Nova Scotia or Bust!

[fj johnnie]

Yes Paul the trip into Boston was a good one. The Scala G9 units allowed us all to communicate as we got separated on the last leg leading up to the Sheraton. Within minutes of us all getting separated we arrived at the same destination from all different angles.

[paulfj03]

Yes Paul the trip into Boston was a good one. The Scala G9 units allowed us all to communicate as we got separated on the last leg leading up to the Sheraton. Within minutes of us all getting separated we arrived at the same destination from all different angles.

[fj johnnie]

 As Paul stated about the heat, all three FJ's were a little warm. I can usually tell when it stalls quite easily when engaging the clutch.( That it's getting too hot) . It got to the point where myself and flyboy both shut our bikes off and pushed them down the bike lanes. At that point we were going faster than the traffic so it served two purposes. However it didn't take long and I also began to overheat. By that point we were within site of the Sheraton, and both bikes started right up and took us to our rest stop. What an  awesome place to stay. Quite a contrast to the little cottages in Parrsboro!
We had a friend meet us shortly after arriving in Boston who wanted us to enjoy the local pubs. We obliged him as we are typically polite Canadians. Poor 4cross was asked for I.D. The Canadian drivers license was not sufficient for the lunks at the pub and he was asked for his passport. At this point we pointed out to the lunks that there were plenty of other fine dumps to imbibe in and we left. It occurred to me that we did not fit the profile of their "preferred" clients. It also occurred to me later that that was a compliment. Many other places were happy to show us what a great city Boston is.

[paulfj03]

Yeah, Friday night in Boston was a blast eh! Chef VanO met us at the hotel shortly after we found our rooms and brought up our gear. After that, he led the group on a short walk over to Boyslton St. It was warm and dry enough after a shower there and the skies were clearing. I caught up with them about a half hour later...... A cool pub/'bar and grill' called the Pour House was where we had ended up.  We bellied up there and had a great visit.  

Chef VanO, Flyboy, and JohnnieV..... GOOD TIMES!




At one point the waitress asked our bartender if he liked the Tshirt he was wearing.  He said 'sure' ... so of course I asked the waitress what
'Elysium ' stood for .... she replied that is was an up coming movie to be released and the shirt was a promotional thing.  She then asked the 3 of us standing there if we would wear one if she gave us some.... of course we said yes! How could we turn down a clean shirt! LOL!  




We were all in the mood for some awesome seafood. And AWESOME it was!! Chef VanO had connections with the head chef at the Atlantic Fish Company Restaurant and we were treated like ROYALTY!  We sat at the best table in the house, we were served a VERY LARGE 3 tiered tower of assorted seafoods for all of us as an appetizer! Lobster, shrimp, scallops, fish, Crab, etc etc etc. Compliments of the Chef! Just Grand!



After the meal we toured Boylston St. before heading back for the night.

The restaurant next door had temporarily closed due to the tragic bombing during the marathon.




Just down the street is the finishline







A great big THANK YOU to Chef VanO for putting together that fabulous outing for us!!! Unforgettable!

[paulfj03]

Day 8 : Saturday July 28, 2013 : GP and 4Cross head for home from Boston, and the rest of us stay over in Albany, NY
                                            I make a detour to the New Hamphshire Motor Speedway.  

The ride from Boston to Albany was going to be a short one for those of us that wanted a break before the last leg home. Most of us all got up relaxed and were in no hurry to make time on the road.  I was feeling the effects of the night out before, so I was not as quick in the morning.  GP and 4cross decided to make the final run home to Canada, so they had approximately 8 hours worth of riding yet. The weather was looking better and they hoped to make good time.  With 8 hours of riding, they would have to make their fuel stops quick.  At around 10am they were all loaded up at the front doors of the Sheraton, so they fired up and headed out.

a picture out of the hotel window overlooking downtown boston


GP and 4 cross ready for the last long leg to Canada



Their trek home by 4cross' GPS

[paulfj03]

My plan was to go to Albany, as well, for a stay over with JohnnieV, Flyboy, Zigzag, and Smokey, as the ride home from there would only be around 5 hours.  It would be a fairly short ride to Albany and the weather was great: warm with some sunshine.  I would make a detour to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway near Loudon, NH on the way,  and see Doug, Bob W, and Glenn.  Doug was racing his bike and Bob W was there competing in the legends races as well.  It would be a short ride for me to get there; try to catch some races and shoot the breeze in the infield... A speedway of that size was a new experience for me.  I was to meet the rest of the gang in Albany later in the evening.

