21 SEP 05 - Down the coast of Maine

Maine may be the "Pine Tree State", but it's also famous for its blueberries and our high-end motel started the day with those complimentary muffins and great coffee. We soon motored the final 2 miles to Lands End and found a gift shop with pins (lobster and Maine-shaped). We backtracked across the bridges and islands towards Brunswick, ME, but avoided that small city and the busier US Route 1. In fact, we took the smallest roads closest to the sea, sometimes thru ritzy neighborhoods. Oh yeah, Maine does not have a helmet law and notice how nicely Mike has his camcorder swivel-mounted on his bike.

We stopped for the day's first break at a rural cemetery. We find cemeteries good for our heads: there are interesting epitaphs and names. How often will you find a husband's wife named "Experience"? When's the last time you saw a marker honoring a soldier of the Revolutionary War? And what's with some of the tombstone symbols, icons like sheaths of grain, willows, and pointed fingers?

We soon by-passed Portland, ME and in hindsight, we missed out on Allagash Brewery. We had sampled some of their Belgian-style brew back at OJ's house in Rochester, NY. Oh well, we made up for it when we came across a small farm market run by a little ol' Grandma who had good fresh cider. OJ kept her busy while Mike checked out the plumbing on the backside of the barn. Moving on, we eventually arrived at a deep bay without bridge or ferry, so we had to cut away from the sea up to US Route 1. We happened to pass a classic car lot and OJ pulled in when he saw a beautifully restored sample of Mike's recent eBay purchase: a spotless El Camino. We had a nice chat with the owner and he pointed us towards a nearby car wash to clean the salt and sand off our bikes. Yes, we gassed up and bought lottery tickets.

As we drove on, OJ saw a sign that he couldn't pass up. He had seen a similar sign back in New York and vowed to not miss the opportunity again. Yeah, it's kind of corny, but you're not going to see a sign with the name "OJ" in it. Speaking of "Mike's Cycle", how do you like those spiffy quick release hard bags that come standard on the Kawasaki Concours? Mike fabricated the luggage extension holding the waterproof rafting bag behind him. And that fairing keeps him warm and dry in damp weather. What you can't see is that he has cruise control and heated grips!

20 SEP 05 - Heading to the Maine coast

On our way out of a rainy Skowhegan, ME, we asked about the Empire Grill depicted in the filming of the HBO miniseries "Empire Falls". Apparently the movie producers rented a local restaurant for 2 months and installed an indian head sign above its door. After production finished, the original restaurant owner kept the movie name and sign. We thought about breakfast, but were told the food was not particularly good. We went to see for ourselves and its menu was absolutely boring. The restaurant had no souvenirs unless we wanted to wait a day for a tee-shirt. Mike again had thoughts about getting into the commemorative pin business. Next, we headed to the Chamber of Commerce and they had no pins, so we motored on to the Town Office. The Town Clerk was out of pins, but the Chief of Police gave us departmental shoulder patches. Book 'em, Capt. Mike!


Heading southeast in our rain suits towards the coast, we stopped for fuel (and lottery tickets) outside of Waterville. OJ remembered a college friend whose family was in the scrap biz nearby. We passed a junkyard and the proprietor knew of OJ's friend and where to find him. Less than 10 miles away in Clinton, Maine, OJ re-united with Alan W at his family's new steel business. Apparently the old business ran into some problems with the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) over some mercury spilled by vandals. After introducing Mike, we chatted for about an hour before Alan sent us on our way to the Maine coast with a better map.

As usual, we rode the back roads which provided several butt breaks to relax and enjoy the serenity. The Maine seacoast is damp and windblown enough to promote lichen-covered tree trunks and enticing wildflowers.

Near the Maine coast, Mike's "Road Food" guide pointed us south of Bath, ME towards the Five Islands Lobster Company at the tip of a seacoast crag called Georgetown. Maine has hundreds of these peninsulas and each one tends to have a single winding road, often saddled by the majestic ocean and coming to an abrupt dead end at the ocean. Five Islands was such a rocky and wave-swept point, but unfortunately, the restaurant was closed until the weekend due to the slow, post-Labor Day traffic. Not a problem, "Road Food" pointed us to another lobster haven, two peninsulas further south.

