Americade 2008 - Day 9

This year I'm publishing highlights of my activities at the 2008 Americade Motorcycle Rally, day by day in a blog. Americade is scheduled for June 2-7, this year. The blog will also include my preparation in getting ready to take the ride to Lake George, NY, my observations while there, the ride home, and getting back to normal.

The trip will now also include intermediate stop-offs at at our son's house in Boonton, NJ (three grandsons) and daughter's house in Middle Grove, NY (grandson and granddaughter). Our daughter made a move to the Saratoga Springs area last year after Americade. Since her house is now 25 miles south of Americade (and on the way), we now have a fringe benefit of making the trip.

On Thursday we parked our trikes across the street from the motel and had breakfast where the famous Wegars used to be located. They still have the old player piano there but it's not turned on. The overhead train is totally gone. The food was good anyway, except they ran out of donuts.

We headed out to Tour-Expo. I hadn't been there yet. When we got inside, Jane went one way and I went another. Cell phones would get us back together later.

I walked past the Corbin booth and saw a Spyder all decked out in a touring seat, touring bags, and full fairing. I had heard that a Spyder touring model would soon be introduced and I thought maybe this was it. A few words with one of the reps standing there informed me otherwise. Corbin had accessories to make the Spyder into a tourer. Only about $5000 would do the trick. Corbin was ahead of the curve again.

I stopped in at Cycle Gadgets and picked up a long extension for my camera mount.

Then I turned the corner and strolled over to the Motor Trike area. I wanted to talk to the Motor Trike dealer from New Jersey. I finally found him and explained a problem I was having with my rear trunk. It kept loosening up, was hard to open, and always let rain in. Every time I stopped, the door was ajar and I had to reopen it and then slam it shut, usually skinning my knuckles in the process. Then another rep from Canada came over and offered advice. My explanation of the layout of my trunk hardware was lacking and I really needed to show them the actual trunk.

I walked out to the parking lot and returned to the side gate outside Motor Trike where the two reps examined the situation. The guy from Canada said the latch needed to be repositioned and lubricated. He went looking for tools and a thick washer and returned with some WD-40 as well. In five minutes, he had the trunk working perfectly with an easy open and no leaks. As far as I was concerned, my trip to Americade was worth it just to get this free fix. Thanks Motor Trike.

Also, I told them about the vibration I had been getting. The NJ guy slid under the trike and checked everything out. "No problem," he said as he emerged covered with dirt on the back of his T-shirt and grease on his hands from the trike undercarriage.

I also asked about why the left side rear fender was so close to the tire while the right side was not. Then the rep pointed out that there was an abrasion all the way around the tire where the fender had been rubbing against it. Whoa, we have a problem here. He said he could fix it in his shop in New Jersey by making a simple undercarriage adjustment. I needed to make an appointment when I got back from Americade. Better still, his shop was close by my house.
More problems were being solved by my trip to Americade.

At 3 p.m. we rode down to the Log Jam Restaurant to meet members of our GWRRA chapter who had ridden up for the day. Here are a few pictures.





That evening we walked Canada Street again and I took the following pictures and videos. First off is a bike carrying just about everything needed to go to Americade.



Dogs were everywhere. Some got the royal treatment like this one in his own trailer.



It's a car, no it's a bike, maybe it's a trike. Regardless, it's fun for the Americade scene.



Jane looking at a Spyder decorated with a spider web.









Just enjoying the view on Canada Street. She looked pretty serene.



The cops were giving out parking tickets this year. If you didn't have a PP sticker for $7 or didn't keep feeding the meters, you got one of these.



A block from our motel I saw a 911 memorial bike. It was pretty spectacular.



I also took a short video of Canada Street traffic. (This video loads slowly. Let it complete in slow motion and then replay it to see full motion.)

Finally, I also took a short video of me walking alongside the Canada Street traffic.

More to follow. Read the blog each day for further reports.

An evolving blog index to these Americade 2008 blog entries is also available.

Not related too much to bikers, but definately related to bloggers. Your computer is being hacked!

Happy Friday All!
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Americade 2008 - Day 8

This year I'm publishing highlights of my activities at the 2008 Americade Motorcycle Rally, day by day in a blog. Americade is scheduled for June 2-7, this year. The blog will also include my preparation in getting ready to take the ride to Lake George, NY, my observations while there, the ride home, and getting back to normal.

