April 2012

APRIL

2012

ine gaz Ma our le T cyc tor Mo

Volume 18 No. 4

Dirty Streetbike 2012 V-Strom 650 Swiss Rendezvous Riding Down the Walloostock Georgia Mayans and the Lost City of Gold All our great monthly columns and product reviews

W H A T ’ S

I N S I D E FEAT URES

MON THLY COLUMN S FREE WHEELIN’.................................................................................4

SWISS RENDEZVOUS ...................................................................26

WHATCHATHINKIN’..........................................................................6

GEORGIA MAYANS ........................................................................46

POSTCARDS FROM THE HEDGE .................................................8

RIDING DOWN THE WALLOOSTOOK.......................................56

ON THE MARK ................................................................................10

CHASING NORTHERN NE SMOKE............................................60

BIG CITY GETAWAY........................................................................12 BACKLASH .......................................................................................14 THOUGHTS FROM THE ROAD....................................................17 MYSTERIOUS AMERICA...............................................................18 WE’RE OUTTA HERE .....................................................................20 GREAT ALL AMERICAN DINER RUN ........................................22 WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE .......................................................24

M OTORCYCL E REVIEWS 2012 SUZUKI V-STROM 650 ......................................................34

PRODUCT REVIEW S AEROSTICH DARIEN LIGHT JACKET.........................................31 FIRSTGEAR LAGUNA GPS TANK BAG......................................38 DRYSPEC DRY BAGS.....................................................................52 PRODUCT SPOTLIGHTS ...............................................................54

UPCOMING EVENTS CALENDAR ...............................................41 MOTORCYCLE MARKETPLACE...................................................43 INDUSTRY INFOBITES ..................................................................50 Brian Rathjen • Shira Kamil ~ Publishers Contributors: Ken Aiken, Dan Bisbee, Neale Bayly, Mark Byers, Bill Heald, Mike Stackhouse, Tim Wineland, Dr. Seymour O’Life

BACKROADS • POB 317, Branchville NJ 07826 Motorcycles, Travel & Adventure

Phone 973.948.4176 • Fax 973.948.0823 • email editor@backroadsusa.com • web www.backroadsusa.com

For Advertising Sales Information: 973-948-4176 BACKROADS (ISSN 1087-2088) is published monthly by BACKROADS™, Inc. 2012. All rights reserved. BACKROADS™ may not be reproduced in any manner without specific written consent from the publisher. BACKROADS™ welcomes and encourages submissions (text and photos) and suggestions. Include phone number with submissions. BACKROADS™ will only 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 considered 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 roadways traversed. Please respect the environment, read your owner’s manual and wear proper protective gear and helmet. Ride within your limits, not over them.

Page 4

APRIL 2012 • BACKROADS

FREE WHEELIN’ BRIAN RATHJEN

The STand When I was a youngin’ way back in the previous century my friends and I would often dive into the American Dream of entrepreneurship and capitalism by opening up Kool-Aid Stands. We’d do fairly well and the few dollars we made back in the ‘60s was a lot of moola for kids our age.

Now all these years later I try to keep my eyes open for little roadside sales boys and gals hawking food and drink. Lemonade, Kool-Aid, cookies – whatever.

These little capitalists usually can be found on tree-lined shady suburban streets. Usually not too far from home, also know as the factory/warehouse and Mom – often part of the production/security team as well.

Whenever I see these roadside kiosks I make it a point to pull over and buy whatever they would be selling.

A few months ago we spotted a posting on the Blairstown FaceBook page from a Mom who was spreading the word that her kids were selling cookies, muffins and lemonade – and these great youngsters weren’t even keeping the money. No, they were donating all the proceeds to a little boy who was in a local hospital.

Wow – entrepreneurs and altruistic as well.

We did a little search and located their stand on a map and took off for a little ride around the region, making sure to head in the general direction of these kids.

Pulling up on two motorcycles got their attention as well as the Mom (and later Dad) who came out to make sure we were there to buy and not pillage.

I asked the mother if she was the Social Network director and indeed she was and she was tickled that we saw her post and then took a ride over to show a little support for the kids.

We bought our share and gave a little more for the hospitalized kid.

I really think we should encourage these kids, but I recently found that this might be harder than one thinks.

In a recent editorial by John Stossel I read that in a few cities around the nation kid’s lemonade stands have been closed down as they were actually against the law – at least in bureaucrats’ minds.

Some even had to pay fines.

How crazy is this. I thought we were supposed to encourage our children.

Stossel, being one hell of a broadcaster and newsman, took it a step further and found out what he would have to do to open up a lemonade stand in New York City. This is just some of the red tape involved: 1) Register as sole proprietor with the County Clerk’s Office (must be done in person) 2) Apply to the IRS for an Employer Identification Number 3) Complete 15-hr Food Protection Course!

4) After the course, register for an exam that takes 1 hr. You must score 70 percent to pass. (Sample question: “What toxins are associated with the puffer fish?”) If you pass, allow 3-5 weeks for delivery of Food Protection Certificate.

5) Register for sales tax Certificate of Authority 6) Apply for a Temporary Food Service Establishment Permit. Must bring copies of the previous documents and completed forms to the Consumer Affairs Licensing Center.

Then, at least 21 days before opening your establishment, you must: Arrange for an inspection with the Health Department’s Bureau of Food Safety and Community Sanitation.

It takes about 3 weeks to get your appointment. If you pass, you can set up a business once you: Buy a portable fire extinguisher from a company certified by the FDNY and set up a contract for waste disposal.

The list goes on and on….

Enough already – the system is killing me and a great part of being a kid as well. Who knew America would become so laden with bureaucratic nonsense?

The one thing I do know is every time I see a stand I will do my best to keep the economy growing and going and have myself a glass or two of lemony goodness.

There can be few things more exciting to some kids selling cold roadside refreshment than having a rider or, better yet, a bunch of riders pull over and keep them busy for 10 minutes or so – besides, I guarantee it will make you feel great as well.

APRIL 2012 • BACKROADS

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W H ATC H AT H I N K I N ’ SHIRA KAMIL

You juST never know…

We all remember last winter – ice storm atop snowstorm mixed with sub-freezing temps. What a difference a year makes. You can all thank us for loading in a supply of ice-melt, firewood and whatever that stuff is that you put down so you don’t go slip sliding down the driveway.

We planned a winter getaway to escape this year’s frigid winds and, while we were away, I do believe we had record high temperatures in February.

We kept checking the weather reports at home to find balminess that would have us out riding. We got emails from friends asking us to join them for lunch rides. Even though we were having a most fantastic time where we were, we were jealous that we couldn’t be out, on our own bikes, with our riding buds.

You just never know…

But even though there was riding to be had in New Jersey, we were enjoying the sultry country of Colombia, with all its mystique, beautiful women and diversity in road surfaces. For this trip, as in so many others, my mount was a reliable BMW 650GS single. I don’t care what you say about bigger is better; this bike has ferried me to ports all over the world and is all I really need as far as power and performance.

When we first signed on for this trip, I expressed my concerns of my offroad riding ability to Mike, proprietor of Motolombia. He assured me that I shouldn’t worry; we wouldn’t be doing anything too difficult. I thought, ‘Hey, I’m on old reliable and I’ll be just fine.’ And so I was, as long as I stayed

right behind Mike through the road construction, avalanches, landslides, missing roads, etc. I had true insight into my off-road, or should I say lackof-road, riding competence. You know that song by Donovan – ‘First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is’ – that’s the way to describe the roads in Colombia.

You just never know…

But what beautiful riding it was. We had a week of truly magnificent scenery, weather and, despite my previous description, the riding was stupendous. I had a grin from ear to ear every day. I am now pretty confident that, if I choose to, I can make my way to Prudhoe Bay, Ushuaia or Capo Norde. By the last day of the trip, I was pretty done. Add to this the rock star accommodations we were in for the last three days, and I was okay to hop on the back of Brian’s bike for the ‘easy’ ride to the coffee plantation that day. Let me add in here: Mike has a fantastic company in Motolombia. He shows off Colombia swimmingly, with a wonderful mix of paved and dirt roads, and something for all levels of riders. That said, he is a FIBBER. This ‘easy’ ride was possibly the hardest of the whole week.

Hindsight being 20/20, I would have ridden my own bike just to add another notch on my belt for this joy of a road.

You just never know…

There is much more to this story, but you’ll just have to wait. Let’s leave it with this: I will return to Colombia, as it is one of the most beautiful countries I have visited in a long time. We barely scratched the surface and the archeological sites in the south are calling. When we do go, we will put out the invite for you to join us and, I can’t emphasize this enough, you’d be fools not to. I am no longer wary of ‘road ends’ signs – I laugh at them. Well, unless it’s that ridiculous detour off the mountain but then…

You just never know.

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APRIL 2012 • BACKROADS

Page 8

What’s worse, of course, is the fact that the last time I checked, it’s a liquid which makes it a treacherous commodity to deal with. It’s the sloshing as the machine changes direction that can play havoc with balance, and it’s kind of BILL HEALD unavoidable. And like so many engineering solutions that have found their way onto our street bikes, the racetrack is where the effects of fuel movement The MoTion of The LoTion was most keenly experienced and subsequently dealt with using all kinds of strategies to minimize its impact on performance.

“What a piece of work is a motorbike.”

There are two things at play here. One is the movement of the liquid I just -Omelet, Prince of Pathmark mentioned, and the fact that the weight of the motorcycle changes as the fuel is burned. When you’re dealing with an ultra-light racing bike the change in So, I start out by messin’ with the Bard. I mean no harm, for indeed he’s a mass can have an effect on everything. Add onto this the fact during the hero of mine even if he may have been somebody else (which I don’t necescourse of a race the tires are wearing and suspension components are getting sarily believe, by the way). But I mangle some of his words in praise of our heated up, and you can see what a big deal all this is. This is where the briltwo-wheeled friends, for they provide endless fascination for even those of liance of bike set-up really comes into play, because you try to make sure us lucky enough to have spent decades with the machines. And as we live in the bike is ridable and fast at the beginning, middle and end of the race in an age where everything seems to be changing at an alarming rate (be it hardsuch proportions as to integrate with your race strategy. ware or software), I find myself looking more and But wait: you ride a much heavier bike than ver since the early days of motorcycles more into the problems and design/engineering sothese masters of the closed course. Is this whole where the engineers, tinkerers, bicycle lutions that motorcycles have to deal with, and how fuel weight thing really as critical for you? As mechanics turned engine developers this might change in the near future. with the engineers working on race bikes, the men Today’s specific topic was inspired by the ad- and all manner of clever creators played with and women developing your street bike face simvancement of electric motorcycles, because I am every aspect of the two-wheeled machine, ilar challenges. When you have a bigger bike you very interested in them as I am with all two-wheeled there have been problems to solve. have to carry more fuel to have decent range, obconveyances, and it made me think once again what viously, so you need to try and put the fuel as low in the chassis as possible a pain in the frame it is to have to carry a load of gasoline everywhere we to minimize its influence on handling. This can be harder with some Advengo. Ever since the early days of motorcycles where the engineers, tinkerers, ture bikes just because of their tall architecture, but there have been some bicycle mechanics turned engine developers and all manner of clever creators sub-tank solutions (located lower in the chassis with a “fake” tank where the played with every aspect of the two-wheeled machine, there have been probtraditional unit is usually located) that have been both clever and effective. lems to solve. No matter how advanced we get, this is one thing that doesn’t Elaborate baffle system in fuel tanks (especially in the larger ones) help com(and likely won’t) ever change, which is all part of the magic. bat the sloshing menace, all in a noble effort to reduce the problems the use Whenever I think about this Golden Age and these early brilliant inventions of liquid fuel causes. What can you as a rider do to mitigate the effects of the I always think about how they pretty much put the engine anywhere and fuel load? That’s easy. Packing smart can pay dividends in so many ways, everywhere to see what would work, and likewise had to deal with where to for once you start thinking about putting heavier stuff (like your solid gold put the fuel load. What a pain gasoline is. It weighs on average around 6.1 MultiTool and the Sword of Gryffindor) as low and as close to the center of lbs. per gallon (varying slightly due to temperature, chemical content, etc.), mass as possible you’re actually helping to counteract the effects of high, so the more of it you need to carry the bigger the influence on handling.

(Continued on Page 45)

P O S TC A R D S FROM THE HEDGE

E

APRIL 2012 • BACKROADS

Page 10

ON THE MARK MARK BYERS

BuffoonerY “Why in hell did they do THAT?” is a frequent refrain when you start to work on a motorcycle once owned by someone else (or perhaps several someones). Just about every motorcyclist will make some kind of alteration to his or her machine to match their functional or aesthetic requirements. A great deal of the time, those alterations are mechanically, electrically, and functionally sound; however, there are those cases wherein the modification is done so poorly and artlessly that they fall under the heading of what my friend Pauly calls “buffoonery.”

A case in point is a bike a friend got from a mechanical engineer. It is an older BMW R1150RT, but it was meticulously cared for, highly polished, and accessorized with tasty bits like Ohlins suspension. In my view, it’s a little over-accessorized on the mechanical side, with the shift lever extension making it difficult to get the sidestand down without snicking it back into first gear, but overall it’s a sweetie.

Then, you have the electrical system. Clearly not an electrical engineer, the previous owner had installed some kind of large, aftermarket brake/tail light assembly designed to have all kinds of special functionality. As my friend soon learned, the biggest special functionality it had was to drain every last volt from the battery. It now stands disconnected, serving simply as a large, expensive red reflector below the license plate until he can get it rewired properly or removed.

Another friend bought a used Suzuki VStrom whose electrical system could best be described as a “rat’s nest” of modified wiring. I’ve seen a few of those types of electrical bodges before and they make me understand why certain manufacturers and dealers look upon aftermarket electrical acces-

sories like they’re the devil’s own. One of my personal pet peeves is those blue wire taps: when the wrong size is used, they nearly cut the original wire and even when correctly sized, they’re frequently a source of corrosion that produces mind-bending, profanity-laced tirades when chasing intermittent electrical gremlins.

Mechanical mash-ups abound as well and nothing illustrates this like my latest acquisition. I snagged a ’71 CB750 with only 19K miles on the clock and it’s mostly original, but a few things about it had me shaking my head.

The most aggravating buffoonery is the chip out of the engine case casting near an engine mount that was apparently the result of an abortive attempt to install crash bars. It’s nothing a skilled welder, some grinding, and some paint can’t cure, but it’s one of those things that makes you utter the quote used to open the column (or worse). I definitely questioned not only the intelligence, but also the parentage of the person who perpetrated that buffoonery.

As the annoying man in the commercials shouts, “BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!” A quick look at the right side of the bike reveals the most baffling buffoonery of all. Old 750’s frequently have aftermarket exhausts because that’s not an area in which Mr. Honda applied much quality. As a result, mine has a nice Vance & Hines four-into-one megaphone exhaust installed. There are just a couple eentsy problems, however. Instead of using the correct bracket to attach it to the stationary top bolt of the shock, the megaphone is attached securely to…the moving swingarm. As a result, the system has flexed as the swingarm moved and the passenger footpeg beat a nice tattoo into the top of the chrome megaphone. All that flexing had the exhaust loose at the front too, which is probably a blessing because it saved the attachment points from further insult.

Buffoonery isn’t solely the province of shadetree mechanics, either. If you’ve watched a few of the “custom” builders on the boob-tube, you’ve probably seen where last-minute modifications were required when Tab A didn’t quite go cleanly into Slot B, usually in the middle of the night before (Continued on Page 45)

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APRIL 2012 • BACKROADS

Page 12

BIG CIT Y G ETAWAY

daytrip ideas to get out of the daily grind

ScoTTiSh TarTan MuSeuM 86 eaST Main STreeT, frankLin, nc 28734 828-524-7472 • www.ScoTTiShTarTanS.org “Lower your flags and march straight back to England, stopping at every home you pass by to beg forgiveness for a hundred years of theft, rape, and murder. Do that and your men shall live. Do it not, and every one of you will die today.”

William Wallace – Braveheart Yes, my last name is Rathjen, but that is a long story. The truth is I was proudly brought up in a home named McAuley, as Celtic as it gets.

