looking for suggestions and advice for this trip. i will be flying my wife into and out of boston july 5th and 15th. i'll be riding the bike up on june 30, back home on july21. our plan is to camp every night, hopefully in a different spot. we want to spend her first 2 nights in boston so we will have a full day to see the sights. i've found a couple websites for motorcycle roads up there and i'm searching a few bikersites for trip reports. any must do, must see, must eat, or other miscellaneous 'must' while there? My weapon of choice IS in the picture doing its utilitarian duties. and if you want your wife or significant other to ride with you, buy a GOLDWING. LIFE IS GOOD
Nice Wing! Mass pretty much blows as far as bike roads go. There are some historical things like Lexington and Concord, but not a whole lot to see in my opinion. Mount Washington probably goes without saying; on a clear day, you can see the ocean. The Polar Caves in Rumney, NH offers a cheap, fun day in the woods http://www.polarcaves.com/. Take a tour of Castle in the Clouds http://www.castleintheclouds.org/ The Kankamangus highway in NH is great. Rt 112 from Conway to Lincoln, 32 miles of scenic mountain byway. If you continue past Lincoln, there is a cool little car museum on the left-hand side. Admission is free, they just appreciate a purchase from the attached gift store. Continue towards VT, and there are plenty of branching state highways. I've got a great GPS loop that goes through VT out to Fort Ticonderoga in NY (by way of ferry - very cool) and back. I can send it to you to mull over if you like. Smuggler's Notch area in VT, Stowe, Killington... you can't go wrong here. Great little towns, lots of good eating, shopping, viewing, camping, B&B's, whatever. VT Rt 100 is a great ride. Rt 125 Scenic (they actually label it Scenic on the sign) is very nice. Camping and hiking throughout. Northern NH - Errol, Pittsburgh, Colebrook - is beautiful. Nice camping and fishing. Rangely Lake region in ME is great. I haven't ventured too far into ME (odd, since I live in NH), but it's a good ride. The seacoast has the good seafood. Sadly, not much for camping in NH. Lots of good roads and cool stuff like covered bridges. If you want a local guide for a day or two, I'm sure some of us locals would be glad to accommodate. Happy travels!
New England is a great place to ride. I lived most of my life there and when we go back to visit my parents and family I bring either my dirt bike or street bike whenever I can.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o> <o></o> My best advise it to by very detailed maps of each state and find the curviest roads possible. <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1lace w:st="on">New England</st1lace> is very small and the speed limits are very limiting. When I ride in NC I can cover 600 miles a day on secondary roads without breaking a sweat. In <st1lace w:st="on">New England</st1lace> 350-400 is a hike. <o></o> <o></o> My best trip with the street bike consisted of three long day trips. All three started from my parents' house in <st1lace w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Stow</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">MA</st1:State></st1lace>.<o></o> <o></o> The first was the longest. I got up early and just across the <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">New Hampshire</st1lace></st1:State> border to New Ipswich to meet up with a friend (he rides a '77 KZ1000 with the original seat). We then rode west to the <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Vermont</st1lace></st1:State> border. There are plenty of great roads with a great view of the <st1lace w:st="on">Connecticut River</st1lace>. We chose NH-12A and hopped across to <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Vermont</st1lace></st1:State> whenever we saw something interesting such as covered bridges and Queechee Gorge. We had lunch in <st1lace w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">NH</st1:State></st1lace> then headed towards the ultimate goal of the <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Kancamagus Highway</st1:address></st1:Street>. I think we went over on 25A. However, you have plenty of options with the 25s, 112, or 118. Whichever way we went the pavement was very rough for a large cruiser until we got to the Kancamagus where the pavement was like glass and the views were incredible. There are plenty of places to get off the bike and pick blueberries and take a dip in the cold NH water. This is where your plan for camping would have helped me. We wanted to climb <st1lace w:st="on">Mount Washington</st1lace>, but the mountain road closes at 5 or 6 and we didn't make it. After a good dinner at a barbeque place (I didn't know that NH had BBQ) we hit the highway home. We had a good plan for heading back on east side of NH, but my friend with the KZ was getting rubbed raw by his seat and I wasn't going to get on an unfamiliar antique bike after a long day of riding and in the dark (sorry Gerry, I've felt horrible about that for 2 years now). I left the house at 6:30 am and got back at 11:00pm. It was a great day!!!<o></o> <o></o> The next day was a loop around MA. I went to church with my parents then headed west on RT 2. 