Bailey Island is the last of three islands leading to Lands End, an appropriate name for this part of the world. Approaching sunset, we crossed the one-of-a-kind crib stone bridge, quite the old time engineering feat. On the left side of the road was the cozy Bailey Island Motel where we checked in for the night. It was a little pricey, but definitely the nicest lodgings so far on our trip.

On the right side of the road was the "Road Food" recommended Cook's Lobster House. Could our lives be any easier? The restaurant was on a little spit of land and we hiked to the ocean's edge to ratchet up our appetite a notch. This was the place, the Shangri La of Seafood, the Grand Prize of Lobster Lotteries. No chowder or clam strips for us: Mike sentenced a 3 1/2 pound sea roach to a boiling death and OJ was hardly kinder to a 2 1/2 pounder. We laughed when Mike couldn't get his cracker around the vise-like stumps posing as claws and he sent the behemoth back to the kitchen for a good hammering. There was no dessert that night as we slithered back to the motel in our drawn butter haze, but there was a lot of stomach gurgling and gas.

19 SEP 05 - Norway to Skowhegan, ME

The morning started with coffee and steak croissant at Dunkin Donuts. Considering the number of these franchises throughout New England, we would-be investment bikers say: "Buy now!". Next were a number of necessities most readers probably don't associate with the trip: wash the bikes, check email at the library, mail trinkets home from the Post Office, gas up, buy lottery tickets, beef jerky and Gatorade. Now we're ready to ride.

We took a really roundabout route to Waterville, ME, past a lot of lakes, pull-offs and old cemeteries. Yes, we stopped several times to catch our breath and enjoy the moment. In fact, Mike saw a boat ramp that gave him ideas for Caribbean usage: pre-formed, grooved slabs that are heavily hinged and "walked" into shallow water.

Waterville is small but busy, so we stopped at municipal parking in the middle of the city. While Mike asked directions to various set locations of HBO's "Empire Falls", OJ slipped into the Dollar Store and bought Mike his first imitation chamois cloth. For a buck apiece, you won't find a better wipe to clean the morning dew off your ride.

Within a mile was the abandoned Hathaway shirt factory where HBO filmed the character Miles (Ed Harris) getting beat up by the town cop. Oddly, there was no sign or any recognition of the HBO production.

Another mile further was HBO's church setting where Miles was up high painting and eventually overcame his fear of heights. It's an active church, Baptist we think, but stuck between two houses on a small city street with terrible parking. HBO probably rented the church for a song and once again, there was no indicator or relate to the miniseries, let alone someone selling the "Empire Falls" commemorative pin! Truth be told, we had trouble taking a photo of just the church, so we were impressed by a film crew that worked wonders to cut out the surrounding clutter.

We also learned that additional filming was done in Showhegan, ME, a smaller town a few miles to the north, so we headed for those more rural surroundings. Just as we left Waterville, we crested a country road to find an ultralight airport. We stayed for two take-offs, but moved on as the sun was setting lower.

We pulled into Skowhegan and found HBO's "Empire Grill" closed for the night at 6PM. Business must not be as good as the miniseries. After asking a few locals, we decided on the Towne Motel for the night. We were able to walk past grand old houses to a nearby restaurant, stretching our legs and taking in the crispy Fall evening. Full bellies lead to a good night's sleep.

15 SEP 05 - Whiteface Mt, NY to Vermont

We started the morning with our first rain of the trip as we wanted to head up the toll road to Whiteface's summit. After suiting up into rain gear, we filled our gas tanks and did the lottery thing. We cruised a few miles past a closed-for-the-season North Pole Village and arrived at the Whiteface tollgate where we learned that the road was temporarily closed due to rain and fog. Time was killed near a relaxing pond to one side. Within an hour, the weather lightened somewhat and we headed up the moiuntain in the comfort of our dry suits. Above the treeline, the views were spectacular in between the clouds. The rain slowed to a drizzle as we were flagged into a parking area next to a tunnel. A sign declared that President Franklin Roosevelt had dedicated this road to military veterans and made the peak accessible to the handicapped. The tunnel was planked and led to an elevator inside the mountain. The elevator jockey then took us to an observatory at the peak. We did the tourist thing: looking at a pictoral history of the road construction and horrendus Winter conditions. OK, we also created a Kodak moment or two. After retreating down and back thru the tunnel, we motored the final 300 meters down the road to a castle-like building. Thankfully there was a gift shop where we got our pins reading "Land of the Free, Slopes of the Brave - Whiteface".

