Thread: An excursion on a BMW K1600GTL exploring North East USA

DAY-2 25 April (Booth Bay Harbor, ME to Center Harbor, NH)

With the room heater doing its job, we both slept like babies last night. We wake up to a bright morning and as I open the curtain, I see that our room is built on a pier and the sea flows right beneath our room…The view from the room was spectacular. Being a fine sunny morning with the sunrays quoting everything around with its majestic golden touch, I step out of the room, but ouch!!!!....its damn cold outside. Yeah, 6 deg C. Soon its breakfast time and we load up the bike, take some pics, wife does some small souvenir purchases and we head back north on Rt 27 towards Wiscasset. It’s a relaxed ride thru nice farming lands on either side. Enroute we stop for a small pee and hydration break at a gas station.
















































We continue north to Randolph where we turn west & blast our way on the I95 South exiting right thru Westbrook & Gorham on Rt 25 that takes us to Standish where we stop for lunch at the well known local joint of Standish House of Pizza which we learn supports a lot of sporting activities for the local community. We feasted on their tasty Pizza and Chicken strips with fries & soda.










































We proceed on Rt 25 and as we pass Cornish & Porter, we bid goodbye to the state of Maine as the sign of New Hampshire welcomes us. Passing Effingham Falls, we soon face intermittent rain droplets, nothing heavy but we can feel the chill in the air. Thankfully the heated grips & heated seats are doing their job beautifully keeping us warm. As we are travelling deeper into NH, the Ossipee river is giving us company criss-crossing our road at many places. This route also passes a lot of farms on either side of the road with their rolling fields and the farming community busy at work in towns like Whittier, Sandwich, Moultonborough etc.




















































After some more distance we reach the town of Center Harbor located along the beautiful & scenic Lake Winnipesaukee. Actually, the plan was to stop at the beautiful but bigger town of Meredith which was a few more miles ahead, but somehow the calm & beauty of this place was very inviting and the two adventurers decided to call it a day here (remember it’s the ride & not the destination!). We soon hunt and find the Center Harbor Inn located right on the lake. Being the off season, I again bargain for a lake facing room for a song! But the receptionist was not willing to sing me a song!! So I tried the old & time-tested method of walking out towards my bike & wife waiting in the parking lot. As me & Farzana were considering the options of heading to Meredith, the lady comes running to the parking lot and agrees to my price!!! To our surprise the room is huge, well equipped and the private balcony opens to the lake. Being a small place, businesses close early and hence we went for a small evening stroll and on the way picked up our take away dinner of grilled eggplant & Mozerella Steak. Had it with our customary chai, while simultaneously downloading the pics from the days ride and catching up on FB & emails etc.





















Don’t know if it was the cold climate or something else, we were feeling a little more tired than usual with some minor flu like symptoms as well. Had a few home remedies as well as homeopathic medicines and went to bed.
Distance travelled 164 miles

Beautiful ride there Harron ji. May be once i settle down (& have enough cash) - could atleast try to something epic like this.

P.S: If you wont mind, Do let me know if & when you plan Iceland - would beg, borrow or steal to be part of that ride

Originally Posted by Ananth

Beautiful ride there Harron ji. May be once i settle down (& have enough cash) - could atleast try to something epic like this.

P.S: If you wont mind, Do let me know if & when you plan Iceland - would beg, borrow or steal to be part of that ride

Thanks Ananth. Yes, these are some memorable experiences that stay with you for life.

Sure Iceland & maybe the road of bones in Russia at some time in future. But I am honestly jealous of you guys for the numerous places in our own country that are there to explore on a bike almost on every weekend.

Aaah Haroon ! It's finally here ! It's beautiful as all your rides and logs are. The bike looks awesome and the kids are really cute It's so wonderful of them to give you the space to live your passion. I'm sure they will one day follow the paths you both have taken and live their lives to the full
The pictures are lovely as always and i guess it is one special place to ride, especially on THE bike on those amazing roads !

Take Care, Ride Safe & God Bless You All

Originally Posted by ridermax

Aaah Haroon ! It's finally here ! It's beautiful as all your rides and logs are. The bike looks awesome and the kids are really cute It's so wonderful of them to give you the space to live your passion. I'm sure they will one day follow the paths you both have taken and live their lives to the full
The pictures are lovely as always and i guess it is one special place to ride, especially on THE bike on those amazing roads !

Take Care, Ride Safe & God Bless You All

Thanks Ravi. It was indeed a relaxing ride and although not as beautiful as European Alps, it was definitely enjoyable as a ride.
The bike was super duper. Something from a different planet!!