My ride was supposed to be a bland one as I was to just take I 93 to Concorde, then head to Loudon and the speedway.  I got away around 11am and the traffic was heavey again and it was slow going to get out of Boston.  I was moving enough to keep the engine temperature down, so I wasnt worried about over heating.  About an hour into the ride, I was in the left farthest express lane and came upon a Suzuki marauder in the median with the rider obviously trying get his bike fixed and back on the road.  I was going slow enough that I was able to beep and ask him if he needed help. He waved and said yes.  I pulled over and walked back to him and his bike. He told me he had lost his clutch and had no idea what to do. The master reservoir wasnt showing any fluid through the window.... but just as I had the top off of it to look for fluid, a Trooper pulled up with his lights on to stop the traffic.  We had to cleanup and put things back together and the fella was to call for some help.  We were not allowed to work on the bike there.... Understandable; the traffic was going by only a meter away from us.  The trooper stopped all of the traffic and had us push the fella's bike over to the brakedown lane. The fella said 'no worries ' and got his phone out. I ran back across the interstate to my bike and the trooper let all lanes of traffic go except for mine.  He waited for me to get going and then let the rest go.  I wish I had pictures of that incident, but I couldn't just pull out the camera with all the traffic waiting.  Away I went on to Concorde, then to Loudon and the NHMS.

[paulfj03]

Day 8 : Saturday July 28, 2013 the ride to Albany, NY and the NHMS

My Detour to the NHMS.


The ride there was much better as the traffic had opened up and i could make some time. When i arrived at the Speedway I found the front gate and headed on in to see if I could find the guys. It was around 200pm and the bike races were in full swing.  I went through the tunnel and putted around the infield looking for Bob or Doug.  Of course I found Bob first as I recognized his car pretty quick sitting out in the open.  Glen was there too, as he had rode up on his KTM 950.




It was great to see them again, shoot the breeze, and have a few laughs.  Glen and I headed to the restaurant there on the infield and had a good bite and it was great to catch up on the latest. When we headed back Doug was tearing up the track so we tried a couple different vantage points.  Pretty cool to watch.  As we stood looking through the fence at one of the corners one rider low sided and slid onto the grass.  He just got up, sauntered over to his bike, picked it up, and walked it away.. kind of neat.. but not.  I'm sure it was dissappointing for him.  It was cool to see Doug in action #613
Doug at NHMS



It was neat to sit in the driver seat of the Legends car. It was not as easy as I thought to get into, and even harder to get out.
 




Doug's set up nearby.

My first time on a track bike



Doug and Glen


What a great day there.  It would make an excellent home base for a rally, too.  Thanks, guys, for everything. Hope to make it down again sometime soon.

[fj johnnie]

 Zig Zag, Smokey ,Flyboy ,and myself continued on to Albany. As I was not in charge of the route I have no idea which road(s) we took to get from Boston . Suffice to say we headed somewhat north of the I90 and took a windy hilly road. The countryside was beautiful. Many beautiful small towns. Nice villages with small non chain restaurants. Many farmers markets selling fresh vegetables etc.
Another thing we saw  was a few small towns completely boarded up. Some streets with 8-10 buildings appearing abandoned. This was probably somewhat a by product of the Interstate by-passing traffic from these areas. One town in particular whose name escapes me was in a beautiful area. A nice quaint town on a beautiful two lane highway with many nice flowing curves and rivers to follow. It seems the average person does not have the affliction for the road less travelled as the typical FJ rider does. Most traffic passes by on the freeway only a few miles away. All of its rest stops occupied by Starbucks or McDonalds. What a contrast.
Albany is a beautiful place to stop. We had a wonderful room downtown. It was Sunday so nothing was happening, which is just the way I like it. We went to a nice Belgian micro-brewery type pub on a street with many pubs and restaurants. As it happens they had 16 different beers on tap. Also they had a sampler of four for ten bucks. Hmmm. 16 different beers and 4 people. How does that work? Simple we thought. Order four samplers. One of each kind of beer. The owner of the establishment brought them to our table, astonished. It seems no one had ever done that before. How else are you going to discover other things you may like? Turned out we had awesome food and a great night.