We were doing a little loop thought North Carolina’s Smoky Mountains last fall and my route brought us though the neat little town of Franklin.

Right in the middle of this burg you will find the Scottish Tartan Museum, part of my plan for the day.

Many of you might think of a tartan plaid being simply that, but there is much more to the stories of each of these colorful and warm designs.

Tartans have become synonymous with Scotland and Scottish clans and families in particular. However, tartans were originally a style of cloth intended to be decorative. They had patterns that were popular within certain districts and they relied on a limited range of color dyes and were made of the local coarser type of wool. A very warm wool.

In the earliest times, tartans such as the “Falkirk” were produced in only the natural colors of the wool. However, the introduction of colored dyes allowed much more interesting cloth to be produced. In the old days dyes were produced from lichen, tree bark, plant roots, or from the leaves and berries of plants and trees. The wool was prepared by first washing the wool and removing the oils, and then soaking the wool in an alkaline solution - usually made by adding soda ash prepared by burning seaweed. The washed wool, either before or perhaps after spinning, was then soaked in the dye. To make the dye the plant material was boiled in water, sometimes taking up to 14 days, during which time the dyestuffs would come out into the water. The dyeing was made permanent by adding a chemical “fixer” called a mordant - a metal salt, frequently Alum, Iron, or Copper. In many cases the dye was not formed unless a mordant was included in the boiling process. When you see how complicated some recipes are it is quite remarkable that they were discovered.

As time went on individual clans adopted their own style of Tartan and it its this way today.

The Jacobite uprising at the battle of Culloden in 1746 saw the end of Jacobite claims to the throne. Many Highlanders, but by no means all, had backed the losing side of Prince Charles Edward Stuart. The great importance of Tartan and associated dress to Highland Culture at this time can be de-

This page: History of tartans in North Carolina • The making of a tartan • NotSo and Pepe befriend Robert the Bruce.

Nest page: Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots • There’s a lot of material involved in a kilt, or philabeg • The weaponry to accompany the tartans.

APRIL 2012 • BACKROADS

duced from the fact that the government banned it from 1746-82. This proscription however applied only to common Highland men, not the upper echelons of Highland society, not to Lowland Scots and not to women.

These new laws, called Highland Dress Proscription Act, abolished heritable jurisdictions, claimed estates for the crown, banned the playing of bagpipes, the wearing of tartans and Highland dress for all except government troops, and restricted the possession of weapons.

The exact wording of the act was as follows: “That from and after the First Day of August 1747, no man or boy within that part of Great Britain called Scotland, other than such as shall be employed as Officers and Soldiers of His Majesty’s Forces, shall on any pretext whatsoever, wear or put on the clothes, commonly called Highland clothes (that is to say) the Plaid, or little kilt, Trowes, Shoulder-Belts, or any part whatever of what peculiarly belongs to the Highland Garb; and that no tartan or party-colored plaid or stuff shall be used for Great coats or upper coats, and if any such person shall presume after the first said day of August, to wear or put on the aforesaid garments or any part of them, every person so

Page 13

offending.... shall be liable to be transported to any of His Majesty’s plantations beyond the seas, there to remain for the space of seven years.”

A harsh sentence for showing some local pride.

These days one can learn all about tartans, their styles and cuts and about the real kilts, or philabeg to use its older Gaelic name, that were far more than just clothing – in fact they were useful as so many thing including protection from the tough Highland climate.

You can learn much of these historic and beautiful fabrics and even see how they were traditionally created and all the work that goes into each intricate pattern.

The Scottish Tartan Museum was founded by the Scottish Tartan Society, which has its origins back in Scotland in the 1960’s. This museum focuses on the origins, history and development of the tartans and the story of how so many Scots emigrated to the Smoky Mountains and surrounding areas.

We found the Scottish Tartan Museum to be a very interesting stop while riding the Smoky Mountain region and well worth the visit if you’re a Scot or just simply wish you were.

APRIL 2012 • BACKROADS

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BACKLASH

Letters to the Editor

Dear Backroads, I received the mystery box today. Lots of useful and fun items. Thanks again. Attached is a photo of the items spread about the bikes. Hope all is well.

Glenn Hoffmann Excellent, glad somebody from the Backroads’ extended family won it.

Dont’cha know the original ticket was pulled and we were unable to get hold of the guy and there was a discrepancy with his address and area code...

So Pepe the Monkey pulled another ticket and it was yours. Ten minutes after we called you the first guy actually called so we made up a consolation box for him. Everybody is a winner here at Backroads!

Smokey or Smoky Brian, I loved your article on heading south! Stayed at the same Best Western the second week of February. We travel down that way often on vacation always staying in Staunton at the Best Western. We were told the train could pass through as we accepted a lower back room near the tracks. On only one occasion throughout the years have we encountered a lone train. This time we were awakened 4 times with seemingly endless freight trains.

Staunton is about half way between Hackettstown NJ where we live, and Forge Tennessee near the Smokies!! By the way, as unusual as it may seem, the Smoky Mountains are spelled without the “e”. I was corrected by someone in a training class I was giving in Pigeon Forge some 17 years ago.

Love your article having experienced it first hand. Keep up the good work.

Charlie Bell

The jury is out on that spelling. So next time we’ll ride to the Smokys – it’s a whole different place.

Dear Editor, Just read about the reader who has to deal with her husband and his accordion. I had a similar problem with my wife and her banjo. We were playing a dance near Boston and after it was over, went out for a later dinner. Leaving her banjo on the back seat, we forgot to lock the car. Sure enough, when we came back, there were TWO banjos on the back seat.

John Kerr Springwater, NY

March’s Cover The cover photo of March Backroads’ is “off the hook” to quote a spikey-haired gastronome. There are so many things going on in that image!

Mazel tov!

Glenn Martin

Cool Rides & Classic Cars What a treat to see the old Rolls that participated in the Peking to Paris rally. I donated my rally car to the LeMay – America’s Car Museum in Tacoma, WA after the Peking to Paris rally. Imagine driving a little 602 cc air-cooled car from Beijing to Paris across 16,000 km of dirt roads, washed out bridges, blizzards and 18,000

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Page 15

ft Tibetan passes! For a 2 cylinder horizontally opposed [think BMW boxer] we did OK, finishing 2nd in the under 1600cc class.

We have been up and down your route many times, but driving through the Land of the Giants [redwood forest] is truly the only place like it on the planet.

And, then you wandered all the way south to Monterey where our Motogiro race started in 2008. Hey, from Eureka did you ride through Ferndale, and then down the Lost Coast Highway that meanders along the mountains, then drops down to the roaring Pacific and then back up in the hills to Petrolia? You come back out to #125 right near where you can drive through the giant redwood.

Burt Richmond

Dietary Restrictions for the Spring Break Meal Backroads, I’m in for dinner at the Mimslyn. By the way, can I have the Kosher, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free meal. I also don’t drink anything with sugar, sugar substitute or anything liquid. I need to have three knives at the table next to me at all times as I like to switch periodically but they cannot be made of steel, aluminum or plastic. Gold usually works best for me. I would also prefer a cloth napkin as I am allergic to paper and plastic. I am also allergic to air so if you would be so kind as to have all the air removed from the room and provide oxygen tanks to those that require them I would appreciate it.

Other than that, I have no special requirements and I look forward to a pleasant dining experience.

Oh yes, can you please dress me beforehand and wipe my ass post meal? In addition, I will need someone to lend me the money for the meal.

Thank you, Ima Painintheass Ontario, Canada

Some nagging questions: Will that bit of ivory ever work the bike’s controls like it once did? Will it get Brian out of harm’s way when he insults some enormous noisy rider by calling him out for loud pipes? Will the now compromised bone provide sufficient support when/if the rapidly-aging bastard decides to play guitar while standing up?

Shit like this bothers me and my bro’s! So, here’s to your broken bone, Bri. We hardly knew ye, but we loved you nonetheless. And, we had a simply FIBULAS ride today! BOOOOHHHHHHAAAWWAAAHHHHH!!!!

Get well commander! See ya’ at Spring Break Jeff, Dave & John

Mail: BACKROADS PO Box 317 Branchville NJ 07826

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Memorial Ride For Brian’s Leg Brian and Shira, I had the day off today, so I rustled up my elderly cohorts, Dave and Dr. John, and we went for a ride up to NYS. We dedicated this first REAL motorcycle day of the season to a broken friend sorely in need of cheering up. That’s right, today’s ride was in memoriam of Brian’s Fibula. Here are our stoic photos. Don’t we look sad?

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BACKROADS • APRIL 2012

THOUGHTS FROM THE ROAD MoTorcYcLe BudS

Page 17

Mike Stackhouse Through the years I’ve also noticed that musicians and hard-core music aficionados make up a lot of my riding buds. We were at a RAT BBQ one day and we went around the table seeing if anyone played instruments. Turns out we could have formed about three bands from the players sitting around the table. Although we had some lively discussions about who was a better drummer, bass player or whatever nobody got offended and everyone had a grand ol’ time.

Grand ol’ times. That’s the bottom line I’d say. I once read an article by Kevin Cameron (of Cycle and Cycle World fame). He wrote that a friend of his had told Kevin he’d had done it all wrong. This gentleman, who had spent his life busting butt in the corporate world to amass a monetary goal, took up motorcycling late in life. He thought Kevin had gone about it the wrong way by toiling on racebikes all his early life when he should have been concentrating on money. The fun could come later. Kevin disagreed. I have to say I’m in the same boat as well. Although my financial future looks a little slim compared to others I know, I wouldn’t have wanted to miss wrenching on motorcycles and meeting the people I’ve met for all the money in the world. They say the real riches in life are the friends and good times you amass over a lifetime. If that’s the case, my motorcycle buds and I make “The Donald” look like a pauper. I guess that makes things flush in my book.

“And you can only use it for the motorcycle!”. So were the instructions when my friend Michele handed me a pre-paid gas card for my birthday.

Michele isn’t a girlfriend (per say) and isn’t a lover on the side. (Not that she isn’t good looking-she is) Nor is she just a run of the mill acquaintance. She’s just one of my favorite people to go riding with and a true friend in the best of ways. How’d we meet? As with a lot of the people I really consider friends, we met because of motorcycles.

I was standing in a ski area bar one night, wearing my MEME (Maine European Motorcycle Enthusiasts) shirt and taking in the Rolling Stones cover band on stage. All of a sudden I heard a WHOOP in back of me and she damn near bowled me over with her enthusiasm of finding a fellow motorcyclist in a ski bar in the middle of winter. From there we had a couple drinks, found what each other rode and started discussing rides, motorcycle books, (we both loved “The Perfect Vehicle-what it is about motorcycles”) how we had to wait another couple months to turn a wheel and everything else pertaining to our two wheeled hobby. Since then, we’ve ridden a number of miles together including an absolutely unforgettable ride to Newfoundland. In the middle of the winter you’ll find us sitting on a couch somewhere with a map and a calendar figuring out what the coming season has in store. All because of motorcycles.

She isn’t the only one either. Scott and Andrew who rode with us to Newfoundland, Dave-who always seems to have time to ride when I do, Radguzzi (Rob) who I’ve known for ages, his son, and a whole plethora of people that I have been introduced to through motorcycles, have enriched my life and made my choice of working on motorcycles as a living/ riding as a sport enjoyable and unforgettable.

Agents who ride and understand Some were there from the start and others came to the your Motorcycle Insurance Needs MEMBER party a little late. Bill, my soul brother, got back into MEMBER riding late in life. I remember a memorable ride shortly after he started riding again. We rode to the Superbike Ask about our Tour Cycle Program – the Ultimate in Coverage races at Loudon with our sons as passengers. On the way over to the races we stopped on that perfect day, Passenger Coverage • Accessories Coverage with motorcycles everywhere, and I mentioned what a great sport motorcycling was. Bill, who’s late wife Medical Payments Coverage played semi-pro tennis and was a tennis addict himself, stated, “Mike, this is fun but it’s not a sport”. I nodded and said nothing. When we got to the races, qualifying 448 Lincoln Ave • Hawthorne NJ 07506 • 973-427-2246 was in progress and Bill walked to the fence just in time www.CycleInsuranceAgency.com to see the riders come off the front straight. Going into turn one the riders had to brake hard and then slam the Serving New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania • ATV • Jet Ski • Snowmobile bikes left, right and then left again for the drive onto the straight. Going from left knee full over to right knee, then back must have impressed Bill because he shuffled over to where I was and said, “you’re right… this IS a sport!” Since that time I introduced him to flat track racing and, best of all, I got him off the cruiser mind set and into something that actually works. (That’s another story) And I guess that’s the point. Because of motorcycles and the folks that I ride with, there are LOTS of stories and lots of great times. During the years I wrenched on bikes, I’ve met lawyers, doctors, carpenters, artists and everyone in between. None of these folks would have met each other had it not been for motorcycles. The best part is, we’re all the better for it.

What brings us all together? The riding, the machines, the technology, but most of all the camaraderie. When we ride, work, politics, etc. are placed on the back burner. We become a group of like-minded folks for the duration of the ride. We may joke about each other’s rides and be fiercely brand loyal but we never seem to let it get in the way of a great ride. We also seem to have a zest for life and I can’t remember ever meeting a “boring” motorcyclist.

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APRIL 2012 • BACKROADS

Page 18

Morton’s BMW Motorcycles Presents Dr. Seymour O’Life’s M YST ER IOU S AM ER IC A SpiriT houSe rTe. 26, georgeTown, nY

ghostly architecture?

Along Route 26, in the small burg of Georgetown, you will find a most unusual house.

With the right light hanging in the air it almost looks like a wedding cake.

Its white clapboard exterior has a scalloped look to it and the New York State Historical Marker outside lets you know you are looking at something well… a bit different if not totally odd.

Welcome my friends to the Spirit House; an abode where the veil between here and there, the living and the dead, is razor thin and where the spirit world commanded one Timothy Brown to build a home for them.

Timothy Brown was born in Vermont in 1815 and moved from the town of Newburn, in Orange County, Vermont, to Georgetown, New York in 1847 with his wife, Sarah, and their children.

One bright day good ol’ Timmy got up and announced to his family and the folks of Georgetown that he had been visited by spirits and had been called upon to build a house that would serve as a temple of Spiritualism. Now Timothy Brown was no architect or builder, but he ran out and purchased a piece of property in the center of town, and set out building the house - under the direction of the spirits.

As the building moved along Brown was said to receive direct commands from the after-life; where rooms should be, the size of closets, how the eaves should look.

Close up inspection of the home shows the scallop look comes from individually chiseled wood pieces – each one individual, cut and mark called from beyond the grave.

Well, according to Timothy Brown at least.

The entire community knew that Tim Brown was no carpenter, but in about 10 years time, after declaring his intent to build, the house was completed.

The timbers came from local forests and he worked along with uncanny accuracy. With dogged determination he struggled on until he at last completed the frame. He engaged the assistance of a master carpenter for the raising of

the frame. The carpenter surprised those who had been skeptical about Brown’s workmanship when he told them that it was the best frame he had ever seen.

With the completion of the house, members of the spiritualist sect from far and near came to Brown’s Hall in Georgetown. More space was needed for meetings, so in 1874 Brown bought a vacant Presbyterian church.

A bit must be said of Spiritualism and this part of New York in the mid-1800’s.

Spiritualism is part of the many spiritual movements that were born in the Burnt Over District in upstate NY. All of which had a large role in shaping and influencing America’s religions. Instead of focusing on the specific religions or movements born here, such as Mormonism, Seven Day Adventists, Evangelicalism or the New Age movement, maybe we should instead look at the incredible transformative power of the area.

Or, maybe it was just something in the water?

BACKROADS • APRIL 2012

Page 19 of the Spirit House Society who have been raising money for this purchase for some time. Could this mystery buyer be Rathjen and Kamil for Backroads Central North?

O’Life out!

