SHIRA’S SOJOURN

ood teams work like a well-tooled clock;

Gworking hand in hand. For the most part, when we are on the road, I always seem to be in front - maybe feeling the need to be at the point (it’s a character flaw), but it is a great idea to step back and let someone else run the show, and I was made an offer I could not refuse.

For much of my life, although almost always with my wife, best buddy, and partner – unless I am looking in the mirrors – I might as well be riding alone.

So, I was more than glad to follow along with Shira on her sojourn and mid-week jaunt north into New England to do some exploratory riding and visiting some potentials for rallies and column fodder.

We had some seriously violent weather leading up to our departure, so we chose to settle in and watch rock & roll movies until the skies cleared and we knew we’d have a good number of days of perfect early summer weather.

Getting an early start, I tucked in about a ¼ mile behind Shira and her bright yellow V-Strom. For those of you who have ridden with her, she is fun to watch. Smooth, precise, and kinda cute (I know another character flaw). We had an excellent breakfast at the Elias Cole and then motored up along the Shawangunks, lit beautifully in the early morning light, and then across the Hudson River near Poughkeepsie.

Although I kinda sorta knew where we’d be going and I had the routes on my Garmin, I kept myself in the dark – as many of you know is very easy to do. This was her ride and I was happy to simply follow.

We spun up along the Berkshires and along some tiny roads that I certainly had never been on. Along one road, that I have been asked not to discuss, mention or zero in on, we spied a 1963 Porsche. Shira’s voice came over the Bluetooth – “Go ahead – you know you have to stop.”

Not only was there a classic red Porsche – but some motorcycles. But, not just any motorcycles.

Some Vincent motorcycles! Holy F’n crap – what is this place?

There is a shop full of magic to be found. Old school. Real. A serious bit of our motorcycle history. If and when we can – we’ll tell you all about it.

We had a long day, well over 325 backroads miles, and I felt very at home when we popped into Vermont near Wilmington – almost a second home.

There has long been a discussion of how Shira always finds gravel. Vermont has more gravel than pavement – so I was not surprised or upset when it happened. And, as Steve McQueen said in LeMans – it happened again. Once again we found ourselves staring at a sign telling us our GPS Sucks and we’re gonna die. Okay, not really but there was a detour to the detour. A few more delicious hours later we rode up to the Snowed Inn, in Killington. We had been here years back but the new owners, Carolyn and Ken, have revitalized the inn and when our friends Danny and Paul tell us we needed to go back, we made sure to get there as soon as we could. Staying at an inn or B&B offers the opportunity to mingle with

a BACKROADS • AUGUST 2021 travelers, as folks who stay at inns and B&Bs are such, not so much just folks heading from point A to point B. There were a couple of families from Florida, and as the hockey playoffs had the Tampa Lightnings and NY Islanders facing off, we took half an interest in what was going on, as we are baseball fans and not so much hockey. We left them to soak away our miles in the perfectly-temperatured hot tub while enjoying some wine and cheese. Highly recommended and they have the best sheets in the world. We’re Outta Here! to follow!

After a most excellent breakfast (sorry about the Lightning loss Ken) we headed east. Shira vectored us through the Green Mountain state and over the Connecticut River into New Hampshire.

As we rode past Warren, I slowed down to take in the Redstone Rocket in the town square. The Redstone missile came to Warren on April 21, 1971 – a nod to Alan Shepard.

Alan Shepard, a New Hampshire native, became the first American to fly into outer space on May 5, 1961. Nearly fifty years later, in 2009, the state erected a life-size perfect replica of the Redstone rocket that launched Shepard skyward. Explanatory signs around the rocket reveal that the Redstone was just a nuclear ballistic missile, barely six feet wide, with a space capsule stuck on top. Shepard was brave man and a little nuts.

I have made Shira stop here umpteen times, so I just slowed down, took another look, smiled, and then tried to catch her again.

Route 118 in New Hampshire could be awesome, but it is a battlefield of bumps and horribly maintained pavement. Shira did signal me to look right, as a yearling bear had just crossed her path and stopped to look at the bikes and they rode by. Ah, nature.

Much unlike the Kancamagus Highway, which was stunning, empty, and fun to be ridden with gusto this day. Some 60 miles of superb.

We were going to pass through Conway, with its backed-up traffic and the everpresent road construction that seems to happen every summer. But there was a car-

rot being dangled at the end of this stick, as Shira had another great surprise awaiting us in North Conway. We had a long and happy lunch with Judy and Dan Kennedy – the owners of Whitehorse Press – one of the greatest motorcycle sources that ever was. After all these years it was phenomenal to spend the afternoon with these two. If you ever dealt with Whitehorse back in the day, you know how great these two are.

Shira’s planned destination this night was just north of Mount Washington in the town of Gorham at the Town & Country Inn. This is another excellent destination and perfect for a good size group of riders to use as a base camp to explore the White Mountains. With a large dining room and adjacent bar, as well as indoor pool and hot tub, you would be hard-pressed to find a better location to park for a few days.

The Labnon family has owned the Inn since 1956 and Scott, son of Ralph ‘Navy’ Labnon, is a super gracious host, who also helps out in the dining room when needed. We were very impressed to see the folded American flag at the registration counter – proud folk and family.

We took a dip in the pool and chatted a bit with the many ATV riders taking up residence in the parking lot. In addition to the great twisties in this area, the off-road attraction is quite a draw. There are rental facilities in the area should you decide to park the bike for the day and head into the mountains on trails. After a superb dinner, we had a night cap and headed back to our comfortable room.

