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Oh geez, do I have some catching up to do! Let a day go by, much less two, & it's almost overwhelming
to try and recapture, er report, the trip. I better get busy, huh?....
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After arriving the BMW rally on Thurs I perused the do-it-yourself maintenance area that was advertised
as being available to those of us who paid the $30 fee to enter the rally. The plan was that Stromtrooper
"oldgoat" would come from Montreal and help me with my Strom in this designated space at the rally. Well,
BMW's idea of this DIY area was a roped section in a gravel parking lot completely exposed to the elements. So,
my idea became just to go see oldgoat; that way he'd be in a familiar environment and I'd be out of Beemerville
for the day. So, Fri AM off I headed for Canada, mind you just 24hrs prior I had no such plan to be leaving
the country. Um, ok, so maybe those who know me well would say I'm spontaneous but this felt unusual. I
had read and heard all kinds of stories about crossing the border so I was a bit apprehensive; my ride up I-89 was
mostly spent to trying to grasp the reality that I was indeed riding my bike alone into Canada. I'd been told
I'd better carry my licenses as well as my birth certificate and passport. It's noteworthy that one of the
things I heard about crossing the border was that I should expect a lengthy delay, possibly exceeding an hour. So,
as I approached the border my apprehension grew if for no other reason than that I'd have to be waiting. (hey,
I'm not impatient, I just don't like to wait!) I was so caught up in the experience that was unfolding that I
neglected to disconnect my radar dector until I saw the signs for the border, at which point I quickly pulled
over. After putting it in my Givi bag I took this picture:
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Big, huge, long line, huh? I kept thinking something must be wrong... there's not one person here
but me! (I think it was 8:30am). The lengthy and intensive checkpoint consisted of "where
are you from" and "what will you be doing in Canada." I said that I was going to see oldgoat in
Montreal and get my cush drive fixed. This got a rather blank stare. The only other relative
question was "how long will you be spending in Montreal." I said not more than 7 hours. This
got a completely blank stare. He said "you came all the way from Phoenix and you're going to be
spending less than 7hrs in Canada?" I responded that was probably reason enough for him to turn
me around. That was the end of the official questions. He proceeded to ask a plethora of
questions about my headlight modulator. He was curious what it did, why I needed it, etc. I
told him I could turn it off and he said I didn't need to. He asked for ID and I handed him my
license. I had the other IDs in my tank bag but he never asked for anything else. The whole
interaction was less than 5min. As soon as I sailed through the border I felt relieved then
instantly almost in shock as every freakin' sign I passed was in French. "Oh, geez, wonder what
that just said" was a repetitive thought for, well, the next 7hrs! I realized soonthereafter that
essentially I had no money on me since I had no Canadian currency & I wasn't sure if my cell phone
would work in Canada. This produced a feeling I can't say I've had before and hope never to have
again. Taken right after I crossing into Canada:
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I was struggling to get my GPS reprogrammed to read kilometers when I thought "where's a squid when
you need one." I'm not kidding, in less than 3min a Gixxer squid came flying by me and thus
became my rabbit. I'm sure I made it in record time to Montreal since I'd never been there
but Gixxer boy deserves some credit for running interference for me. When I got close to Montreal
a yellow DL1k and his riding partner, a Bandit 1200S merged onto the road. I couldn't believe I
saw another Strom that quickly once I hit the Canada line. Going thru Montreal there were digital
display signs above the interstate that were flashing who knows what. I tell you, it's quite
unnerving to see these signs flashing what has to be important information but you have no idea what
it is! Nonetheless, I made it to oldgoat's pad where he and Mrs.oldgoat were awaiting my
arrival. All I can say is what genuinely fine folks they are and I was honored to have met
them. You think I do some traveling... geez, these 2 have been places! Oldgoat changed my oil
and addressed the cush drive issue. The aluminum shims he used came from the siding from his
house so perhaps my Strom now has dual citizenship. I was very impressed with the organization
of his garage/tools. As far as the cush drive, well, I noticed a big difference just turning
the bike around in his garage! It really only took me driving up his driveway to know the problem
was solved. A jaunt around the block and it was like I was on a different bike!
Me with Stromtrooper "oldgoat", who just finished
fixing my Strom's cush drive (I'll post a pic of me
with
anyone who helps keep me on the road!!) |
My Strom being attended to by "oldgoat"
under Mrs.Oldgoat's very watchful eye:
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Oldgoat with his new Suzuki Burgman:
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Before leaving oldgoat suggested he run down to the gas station with me. Darn good thing too since I couldn't understand a thing:
I left Montreal and headed back for the rally. I set my GPS to route me minor roads so I ended up in the
Canadian countryside and loving every minute of it. I think the road was called Hwy 212. Here's a few pics:
Don'tcha think that 90 is a bit fast for this road?