Rip & Ride® • SPIRIT HOUSE RTE. 26, GEORGETOWN, NY

FROM PORT JERVIS RTE. 97 NORTH BEAR LEFT AT RTE. 52 CROSS BRIDGE AT NARROWSBURG INTO PA Spiritualism was predicated on the belief that people, or mediums, could communicate directly with spirits, angels and God. Séances would be held during which a medium would attempt to contact a spirit on the other side.

The idea that people could communicate with the recently deceased drew lots of interest from people grieving lost loved ones. This appeal to people at a time of vulnerability made the movement susceptible to fraud. It was the suspicion of fraud by a visiting medium that drew the residents of Georgetown’s ire and closed down Brown’s Hall.

Whether you believe in the afterlife or not – much of this began in this part of New York.

The place was lived in until the late ‘90’s and has not been lived in since, nor adequately maintained. It’s a mess, although registered as a national historic site. It was said that the last owner, a Mrs. Valerie Wilson, would not sell the house until she passed away. Upon her death her estate put the house up for sale in 2009.

As of now, there is a cash offer up for the Spirit House, much to the dismay

IMMEDIATE RIGHT AFTER BRIDGE PA SR 1017 RIVER ROAD RIGHT AT SR 1004 LEFT AT RTE.371 RIGHT AT RTE.171 CROSS BRIDGE RIGHT AT RTE. 92 BECOMES RTE.79 IN NYS STRAIGHT AT RTE. 26 SPIRIT HOUSE IN GEORGETOWN ON RIGHT

APRIL 2012 • BACKROADS

Page 20

Bergen County Harley-Davidson Presents

W E’RE OUT TA HERE

a weekend destination keeping you on the backroads

newTown, pennSYLvania a verY cooL Town Not too long ago, we happened upon a neat little place called Newtown, Pennsylvania. At that time we mentioned a fine old hotel called The Brick.

With Spring almost in the air, we retraced our step, well except for the flooding and turnarounds, and made our way from northern New Jersey to this town just west of Washington’s Crossing.

The ride down was a bit of a chore, as last year’s mid-March rains had caused the normally peaceful Delaware and its friends to go postal on the local population.

Still, with tenacious resolve, we rode into the center of Newtown by late afternoon and took a room at The Temperance House, just across the street from The Brick. The original building dates back to 1772 and has been both tavern and school hose since then. Today it is an excellent place to have a few beers and listen to some great music on the weekend.

If you are a cigar smoker this place is for you. If not then check out Isaac Newton’s, across the street and down the small brick-laid alleyway off South State Street.

With our room secured at The Temperance House and the bikes parked, locked and covered we went off to explore the town.

Newtown is what every small town should be. Bustling, busy and thriving. Dozens of shops line the main street. Even if you are not in a buying mode the shops are well worth some window shopping – although we did stop by the local guitar shop and the second hand bookstore.

Sorry, we have a hard time passing up a good book store.

A copy of an original Don Pendleton The Executioner #2 “Battle Mask” and Herman Wouk’s “Don’t Stop the Carnival” were snatched at such a bargain.

With the sun a bit past setting we made our way over to Isaac Newtown’s for a few beers from a serious selection of nearly 20 on tap, without a Bud or Miller Lite to be seen.

We have friends that live in the Newtown area so Brad and Marla joined us for dinner at The Brick, which was beyond good.

Bouncing around later that night we stopped by the Black Horse Tavern, another historic building,

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BACKROADS • APRIL 2012

Page 21

Rip & Ride® NEWTOWN PENNSYLVANIA START: CHATTERBOX, AUGUSTA, NJ

and mingled with the locals.

Later in the evening when we began to slow down we meandered back to The Temperance House, which was anything but!

This is one smoky place, but the side room where the band was set up was a bit clearer. We were happy the smoke didn’t really drift up to the rooms too much or we’d be outta there in a second.

The band played till late and when the last chord was strummed we wandered back up to our loft room and very comfortable king-sized bed and were soon wrapped in the arms of Morpheus.

Up early we went looking for coffee and stopped by the famed Newtown Movie House.

RTE. 206 SOUTH RIGHT ON PRICE RD LEFT AT AUGUSTA HILL RD. LEFT AT CR 519 RIGHT AT CR 626 LEFT AT CR 521 RIGHT AT MT. BENEVOLENCE RD. LEFT AT OLD FOUNDRY RD. LEFT AT STILLWATER RD. RIGHT AT CR 521 LEFT AT E. CRISMAN RD. RIGHT AT RTE. 94 BEAR LEFT AT CR 616

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Why is this place famous?

Easy – The Newtown Theatre has an extensive history dating back to 1831. It is, in fact, the oldest movie theater in the United States with its first movie being shown in 1906. Originally built to be a hall for town gatherings and a “non-sectarian” church for traveling ministers, it soon became a center of entertainment in Newtown. Today they still have movies playing and it’s well worth the visit while in the town.

With We’re Outta Here we try to give you kids interesting places to go, stay over and enjoy and the little Pennsylvanian burg of Newtown is just that.

So make some time, ride to Bucks County and enjoy a night.

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APRIL 2012 • BACKROADS

Page 22

G REAT ALL AMERICAN DINER RUN

tasty places to take your bike

chuMLeY’S BBQ 56 norTh Main ST., fLorida, nY 845-651-3663 • www.chuMLeYSBBQ.coM/ This month’s stop on the juggernaut called the Great All American Diner Run heads to Florida. Nope, not the Sunshine State, but the small town in Orange county, New York. Birthplace of William Henry Seward - Governor, Senator and Secretary of State for Abe Lincoln and Andrew Johnson.

Working with Johnson “Seward’s Folly” bought a little bit of land called Alaska from the Russians… but that is another story.

We’re here today to talk about barbeque.

We were aware of this tiny BBQ, along Route 17A, but got an email one afternoon from a reader highly recommending it. We love a good recommendation!

So, one sunny and warm November day we mounted up and had a leisurely ride to Florida.

Most barbeque places are started and run by average folks that developed a love for this American classic. But, knowing that the owners of Chumley’s BBQ are Culinary School alumni, we wondered just what we would find here in Florida.

What we found was most excellent.

St. Louis Ribs, Boneless Ribz, Texas brisket, Tailgate Steak, Tennessee Pulled Pork, Cornell Chicken, Jersey “Ripper” Hot dogs, Salads, Baked

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Page 23 Beans, Mac and Cheese, Cornbread and that was just for starters.

Looking at the menu we were really torn by just what to order. The Shrimp Po Boy looked awesome as did the Hilly Burrito. Eventually I chose the Red Neck Gyro – which was sliced Beef Brisket, Pico De Gallo and a Cajun Mayo on a grilled Pita. It was different and delicious.

Shira chose the Pit Beef – a Chumley’s favorite – which consisted of Coffee-Rubbed Roast Beef grilled and served with thinly sliced white onions and a tangy Horseradish Sauce. The servings were perfectly sized and even though we would have liked to, we had nothing

to bring home but our happy selves.

Now we have heard about Chumley’s Ribs – the best in Orange County we were told, so a return visit might be in order to try those and Chumley’s Jumbo Wings as well; as they come mild, medium, hot, bbq, garlic parmesan and something called “Who R U Kidding?” We are very interested in that.

They had a few interesting BBQ sauces. One had the taste of root beer and another with a mustard base and both plates were topped with their homemade pickles that were a real treat.

If you show up with a group you might like to look at the Family Meals – a full slab of Ribs, Chicken, Pork or Brisket depending on which you order – anyway it is perfect for a riding group that doesn’t mind sharing.

It’s great to find a place like Chumley’s as we have always said you can’t get enough good barbeque. As usual we will get you to Chumley’s in a righteous fashion.

Enjoy the BBQ and say hello from us here at Backroads.

Rip & Ride® • CHUMLEY’S BBQ 56 NORTH MAIN ST. ,FLORIDA, NY 845-651-3663 • WWW.CHUMLEYSBBQ.COM

PALISADE INTERSTATE PARKWAY NORTH BEAR LEFT ONTO LAKE TIORATI ROAD GO 1/2 WAY THROUGH TRAFFIC CIRCLE BEAR RIGHT UP ARDEN VALLEY ROAD (ROUGH ROAD! GO SLOW) LEFT AT RTE. 17 BEAR RIGHT UP HILL TO RTE. 17A BEAR RIGHT AND LEFT AT GREENWOOD LAKE RIGHT AT T RTE. 94 RIGHT AT CR 13 KINGS HIGHWAY (FOLLOW SIGNS FOR SUGARLOAF) LEFT AT RIDGE ROAD RIGHT AT HAMBLETONIAN RD. LEFT AT PINE HILLS RD. LEFT AT FLORIDA RD. BECOMES GLENMERE AVE. CHUMLEY’S RIGHT ON RTE. 17A

APRIL 2012 • BACKROADS

Page 24

Welcome to the Jungle - The Art of Learning to Ride Skillfully A column dedicated to your riding survival

Mentoring A Good New Way to Make Old Friends!

So Spring has rolled around on the calendar and you head out early to the local spot where riders tend to congregate, kick some tires and maybe chow down a bit before taking off for a day’s worth of miles.

You see many familiar faces; some of which you haven’t seen since last riding season. But, among the crowd you find there are a few new riders and, by new, I mean “new to riding” riders.

These fledglings have been interested in riding for some time but just got around to taking the MSF course late in the fall or caught a class in the early spring; and they might be lucky if they have 1,000 miles of saddle time.

They have heard that some great rides start from this spot each Sunday and are looking forward to doing their first real ride of the year, or in this case maybe ever.

Although we want and certainly need new riders joining our flock we also want them to be safe and technically efficient. We want them to stick around!

The MSF might have given them the basic skills to operate a motorcycle, but now it is time that they learn to really ride and to start off riding with a quick group of well-experienced riders can be intimidating to some and deadly to others.

For these new riders it is best that they start off easy and gradually build up the needed abilities to be a proficiently skilled rider.

This is where you might want to come in. You might consider mentoring one or two new riders.

How do I do that, you ask?

Well, it is as easy as simply taking them under your wing.

If the group has a particular place they will be riding to explain to the new rider or riders that you will all meet up later. Remind them that motorcycling is supposed to be fun, but has its challenges and that it’s always good to realize you can keep on learning. Suggest that they tag along with you and promise them they will have a great time and get them to the destination in plenty of time.

If they jump at the bait that is a good thing.

This way the rest of the group can ride at their own comfortable pace and your ducklings can start learning the ways of riding two wheels on the road correctly from someone with many miles of riding experience.

Most groups use the same basic rules for the ride, but give them a quick reminder before suiting up and taking off for the day, whatever your group’s rules of the road happen to be.

Let the more experienced group leave first. The last thing you want is these newbies to be passed at speed by a far talented group on some country lane.

It is far too easy for some new riders’ egos to get sucked into where they do not belong.

Do your best to be perfect this day and any others while you are mentoring.

Choose your lines well and execute your maneuvering as best you can. Keep the speeds down to “safe but fun” and let them pick up on the little hints like slowing it down in towns and to learn to be savvy to what automobile drivers might or might not do.

Also, explain space cushioning and its benefits and in what, if any, formation you might suggest.

Personally, I have felt for a long time that staggered riding along the backroads is a recipe for trouble, especially in larger groups. It might have a place in parades or police escorted runs, but while out exploring country, farm and forest roads it is best to keep a safe distance in case of trouble. On roads like these there is only one line – the correct one.

Let your brood know that if you get separated that you will always wait at any turns so they wont try to speed up needlessly to catch up.

In the past when we have done some mentoring we have always tried to instill to newer riders that practice really does make perfect and it is not uncommon to see a few of us practicing some tighter turns after fueling up at the appropriate fuel stations (meaning big and empty).

Speaking of practicing… if you have some Rider Coach, or serous real life riding, experience you might ask them if they would like to meet during the week at an empty parking lot to simply practice the basics. Turns, weaves and, most importantly braking.

It takes hundreds, if not thousand of repeated actions to have your muscles react with simple reflex – so each bit of practicing really helps in the long run.

Invest a little time in some new riders and I promise that you will have a lifetime of talented riding friends for a long time down the road.

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APRIL 2012 • BACKROADS

Page 26

T

he light filtering through the open window, in this small lakeside town in northern Switzerland, was turning from dusky dawn into a sharper, more increasing brightness. Somewhere off in the town a church bell began to chime - 6 gongs. In another direction another steeple joined in - 6 gongs. Then the largest of the town’s churches joined in. The brother here surely was intent on waking the town as this gong went on for at least 60 chimes. Not only was it six o’clock, but they seemed ready to tell me the month and year, perhaps the Stardate.

Okay – I got it. Time to get up.

We had flown into Munich the night before, arriving around 11am, and had immediately picked up our bikes, two BMWs – an F800R and an F650GS. We had arrived a few days early for the Backroads High Alpen Tour and later in the week we would have two dozen or so friends and readers joining us for a week’s worth of riding in the famed European mountains.

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BACKROADS • APRIL 2012

There was no way we would be within striking distance of our friends Norm and Denise Smith, who had retired to the shores of Lake Geneva from their old home in Washington D.C., without taking these few days and riding through the Swiss Alps to spend some time with them. Lightly packing the bikes for a few quick days on the road we headed out of the large German city, running along the lowlands toward the big peaks of the Alps.

Making good time on the Autobahn all was going to plan till something ahead took everybody off the road with no real detour signs.

The Autobahn might be fast, but at these speeds any entanglements would be fairly brutal.

Finding ourselves on the secondary roads we simply followed the traffic, assuming we would be right back on the Autobahn, but that never happened.

Instead we ended up heading in our own direction in an effort to get back onto our route towards Lake Geneva.

At one point the GPS had us down to a large lake Lake Bodensee. Here we grabbed a ferry for a short boat cruise. This wasn’t in the plans, but looking at our paper maps it would work.

Somewhere around 6ish the flight and lack of real sleep began to catch up with us and we vectored into the tiny burg of Steckborn where we found a tiny restaurant with a comfortable room on the third floor. After a good meal, a big beer and a quick walk about the lake-

Page 27 side town we called it a night, looking for a good sleep until Brother Tenacious began ringing his bells the next morn.

The GPS was having its own little fit this day so we went back to basics - Manually Acquired Position Systems….

We had maps and still know how to use them. In Europe it is really easy as the next big town is always on the signs. We ran along the valleys making some time south and then headed up.

Way up. Along the Klausen Pass. Switchbacks rule here as these old roads rise up into the clouds, or bright blue sky this day. With the blue skies and bright sunshine came some serious temperatures and riding down in the valley the thermometer read above 30 degrees celcius – near a hundred here in the State.

Very unusual for the normally cooler Alps.

APRIL 2012 • BACKROADS

Page 28 Heading deeper into the Swiss Alps we crossed over the second pass of the day, the Sustenpass with its many waterfalls and stupendous vistas.

Here was an excellent place to stop for an afternoon coffee and to simply watch the dozens of bikes pass by.

If there is a Rider’s heaven it might certainly be the Alps.

The two BMWs were at home here in this terrain. Light,

powerful and extremely agile they took to the twist, turns and altitude changes like two mountain goats.

As we neared the Lake Geneva region the language spoken silently changed from German to French, as this part of Switzerland is more Francophile than the rest of the nation.

The Juan Pass (pronounced Joan) had two distinct feels to it, with the north side being rocky and mountainous and, once over the top, the southern side being filled with huge pine trees that gave the second part of the mountains a deep forestry feel.

Dropping down along the big lake we headed to the small hamlet of Puidoux, where our friends Norm and Denise have a marvelous home atop a hill with the most magnificent view of the French Alps in the distance. Not too shabby.

We arrived just minutes after our other friends Mike and Nuri had driven in from Milan on their way to Munich to join the Backroads Tour.

All of us have known each other for years, thanks to these wonderful things we call motorcycles; so spending a day or two bouncing around the wineries and restaurants of this region of Switzerland was not a tough thing to do.

With work beckoning back in Munich, not to mention all our riding peeps arriving over the

BACKROADS • APRIL 2012 Opposite page: Heading through the Susten Pass.

Scenes from Puidoux.

The helmet was given to Mike from a retired firefighter turned wine maker. To the right you’ll see us partaking of his fine wine.

next few days, we left Mike and Nuri in Puidoux and Shira and I took off for the two day ride back to Munich.