DAY-3 26 April (Center Harbor, NH to Middlebury, VT)


With a good nights sleep, we woke up fresh & rejuvenated. Thankfully, all the discomfort of last evening including the sore throat, body ache & other flu like symptoms had vanished fully. Looking out of our window it’s a bright sunny day…ah what a perfect day for riding….With a full stomach breakfast of bagels, eggs, cheese and some hot piping tea, a small photo session to make use of the sun and we are all set to hit the road.
































We back track on Rt 25, fuel up on the way and after Sandwich we turn left thru some wild backroads on Rt 113 that pass thru a lot of wooded areas where the quality of the tarmac is bad in many places, but the suspension of the GTL handles it exceptionally well. We then pass Chocorua and then onto Rt 16 thru the town of Albany arriving at Conway. Here we stop for an early food stop (lets call it lunch) at Dunkins. Tuna melt sandwich & Hash browns with coffee (did I say extra hot coffee please!)…..










I guess he was contemplating what we 2-legged nuts were up to!!





General view of our workplace for a week



























From Conway, we enter the beautiful White Mountain National Forest and ride the spectacular Kancamagus Highway, which is a bikers delight with its twists, turns and long sweepers all on a nice sunny day. There is a fast flowing stream that accompanies us and there are a few scenic lookouts at one of which we stop to take in the scenery & some pics. If you wonder amidst all the English names, where does Kancamagus fit in? Well going back to history, Kancamagus (which in native means- The fearless One) was one of the most notable & feared leaders of the Pennacook Indians. He relentlessly fought the English settlers in the 1600s and this highway is named after him.

Small video of the Kancamagus Hwy ride

Riding the K1600GTL on the Kancamagus Hwy from Conway to Lincoln - YouTube

Back to the present, the Kancamagus highway terminates at Lincoln, but we continue on this Rt 112 passing the small towns of North Woodstock, Lost River & Swiftwater after which a nice white & green board welcomes us into the state of Vermont. As we ride deeper into Vermont, the beauty of this place starts captivating us. It reminds us of a milder version of the European interior parts with the abundant greenery, smooth rolling hills, meadows, streams, pine trees. We are on Rt 302 and the wells river is accompanying us on the right. We soon turn left southwards on the I-91 and head towards Bradford after which we turn right thru some inner roads towards the direction of Chelsea.

However as we are enjoying the beauty of the place, the sunshine is long gone and the clouds above are getting darker and surely heavier….not a good sign as we are uncertain what mother nature has in store for us. A few more miles later as we are rumbling along, the sky opens up and we are riding in pouring rain. While our riding gear is waterproof, the chill is getting on our necks and thru openings in the arm near the wrist. We chug along slowly with intermittent heavy showers passing Chelsea, Tunbridge, Royalton and turning right briefly onto Rt 107 that takes us onto the scenic Rt 100 that runs along the edge of the Green Mountain National Park.



































Along the way came across these hardcore easyriders!

























That’s a lot of mailboxes……




Always a friendly wave to road crews as our gratitude for maintaining our biking playground






































After passing Rochester, we branch left at Hancock onto Rt 125 cutting thru the scenic Green Mountain National Park with wonderful scenery on either side. Few more miles and we arrive into the town of Middlebury. Here we decide to first refill our stomachs and Mr. GPS recommends the “Green Peppers restaurant”.












Yummmmyyyyyy…









After a sumptuous dinner with great service, we start hunting for a room. Although its off season, surprisingly the small hotels & B&Bs in the downtown area are really expensive and nobody seems in a mood to come down on the price. So we again consult our GPS and he directs us away from downtown. We search in 4-5 places but all still expensive. Finally way out of town riding again in rain we come across the Tourterelle Restaurant & Inn that’s a standalone building amidst farmland on all sides.






What on earth is that ferocious looking thing???










This Restaurant & Inn is run by a French lady and with some sweet talking I just cut a deal that’s fair for both sides (presumably!) as we anyway were in no mood for more room hunting in the dark being already soaked in rain and with chilly weather. A few cups of homemade lovely chai from my wife, some internet browsing, some jokes & pulling each others leg, drying our riding gear near the room heater and we are off to sleep in this cozy traditional all-wood building.
Distance travelled 204 miles

enjoyed the pics write up and well the bike. best wishes to both of you and wishing you many more wonderful rides.

My immense respect and regards for your passion. Loved the national flag on the bike too

Originally Posted by harikeshpk

enjoyed the pics write up and well the bike. best wishes to both of you and wishing you many more wonderful rides.

Thanks harikeshpk. Glad you like the pics & trip.