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I recrossed the border at a very small town:
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I made it back to Beemerville early evening after stopping to take these pics of Lake Champlain:
I perused the vendors on site and milled around with folks until I couldn't stand it then excused myself
and headed out to see if the Stromtrooper campsite had any occupants. I arrived their Grand Isle
State Park after dark but it wasn't too difficult to see where the Stroms were parked. I met several
Stromtroopers and, ya know, I just can't think of a much nicer group of people. We talked, traded
stories, and made plans to ride the next day. As I rode the 25mi back to the rally site I reflected
on the day... going to Canada, meeting more Stromtroopers, riding in such beautiful country, and, of
course, getting my Strom fixed.. and thought about how words couldn't really capture the experience. Oh,
here's a pic of the rally site:
The next mid-morning (Sat) Stromtroopers “jackpiner57” from VT and “stromeur650” from Montreal joined RT and
me for a “Stamping Expedition.” We met just outside the rally site and discussed our route. My only
contribution came after checking the radar and discovering we were sure to see rain. In fact, my words were
“we're going to get nailed shortly.” As I prepared my Strom for seeing rain RT scoffed and jackpiner57 said
he was too hot so the rain would be welcomed. We stopped for lunch soon thereafter and it was already
sprinkling at that point. I noticed as we were riding to get lunch that stromeur650's left headlight looked
very dim. After lunch we looked at his headlight and discovered it was not aimed correctly so since I was
carrying the necessary tool to make the adjustment we were able to set stromeur650 straight. We all left the
parking lot in full rain gear en route to the Vermont stamp. Jackpiner57 led us on what I'm sure must be a
very scenic road; I couldn't really tell you because it was raining so hard. (I think I did say “nailed”,
rt?!) Unfortunately the rain didn't put the biggest damper on the ride, what happened next did... we pulled
off at a marked scenic parking area that had a section that was quite steep. RT, who was riding sweep, pulled
in and stopped but had trouble with the bike and dropped the bike. I saw it happen and it was a zero-MPH
drop. Nonetheless, the bike went down hard enough and in such a way that the left driver footpeg broke off
completely. Thankfully BMW designers made the driver and passenger pegs interchangeable so we were able to
make a roadside repair with a combination of the the tools RT & I carry. Here's where we stopped (we had just fixed the RT):
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We continued on to Woodstock, VT and the stamp (Marsh Billings-Rockefeller NHP) but due to the
roadside repair delay as well as the rain we were unable to get the NH stamp as planned. Everyone
was drenched upon arrival to the VT stamp and trying to quickly jaunt 20mi to the NH stamp before it
closed didn't make much sense. Plus, it was still raining; the kind of rain that let's you know
what's really “waterproof” and what's not. At the VT stamp Visitor Center:
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Jackpiner57 headed towards his crib and stromeur650, RT and I headed back toward the rally site in Essex
Junction. It rained hard all 100+ mi back and when we stopped at Subway to eat we were all drowned
rats and quite chilly. I wasn't excited about going back to the rally site and camping in a wet
tent with heavy rain all night but with 8,000 attendees there wasn't a motel room anywhere. When we
originally arrived the fairgrounds that would serve as the rally campsite RT and I had selected a site
next to a barn mainly for wind protection. With the heavy rains forecasted thru the night not even
a Beemer boy was going to stop me from taking residence in that stable somewhere. Despite being able
to negotiate my Strom fairly well I didn't really want to try pulling it over the lip of a stall door so
it slept outside; however, the tent fit nicely in the barn and a dry and comfortable night was had by all
who, um, were smart enough to come in from the rain:
We awoke to light sprinkles Sun AM and packed the bikes after visiting the shipping booth that was at the
rally. We decided to have a brown truck carry all of the camping gear back to AZ instead of the
RT. A lighter load would be welcomed by him. After dropping the bike twice in less than a
week I could tell the psychological effects combined with the physical ramifications were taking a toll
on RT. His confidence has been rocked. He's sore. Problem is that we're on the road and
resting in one place is expensive. The plan has been to continue as scheduled to get the New England
area state stamps then get back to TN where we can hold up a bit and he can rest. So, we left the
rally and headed for the NH stamp that we had missed the day before. We elected to slab it to the
stamp mainly so the higher speeds would give our gear a chance to dry out a bit. (wearing wet gear
sucks!) We arrived Cornish, NH and the “Saint-Gaudens” site and got the stamp:
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We ditched the slab and took all back roads to Springfield, MA the site of another stamp, the “Springfield
Armory.” RT was looking forward to this stamp given his experience with firearms (he use to compete
high powered small bore). En route to Springfield we came upon this covered bridge (which is still in use today):
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I was prepared to pay the $2 fine as I had no interest in walking my horse, er Strom, across the bridge:
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We arrived Springfield, MA and decided to ride by the stamp location before checking into the motel
nearby. When we came to the entrance we were greeted w/a sign that informed us that the Visitor
Center (where the stamp is located) is closed on Monday (the next day). Now, the Iron Butt will
accept a photo of your bike with the park/monument sign to suffice in instances like this but I knew
RT would have none of that no-stamp-in-my-book stuff so after seeing the closed sign it took me all
of 1.28 seconds to know we would be heading to some other location in MA the next day for an actual
stamp. I took a pic anyway:
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We spent Sun night rerouting to a different stamp location and doing laundry from the rally rain. On
Mon we left Springfield, MA and took all minor back roads to Lexington, MA where the “Minute Men NHP” is
located. It was a beautiful ride and was done in superb weather:
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As of Tues evening (7/25) we are in Lancaster, PA after leaving CT this morning. We rerouted here because
of an electrical issue with the RT and this was the nearest BMW dealership. Here's proof I'm here... a
picture of my buggy and their's (I think this area is Amish US Headquarters-they're everywhere!):
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