After riding down the mountain, we backtracked thru the Whiteface Gorge to the other side of Lake Placid and past the Olympic ski jumps.

A short ways further was the Olympic Bobsled Run at Mt. Van Hoevenberg. They have a sled fitted with wheels, driver and brakeman for a $30 ride thru the lower 1/2 mile of the course. It's worth it: we were really moving thru the s-curves, vertical on the walls and pulling g's as we slingshoted down the finish. Yes, we got the pins, round ones reading "The Storm", apparently the marketing name for the sled.

We continued east down the Adirondack Mountains towards Lake Champlain and the Vermont border. We crossed the lake on a lovely 20 minute ferry ride from Essex, NY to Charlotte, VT where we re-started the bikes and headed south. We quickly came upon a shop advertising "cob smoked sausage". We stopped and after several varieties of treats, OJ introduced Mike to aged, SHARP, Vermont cheddar cheese. We then motored east thru the shadows of Vermont's Green Mountains towards Waterbury, VT where Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream headquarters was closed for the night. There were actually several "Road Food" stops in the area, so we wanted to spend the night nearby. We found the Riverside Inn just up the road in Stowe, VT, one of the biggest ski resort towns in all of New England. The Inn is actually a quaint and comfortable old house run by English folk. Husband Julian let us park our bikes in their barn next to his classic Jaguar XKE that he was showing the next morning in an event called the "British Invasion". After settling our gear in a comfortable room, we worked on our appetites by walking to the nearby Shed Inn. There we munched on good burgers, microbrewed India Pale Ales and lagers. No insomnia for us!

14 SEP 05 - Oxbow Lake to Wilmington, NY

Oxbow Lake is right behind the motel and the guy in the next room told us he had been fishing there for a week. He was OJ's kind of fisherman: do not start at dawn. We also met the motel owner who said he stays open year-round with great snowmobile business. Oxbow Lake and Speculator, NY are in Hamilton County, the only county in New York State where OJ's WheresGeorge dollar bills have not been found. OJ did his best to support the local economy by using his marked bills for gas and lottery tickets. We also checked our previous tickets (Powerball was at $250 million), but we had no winners.

** UPDATED 18 OCT ** OJ now has his dollar bills found by others in all 61 New York counties.

We continued north thru the Adirondack morning fog as we came to Indian Lake, Moose Capital of NY. We didn't run into or see any of furry giants, but there is a great scenic overlook, so we stopped to enjoy Mother Nature and her sun rising from the east, thru the high peaks and across the water as the fog burned off. It was difficult to motivate ourselves onward, but the Lake Placid area was calling.

At Blue Mt. Lake, NY, we stopped at the Adirondack Museum. Who knew that there were almost 20 outbuildings of displays? Having just finished a long museum tour at the Baseball Hall of Fame, we decided not to eat up the entire afternoon at the Adirondack Museum, but before we moved on, we did get our commerative pins from the gift shop, nice round ones showing international flags and proclaiming "Winter Sports Capital of the World".

The roads, hills and lakes were aglow with changing tree colors as we headed to Tupper Lake, NY. OJ's father grew up here and OJ learned to ski at its now closed resort. It's not much of a town, but we caught up on email at the library and scored "100th Town Anniversary" pins from the municipal office. We continued on thru the alpine villages of Saranac Lake and Lake Placid (home to the '32 and '80 Winter Olympics). OJ has relatives living in Placid with several restaurants, but we'd both been in this tourist town before and decided to ride a few miles further to the reasonably priced rural motels.