The trip will now also include intermediate stop-offs at at our son's house in Boonton, NJ (three grandsons) and daughter's house in Middle Grove, NY (grandson and granddaughter). Our daughter made a move to the Saratoga Springs area last year after Americade. Since her house is now 25 miles south of Americade (and on the way), we now have a fringe benefit of making the trip.

On Wednesday we had breakfast early at the restaurant located in the motel. The weather was misty rain. We debated whether we should ride to the demo with rain suits on but decided to wait until we got there to decide. We were going to take a demo ride in a Stallion made by Thoroughbred Motorsports. The Stallion was designed by Motor Trike CEO, Jeff Vey. The drive train is made by Ford Motor Company. It has one wheel in front and two wheels behind. It's a trike by definition even though it has a steering wheel, automatic transmission, heat and A/C. Here's my 2008 Thoroughbred Stallion User Review that I did after I returned from Americade.

Just to show the different kinds of riders you see at Americade, I shot this picture while sitting on the porch of a pizza restaurant at noon. You can keep riding even if you are disabled. Just take along a wheelchair.



Our neighbors at the motel were Harley guys. They didn't seem to know much about Americade but they sure knew how to have a good time. Here's Jane posing with one of their Fat Boy motorcycles that they had parked on the porch next to our door to keep it out of the rain.



We rode up to Roaring Brook Ranch (RBR) two-up this evening to attend several seminars. We had a quick supper in the coffee shop before making the short walk to the seminar building. Pete Woodruff was speaking as we entered the room a bit late. We took seats in the back. This was a seminar on triking.

As the hour came to a close more and more people were entering the room and getting seats in anticipation of the seminar by Fred Rau. Fred writes for many motorcycle publications but is most known for his articles in Motorcycle Consumer News (MCN). Currently, Fred is also operating a motorcycle touring service in California.

As usual Fred confessed that he came unprepared to talk but would wing it. The audience didn't seem to care since Fred is usually a pretty funny speaker. He proceeded to place emphasis on his touring service especially personal experiences of the participants. The double room was completely full of people and laughter.

An hour or so after the seminars were over, there was a Balloon Glow. I saw this last year also. Basically it's three hot air balloons that are tethered to the ground with intermittent bursts of flame to light up the balloons. The whole thing has background music and a certain amount of narration by one of the balloon pilots to egg on the balloon keepers to fire up their flames so people can take pictures. Here's a picture of one of the balloons. I also took a short video of all three balloons going strong. (This video loads slowly. Let it complete in slow motion and then replay it to see full motion.)



After the Balloon Glow, we returned to the motel, parked the trike, and walked down Canada Street for a little night life. Here are a few pictures.

I got this picture of a Ward's Riverside motorcycle. Probably bought it right out of the catalog.





More to follow. Read the blog each day for further reports.

An evolving blog index to these Americade 2008 blog entries is also available.

Americade 2008 - Day 7

This year I'm publishing highlights of my activities at the 2008 Americade Motorcycle Rally, day by day in a blog. Americade is scheduled for June 2-7, this year. The blog will also include my preparation in getting ready to take the ride to Lake George, NY, my observations while there, the ride home, and getting back to normal.

The trip will now also include intermediate stop-offs at at our son's house in Boonton, NJ (three grandsons) and daughter's house in Middle Grove, NY (grandson and granddaughter). Our daughter made a move to the Saratoga Springs area last year after Americade. Since her house is now 25 miles south of Americade (and on the way), we now have a fringe benefit of making the trip.

I'm finding it difficult to stay up-to-date with this "daily" blog. It takes a lot of time out of a day to do a blog entry especially when pictures and videos are involved. I'll do the best I can but first priority will be going to doing the actual activities of Americade.

On Monday I got to thinking that I should do some demo rides. I didn't want to go out on straight motorcycle demos since I'm basically riding three wheels these days. I decided to sign-up for the Vectrix electric scooter, the Cam-Am Spyder, and the new Stallion trike made by Thoroughbred Motorsports, INC, a Motor Trike company.

On Tuesday, we got up early and rode up to the Lone Bull Restaurant, a favorite of many Americaders. We've eaten there almost every year we've attended Americade. It's part of our ritual. After breakfast we always ride down to Tour-Expo at 9 a.m. This year the ritual changed a little.