The easy thing to do was simply reverse our first ride, but as so many are fond of saying, “What a difference a day (or two) can make!”

A cold front had come through and the last day was a soaker. This day promised to be better, but once we gained altitude we rode right into the wet and misty clouds.

We had reloaded our route and the GPS began playing nice so we could pay more attention to the road we couldn’t see in front of us and less to the maps as this day the Garmin was spot on.

The valleys were cool and pleasant as was the Juan Pass. Riding near Meiringen we stopped to spend some time alongside a huge waterfall, cascading down from the top of the cliffs to smash into the rocks only to create another half dozen smaller falls.

Page 29 Magnificent.

A few miles down the road we made a quick pass at the most famous falls in literature - The Reichenbach Falls.

It was here that Sherlock Holmes and his nemesis Professor Moriarty fought to the death – well maybe.

As we rode higher into the big passes things turned badly very quickly and we rode into the thick clouds. The Sustenpass was a bit brutal as we had negative visibility, no guard rails and the occasional truck or bus appearing out of nowhere just yards from us at a fairly quick pace. Throw in the quickly dropping temperatures and we had a sloppy ride indeed.

So much fun, I tell ya!

We stopped to warm up and have lunch atop the pass, enjoying what the locals call Rock Soup. This is just as it sounds; a bowl with a hot rock and

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Page 30 what looks like pasta noodles placed before you, into which is poured a delicious soup. Turns out the pasta noodles are freshly-shaved local cheese curls which melt together with the hot liquid, all kept piping hot by the rock. Ingenious.

We took our time, warming ourselves inside and out, and enjoying the mountaintop restaurant. The weather was still with us when we emerged, so on we soldiered.

Once through the tunnel at the summit things got mildly better and we almost thought we saw the sun once or twice.

Back down in the valleys, the road followed a torrent of water rushing along the

streambeds down from the peaks. The water was a dark green and blue that looked about as cold as you can imagine.

We had one more major pass to surmount this afternoon and the Klausenpass was just as socked in as the previous pass; but here we had the added devil to deal with in the form of dozens of free range cows that would suddenly appear in the mist. Cows with serious horns by the way.

Toss in what the cows leave behind and all the moisture and it made for a fairly interesting if slightly intense afternoon’s ride.

Off the Klausen we motored onto one of the A-roads heading towards Munich. Near sunset we looped into the tiny country of Liechtenstein and found a gasthaus and restaurant called Gasthaus Au. It could be named after our friend Tommy Au from Hawaii, but it’s not, although Tommy will get a kick out of seeing his name here in an Alps story, which was part of how we first met him.

We needed to be back in the little town of Erding, northeast of Munich this next day so our plan was to vector along the Autobahn, making big time on this, one of the fastest roads n the world.

Still, for a major highway these roads have to snake through some stunning topography with mighty cliffs and ranges all the way out of the Alps.

In Austria we spotted a sign for the Rolls Royce Museum. In Austria? Our interest was piqued so we exited the Autobahn and rode about 10 kilometers up into the forests and hills and found a most serious museum dedicated to the famous British marquee.

There were at least 100 of these beautiful vehicles, from the oldest to the mid-60s in various degrees of road-worthiness.

The history of Rolls Royce was evident as well as a large number of classic motorcycles – some we were familiar with, others we’ll have to do some research on.

Who would have thought such a place would be found in the Austrian forests?

By early afternoon we motored around the Munich airport and into Erding.

On some of our stories this might be the end of the trip, but not this one, as we were about to start an adventure two years in the making – The Backroads High Alpen Tour.

This promised to be a great one.

BACKROADS • APRIL 2012 PRODUCT REVIEW

Page 31

THE LIGHTER SIDE OF DARIEN

In case you haven’t taken a good look at yourself lately, I think I should point out that you motorcyclist-types are a demanding lot. I can say this as I’m one of you, and I think I should also point out that this fastidiousness is a good thing. And if you’re a manufacturer of motorcycle apparel, the products you sell need to be versatile, comfortable, durable and deliver solid value if you expect to thrive.

Aerostich has been successful in this tough market by delivering the kind of apparel clearly designed and tested by folks who actually ride, and the quality level has been such that the company has scores of loyal customers all over the world. Rather than introduce new products every few months to capitalize on the latest fad, Aerostich carefully refines their products over time as customer feedback, long-term evaluation and other factors dictate. The DarienLight jacket we’re looking at here is a great example, for the Darien jacket (and pants) grew out of the original Roadcrafter 2-piece suit where riders wanted something like the Roadcrafter but a looser fit that might work better for dual-sport/adventure riding and upright commuting as well. Unlike the regular Darien’s HT500 Denier Cordura Gore Tex construction, the DarienLight is sheathed in HT200 weight fabric instead that is still wonderfully tough and weather resistant while being lighter and more supple (the company claims it’s more comfortable over 90 and below 30 degrees than the regular Darien).

There’s less crash and abrasion resistance with the lighter fabric, true, but still substantial protection including viscoelastic TF3 pads in the shoulders and elbows. These pads are forgiving at regular temperatures yet harden instantly if struck, and “the faster and harder it is struck, the more it will resist.”

Your own body tends to keep the pads at optimal temperature while you’re wearing the jacket, so this technology is ideally suited for both comfort and protection. My DarienLight jacket also had the optional Standard Back Pad

($75) that attaches via hook and loop and features halfinch thick TF3 bonded to .040 polypropylene. All these pads allow freedom of movement and room for the ventilation panels to work in hot temperatures, and likewise layering in colder weather. Optional liners are also available. While I mention vents, there are large underarm vent zippers on each sleeve as well as a big rear vent/air pressure release that you can adjust to suit conditions (and they worked quite well in some of last summer’s heat and humidity). A permanent belt allows you to finetune the jacket’s fit, which is a great help to stay cool or warm depending on the season. The Gore-Tex does a splendid job of keeping out the wet stuff (tested on an unfaired bike) while allowing the garment to breath. Like a good textile, you can remove the TF3 pads and toss it in the washer if need be, and finally there’s generous patches of 3M Scotchlite to make you more conspicuous at night.

Pocketses? There are a plethora of them. Two huge vertical zipper pockets, two smaller slant zipper pockets and two handwarmer pockets are found on the front, along with a change pocket on the right sleeve and a couple of interior pockets. There’s probably more, but I put the list with the pocket locations on it in a pocket I can’t find anymore. Optional pockets are available too, as are other cool accessories.

Fine USA craftsmanship seals the deal on yet another superb Aerostich garment; a jacket that’s ideal for a broad range of riding conditions and bike styles. This version of the Darien really is different thanks to the lighter material that many may prefer for commuting (and others that just want a lessweighty jacket). The DarienLight is available in black, grey, high-visibility yellow and tan, with standard sizes 36-54 (and pants are also available). $427 (800) 222-1994, www.aerostich.com ~ Bill Heald

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Page 34

First Ride

2012 Suzuki V-Strom Words: Neale Bayly • Images: Suzuki

As we carved through the beautiful mountain roads of western North Carolina, Mother Nature burning the surrounding countryside a blaze of fall colors, I worked out how I’d vote if anyone asked me to pick my favorite motorcycle ridden in 2011. With no traction control, sophisticated suspension, mind-bending, headstraight-to-jail levels of acceleration, or MotoGP-spec brakes, how could a simple 650cc V-twin, with conventional suspension and twopiston caliper brakes be my top choice? Well, while riding with friends on some of the most beautiful roads in America, as fast as I’ll ever want to travel on a public highway, I realized that in this ever-complicated world we live in, it was truly apparent that with the new Suzuki V-Strom 650, less is actually more.

BACKROADS • APRIL 2012

Page 35 interstate to get us out of town, we settled on a law-abiding 70 mph, which put the analog tachometer needle on or around the 5,000rpm mark. With peak power not arriving until 8,800 rpm, and redline a little past this at 10,000 rpm, the V-Strom had plenty in reserve if needed for passing duties.

The short highway blast was perfect for feeling the effects of the new windshield. Suzuki has spent considerable time refining this area of the V-Strom experience for new owners, and by moving the windshield back 30mm they have eliminated a lot of wind noise while also making it fully adjustable. Adjustable up and down, as well as forward and back, you can tailor it to your own preference. There are some additional accessory windshield pieces to further improve this performance, and I experienced this on the Adventure model much to my approval.

It’s hard to accept it’s already been a decade since the first V-Strom hit the showroom floor, but in that time thousands of them have rolled out onto the highway, and over the years very little has been changed, for good reason. Displacing 645cc and producing what seems like a modest 65-70 horsepower, in the real world of speed limits, stop signs, and large semiconscious four-wheeled road users, it’s actually plenty enough. So for 2012 Suzuki has made some refinements to the venerable V-Strom, but not revolutionary changes, and I for one whole-heartedly applaud their approach.

Leaving out of Charlotte, North Carolina, my hometown, and headed for two days of riding in the nearby mountains it didn’t take a moment to get settled in and feeling comfortable. The sensible riding position, new seat, and wide, up-right bars keep your back straight and your feet low enough to remove any strain from the knees. Quickly hopping onto the

APRIL 2012 • BACKROADS

Page 36 The ride took us on some beautiful secondary roads, and by the time we stopped for a coffee break, we had been riding long enough for me to know this is one seriously comfortable motorcycle. The new seat has been reduced in width to make it easier to place your feet flat on the ground, and it is the right mix of firm, but not too firm. Standard seat height is 32.9 inches, or you can purchase a higher 33.6 incher or a lower 32.1-inch version. I rode all three versions, and at around five foot eleven with a 30-inch inseam, the standard or the tall worked best for me. Whichever option you choose, the combination of size and padding are going to be perfect for long days on the road.

For 2012, the engine has been updated with the use of the power plant found in the slightly funky Gladius. It’s still essentially an SV 650/V-Strom power plant, with a 81mm bore and 62.6 mm stroke, but it’s been worked over to give it more bottom end grunt. New pistons and rings run in new cylinders, and there is an updated intake camshaft, which is largely responsible for this boost lower down the rpm range. Clean-up work in the combustion chambers adds efficiency, and mechanical loss is reduced by use of single valve springs instead of the previous doubles. There have also been some minor changes to the crankshaft, and it’s really a sum of the parts here adding up to an even sweeter, harder-pulling motor.

Everything the old V-Strom was and more, to be precise.

These changes also allow the bike to be more fuel efficient, so the gas tank has been reduced to 5.3 gallons from the previous 5.8 gallons. Long-distance riders will still get the same mileage between fill ups due the improved fueling, and with 50 mpg easily achieved, this will give you close to 250 miles without having to look for a gas sta-

tion. Suzuki has installed a mileage indicator on the dash, so you can see what your average consumption is on the fly, which will be very helpful when planning fuel and rest stops on tour.

Speaking of touring, one of the first things that sprang to mind for me when I pulled away on the Adventure model was let’s load up and head out across country. It just looks and feels like it’s ready to take a long, adventurous ride, and with the touring windshield with seven-way adjustable spoiler, aluminum side cases, engine crash bars and top box, it has all the right equipment in place. These options add $1500 to the $8,300 price of the standard V-Strom, and you can of course buy this standard version and add whichever accessories you like as you go. The side bags come in two choices, aluminum or composite-resin, but the matching top box is an accessory item. Also available as options are heated grips, crash guards, a belly pan, center stand, and power outlet, all very useful accessory items for the hard-core adventure-touring rider. One nitpick I had was the luggage, which rattled a fair bit, and while some garage time could find ways to damp this out, when added to stiff locks and hinges, it’s something I would rather Suzuki or my dealer address before I took the V-Strom home.

Another useful feature for the adventure rider is the warning light in the cockpit that lets you know when the temperature has dropped to 32 degrees by flashing at you. A digital speedometer joins an analog tachometer, and there is a switch in front of the left handlebar that allows you to scroll through the bike’s functions on the digital readout. There are two trip meters and average fuel consumption on the right. If you hold the button for at least a second, you can switch between the time and the temperature. The gauge cluster has an

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BACKROADS • APRIL 2012 adjustable backlight for brightness with all warnings lights located on the right-hand side. From the rider’s eye view, it’s all very clean and functional and easy to interpret on the move.

One of the best parts of our two-day test was the amount of corners we went around following our guide, Bill Kniegge. Bill is a good friend and neighbor of mine, so I knew when Suzuki asked him to design a route it would be fantastic: I just hadn’t factored in how much better the V-Strom was going to make it. The wide bars make tipping the bike into turns an almost telepathic experience, even though you might think a nineteen-inch front wheel would slow things down. Mated to a more conventional seventeen-inch rim in the rear, with a modest 150/70R profile, the bike not only turns in and finishes the corners quickly, it’s extremely stable mid-corner and encourages some crazy lean angles when the mood strikes. Improved suspension helps keep the tires in contact with the road longer over bumps and is a nice balance between sport and touring, read not too soft and not too hard.

The conventional front fork has a pre-load adjustment and this will be useful for times when the bike is heavily loaded. As ridden, with just yours truly in the saddle at around 185 pounds, there was no unwanted dive under hard braking, although the fairly generic two-piston calipers are never going to put it under too much stress. The twin disc brakes are as good as they need to be though, safely slowing the bike from speed without overwhelming the fork. There is good additional stopping power available from the rear brake, but it’s very easy to activate the anti-lock brakes on the rear, so you can lose braking power on corner entrance if you are too enthusiastic with your foot, learned by experience, I’m ashamed to say. With the ABS fitted as standard this year, there is a 13-pound weight penalty, and this brings me to my one real gripe: you can’t turn the ABS off for riding in the dirt.

With a portion of our ride on some fabulous, twisting Jeep-style trails, we made some fairly steep descents as we dropped off the Blue Ridge Parkway. Being cognizant that the V-Strom ABS was operational made my decent more cautious, and if we could have switched it off, it would have been a lot more fun, and, in my mind, safer. I’m not sure if you have ever seen an ABS demonstration in the dirt, but it’s shocking how much longer it takes to stop if it’s in use. The total opposite obviously of how it performs on the road.

Parking the V-Strom for the last time back in Charlotte, I stood back for a few moments to collect my thoughts. Style-wise the bike has undergone a minor revamp, with sharper looks and a tighter stance, thanks to a shorter exhaust pipe and the fairing being pulled closer to the center of the bike. The changes are pleasing to the eye, but the bike has not lost its familiar look. It has gained some power where it’s appreciated most, picked up a few new functions, and lost nothing of its charms in the process. As the most affordable adventure-touring motorcycle on the road, or in base form at $8,300 a stone-reliable, comfortable commuter, the new 2012 Suzuki V-Strom is plain and simply my bike of the year for these plain, simple reasons.

Page 37

APRIL 2012 • BACKROADS

Page 38

PRODUCT REVIEW

DON’T GET LOST • LAGUNA GPS TANK BAG WITH BACKPACK Ken Aiken

Firstgear created the Laguna GPS Tank Bag to allow electronic gizmos — especially GPS units, cell phones, and MP3 players—to be operable while riding. This means visible and plugged in.

Let me be up front about this: tank bags are rather personal pieces of luggage and every rider has different ideas as to what to pack in them. Even the best ones aren’t suitable for everyone, but the Laguna GPS Tank Bag from Firstgear is one of the more interesting designs that I’ve had the opportunity to test.

Your GPS unit gets zippered into a 5 x 4.5-inch case with a clear mylar window. When not in use this folds into a waterresistant compartment in the top of the tankbag and is zipped closed. Unzip the compartment and the attached hinged case swings out to be secured at a 45-degree position by Velcro, and places the GPS unit’s LCD screen where it can easily be viewed. (Note: I do NOT recommend viewing a GPS screen while a motorcycle is in motion.) The 4 x 4.5-inch cell phone / MP3 player compartment is located in front of the GPS (i.e., closer to you).

It too has a clear mylar window, but the zippered compartment is accessible only from the inside of the tankbag.