We knew we wanted to motor up the summit road of Whiteface Mt. in the morning, so we headed thru a gorgeous gorge (pun intended) to the village of Wilmington, NY. We looked at several motels, but area rooms can turn quite musty after Labor Day. We chose the Birch Tree Lodge which was clean, fresh smelling and had secure parking right outside the rooms. As the sun was setting behind high peaks, we put on our warm riding jackets and found dinner (Whisky Peppercorn Burger) nearby at McDougal's Pub. A full stomach and all this mountain air sent us to bed quickly.

13 SEP 05 - Baseball Hall of Fame and Adirondack Mountains

The HOF is very well done. There's some major coin behind this operation, kind of like the surrounding village. Even on the outside, there are sculptured walkways with baseball themes. The HOF tour begins with a slick multimedia show and moves you thru 3 floors of time-lined memorabilia. There are entire features on just ballparks or equipment or specific teams. I was amazed at the display case of World Series rings and wondered how 2 or 3 could fit on one hand of some lucky players. Mike took a lot of pictures of anything to do with the St. Louis Cardinals. The Boston Red Sox got a lot of exposure for their long overdue win in last year's World Series. Honestly, a whole day should be allocated to the HOF. Around 2PM, we needed to move on, so we purchased our pins and headed north.

The transition is quick between flat farm roads and the rolling hills of Ft. Plain, NY that begin the Adirondack Park, the largest in the lower 48 States. Those hills soon lead to desolate mountain roads with scenic lakes and wonderful pine-like smells. The s-curves are fun on a motorcycle and we were mindful of the occasional roadkill deer or raccoon on the roadside. While taking a butt break, some locals suggested Oxbow Lake or Speculator as a stop for the night.

On the way to Oxbow, we came across this wood sculpture. A sheriff was just leaving the property and described the artist as a colorful resident. Oxbow was remote, so we drove on to Speculator to only find Oxbow was better.

The Oxbow Lake Motel was interesting in that no manager was present. There was a rack of room keys, first come first served, and a sign indicating the manager would catch up in the morning. We chose the better of 2 remaining rooms and walked thru the hazy evening fog to the nearby Oxbow Lake Inn where OJ had a delish NY Strip Steak sandwich. It gets dark and chilly in the Adirondack Mountains, so we hit the sack quickly afterwards.

12 SEP 05 - Leaving the Lakes for Cooperstown, NY

We left Auburn, NY and after a little misdirection from OJ, headed east to Skaneateles Lake, a touristy little 'burb southwest of Syracuse, NY and a fantastically clean body of water. Here was our first opportunity to find a commemorative lapel/bag pin that Mike likes to collect from his travels. Now this town is full of shops including a classic old bank that has been converted. Unfortunately, no pins anywhere! Mike has been thru this before and seeks out the Town Offices. Sure enough, a free pin noting the town's "175th Anniversary".

After visiting the Vietnam Memorial that names OJ's friend Pete Odell, we aimed southeast along the country roads of Skaneateles towards Cortland, NY where we stopped for gas and lottery tickets.

We soon came across a NY State Park where we took a butt break and set up our bikes for a Kodak moment. It's lakeside spots like these where we hope to find Mother Nature at her best throughout our trip. Already the colors are changing, the air is crisp and occasionally we catch a whiff of some wood-burning fire.

From there, we rambled east in the direction of Cooperstown, NY, home to the Baseball Hall of Fame. This is another small, lakeside village that smells of money. We arrived minutes before the Hall's closing time, so we looked for the night's lodgings. Two blocks away was the Lake Front Motel, not badly priced at an off-season rate of $85. The Lake Front's restaurant offered to stay open for us, so after a short walk along the main street, we returned for a good Blackened Prime Rib and some Brooklyn IPA. On a full belly, we crashed in anticipation of a full morning at Baseball's Hall of Fame.

11 SEP 05 - An auspicious day to leave Rochester, NY

Mike and OJ began with the most important meal of the day: angio-breakfast at Sullivan's Charbroil. It's two eggs, sausage and cheese on a grilled hard roll. On the side are deep-fried homefries with a ramekin of spicy meat sauce. And of course, great coffee. There were no great digital camera deals in the Sunday newspaper always found at Sully's, so OJ opted for disposable cameras. Rochester, NY is the home of Kodak and it was disappointing that Fuji cameras were cheaper.