Originally Posted by Juris

My immense respect and regards for your passion. Loved the national flag on the bike too

Thanks for your kind words Juris. Yes, the flag is there to constantly remind us that any of our actions in a foreign land reflects on our country as a whole.

DAY-4 27 April (Middlebury, VT to Lake George, NY)

We wake up to a gloomy morning with heavy overcast skys and very light snow showers outside our room’s window. I was mentally preparing to brace for another day of wet & chilly riding. I check the weather and its 39 deg F (4 deg C) outside. That’s a good start… Anyways, our host at the Tourterelle Restaurant & Inn has set up a nice continental breakfast as we were the only guests. Our breakfast also had the local veggie specialty of Vermont ‘Fiddle headed fern’. Tasty stuff.

























Kitted out and after loading the luggage, although we were supposed to take Rt 7 North, we headed the other way back into town for some essential purchases. Today, we are also scheduled to have a new experience on our global rides, to ride our bike straight onto an auto ferry, that will take us across Lake Champlain and at the other end we ride off the ferry. Anyway, this morning from downtown Middlebury our GPS decides to give us a sight-seeing trip and takes us thru some nice & deserted country roads for reasons only best known to Mr. Garmin before putting us on the Rt 7.






























It’s a relaxed ride on US Route 7 passing small communities in Vergennes, Barnumtown before reaching Charlotte, where we branch left on state route F5 towards the auto ferry terminal in Charlotte. However, upon arrival we had two put-offs…First, the terminal itself was a disappointment as we were expecting a small building with a restaurant, restrooms, relaxing area etc, but if I can put it in simple terms, the place just had a small kiosk where we buy the tickets and that is it, Full Stop. Second, being an hourly service, we just missed the previous one by 10 minutes- Great!


















Being a freezing cold day, with temps around 36 F (2 deg C) and the chilly winds blowing from the open lake, it definitely felt a lot colder!!! As we were the only bikers, (you may say for obvious reasons!), we were asked to stand in the front. Gradually cars started coming and they all lined up in 3 separate rows. Standing there in piercing cold waiting for the ferry to arrive, Mrs & Mr Adventure have covered every part of our body in whatever protective gear. We did not even remove our helmets, while people in their cozy cars & trucks with heaters on were staring at us…After an agonizing wait of about 30-40 mins, we spot the ferry inching its way towards us. It was soon docked and the incoming cars drove away. Now it was our turn. While Mrs Adventure waited, I rode the bike onto the ferry and took my place at the front. I was told to put the bike on its side stand and stand holding it. No tie-downs. Farzana followed me by foot and once all cars got on, the ferry quickly departed and we say goodbye to the state of Vermont.

The ferry crossing video on Lake Champlain

Lake Champlain ferry from Charlotte, VT to Essex, NY - YouTube

Being an extremely windy day the lake was rough and the ferry was dancing a bit. I held on tight to the bike as I did not want an onboard spill and make a fool of myself. Out on the lake, with the wind it only got colder, while we silently stood admiring the car drivers in their cozy cages. I think I heard Mrs Adventure murmuring on the intercom ‘I wished I was in one of the cars’. Thirty minutes later the ferry arrives at Essex in New York state.














We ride off the ferry and get on Rt 9N and pass Elizabethtown where we stop for a simple lunch at Stewarts which is a chain popular in this part of NY state selling groceries and hot food. We were to head towards Lake Placid however the dark clouds in that direction were not too confidence inspiring hence we head on the scenic highway 73 and doing a relaxed ride in the Adirondacks before joining the I-87 south passing Schroon lake, Warrensburg and then turning left heading towards Diamond Point and now we are almost closing in on the wonderful town of Lake George.

























































34.7 F is a freaking 1.5 dec C and add the chilly winds…that bites!!




















Putting the Heated Grips to its full use!


























Lake George and its surroundings are best known to North American bikers as the serene place that plays host annually in early June to one of the largest touring rally in the world- The Americade (2012 marking its 30th Anniversary). As we pass the lake on the left, its time to search for a place to stay for the night but most of the resorts along the shore display the ‘no vacancy’ board as it’s the weekend. Mrs Adventure soon searches the internet on her phone for places and we contact the Wyndham who being off season give us a very special rate that’s almost one third their regular rack rate! Mr GPS promptly takes us there and as we are getting into the parking lot, we notice it’s a beautiful property & there are a good number of Canadian registered cars parked here.











We finish the check in formalities and literally rush into the room to enjoy the heater….its been a very cold day and we have come across just 1-2 bikes on the road all day. Ordered some Lasagna & salad for dinner, work on the internet for some time and call it a day.
Distance Travelled 152 miles