These units are powered by any one of several styles of auxiliary power cords running from the motorcycle battery. Small rubber grommets with a “+”shaped slit allow ingress for an electrical cord while maintaining a fairly high degree of water resistance. These “+”shaped slits just barely allow a SAE plug to be pushed through them. Inside the bag are four sets of Velcro tabs to allow routing of wires along the top left-hand edge of the main compartment. GPS units, radar detectors, MP3 players, battery chargers, cell phones, cameras, and other electronic gizmos can be operated or recharged inside the tankbag while rolling down the highway.

The bag zippers to a base that can be secured to any gas tank, whether it’s

made of steel, aluminum, or plastic. Obviously patterned after a bearskin rug, the four legs have Velcro closed “paws” containing powerful magnets. The magnets are easily removed and four suction cups (included) attached.

The base also has an excellent four-point nylon-strap tie-down system with quick-release buckles. The combination of the magnets and four-point straps provide a rocksolid bag that won’t shift position at speed or in nasty crosswinds. Access to the gas cap is certainly easy enough by releasing the front two buckles, grasping the two front “paws” and lifting the bag towards the saddle. The base also has a zippered map pocket (5” wide x 12” long) with a mylar window.

Hidden between the base and the bag are two adjustable padded shoulder straps and a waist belt with a quick release buckle that transforms the tank bag into a backpack. This feature is well thought out and better than any

BACKROADS • APRIL 2012 I’ve ever owned or tested. It also comes with an adjustable nylon shoulder strap (with a plastic shoulder pad) that attaches to two D-rings by snap swivels. It even has an excellent, well-padded hand strap.

An attached rain cover is hidden in a zippered compartment at the front of the bag. The cover is made of heavy PVC-coated nylon with a draw cord and another mylar window. It’s a bit awkward to get the cover out when the tankbag is mounted on the bike, but practice will solve this little issue. Being attached means the rain cover isn’t going to blow off or get lost.

Two sides of the bag have stiffeners to keep it rigid, but the liner has a zipper and these can be removed if you desire. I found them to be good places to keep crucial documents. There’s a zippered cargo pocket on each side that measures 12.5 inches long and 6-inches tapering to 4, but it’s only an inch deep. It’s sufficient for gloves, sunglasses, and other compact essentials. The small pocket on the end has a flap with Velcro closure and seems to work well for spare change, business cards, and earplugs.

Regardless of what the advertising copy states, the outside of the main bag actually measures 10-inches wide by 14-inches long. The expansion gusset is well constructed but the extension is barely two inches and not the stated three. The GPS and cell phone compartments take up some of the depth of the interior space and the tapered width means the opening is wider toward the front and narrower in the back, but there remains enough space for most needs. My only criticism is that some handheld GPS units only fit into the GPS compartment on a diagonal.

Made of ballistic nylon, the Laguna GPS Tank Bag is a quality piece of luggage of excellent construction. It doesn’t come with

Page 39

wiring, but Whitehorse Gear offers an extensive range of electrical connectors with SAE and Powerlet plugs, various adaptors, Y cables, and extensions to meet your needs.

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BACKROADS • APRIL 2012

Page 41

UPCOM IN G EVENTS CAL ENDAR E V E RY M O N T H - W E AT H E R P E R M I T T I N G Every Sunday • Eastern Suffolk ABATE Breakfast Run. Crossroads Diner - Calverton NY. 10:30am. Eat and Ride After • 631-369-2221 First Sunday of the month • Layton Meet at the Layton Deli, corner of Dingmans/Bevans Rd, CR 560, Layton, NJ. Meet around 8am – breakfast available. Join others for a ride or head out on your own Every Tuesday • The Ear - Spring St, NYC. Come meet some fellow riders and do some benchracing or whatever. 8pm-ish Third Tuesday • 7:30pm ABATE of the Garden State, North Jersey chapter. Black River Barn, 1178 Rt. 10 West, Randolph, NJ. 7:30pm. New members and all mc brands welcome. Help fight for rights as a motorcyclist in NJ! Alex Martinez 973-390-1918

APRIL 12-15 • Montgomeryville Cycle Center Spring Kick-Off Sale to celebrate 25 years in business. Great Deals - Best of the Season. 2901 Bethlehem Pike, Hatfield, PA • 215-7127433 •www. MontgomeryvilleCC.com 14 • Morton’s BMW Spring Open House and Habitat Poker Run. Come demo ride the new models, shop at our many vendors, talk to manufacturer reps, enjoy a free lunch for the first 400 to register, listen to live music and participate in a poker run to benefit Greater Fredericksburg Habitat for Humanity. For more details: www.mortonsbmw.com • 5099A Jefferson Davis Hwy, Fredericksburg, VA • 540-891-9844

What’s Happening May 17-20 • Concours Owners Group Northeast Spring Fling Rally - Westerly, RI. Rally fee includes group banquet dinner Friday night. Discount for COG members and early registration. For more information contact Brian at bdfelice@cox.net or 401-828-3354.

Check out the COG Northeast calendar at www.cog-online.org or visit the rally webpage at tinyurl.com/COGSpringFling2012 20 – 11th Annual British/European Classic Motorcycle Day for all classic British & European motorcycles built through 1983. 10am-5pm; $10/admission. High Point Farm, Clarksburg, MD. Concours, Swap Meet, door prizes, tech talks, vintage trials demo. www.classicmotorcycleday.org 18-20 - Morton’s BMW 2012 Spring Fling Rally at Natural Bridge, VA. Weekend of fun, great riding, delicious food and some outstanding company in the heart of the scenic Shenandoah Valley. Friday evening Brats n’ Brew dinner social, Saturday seminars, guided lunch ride plus many self-guided routes, Sat. evening BBQ buffet dinner, door prizes and much more. $45 Rally fee/Brat Dinner $10. For more info www.mortonsbmw.com • 5099A Jefferson Davis Hwy, Fredericksburg, VA • 540-891-9844 20 • Ramapo Rumble Poker Run. Sign in: Ramapo College of NJ, 505 Ramapo Valley Rd, Mahwah, NJ @ 8:30am. $25/rider to benefit Ramapo College Foundation. Scenic 100 mile poker run through northern NJ/Greenwood Lake area, followed by BBQ lunch, vendors and live entertainment by the DRB Band. Prize for best poker hand. For more info visit www.ramaporumble.com 20 • Ramapo MC Spring Dice Ru. Sign in: Rhodes North Tavern, Rte. 17 N, Sloatsburg, NJ 9-10am. $15/bike. More info contact Dick 201-767-3594 • www.ramapomc.org

14-15 • Cross Country Cycle and the Ocean County Competition Riders presents Pine Barrens 300. 300-mile GPS guided off-road tour of the New Jersey Pine Barrens for Adventure-style motorcycles. All machines must be street-legal. For full details please visit www.ccbmw.com or call 732-635-0094.

26 • ACE Motorworks Open House & Demo Day. 154 Cooper Rd #102, West Berlin, NJ •856-809-9990 • www.acetrike.com

15 • 12th Annual Spring Breakout Show and Swap Meet produced by Odyssey Productions. NY Ice Time Sports Complex, Newburgh, NY. For full details, schedule, pricing, please visit www.OdyPro.com

4 • 7am-5pm • Bob’s BMW is hosting a day at the track with Motorcycle Xcitement for all the speed junkies out there! We want ALL brands to join us—it gives the S1000RR more bragging rights! Our staff and any friends you bring with you will cheer you on trackside under Bob’s VIP hospitality tent. Lunch, snacks, beverages, on-site techs for your mechanical convenience, and more will be included in this unforgettable day!

Learn from professionals and then put your new skills to the pavement in a safe environment…no soccer mom’s slowing you down in the fast lane! Spread the word, plan ahead, and mark your calendar TODAY. Registration forms and details regarding orientation available at bobsbmw.com

21 • Cross Country Cycle Spring Open House. 911 Middlesex Ave, Metuchen, NJ • 732-906-9292 • www.crosscountrycycle.net 21 • Bergen County Harley-Davidon/BMW Vendorpalooza. A ton of parts manufacturers all in one place. Free BBQ, msic and giveaways. 124 Essex St, Rochelle Park, NJ • 201843-6930 • bergenbmwmotorcycles.com • bergenharleydavidson.com 21-22 • Rollin’ Fast Cycles Victory Demo Truck Event. 104 Main St, Lebanon, NJ • 908236-9000 • www.rollinfast.com 25 • Liberty Harley-Davidson Women’s Garage Party @ 6pm. Please RSVP to 732-3812400. More details: www.libertyharley.com • 12 W. Milton Ave, Rahway, NJ 28 • 9am-4pm • 2012 is Bob’s BMW 30th Year Anniversary so you better believe we will REALLY be kicking off the season this year! Bring your friends, family, and fellow riders of ALL brands for an exciting day! Enjoy a variety of great foods and beverages, a chance to shop the newest 2012 inventory, speak to product reps one-on-one to get the inside scoop on 2012 products, visit booths and tents to get industry information from club news to insurance options, and more! As details are confirmed they will be announced. Please check on BobsBMW.com often to see what's new.

29 • Hogs for Hope Falls to the River Run to benefit Ronald MacDonald House NY. Sign in: Croton Gorge Park 9am-11am; police-escorted ride leaves 11am. $25/rider;$15/passenger. Endsite: JFK Marina on the Hudson River. Live music, BBQ/Pig Roast, raffles and prizes. For info call 914-760-0611 or 914-424-8007 29 • 4th Annual JAM MIV Joann Miller Memorial Ride. Sign in: Chatterbox Drive-In, Rte. 15, Augusta, NJ • 8:30-10:30am; Bike Blessing 10:30, Ride leaves 10:45. $15/pp.

Continental breakfast; cash lunch at Junction 46 Bar/Grille, Ledgewood, NJ • More info can be found at www.wix.com/jammiv/run or call 201-874-4066 29 • Chai Riders MC First Ride of the Season. Sign in: 8:30-10am, Temple Beth Sholom, 40-25 Fair Lawn Ave, Fair Lawn, NJ. $20/rider; $10/pass incl. breakfast, nosh along the route, BBQ lunch at end site and so much more. AMA sanctioned • 201-791-4161 • www.chairiders.org

MAY 5 • FW Speer’s brings back Vito’s Full Moon Cruise. For more details please call 973778-6256. 7 Main Ave, Passaic, NJ • www.SpeerYamaha.com 6 • Bergen County Harley-Davidso/BMW Presents Freedom Run and Festivalto benefit the 200 Club of Bergen County. Sign in: 9-10:30 Bergen County Courthouse • $25/rider; $15/pass. Ride leaves 11am SHARP. Endsite: Liberty State Park with vendors, live music, BBQ, stunt show and more. For full details please visit www.freedonrun.stayclassy.org 6 • South Shore MC/Big Sandbar Chapter AMCA-LI Vintage Motorcycle Show/Swap Meet. South Shore MC Club, 6 Seabro Ave, Amityville, NY. Awards given, food and beverages sold, no alcohol please. $5 admission/pp; under 12 free. For more information please visit www.southshoremc.com or www.thebigsandbar.com 6 • Branchville Motors Spring Open House. 63 Ethan Allen Hwy, Ridgefield, CT • 203544-7901 8-9 • Victory Metuchen Demo Truck Event. 911 Middlesex Ave, Metuchen, NJ • 732-9069292 • www.victorymetuchen.com 12 • 10th Annual Ride for the River Poker Run. Sign in: 9-11am Schooley’s Mountain County Park, 91 East Springtown Rd, Long Valley, NJ. Pre-reg $25/rider; $20/pass. incl t-shirt. For details please call 908-234-1852 ext. 316 • www.raritanheadwaters.org 17-20 • Backroads’ Spring Break XIV. Join us for our fourteenth Spring Break as we head south to Luray, Virginia. We’ll stay at the historic Mimslyn Inn (540-743-5105 • www.mimslyninn.com • mention Backroads Group for discount). For additional overflow lodging please call the Best Western at 540-743-6511.

JUNE

5-9 • 30th Annual Americade - the world’s largest touring rally. Lake George, NY. If you’ve never been, now’s the time to go; if you have we’ll see you again this year. For everything you’ll need to know visit www.americade.com 7-10 • New England MotoMarathon. Re-defining motorcycle sport-touring. It’s about riding as many twisties as possible, over four full days. Routes are kept secret until the night before each event. Through a series of self-recorded checkpoints, riders verify completion at the end of each day’s ride. $50 registration. Sign in: June 6 @ 7pm. Comfort Suites/Holiday Inn, 89 Mill Plain Rd, Danbury, CT • 203-205-0800. Get more info here: www.motomarathon.com 9-17 • 89th Annual Laconia Bike Week - one of the Big Three! Lake Weir, New Hampshire.

For all the information visit www.LaconiaMCWeek.com 15-16 • Cross Country BMW Demo Truck Event. 911 Middlesex Ave, Metuchen, NJ • 732-635-0094 • www.ccbmw.com 16 • 9am-4pm • Bob's BMW Sport Bike Day. Riders of ALL brands are encouraged to wash and detail your pride and joy, ride to Bob’s, and show off what you’ve got! Enjoy great food while you visit, see the 2012 S1000RR up close and learn about all the new updates and features, get entered to win great prizes, plus more to be announced! 10720 Guilford Rd, Jessup, MD • 800-269-2627 • www.BobsBMW.com 18 • Ride to Work Day • www.RideToWork.org 21-24 • 15th Annual Thunder in the Valley presented by Johnstown Convention and Visitors Bureau. Johnstown, PA. More details: www.JohnstownThunder.com 24 • NJ Chapter VII Blue Knights benefit ride for Shriners Hospital-Livingston. Sign in: 910:30; ride leaves 11am from Salaam Temple, 369 E. Mt. Pleasant Ave/Rte. 10, Livingston, NJ. $20/rider; $10/pass. incl. breakfast, lunch and great ride. • 973-951-5011 24 • 4th Annual Poker Run to bemefit Multiple Sclerosis. Sign in: Baer Sports Center, 330 Grandview Ave, Honesdale, PA or Harmony Lodge #8, 519 Rte. 206, Andover Twp, NJ btw 9am-Noon. $20/pp incl. pin or patch, poker hand, raffles, 50/50, vendors, ive music by Big Boss Sausauge and others. Endsite: Mt. Haven, 106 Mt. Haven Dr, Milford, PA. For more info call 570-253-2000 or 570-686-2917

JULY 14-15 • 36th Annual Ramapo 500. Weekend Motorcycle Tour Classic. Sign in 7-9am (see website for address). $35/pre-reg riders;$48 at the door incl. self-guided tour directions, dinner Saturday, free camping, awards, prizes, breakfast Sunday, commemorative starter’s pin and finisher’s patch. AMA Sanctioned. For more info visit www.ramapomc.org or call 914-422-1806 28 • 11am-1pm • Ever consider traveling the world by motorcycle? If so, Edelweiss Bike Travel will be at Bob’s BMW to provide you with all the information you need to make your dreams come true! Bob’s is bringing the experts in guided motorcycle tours to you so come prepared with all your questions. Having led thousands of tours worldwide over the past 30 years, you can count on getting all of your questions answered at this seminar. Learn the basics of world travel by bike, plus specific benefits of traveling with Edelweiss. 10720 Guilford Rd, Jessup, MD • 800-269-2627 • www.BobsBMW.com. 10720 Guilford Rd, Jessup, MD • 800-269-2627

APRIL 2012 • BACKROADS

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at the end of each day’s ride. $50 registration. Sign in: Sept. 12 @ 8pm. Quality Inn, 849 Rte. 52, Fishkill, NY • 845-897-9300. Get more info here: www.motomarathon.com

AUGUST 12-19 • Backroads Magazine Ireland Tour with Celtic Riders. Spend 8 days, 7 nights touring the Emeral Isle. This will be a self-guided tour with accommodations and route set. Book early as motorcycle availability is limited. For full details please visit www.celticriders.ie and see the 8-day tour. Hope you can join us.