We headed south of Rochester on a country road also known as Rt. 64. The morning was clear and sunny as we passed thru a bling-bling suburb known as Mendon where an outdoors car show featured a couple Ferraris and a Lamborghini. Without seeing classic bikes on display, we continued on. We cruised by Bristol Mt. skiing and the vine-surrounded village of Naples, the Grape Pie Capital of the World, at the south end of Canandaigua Lake. The route soon took us past several other of the Finger Lakes known for their deep clear waters created by the glaciers of the last Ice Age. The rocky slopes of the lakes are a perfect environment for vineyards. As we approached Seneca Lake on a long stretch of backroad, there was something ahead on the shoulder, maybe a farm cat. It turned out to be a hawk, lording over a freshly captured squirrel.

Southeast of Geneva, NY, we stopped for fuel and the Swedish Hill winery. Mike was generous to share his strategy of purchasing a lottery ticket at each gas stop in hopes of funding that next big ride. And how could we NOT avail our tasting services when 8 different samples were offered? A little further was the defunct Seneca Army Depot where the secure fences have promoted a herd of inbred white deer, but we didn't see any.


As we approached Ithaca, NY (and the ivy-covered halls of Cornell University), we didn't know there was a turn off for Podunk, NY, but we did stop to see OJ's friends Treg and Irving in the northern hamlet of Groten, NY. We brought Irving a bottle of Chardonnet from the winery as she recovers from surgery and Mike heard a lot about cows from farmer Treg.

We traveled in lazy loops all up and down the Finger Lakes until a colorful sunset found us in Auburn, NY, following the advice of an EXTREMELY friendly prison guard from the nearby maximum security lockup. Our newfound guide literally led us to the $50 Budget Inn with a gut-wrenching belly-busting Chinese buffet right across the street. Lights out.

10 SEP 05 - Restocking in Rochester, NY

After Mike and OJ slept in, what remained was a day of basic shopping. Mike needed a few shirts and also introduced OJ to the "camper's toilet paper" available at Wal-Mart. OJ bought an Oxford First Time Tailpack to fit on the pillion seat of his '02 Honda Shadow ACE (American Classic Edition). The bag is about 16 inches cubed and provides great backrest. OJ also picked up an Atomic 2.0 riding jacket. It's black, water resistant, and comes with protective padding along the spine, shoulders, and elbows. OJ then purchased a can of Blue Magic Tectron Durable Water Repellent spray to further waterproof his jacket, boots, and tailpack. While the spraying was done outside, there was still quite a buzz from the non-silicone chemicals. We spent some time that night on the Internet: Mike catching up on email and bills, OJ entering dollars bills into WheresGeorge.com so he could track them as they were spent across the Northeast.

09 SEP 05 - Somewhere between West Virginia and Rochester, NY

Mike and OJ had been in touch for weeks regarding this Summer's ride around the Northeast and agreed to join up around 12 SEP. Mike called OJ at 7:00AM today saying he was leaving West Virginia and would arrive in the Rochester area sometime in the late afternoon/early evening. Mike called again at 7:30AM to ask if OJ was located anywhere near Churchville or Spencerport, NY. Hell yes, they're just 5 miles down the road from OJ's home in North Chili, NY. Sunset came and went when Mike called again to say he was on Rt. 19 near LeRoy, NY about 20 miles away. OJ suggested to stay on that road until Bergen, NY and then turn east for Churchville. Unfortuneately, OJ was unclear about continuing east one more town to North Chili. Those last 5 miles can be confusing, but one more phone call cleared up directions. With North Chili being little more than a four-corner college town, OJ waited in front of the local gas station while he eyeballed single headlights coming from the west. It wasn't long before high beams flickered and two old friends re-united after a 5 year absence. OJ's house was a 1/4 mile away with cold Becks beer waiting. Delivered pizza, wings, and a lot of catch-up rounded out the evening.