Early the next morning I got a text (4 am) from the good Doctor O’Life requesting some images from a fairly new place called the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum.

We arrived an hour early, but karma is king…. simply by chance we met Mark and Annette. Mark, who also lives in New Jersey and rides (but not this

trip), were up and exploring the region just as we were.

Mark was amazing as he knew more about minerals than anyone I have ever met and touring this museum with him was like following a personal docent.

This museum is one of these hidden gems (no pun intended) that must be seen to understand – much like everything in there. They have done a seriously outstanding job here.

Although we learned about the history of minerals and gems from the New England region and around the world, we had come to see some stones that were from another place entirely, as the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum has the largest collection of lunar and Martian meteorites than any other museum or organization, including NASA.

Even more amazing was, towards the end of our tour, they asked if we’d like to hold a piece of the moon and Mars. Our yes was emphatic. The chance to hold these two rocks (actually meteorites) seemed to be a once in a life-time opportunity.

After spending a good deal of the morning at the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum we mounted up and began our trek west across the states of Maine and New Hampshire and then back into the Green Mountain state of Vermont – mostly on Route 2 which cuts across these states along some very scenic and beautiful pavement.

In Vermont, I followed Shira’s lead as she jogged in and out of some tinier roads – remarkably staying on macadam the entire time. Of course, we had the obligatory ice cream for lunch stop just outside St. Johnsbury and, by late afternoon, we rode over the famed Appalachian Gap. We chatted briefly with a new rider, Genevieve, who had just done her own little jaunt on her 800GS and was excited to continue her newlyfound life style.

Just for the facts… The App Gap is one of a handful of passes in the state. Other gaps include the Middlebury, Lincoln, Brandon, and Roxbury gaps. To add some confusion to the mix, Vermont’s most popular gap is actually called a notch – Smugglers’ Notch – which happens to be the New Hampshire name for mountain passes.

On the western end, we rode past The Lord’s Prayer Rock (featured in June’s Backroads) and into the picturesque town of Bristol.

Our friends and Backroads’ alumni Gina and Ron live close by and they have a very comfortable home and B&B – and it was nice to get a chance to hang with them for dinner and the evening.

BACKROADS • AUGUST 2021

With a stellar morning greeting us as well as Ron’s tasty bacon (from Oscar’s in Warrensburg, NY, dontcha know?) we took our time getting ready for the day and then continued on a westerly course and over into New York State at Crown Point on Lake Champlain. Sadly, there were no “Champ” sightings. Pesky plesiosaur. But, our romp towards the park on Ensign Pond Road more than made up for this. This road is a favorite of ours and it is also a symbol of friendship: look for the stone with an image of the two shaking hands etched in it. At speed, it is easy to miss. The North Hudson Pine Ridge Cemetery is the resting place of a number of War of 1812 soldiers. Like most regions, it is packed full of hidden history. It also led us into the Adirondack Park. Created in 1892 as one of the first Forever Wild Forest Preserves in the nation, the Adirondack Park is a unique wilderness area. At 6 million acres, it is the largest publicly protected area in the contiguous United States. The state of New York owns approximately 2.6 million acres, while the remaining 3.4 million acres are devoted to forestry, agriculture, and open space recreation. The Adirondack Park is not a National Park - there’s no fee to enter and the park doesn’t close at night, nor is it a state park, a common misconception. It’s also the largest National Historic Landmark, covering an area larger than Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Glacier, and the Great Smokies National Parks combined.

It is also crisscrossed with hundreds of miles of great motorcycling roads, dozens of small towns, and stunning scenery. We stopped at a tiny ice cream stand called Granny’s just outside Johnstown. This time we endulged in some solid food – hot dogs with meat sauce and sausage and peppers – before finishing with a bit of Gillette Creamery’s finest ice cream.

There is a little-known factoid on this tiny town of Johnstown. It was here that a battle was fought between the British and Americans. It is considered the last battle of the Revolutionary War… the Battle of Johnstown, Oct. 25, 1781, was led by Patriot Colonel Marinus Willett. Willet and his men defeated British forces under Major Ross and Captain Butler, sending them into flight, retreating to the north. Willett’s victory at Johnstown occurred at about the same time word reached the Mohawk Valley region of Gen. Cornwallis’ surrender to George Washington at Yorktown. Shira led us down into the Leatherstocking region of New York, with its pleasant hills, open valleys, and smooth riding. We skirted around the Catskills and then down along the Delaware River on the Pennsylvania side, returning to New York at Narrowsburg; but not before finding ourselves on a

Page 28 BACKROADS • AUGUST 2021 good number of gravel miles and a brief stop at the artist home of Paul Sabin – Frosty Hollar Art. Truly a bit of Mysterious America for those who can find it. A wonderful mish-mosh of one man’s unlimited creativity.

The Hawks Nest, High Point, and County Road 519 led us back to our part of the Garden State and home. An undetermined sport bike followed us onto 519 and, while Shira was certainly doing a spirited pace, this rider was looking to do a bit more, as he or she was dragging a knee through the turns. We pulled over before Beemerville to let the rider go by, disappearing into the distance.

Putting the last 400 miles behind us and pulling into Backroads Central ahead of the darkness, with enough time to let Spenser T. Cat enjoy the evening for a bit, we looked at each other and nodded, knowing that these past four days, and well over a thousand miles, were productive and cathartic. Shira had knitted together some great roads and given us some places to share with you later in the year, not to mention giving me the chance to take a back seat while enjoying a great ride into the mountains to the north. ,