SEPTEMBER 13-16 • 15th Catskill Mountain Thunder. Weekend filled with stunt shows, vendor expo, bike build off, bike show with cash prizes, pig roast, fireworks, free demo rides, live music throughout the weekend and so much more. For full details please visit the website: www.catskillmountainthunder.com or call 518-634-2541 • 348 Sunside Rd, East Durham, NY. 13-16 • Empire State Motomarathon. Re-defining motorcycle sport-touring. It’s about riding as many twisties as possible, over four full days. Routes are kept secret until the night before each event. Through a series of self-recorded checkpoints, riders verify completion

29 • 9am-4pm • Celebrate Oktoberfest at Bob’s BMW. This annual, family-fun event is a great way to spend the day. Ride to Bob’s early for fresh coffee and donuts and stay for an authentic German lunch! Kick tires with fellow enthusiasts and shop great specials.

Details of the day are in the works. Check back for updates at bobsbmw.com

NOVEMBER 3 • 6-10pm • Bob's BMW 30th Year Anniversary Celebration. Tickets will be available months in advance for this monumental event. You will want to get tickets as soon as they are available …this is going to be a night to remember so we anticipate tickets will go FAST! Stay tuned for specifics to be confirmed, but for now, expect a private, catered evening among fellow friends with lots of surprises, amazing giveaways, first heard announcements from Bob, plus an official tribute to Bob’s BMW! Visit www.BobsBMW for details.

UPDATE FOR BACKROADS SPRING BREAKERS We’ve arranged to have a barbeque buffet dinner on Friday, May 18 @ 6pm at the Mimslyn Inn during our Spring Break.

The cost will be $19.95 + tax and service. If you’d like to attend, you MUST contact us at Backroads to reserve your space.

Please call or email with number of people in your group.

Thanks and we’ll see you in a few short weeks in Luray, VA. email: editor@backroadsusa.com • phone: 973-948-4176

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Page 45 (Continued from Page 8)

sloshy gasoline when you go through some glorious mountain twisties. Of course, I have devised a cunning solution to the fuel problem by first freezing the fuel using liquid nitrogen so it is stored as a non-sloshable solid, and then using “big freakin’ lasers” to liquefy the fuel right before it enters the fuel injection system and then combust. My system does require a few things though, like a liquid nitrogen tank and injection apparatus, and the “big freakin’ lasers” and their power supply, and the 5,000 lb. trailer to haul all this stuff. Then there’s the million bucks or so all this would cost, including the engineering staff to figure out how to make all this work.

Maybe I should just pack carefully until fuel pellets show up. Can’t hurt, right?

on The Mark

(Continued from Page 10)

the machine was promised to the customer. In one instance, the motor didn’t fit in the frame.

I’m getting all holier-than-thou, so in the interest of full disclosure, I’ve had my mechanical moments too. One was the time I cross-threaded a bolt on a swingarm when installing saddlebag mounts on an F650. After much cursing, I finally sought a neighbor with a tap set and was able to chase the threads in the swingarm so they’d accept the bolt properly and so it would be removable. If I’d been like the guy who installed the exhaust on my Honda, I would have just torqued that fastener home and considered the cross-thread merely a “self-locking” feature. I just couldn’t do it: sometimes the buffoonery isn’t in screwing it up in the first place, it’s how you fix it that matters.

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APRIL 2012 • BACKROADS

Page 46

Georgia Mayans and The Lost City of Gold Tim Wineland Saturday, 1:10pm Track Rock Gap Archeological Area Blairsville, GA I am alone. I am alone in the bleak winter woods with a single Snickers and only my thoughts for comfort. Sadly, my thoughts are of “The Blair Witch Project” and sacrificial homicide due to the similar surroundings. The Snickers is soon gone as well. Despite these concerns, I am determined to continue this quest – this search for ancient answers and long-elusive truths, and maybe some slabs of gold the size of baked lasagna. I park my bike and enter the woods in good spirits. Hopefully, those are the only kind I’ll meet.

The 1st marker I recently read on the Internet about a newly discovered “Mayan connection” to the Track Rock Archeological Area near Blairsville, Georgia; a mere hour from my doorstep but still a couple thousand miles and millennia away from the nearest Mayan. The site is known for its abundance of ancient petroglyphs – rock carvings – depicting effigies of what appear to be human, animal, and who-knows-what-else branded upon the surface of several large, soapstone boulders. For generations, many such arcane artifacts have been found throughout the Southeast; and for generations many were reverently ground into pulp for even longer lasting structures like seaside condos and Walmart parking lots. Thankfully, a few yet remain.

The first white settlers to this valley attributed the mysterious Track Rock Gap artwork to the previous inhabitants, the Cherokee – who in turn pointed to their predecessors, the Creek, who also declined having any knowledge of the original authors.

The “sacred stones” had always been there.

In fact, Native Americans regarded this entire area as holy for time beyond reckoning. So, exactly who created the Track Rock petroglyphs and what they actually depict has remained a mystery – until now.

Being that the Mayans have marked 2012 as the last year of our earthly existence, I felt a first hand visit was in order if for no other reason than to ride some fun mountain roads and maybe beg an extension from a sacred winged serpent.

1:45pm: The ruins My nose is running but my feet refuse. Allergies are my least concern. The sloping terrain is strewn with ankle-cracking rocks and toe-

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tripping roots lurking beneath a pall of rotting leaves. Hoary, wrist-thick vines writhe along the ground, snaring my every step. To flail any faster downhill would be disastrous; uphill would be…well, uphill – beyond the bounds of the “Lost City” and my pounding aorta. I reference my crude map and continue east, traversing the face of this sacred valley of the Cherokee, the Creek, and – seriously? – Mayans? In north Georgia? Stranger things have happened, I suppose.

Newt Gingrich comes to mind.

rocky runoffs, I seem to move higher up the mountain. Wearied and confused, I rest upon a pile of rubble to regain strength and spirit. Both are quickly renewed as I realize I am sitting on a tomb. My running nose inspires my feet and I bound gazelle-like to a sparse but sunny clearing some twenty yards away. I glance back at the ancient cairn and the surrounding detritus of death. I drink deep from my dwindling supply of Dasani and remind myself that I am “Georgia Tim”, and avid and adventurous motorcyclist. “Indiana Jones” I am not.

The 2nd marker In 1999, a University of Georgia archeologist led an expedition to this corner of the state to investigate some of the local “Indian” mounds prevalent throughout the area. Stories from local hunters and hikers had reached the archeologist’s ears of peculiar rock piles and linear stone constructs in a remote and as yet undisturbed valley mere meters from the well-known rock carvings. As hoped, the explorers soon found ample evidence of early habitation in the form of stone terraces, irrigation ditches, and rock piles that turned out to be graves, which,

by Federal law, halted further excavation – but raised more questions: Was this the remains of an ancient village or temple? Could the Track Rock petroglyphs be but a “marker” to an even more enigmatic site? What further mysteries, i.e., “corpses” lay underground? Why am I here again?

The 3rd marker One of the local residents eagerly spreading these stories was himself a retired structural engineer, who eventually persuaded the owners of the land – the United States Forest Service – to hire another archeologist to study and map the area, now officially designated as Track Rock Gap Archeology Site 9UN367.

Months later, archeologist Johannes Loubser working with an Atlanta-based firm soon had radiocarbon dates from soil, rock, and even some clay pottery shards found deep within the hillside. The samples ranged from 760 AD to 850 AD – well before the influx of Creek or Cherokee or Newt. So who was here that long ago carving conundrums, building walls, and making ‘possum potluck in the wilds of north Georgia?

Mayans of course.

2:23pm: Lost The woods are confusing. This is not so much a valley as a series of steep-sided defiles. Though continuously stumbling down into

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starving and desperate. Many anthropologists deduce that the majority of the once robust civilization simply withered away; going the way of the Dodo within a few centuries. Others, like Richard Thornton, argue that the descendants more likely migrated up the coast or sailed across the Gulf of Mexico in search of a less hostile environment – one with lush woods and clear rivers and non-flaming rocks spewing down on their heads. A place like north Georgia, for instance.

Though not a new theory (clues to a probable Mayan migration to North America have been turning up for years), Thornton believes the remains at Track Rock to be the “smoking gun”, or “roasting virgin” as the case may be – hard evidence of an early incursion into the foothills of Appalachia by refuges from Mesoamerican. He points out that the Mayans referred to themselves as “Itsa”, and that Georgia’s highest peak, Brasstown Bald – looming but a mile away – was first recorded as “Itsa-ye”, literally “Place of the Maya”, in early colonial journals. A compelling thought indeed – unfortunately, from there Mr. Thornton seems to wander off the reservation, as it were.

He then suggests that maybe, just maybe, this sacred and obscure little valley is also the fabled “Lost City” of Yupaha – the “City of Gold” sought in vain by Hernando de Soto in his exploratory sweep through the South in 1540. He also suggests that everyone should buy his new book (Thornton’s, not Hernando’s) which explains all this in great detail with the aid of computer-generated pictures and a convenient bar coded price tag – suggesting that Mr. Thornton may have found his own route to Yupaha.

3:05pm: At the top It is evident now that “down” is every which way I look. I continue, cautious of my steps and even more of my selected seating. I encounter a low stone wall, unused for eons by its makers, but still intact. Through the trees, I spy other such walls built to retain small plots of ground. One below the other they descend like crude earthen stairs to the creek far below. I think of the farmers who once tended the hillside crops, now long dead, probably by stroke from working these vertical fields.

The 4th marker Enter Richard Thornton: author, architect, design consultant, stone mason, and a one-time student of Mesoamerican architecture under the tutelage of archeologist Roman Pina-Chan, Director of the Museo Nacional de Antropologia in Mexico. Mr. Thornton’s professional involvement with Latin American history and architecture combined with his personal heritage – he is a card-carrying Creek descendant – allowed him an “ah-Hah!” heard round the ancient world.

Sometime before 800 AD, things were not going well for the Mayan peoples of Central America. They had flourished for over sixteen centuries as merchants, tradesmen, farmers and seafarers. They were expert engineers and builders, and in addition to their still impressive pyramids and that unsettling calendar, they were quite adept at agricultural terraces and hillside irrigation systems. What they weren’t, however, was immortal. Decades of drought, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions eventually had them

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BACKROADS • APRIL 2012 4:20pm: Back at bike It is late. The sun is slanting and I want to be well on my way before these woods are infested with whatever comes out after dark in a violated sacred site. I did not find gold; but neither did I get squashed into tomb-lube by an enormous rolling boulder, or laced to a rotating spit by a goat-headed guy wearing feathers, so I claim success. I look again at the Track Rock runes nearby.

Though generations of passers-by and other purveyors of gratuitous graffiti have added to the panoply, the original weatherworn designs are still recognizable and quite remarkable regardless of their creators. Whatever souls remain in this place must surely take solace in the fact that their passing is left in stone for all eternity – which, unfortunately, ends this December.

Page 49 for more information: google “Mayan ruins in georgia” (Links to original article and additional pro-and-con sites) www.lostworlds.org (website dedicated to pre-historic native americans of georgia and florida) Please note: The Track Rock Gap Archaeological Zone and Petroglyphs are owned by the citizens of the United States and protected by the United States Forestry Service. The archaeological zone is open to the public year-round and may be accessed by a network of trails requiring rigorous hiking. Both the Creek and Cherokee Indians consider this place to be very sacred, so please be respectful. By Federal law, the ruins and petroglyphs may not be disturbed in any way.

APRIL 2012 • BACKROADS

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IND USTRY INFOBITES

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Absolute Cycle Experience, the east coast’s premier powersports parts dealer and track-day club, is pleased to announce a new relationship with Washington Cycle Works as an authorized service center.

Roy Cadoo, Absolute Cycle Experience Director of Operations, is excited about this relationship: “Since I have been in this sport, Washington Cycle Works’ name has always been associated with quality sportbike service. With its five-star reputation, we’re confident that our members will always be treated with honesty and fairness, along with getting great work.”

Ron Chemerynski of Washington Cycle Works had this to say: “We are happy to provide reliable service for Absolute Cycle Members. Since 1995, our goal has been to meet the needs of road-race and track-day riders. From new riders to seasoned experts, we’re here to help them make sensible mods to their bikes, which allows them to have great track experiences.”

For more information about Absolute Cycle Experience’s retail and trackday offerings, log on to AbsoluteCycle.com. Washington Cycle Works can be found online at WashingtonCycleWorks.com.

Harley-Davidson will celebrate 110 years of great motorcycles and epic riding experiences with an array of global events and activities in 2013.

Among the events during the year-long celebration will be a rally in Rome, Italy, June 13-16, and a massive party over Labor Day weekend, Aug. 29 Sept. 1, in Milwaukee. Harley-Davidson will also celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Harley Owners Group (H.O.G.) globally, including during the Labor Day weekend in Milwaukee in 2013. H.O.G., the official riding club of the Motor Company, boasts about one million members worldwide.

Information on housing options in Milwaukee and Rome is available at www.harley-davidson.com/110

NEW VIRGINIA LAW BARS MOTORCYCLE-ONLY CHECKPOINTS In a victory for motorcyclists, Virginia is the latest state to bar motorcycle-only checkpoints, the American Motorcyclist Association reports. On Feb. 28, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell signed into law H.B. 187, which was introduced by Delegate C. Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah). The new law, which takes effect July 1, prohibits law enforcement agencies from establishing checkpoints where the only vehicles subject to inspection are motorcycles. The measure was introduced after the Arlington County Police Department set up a motorcycle-only checkpoint during the Rolling Thunder ride on May 28, 2011, that brings awareness to prisoner of war/missing in action (POW/MIA) issues. Similar laws have been enacted in New Hampshire and North Carolina. “Officials say they set up these motorcycle-only checkpoints to pull over motorcyclists to check for safety violations,” said Rick Podliska, a Virginia resident and AMA deputy director of government relations. “But if officials are really concerned about motorcyclists’ safety, then they need to stop discriminating against us with these checkpoints and start supporting programs that prevent motorcycle crashes, such as rider safety training and driver awareness programs.”

NEW HEAD OF DESIGN FOR BMW MOTORRAD Edgar Heinrich (53) will be taking over the BMW Group’s BMW Motorrad Design Studio as of July 1st 2012. He succeeds David Robb. After completing his university degree in design, Edgar Heinrich started his career as a motorcycle designer with BMW back in 1986. Within the BMW Group’s BMW Motorrad Design Studio he was Head of Vehicle Design Motorcycles under the overall direction of David Robb from 2007 to 2009.

During his time with BMW Motorrad, Edgar Heinrich was responsible for such vehicles as the first 4-valve boxer models R 1100 RS and RT, the K 1200 S and R, the HP Megamoto and the victorious ParisDakar racing machines. The successful R 1150 GS and R 1200 GS were also created on his drawing board.

Under his direction, the motorcycle design team created the S 1000 RR, the F 800 / 650 series, the G 450 X and also the BMW Custom Concept study.

Heinrich was even involved at the start of the design development of the 6-cylinder touring bikes and the new maxi-scooters.

David Robb (56), the previous head of the BMW Group Motorcycle Design Studio, has left the company. He was in charge of BMW Motorrad design for 18 years. Under his leadership, the design team elaborated the development of the BMW Motorrad product portfolio from three to a current total of six model lines, as well as creating the extensive product range of BMW Motorrad rider equipment and motorcycle accessories.

40 YEARS WITH BEACH To mark their 40th year of operation, company president Rob Beach has created a new, more comprehensive, website (www.bmca.com) detailing their 10 European tours featured in 2012.

BMW and Mercedes convertibles, as well as BMW motorcycles, are available on most tours. All vehicles are provided with GPS units.

Since Rob’s parents, Bob and Elizabeth Beach, established their tour business in 1972 they specialized in trips to the Alpine areas of Europe. Each of these tours are conducted by a member of the Beach family. Rob Beach has now personally conducted 147 tours.

30 YEARS WITH AMERICADE, THE WORLD’S LARGEST TOURING RALLY Americade 2012, the weeklong rally attracting 10s of thousands of motorcyclists, will run from June 4-9, celebrating 30 years in this picturesque location. Located at the foot of 32 mile long Lake George, Americade 2012 will feature over 65 unique events, many happening multiple times over the course of the entire week—everything from new MiniTours and new themed boat cruises to a new Zip line and Ropes Course.