[paulfj03]

[paulfj03]

The ride for me to Albany was actually a great ride as the roads were pretty direct, but twisty and scenic. I tried to make good time , but I think I was 3 hours anyway. I scooted along route #9 through Vermont, to New York and then again on #7 to Albany. T'was a great ride. 

As I came into Albany it was dark, and there was construction along the interstate at The Clinton Avenue off ramp.... so I missed it.  ARGH!!  I somehow ended up at the Empire State Plaza while trying to get turned around to head back.  I headed back on the south mall arterial and got back on the interstate and immediately caught the Clinton Avenue off ramp.  Finding the Hampton Inn Suites was easy, then.

Here we are... there is our room ... right there.  lol


I now had 3949 kms under me on this ride with a ride home tomorrow of 5-600kms


Just 5 of us now


I wasnt looking forward to the ride the next day, as it was to be straight slabbing on the highways and...the end of the big ride... 

[paulfj03]

The ride home:

It was raining again that sunday morning.... how fitting... we had planned to run along the roads next to the interstate 90 to make it more interesting.  The weather changed our minds for us, and we were to start on the interstate and see if we could drive out of the rain.  Before we left I used a can of slime on my front tire.  It is supposed to seal a puncture temporarily to get you home.  I followed the instructions, but I couldnt place the puncture at the bottom when injecting the slime because I hadnt found one, yet. I just did the best I could in the rain and then putted around for 5 mins spreading it out in the tire, and then we headed out. 
About 45kms west on I90 the rain was still happening and we pulled into a service station/rest stop for a quick fuel up.




After another 160kms we were just outside Syracuse and the rain had paused and we were drying off. Another rest stop was a place to grab a bite/snack and fuel up again. I checked my front tire and it was ticketty boo. It hadnt lost a pound... so the can of slime actually worked.... and it would get me all the way home too.




This was my last stop with the group as I was to cut north on I81 when we hit syracuse. It would only be a 2-3hour ride home for me from there; straight north to the border, the 401, and then west to Napanee.  The group would continue heading west to Buffalo and Niagara and cross the border there. They had approximately 3 hours of riding left as well. After a good rest, some muchies, we bid goodbyes and saddled up. From Syracuse I hit a couple small bouts of rain, but nothing that I would need a rain suit for.... My ride went great back into Canada and home.

A big thanks to Doug for the nice tour in Vermont through the mountains, to Travis for guiding us on a nice tour through the mountains in Maine, and Bob and Glenn for the visit and tour of the speedway in New Hamphshire.... very cool indeed.

A great big thanks to fj johnnie for the invitation to ride, to the whole group for welcoming me along, to Big H for the hospitality, the tours, and the rides,... and Chev VanO for the Tour in downtown Boston!!  The routes, the stays, the comraderie, the seafood, and the laughs were second to none! For me, it will be one to remember for sure....a blast and a half!

What a great trip!  What a great tribute to this forum!!!

[Capn Ron]

Paul,

I truly enjoyed your trip!  Your expoits in Boston, your ride through the Birkshires, kickin it in Albany...all my old stomping grounds!

Thanks for the write-up...I'm sad it's over, but I was happy to be along for a few miles!

Cap'n Ron. . .

[paulfj03]

Thanks Capn,


I'm sure you can appreciate how much work is put into it. .  I enjoyed working on it and will remember much more from the trip because of it.

I made some really great friends on that ride. We keep in touch and (of course) are planning to do something next year, too. 

I have to say, and I'm sure you'll agree, it is really neat to ride across the border into 'another country' on bikes, and still feel like you are riding at home in your own backyard.  Where else in the world can you do that? Not many.

Paul
Ps: keep up the great work on your report! Hope it never ends!