2 starts out in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Cambridge</st1lace></st1:City> as a multi lane divided highway where the views get better as the lanes drop off. I am not much for riding highways, but this one is different because you get to see almost every aspect of MA. Most people forget about the <st1lace w:st="on">New England</st1lace> charm of MA, but it is still there. You can ride 2 all the way to <st1:City w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Albany</st1lace></st1:City> if you desire. I did see plenty of campgrounds on the way. <st1lace w:st="on">Western MA</st1lace> is full of state forests. I chose to ride over the Berkshires (unbelievable views of MA and NY) and turn south once I got to <st1:State w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">New York</st1lace></st1:State>. I was wearing my Josh Beckett Red Sox Jersey so I got some great looks and rousing conversation at my gas stop. Rt 20 is a great way to head back. Stay away from the MA Pike. Nothing good to see there and there are lots of toll roads. <o></o> <o></o> Day three I just rode west and then south. I picked a bunch of back roads to the west side of the Quabbin Reservoir. Then down to <st1:City w:st="on">Norwich</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">CT</st1:State> past my old house is <st1lace w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Preston</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">CT.</st1:State></st1lace> <st1lace w:st="on">Preston</st1lace> is right between both of the casinos on CT2. So, if gambling is your thing this is the place for you. Then it was on to <st1lace w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Newport</st1:City> <st1:State w:st="on">RI</st1:State></st1lace>. Unless you plan on stopping in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Newport</st1lace></st1:City> I don't recommend this. <st1:City w:st="on">Newport</st1:City> is great, but I was on my way to <st1lace w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Marshfield</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">MA</st1:State></st1lace> to meet up with my wife's family so I never made it to the beach. The rest of the ride was a disappointment because there are many places I would have liked to go but didn't (<st1lace w:st="on">Cape</st1lace> Cod, etc.).<o></o> <o></o> <st1lace w:st="on">Cape Cod</st1lace> would be fun as well, but don't go on a weekend. It just one big traffic jam.<o></o> <o></o> I hope this helps and have a great time on your trip. I'll be looking for pictures.<o></o> <o></o>
I'd do a loop up the coast of Maine, working your way through the rocky coast with a few stops until you hit Mt Desert Island, you could easily spend 4 days or even more out there. Great thing about the island, is that there is a free shuttle bus that runs throughout the island with stops at pretty much all the campgrounds (public and private), so if you want to hoist a few in town in the evenings ;-) Either continue a little further 'downeast' to Eastport/Campobello Island, or take a long jaunt through Maine into NH. I would suggest you head to Rangeley Maine before crossing over into NH, there are a number of nice "Notch Rides" up in the Northern NH/Western Maine region. As suggested before, hit Mount Washington if the weather is right. Then shoot over across VT, making sure to hit the Route 2 divider down through Champlain (start from the North and travel South). There are a number of great roads that you could take, you could even wind your way south almost to Albany (NY) and pick up Rt 2 back into Mass, there's a nice stretch, the western part of 2, however, with you towing that trailer, I'm not sure how those twisties will feel.
I am from SE Mass and also recomend staying away from Cape Cod during this time of year. If you must go stay on Rt. 6A which will be the least travelled main road from the canal to Eastham. Don't get me wrong, the Cape is nice but the traffic will remind you of New York City during the summer and unless that Goldwing is automatic your left hand wil want to fall off! A nice ride would be Rt. 3a south from Boston through Plymouth and then follow the shoreline to Dartmouth/Westport MA and onto Newport, RI. This area is less traveled and very senic. Westport has a state campground at Horseneck beach. I am newly back on a bike after 25 years and this is where most of my riding has been. On my agenda this summer is Stowe, VT., Riding up Mt. Washington and hopefully to Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, ME. I can highly recommend camping at Smugglers Notch state park in Stowe, VT. Have been doing this annualy for 30 +/- years. The state parks in VT rent leanto's that your tent will fit in and won't get wet if it rains. You could set up a base camp for a few nights and do day trips as there is plenty to do, ride, and see in this state. Never camped in NH but the northern part of the state is beautiful for riding as is Maine. Google Cadillac Mountain or Acadia National park. This area is always highly rated on forums. Some links for you to look at. www.vtstateparks.com www.mass.gov/dcr/forparks.htm If you have any questions I will try to help. Ride Safe. Pete
Acadia National Park is nice heading out 1 through all the port cities along coastal Maine north of Portland. The views from the top of Mt Desert are stunning on a clear day. I would also agree with others that a ride through the White Mtns and up to the top of Mt Washington is a must. With ten days you can see a lot. In fact, if you are camping, you might want to head north through New Brunswick past the Bay of Fundy to Nova Scotia. The Cabot Trail twisty paved two lane blacktop around the north of Nova Scotia and the beautiful Cape Breton Highlands National Park should be on everyone's bucket list. You could make a loop up and return to northern Maine on the ferry. Just a thought. Also would suggest swinging over to the Adirondacks in upstate NY. Plenty of scenic roads and camping available up there. A loop from Lake Champlain through Lake Placid, Saranac Lake district, Adirondack State Park and back through Green Mtn National Forest in southern Vermont would be a scenic loop on your way back to Boston cruising two up on a wing. Have fun! Kindest regards, John Downs