Also new this year, at Americade’s social headquarters, Fort William Henry Resort, are multiple stunt shows by former world trials champion Tommi Ahvala, and a Pig Roast n’ Hoedown on the lakeview lawn. Demo teams from over a dozen motorcycle manufacturers (BMW, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Kawasaki, Polaris, Yamaha and 6 more) will again be on hand there, to give Americaders the opportunity to try out their latest bikes. The tradeshows at the Lake George Forum, and Million Dollar Beach will feature many new vendors as part of the 250 who will exhibit there. For more info: www.americade.com

BOB’S BMW 30TH ANNIVERSARY T-SHIRT DESIGN Bob’s BMW is excited to invite the public to help design the dealership’s next T-shirt. This leading Baltimore area motorcycle dealership is known for creating fun and exciting tees over the past 30 years.

This year, in celebration of its 30th Anniversary, Bob’s BMW wants you to design the special edition anniversary t-shirt! For 30 years, Bob’s BMW has created custom T-shirts for motorcycle enthusiasts; now the Baltimore area motorcycle dealer invites fans to join its T-shirt contest to help create the next new t-shirt design in the spirit of its 30th Year Anniversary. Plus fans

BACKROADS • APRIL 2012

Page 51 get the opportunity to vote on their favorite design! People are encouraged to come up with unique designs and submit them to contest@bobsbmw.com. No limitations…any and all concepts created around the celebration will be accepted.

The winner of the contest will be awarded handsomely with a $300 cash prize, a supply of printed tees to share with their friends, national recognition, and most importantly bragging rights! Visit bobsbmw.com/contest to view contest details.

RIDE FOR KIDS RAISES $4.5 MILLION OF HOPE IN 2011 Children with brain tumors have some powerful friends in the motorcycling community. Contributions to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation® (PBTF) Ride for Kids® held steady in 2011, with more than $4.5 million raised through events, corporate and local sponsorships, and donated goods and services.

“The road is full of twists and turns, but motorcyclists, volunteers and sponsors didn’t waver in their support in 2011,” said Ride for Kids® National Director Kyle Clack. “More families were able to celebrate another year together because of them, and we are so grateful for that commitment.”

The PBTF has Charity Navigator’s highest rating of four stars. Over 85 percent of every dollar raised goes toward their programs, including medical research and family support.

Motorcyclists have fueled the PBTF’s position as the world’s leading nongovernmental source of childhood brain tumor research funding. We have supported projects at more than 50 facilities worldwide, including our three PBTF Institutes at Duke University, the University of California, San Francisco, and the Hospital for Sick Children in Canada.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF RALLY The Motomarathon™ Association announces the Empire State Motomarathon, Sept. 13th through 16th, 2012. Looping throughout New York State’s Lake Placid region – in the heart of Adirondack State Park - the event will begin and end at Quality Inn & Suites, 849 Route 52, Fishkill, NY 12524 (845.897.9300) conveniently located near three major highways in the lower Hudson Valley. The Loop Base will be located in Lake Placid, NY.

Motomarathon conducts an annual series of four-day rides designed for sport-touring riders over the twistiest roads and through the finest scenery in the country. Four other events in New England, Colorado, Wisconsin and the Great Smoky Mountains of NC & TN complete the 2012 series.

Carefully planned routes remain secret until the evening before each day’s

ride, and participants must complete a series of self-recorded checkpoints using digital cameras. A typical day’s ride consists of several checkpoints spread out over a full day’s worth of riding miles, which should range around 300-per day for the Empire Motomarathon. There is always enough time to complete the day’s route within posted speed limits and with plenty of time for sightseeing and leisurely lunches.

Standings in the Association are based on the cumulative number of checkpoints attained in Motomarathon events. An overall championship is awarded each year to the individual with the most checkpoints. The Motomarathon Association requires a signed release waiver and $50 rider fee for each event.

Cost: $50. For more information, visit www.motomarathon.com or see the Motomarathon Facebook® page. Contact Routemaster Joe Majsak, jmajsak@verizon.net

MARKETPLACE EVENTS ENTERS MOTORCYCLE CONSUMER SHOW BUSINESS For manufacturers and distributors of motorcycles, accessories and apparel, the Progressive Insurance International Motorcycle Shows (IMS) are where new models and products are unveiled to the press and the motorcycle consumer. It’s a market that has been dominated by one player, Advanstar Communications.

But that all that has now changed when Marketplace Events announced it had hired former long-time publisher of Cycle World magazine, Larry Little, and was expanding into the motorcycle events business with the American International Motorcycle Expo, set to open sometime in the fall of 2013.

Marketplace Events is well positioned to go head to head with Advanstar. The company produces 21 home shows in major markets across the US and has the infrastructure and experience in running successful consumer trade shows.

Little said AIME will be” timed to align with the annual reveal of new motorcycles…and is intended to create a greater efficiency for the industry to conduct business with retailers, promote new product to the press and consumers, while creating a heightened interest for motorcycling as both sport and as a viable, green transportation alternative.”

Little said his vision for the show is more in line with week long shows like ICMA in Milan and Intermot in Cologne, Germany where the first two days are set aside for the manufacturers to reveal their new models to the press which fuels the fire for thousands of motorcycle consumers (and dealers) which flood the show floor on the third, fourth and fifth day.

It’s an ambitious goal and to reach it, Marketplace Events must find a way to coalesce the fragmented trade show circuit in the US. Besides the (mostly) consumer IMS show, there is the (dealer only) Expos in Cincinnati and Indianapolis produced by Easyriders and Advanstar, and the (consumer) shows like Easyrider Bike shows, Cyclefest in Indiana, Great American Motorcyle Show in Atlanta and the Donnie Smith Bike Show in St. Paul Minnesota.

How Larry Little and Marketplace Events plans to do that is anybody’s guess at this point, but it will be interesting to find out in which major market the inaugural show will be held, and the date it will be held.

Traditionally the New York IMS show is where the major motorcycle manufacturers have released new models to the press and consumers. This year Victory and Zero debuted new bikes. To steal the thunder from IMS, Marketplace Events must pick a location and a date that will ensure a larger audience for manufacturers. Little says he hopes to announce dates and locations by the end of February.

APRIL 2012 • BACKROADS

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PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

DRYSPEC™ D38 RIGID DRY BAG AND D28 DUAL-END DRY BAG What makes the DrySpec D38 better than other dry bags on the market? Unlike other dry bags, the D38 features a rigid core, which means that the bag functions more like a topcase than a traditional dry bag. You can mount the D38 onto any motorcycle whether it has a rear rack or not. The D38 can be mounted even when the bag is completely empty. Try that with a traditional dry bag.

The rigid construction and the unique Slip-Lock Strap mounting system allows access without loosening straps or removing the bag from the bike. The D38 slip lock strap system consists of four straps that feature a soft tie on one end for attachment to the motorcycle and a slip lock buckle on the other end that attaches to the sides of the bag. Cinch the straps and you’re off.

Another nice feature of the DrySpec D38 is the Contour Roll Top Seal that rolls down to a fixed point with no excess material from the end of the roll. This ensures a clean look and a perfect waterproof seal.

Included is a 4-in-1 Utility Strap that acts as a compression strap to help compact your contents, a cargo 012 2 / strap to affix additional gear on top, a carrying handle, 1 / Y 5 Present this and a shoulder strap. When not being used, toss the UtilB ERY ad when purchasing ity Strap inside the bag.

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ST *Can be combined with current MFG offers MU 66 liters of gear. Perfect for those longer trips, all without the need for top or sideracks. The D38 sell for $129.99 The DrySpec™ D28 Dual-End dry bag is constructed of RF welded 18 oz. vinyl that guarantees 100% water138 Orange Ave (Rt. 202), Suffern, NY 10901 proof performance even when submersed. Unlike other dry bags, the D28 features a Dual-End roll top design 845-357-1190 that allows access to contents from either end of the bag, www.locomotionpowersports.com making it easy to get to your contents no matter where it’s located within the bag. Select which end you want to open and then simply release the two clips that secure the rolled end. Unroll the bag and reach in to get what you need. No need to disconnect the mounting straps.

Simply select the end you want to access, unclip, unroll, grab, re-roll, secure the clips, and go.

A 4-point Quick Connect Soft Tie Strap and Daisychain Mounting System is used to attach the bag to the motorcycle. Not only does this allow quick and easy mounting and removal, but also prevents load shifting for exceptional security. The D28 adapts to the shape of the contents you put inside, whether that is a sleeping bag, clothing or a laptop computer.

The D28 can be used on motorcycles with or without a luggage rack. You can mount the D28 parallel to the direction of travel or perpendicular across the passenger seat. You can even mount the D28 on top of existing side cases. The D28 is specifically designed to attach to the D38 Rigid dry bag for a complete waterproof storage system totaling 66 liters. Whatever way you choose to mount the D28, rest assured that your stuff will remain secure and dry.

The D28 sells for $69.99

BACKROADS • APRIL 2012

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Save $20.00 when you purchase the D28 and D38 together as the D66 Dry Bag System. The D66 Dry Bag System retails for $179.99

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APRIL 2012 • BACKROADS

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PRODUCT SPOTLIGHTS SW-MOTECH CRASHBARS FOR KAWASAKI KLR650 FROM TWISTED THROTTLE

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Kawasaki’s KLR650 is an awesome tool for commuting and exploring the road less traveled. No matter your riding venue, it’s important for KLR owners to protect their bike from the possibility of tip-overs and other calamities.

SW-MOTECH Crashbars have been a popular choice for riders who need rugged protection. Now, the KLR SW-MOTECH Crashbars have an updated design.

Kawasaki KLR650 owners know how much their beloved Thumper can vibrate.

To help minimize the vibration transmitted from the frame to the crashbars the Twisted crew revised the original crashbar to include a rubber mount system.

The system features 26.9mm heavy-duty mild steel tubing which is precision fit and sandblasted, powdercoated, then clear-coated to provide corrosion resistance along with an attractive glossy finish.

Other features includes a built-in M10 hole for mounting a set of MFW foot pegs and also includes a builtin auxiliary headlight mount at the front end of the crashbars (auxiliary headlights sold separately).

This Crash Guard is produced exclusively for Twisted Throttle by SW-MOTECH and sell for $239.99.

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STIHL PROTECTIVE SUN GLASSES Stylish and sporty in design, STIHL Protective Sun Glasses offer great looks and serious eye protection from rocks, bugs and debris while riding.

At our local tool supply store I found a pair of STIHL GSX Glasses.

An ideal combination of style and protection – STIHL GSX Protective Glasses have adjustable temples that allow for a customized fit while a soft nose pad offers comfort that lasts all day. These polycarbonate glasses feature impact-resistant lenses and provide 99% UV protection and meets ANSI Z87+. They are as tough as they come.

At our local shop they had a wide selection, as STIHL offers many looks to choose from and you will surely find one that catches your fancy.

What I really like about these sunglasses is that they are fairly inexpensive, my GSX Glasses costing only $12.95. If I lose or break them I don’t crunch my wallet as well. In fact, I just bought three pair and have them in the truck and both of my bikes, so great eye protection from the sun and other things is always at hand.

Another good point of these glasses is that the frame rides way back and the lenses wrap around. This allows me to have a great deal of peripheral vision and no blind spots at all.

Look for them at local tool and construction shops or on-line at www.stihlusa.com.

IWOW

3D FROM SRS

For those of you who use your iPhone to listen to music through ear buds or headsets while riding you might like to take a look at the iWow 3D. We first spotted this “enhancer” in a Mac publication and thought we would give it a try as it works on your iPad and iPod – both of which we use here at the office.

Basically the iWow is a small, palm size dongle that fits in between an auxilary line and your dock connector on your Apple device of choice. The product is made by SRS Labs, which is a leading licensor for audio solutions and software.

Operation is incredibly simple. Once you plug the iWow into the dock connector it will power up and ask you to download the iWow app.

Once this is done you simply plug your headsets into the female auxiliary jack and your music will be greatly enhance. Think of it as an extra amplifier and graphic equalizer for your iPhone.

You can set the iWow for headphones, your car or your home stereo as well as control the bass, treble and the powerful “wide surround.”

We tried the iWOW first with the iPad and a set of Sennheiser headsets and then a carefully chosen tune was sent out to Monkey With A Gun, at Spinal Tap volume.

We started off with no EQ at all and then, like some crazed Nikola Tesla, added the bass, shaking

BACKROADS • APRIL 2012

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the floor a bit, then treble, shaking the windows and lastly we switched on the wide surround with a mad scientist chuckle. That was not a reference to Tesla, as he was brilliant.

All the EQ settings were very, very impressive.

Taking the iWow to the streets on the bike we tried simple Mac ear buds and our custom earplugs on the bike and the difference is quite startling.

Good clean sound, if a bit bassy, but the overall effect was astounding.

So how does this whiz-bang gadget fill up your headsets full of audio?

The iWow 3D is designed to restore the digital audio files on your mobile devices to full audio quality playback.

Digital audio itself comes in many forms of compression (mainly .mp3 files) so that your songs take up less space and you can store more music on your device. During the compression process, audio data is removed from each track and the quality of your song is reduced. The SRS iWOW 3D detects and restores the missing audio cues to its full-featured sound.

Searching around on Amazon we have found them ranging in price fro $29.99 to $49.99 – so shop around for your best deal and then get out and enjoy the music.

BOOMZ AUDIO MINI SPEAKER BIG SOUND FROM A SMALL PACKAGE So you are on the road and had a long and fruitful day traversing the backroads, but now find yourself in a small, but comfortable, motel room in some unnamed town.

You found a decent local place for dinner and now just want to relax with a beer and soak in a bit of the night before hitting the sack for an early start the next day.

It would be nice to have a bit of tuneage along right about now, but all you have is your iPhone and the tiny speaker that is built in it really doesn’t cut the mustard as far as listening without your headphones.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could take a decent speaker system with you on your travels?

Sure, there are a bunch of portable speakers out on the market, but many of them are a still a bit cumbersome and heavy to drag around on tour.

Well, as many of you know, we love our music here at Backroads Central and are always looking for the next big thing in small portable speakers for use while traveling and we think we just might have found it with the Boomz Audio Mini Speaker.

We saw these and, for the $40, we thought we would give it try and, if they worked well, we could share the Boomz Audio Mini Speaker with all of you.

We are writing this - so I guess we have a decent little speaker here.

The Boomz is really tiny just 2.8-ounce and 2-by2-inch in size. It will fit in your palm, and travel in your tank bag, backpack or luggage easily.

It powers up from your computer and the manufacturer says the battery lasts up to 6 hours. I know we played for 3 with no problems.

The Boomz connects via a standard 3.5mm audio cable so it is compatible with laptops, tablets, iPods or any gizmo that uses that common plug.

If you like you can use the built-in mini SD Card slot so you can take a good size music collections to play on the unit’s built-in MP3 player.

Along the bottom of the Boomz Audio Mini Speaker you will find two volume buttons which double as fast forward and fast reverse keys, a play/pause/stop button, an equalizer button and a repeat button. A translucent pedestal glows red when charging and blue when in operation.

We used ours on some recent tours and the riders along with us were very surprised when they found the music we were listening to was emanating from such a tiny source plugged into an iPhone.

The sound, while certainly not concert quality, was good, strong and more than enough for a living or motel room, when just some background music is wanted.

For those of you who like to be color-coordinated, the Boomz Speaker comes in red, pink, blue, green and black.

We took basic black.

For the price and the size the Boomz Audio Mini Speaker is a very good little speaker and can easily turn a quiet and boring room into a more festive place with a touch of a button.

To learn more or to order your own Boomz Audio Mini Speaker log onto www.boomzaudio.com.

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APRIL 2012 • BACKROADS

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Riding Down the Walloostook

From the Republic of Madawaska to the Fundy Coast

KAWASAKI CARES: Always wear a helmet, eye protection, and proper apparel. Never ride under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Adhere to the maintenance schedule in your owner’s manual. Professional rider shown on closed course. ©2012 Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A.

Crossing the Walloostook—what is now called the Saint John River—I follow it downstream. In 1843 a treaty was hammered out in Paris that defined the international border between Maine and New Brunswick, however the Republic of Madawaska still exists, encompassing both sides of the border and with the title of president being traditionally bestowed upon the mayor of Edmundston.

