 1-800-446-9227.Professional rider depicted on a closed course. ©2013 Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. All rights reserved. • YamahaMotorsports.com

www.Powersports.Honda.comMon, Tue, Wed, Fri: 9am-6pm • Thur: 9am-8pm • Sat: 9am-5pm

SUNDAY: CLOSED - GONE RIDING

210 Route 10 West

East Hanover, NJ

973-428-1735

www.HanoverPowersports.comMon, Tue, Wed, Fri: 9am-6pm • Thur: 9am-8pm • Sat: 9am-5pm

SUNDAY: CLOSED - GONE RIDING

www.HanoverPowersports.comMon, Tue, Wed, Fri: 9am-6pm • Thur: 9am-8pm • Sat: 9am-5pm

SUNDAY: CLOSED - GONE RIDING

210 Route 10 West • East Hanover, NJ • 973-428-1735

JUST 35 MINUTES FROM NYC BRIDGES AND TUNNELS

Here’s the formula: Take Honda’s legendary 1832cc flat six andbuild it into the ultimate cruiser—powerful, awe-inspiring and like

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Honda's iconic V-4 powerplants havean alluring character all their own,a unique combination of torque,an aggressive rush of power asthe tach needle swings up intothe meaty part of the powerband,

and a certain texture to the enginefeel that tells you this could only be a Honda V-4. This is a sport bike with plenty of emphasis on sport,plus the versatility for commuting, two-up fun rides and long-haul sport touring.

210 Route 10 West

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973-428-1735

The FJR™1300ES features an all-new electronicallyadjustable suspension to take the bother out of adjusting

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FRIDAY APRIL25

KTM Red Bull

In the form of the KTM 1290 SUPER DUKE R, KTM has crowned its legendary Naked Bike model range with a machine thatredefines the term 'Streetfighter'. Thanks to unbeatable performance in conjunction with the versatility provided by the ad-justable riding modes and PowerParts setups, pure riding pleasure is pre-programmed - from the racetrack to the city andeverywhere in between. The new KTM 1290 SUPER DUKE R perfectly embodies the KTM philosophy: endless power, highestprecision, perfect ergonomics, finest ingredients, not a gram too many, simply "Ready to Race"! The KTM 1290 SUPER DUKER – high-tech in an aggressive design with unprecedented functionality and razor-sharp sportiness reduced to the essentials.