Ken Aiken I see storm clouds on the horizon. There have been storms here before, most notably during the Aroostook War of 1839-41. This was the conflict that almost caused a third war between the U.S. and Great Britain—in fact the Governor of Maine actually did declare war on England. It’s an interesting story about company greed, commodity speculation, conflicting territorial claims, refugees, and extremist groups escalating disagreements to the point of armed conflict and it would make headlines today is you substituted the word lumber for oil. Feed-up with corporate greed and political posturing the settlers in this beautiful valley declared themselves to be the independent Republic of Madawaska.

The oldest original blockhouse in the United States is located in Fort Kent, Maine. Built in 1839 during the Aroostook War, it marks the end of the first mile—or in my case, the beginning of the last mile— of U.S. Route 1.

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BACKROADS • APRIL 2012 I’m trying to catch the end of the annual Edmundston Jazz & Blues Festival, but am hours behind. As it begins to rain, I pull into the parking lot of the Antique Automobile Museum. It’s supposed to be a quick stop to take some photos and inspect the Bricklin, but I become sidetracked by the REO (the car, not the rock group) and a Detroit Electric (yes, Detroit was producing electric cars from 1907 to 1923), then by the 1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom and a pristine 1928 Ford Model A. Before realizing it, time has passed and the rain has become steady.

Wearing 100% waterproof gear and mounted on a Street Glide trike I could care less about wet pavement and depart to catch the last of the festival. Alas, it isn’t to be. I hunker beneath the Route 2 overpass as the worst storm of the last two years rolls through. By the time it lets up enough for me to escape to downtown, the festival has disappeared like street litter down a storm drain.

New Brunswick is officially bilingual, but regardless of which side of the border you’re on the primary language is Canadian French with Acadian being spoken more frequently than English.

Page 57 Fortunately, official signs are posted in both French and English.

Route 144 takes me to Grand Falls/GrandSault, the only town in Canada that’s officially in two languages. A 270-ft. deep gorge cuts through the center of the city where the waterfall called Chicanekapeag, the Great Destroyer, has been tamed by a hydroelectric dam. I end up competing for the best photographic vantage points with a busload of Japanese tourists before riding the trike around –not across—the great gorge.

It’s an old river road, one that follows the natural undulations of flowing water at a meandering pace.

The asphalt is broken, patched, and re-patched.

Vegetation grows to the very edge of the pavement and tree branches embrace those on the opposing side to form a dappled tunnel of refreshing shade. The few people I do see in passing all raise an arm in acknowledgement or wave a greeting. This is Route 105 and I simply don’t have time for the fast-paced traffic on the other side of the river. No

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Page 58 cars pass me; there’s nobody on my tail.

I spend the night The Castle Inn where my host is a Scottish chef who stocks cold Irish beer and has a passion for English-Indian fusion cooking. In fact, the farther I travel down the river, the more English it becomes.

There are several bridges that span the Saint John River, but the one I’ve traveled to see is the world’s longest covered bridge in Hartland. At 1,289 ft. in length it’s an almost quarter-mile long wooden tunnel held above flowing water by a series of concrete stanchions. This one-lane bridge with simple stop signs at both ends requires that drivers take turns by peering towards the light at the end of the tunnel to determine when it’s safe to set forth.

This is the land of potatoes. If you’ve ever eaten French fries at McDonalds you’ve eaten potatoes grown around here.

Florenceville-Bristol claims the title of “French Fry Capitol of the World” and is the world headquarters for McCain Foods, the undisputed planetary leader in the production of frozen French fries. There’s a Potato World museum and a seed potato research facility. The Covered Bridge Potato Chip Company in Waterville is a bit different: it’s the only chip factory that uses potatoes grown on their own farm.

Route 105 becomes even more rural and often forms the very bank of the river as the Street Glide slowly cruises and bounces along. Slowing down to take a photo my brakes start to make that “ee…ee….ee” sound. Funny thing, it continues even after I stop. I’ve inad-

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vertently parked beneath an osprey nest and the parents are not happy. I do get some nice closeup shots of ospreys swooping rather low.

I ease into Nackawic. Fortunately I don’t have an axe to grind because at 66-feet long and with a stainless-steel head weighing 7 tons this one is the largest in the world. The giant double-bladed axe on a pedestal is dedicated to the forest industry and—give them credit—there’s not one mention of Paul Bunyon.

This route continues to Fredericton, but I decide to hop over to Route 102 on the other bank. At this point one side is no better than the other, but I want the opportunity to cross atop the Mactaquac Dam, the largest power project in New Brunswick.

On one side of the narrow road I’m eye to eye with recreational boaters on the reservoir; on the other is a 123-ft. drop to the rocks far below.

BACKROADS • APRIL 2012 Fredericton once was a military garrison, but now is the capitol of the province. Official signs are bilingual, although street names are British, people generally speak English, and public places have English identities. I’m booked at the Crowne Plaza where both the general manager and the desk manager are motorcyclists. No worries about the Harley, they have me put it on the walkway by the entrance. There are quite a few great restaurants, cafes, and bars in this historic downtown district, but I opt to critique an experimental menu created by top chef Brent Conlin and don’t make it past the front doors of the hotel.

There’s a bit to see in Fredericton, including the famous 40-lb Carleton Frog, but the next morning finds me back on Route 105 heading south along a river fractured by islands and laced with sandbars. Going local, I follow well marked Route 695 and 715 through Lower Jemseng to cross the river on the Gageville Ferry.

These cable ferries on the lower Saint John—both free and numerous—are convenient, quick, and much more fun than a bridge.

In a matter of minutes I’m headed south on Route 102 along the most extensive wetlands in all the Maritimes. Bald eagles, ospreys, blue herons, geese, and ducks move between worlds of vivid green and blue. Once again, I’m essentially alone on the road. When I stop, the songs of countless birds dominate this bucolic landscape.

I wake up and there’s an ocean liner moored outside my door. It’s the Carnival Glory and taller than the 11-storey Hilton. Last night I arrived at the deep-water port of Saint John and today is Canada Day, the equivalent to 4th

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of July in the U.S. From Saint John I could head up the Fundy Coast or take the ferry to Nova Scotia, but decide to ride back to Maine tomorrow. Today the downtown of this city has been transformed into one giant block party so I’ll hang here, the last stop on my ride down the Walloostook.

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and Maine seemed like a natural fit. And everybody knows how famous northern New England is for its barbecue.

Oh… it’s not? Well hopefully I could at least find five joints in each state.

At barbecue joint number one I ordered a seemingly inoffensive pulled pork sandwich. It was terrible. The sandwich was dry, Memphis-style, I learned, and there was no barbecue sauce on the table. I ended up dipping it in some ketchup which I’m sure was a barbecue faux pas. But then the menu listed something called “collared” greens so I think we’re even. I snapped a picture of the sign, my bike and passport and left hoping the next joint would be better.

Chasing northern new england smoke

Dan Bisbee Being a native of New England, my knowledge of barbecue is, shall we say, limited. So when I heard about the Smoke Chasing Grand Tour, I decided that it would not only give me an excuse for motorcycle rides but it would also expand my knowledge of barbecue. Or is it Bar-B-Q? Or maybe BBQ? Or possibly barbeque?

The concept behind the Smoke Chasing Grand Tour is simple: Ride to eat barbecue. I chose the “Smoker” challenge which meant I had to visit five barbecue joints in each of three states before the end of the summer. Each visit had to be documented with a photo including the motorcycle, Smoke Chasing passport and a sign of the joint with the word “Barbecue” in it. Living in northeastern Vermont, the three states of Vermont, New Hampshire

At my next visit, I entered a bonus round by including a teddy bear in my qualifying picture. I propped my stuffed bear named Clunk (it’s a long story) on the seat and jogged across the street for the photo. As I waited for traffic to clear, the bear tumbled to the pavement. I scampered back to rescue Clunk and my passport and then got the picture. The Grill Master watched the whole episode through the window so I had to explain the Smoke Chasing concept to him while I ordered the chicken and ribs combo. While I was waiting, he slid a small bowl of brisket for me to sample. It had a rich smoky flavor that left my mouth watering for more. After eating, I waddled back to my bike deciding that Big Fatty’s was an appropriate name for the joint.

A few weeks and a couple barbecue joints later, I passed a house with a Bar-B-Q sign out front and smoker going full tilt. I made a hasty U-turn and ordered the chicken & ribs combo with baked beans and corn. Reaching into the cooler for a can of soda, I was surprised to see beer in there as well. That, apparently, was for the grill master as I saw him pull one out and pour some over a Dutch oven of baked beans before drinking the rest of the can. The chicken and ribs were a little on the dry side but the baked beans were excel-

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lent and I know the chef’s secret.

It was one of those perfect days for riding: temperature in the low 70s, low humidity with a light breeze. It was as good a day as any to hit my first joint in Maine.

I wound my way across New Hampshire and found a scruffy looking joint among some pine trees on the side of the road in Bethel, Maine. It turned out to be my favorite joint of the summer.

Smokin’ Good BBQ served from an old travel trailer painted orange and completely scrawled over with graffiti. Out back twin chrome exhaust stacks billowed hickory smoke while the chicken and pork rode a Ferris wheel contraption inside the smoker. The two meat combo was outstanding. Meat had a good smoky tang with a little bark to it and the cornbread was perfect. Afterwards I looped through Grafton Notch State Park, stopping at Screw Auger Falls and Moose Cave. Then it was on to Errol, New Hampshire, and through 13 Mile Woods before heading back to Vermont. It was one of the best rides of the summer.

August 27th. They’ve been talking about a hurricane all week but Saturday dawned spectacularly and I was off yet again. In Fryeburg, Maine I found the 302 West Smokehouse. After enjoying the fall-off-the-bone ribs and watching part of a ball game on TV, I posed the bike in front for the obligatory photo op. Horrors! The sign calls it a Smokehouse. The rules specifically state that

the word “Barbecue” or some derivation thereof needs to be in the photo. After a few minutes of panic, I positioned the bike in a handicapped parking spot to get a Barbecue sign tacked on the building and a slightly unofficial US Route 302 nailed on the door.

Crisis averted!

After a rather spirited ride over The Kankamagus Highway, I spied a small sign for Pig’s Ear BBQ in Woodstock, NH. Yes! I could make two joints today: a doubleque! I banked into the parking lot and found myself staring at a well manicured shopping mall. A sign board pointed me inside to the joint. My heart sank. A barbecue joint in a shopping mall? This couldn’t be good.

But, since I was here, and I needed one more joint in New Hampshire, I ventured inside. The waitress/owner suggested the sliders. When my meal arrived, I was glad I stopped. This was my favorite joint in New Hampshire. As I ate, the TV on the wall was tuned to The Weather Channel and showed Hurricane Irene pounding the mid-Atlantic coast and projected it to spiral right for Vermont.

The next day I hunkered down in the house as Irene battered much of New England and reviewed this whole Smoke Chasing thing. It’s a benefit ride for Eddie’s

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Road, a program of Eddie James Foundation for Children. Today, many families rely on our Welfare system for food, shelter, education and medical care. When the children turn 18, they “age out” of the system and their entire support system is yanked away. Eddie’s Road aims to help these at-risk youth before they age-out by providing financial support to national organizations and local group homes that help these at-risk youth. This is done through mentoring and educational programs that targets children between the ages of 14 and 18. By providing tools and life skills to young adults before they are cast out into the real world, it will increase the likelihood of the people becoming productive members of society. You can find more information for yourself at www.eddiesroad.com I had one available weekend and needed three joints; all of them two states away in Maine. A call to my sister in Portland procured Saturday night lodging in exchange for a barbecue dinner.

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Half way to Portland was supposedly a barbecue joint in the town of Naples, ME. I stopped and consulted the GPS on my phone. According to Google Maps, it was right here. But it wasn’t. Puzzled, I continued on without this joint. It wasn’t until later that I realized that the phone number was right there on the web site on my cell phone and I could have simply called the place. If only I had thought to use my phone as a phone… That evening we had a fine barbecue dinner at Buck’s Naked Barbecue and Juke Joint in Freeport. I had the blueberry barbecue sauce on my brisket. I know it sounds strange but it was delicious.

Sunday September 11, 2011. It’s been 10 years since the towers fell. I was in Maine on my bike that day too.

I headed out around 10:00 with two joints needed to complete my Smoke Chase. The first joint was just a few miles down the road: an upscale looking joint with a name to match. Unfortunately, they were closed. However, the Smoke Chasing rules did not specifically state that I had to eat there (for the record, I did eat at the other 14 joints) so, I took a couple of pictures and headed down Route 1 where I had three potential joints

BACKROADS • APRIL 2012

lined up. The first one was a trailer with a Closed on Sundays sign in the window and the word Barbecue was nowhere to be seen; strike 1. The second one was a nice looking joint that was closed until 1:00 and also lacked a barbecue sign; strike 2. Panic began to set in. I saw signs for Lobster shacks every half mile I found it funny that they call them “shacks” and barbecue places are called “joints”.

Kittery is the last town before New Hampshire and if I couldn’t find a joint here, it was on to plan B except I didn’t have a plan B. A mile before I reached the New Hampshire state line, I encountered a barbecue joint in a mini mall. Success! I was the first customer of the day and the owner/grill master told me all about smoking ribs without actually divulging his secrets. Whatever he did, it was good as this barbecue was good with just the right lip smacking zing to it. With barbecue sauce still on my fingers, I posed the bike for a final photo.

Over the course of the summer I visited 15 barbecue joints and ate at 14. Five each in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Some of joints were very good and some were not. At some I sat in air conditioned comfort watching the ball game while at others I sat outside watching passing traffic. I ate in people’s front yards and parked in muddy parking lots. I had barbecue sauce based on tomato, mustard, horseradish, blueberry and maple. I had ribs right off the hickory smoker, had them done on electric smokers and some that tasted like they came from a can. I had the grill master’s three year old daughter stick her finger in my sweet potato salad. A few grill masters gave me free samples. Hurricane Irene closed one joint for four months just after my visit. I got rained on, I got lost, I got stung by a bee and I met new people along the way. I discovered new roads. I learned that I don’t like collard greens no matter how they’re cooked. I learned that there are at least 14 ways of preparing baked beans. I also learned that those southern folks have a good thing going with barbecue. Or Bar-B-Q. Or BBQ. And now it’s time to sign up of Smoke Chasing 2012.

If you’d like to join in the Smoke Chasing for 2012 (running March 1 to November 30), the fee is $27, which will get you a rally flag to document your ride.

There are other optional purchases such as an event TShirt and assorted stickers. You can find out more on these websites:

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www.smokechasing.com • www.teamstrange.com • www.eddiesroad.com • www.pigtrip.net

Vermont SMOKIN’ Js Real Memphis Barbecue 167 North Route 100 , Wilmington, VT 05363 Big Fatty’s BBQ 1547 Maple St , Hartford, VT 05047 Uncle Meat’s BBQ In the parking lot of 4 Acre Farm 776 Glover Rd , Barton, VT 05822 Vittle Stop 19 1/2 Union St, Windsor, VT 05363 Cider House BBQ and Pub 1675 US Route 2, Waterbury, VT 05676

New Hampshire Hills’ Top BBQ 644 Route 16/302 , Bartlett, NH 03812 Yankee Smokehouse & BBQ Route 16, West Ossipee, NH 03864

D&R Bad-Ass Texas Bar-B-Q 284 Route 135, Dalton, NH 03598 Smoke Shack Southern Barbecue 146 King St., Boscawan, NH 03303 Pig’s Ear BBQ Village Shops 6 Inn Seasons Drive, Lincoln, NH 03251

Maine Smokin’ Good BBQ 212 Maysville Rd, Bethel, ME 04037 302 West Smokehouse and Tavern 636 Main St., Fryeburg, ME 04037 Buck’s Naked, BBQ Steakhouse 508 Route 1, Freeport, ME 04062 The SoPo 725 Broadway, South Portland, ME 04106 Mainely Bar-B-Que 518 US Route 1, Kittery, ME 03904