I decided to go to Americade headquarters at Roaring Brook Ranch (RBR) to register for my three demo rides while Jane rode to Tour-Expo. I would meet her there later.

I entered RBR and found Vectrix Scooters at the foot of the infamous corkscrew road on which a motorcycle dares not stop. I registered for a ride and was told to return in 40 minutes for the next ride. I didn't think I would get in so fast. While I waited, I decided to continue up the road to the next parking lot where Cam-Am Spyder was located.

Cam-Am had an elaborate sign-up process. I first signed-in and got a plastic tag on a cord to put around my neck. A special code was on the tag. I was told to get in another line that led up to four laptop workstations. When I reached the laptop, I sat down and followed a series of instructions. I had to pass the tag through a card reader. I then had to pass my drivers license through the card reader which read off my name and address. Then I answered various other questions about my experience with motorcycles. Finally, I signed a release and then got an armband that had my demo time on it. My appointment was to be in mid-afternoon on Tuesday.

I rode back down to the Vectrix demo and got briefed on its operation. The Vectrix is a zero-emission vehicle - no gas, no oil. It was quiet. Here's a 2008 Vectrix Road Test report that I did after I returned from Americade 2008. This report also contains a short video I took of a Vectrix demo group.

On the way out of RBR I stopped at the Thoroughbred Motorsports area where demos were being organized for the Stallion trike. I signed up for a demo on Wednesday morning at 9:40 a.m. Rain was expected overnight and into Wednesday morning but I took the chance that conditions would improve. I asked if I could add my wife to the demo as a passenger. I was told that she could sign-in at the demo tomorrow.

The Can-Am Spyder demo was held at 2:30 p.m. and seemed to be the most popular place at RBR. I first had to attend a 10-minute video on the technical features of the Spyder. Then there was a riders' meeting where the demo leader went over everything about the operation of the Spyder. They even gave you a short cone-weave test to make sure you could turn the vehicle and stop it. Hit a cone and you were out. Here's a 2008 Spyder Road Test report that I did after I returned from Americade 2008. This report also contains a short video I took of a Spyder demo group.

More to follow. Read the blog each day for further reports.

An evolving blog index to these Americade 2008 blog entries is also available.

Questioned

Borrowed from Rick Slark's Keep the rubber side down. http://keeptherubbersidedown.net/2008/06/04/questioned/

By the way. Thanks Rick!
Also a note that it is encouraged to either do one on his site in comments, or on anyone elses site including mine in comments, or simply copy and paste it from any other site, and do one of your own on your site. It would be nice to learn more about each other through this.

Questioned:

Favorite brand of bike? Harley Davidson

Favorite color of bike? Black and Chrome, with some subtle custom paint.

Do you always wear a helmet? No, never. Don't like the lack of vision, sound, or if going to a half helmet, the wind drag they give my melon. I don't have a windshield, seatbelt or airbags on my motorcycle either. Shame on me but I don't wear my seatbelt in a car either. I guess I figure in a car that a cage with airbags is safer that riding a motorcycle with or without a helmet.

Most miles ridden in a day? Never kept track, but my bike isn't made for touring. I'd guess 300-350 miles in one day at best.

Do you belong to a riding club? No, but I have several small groups of riders made up of friends I can ride with.

How many bikes do you currently own? Just one. I've never owned more than one at a time. This is my fourth, if you want to count my moped I had when I was 15 years old.

Do you wave at passing bikers? Most always, and to all kinds. I'm not biker predjudice, even though I prefer Harleys.

How many brand t-shirts do you own? Ten or so, but most are now grey Harley shirts that were once black. I only wear a couple in public.

Do people think you are obsessed with motorcycles? Yep, and damn proud of it. It is part of who I am.

What is your favorite type of riding? No preference, as long as I am riding. That is all that matters. I just love to ride.

Do you have any riding superstitions? Nope. Funny thing though, Lucky http://pizzacrusade.blogspot.com/2008/03/superstitious-bikers.html posted about superstitions, and I commented as follows:
Mr. Motorcycle said...
I'm not supersticious, except for that "knock on wood" thing. Don't know if I really believe in it all, but started doin it as a teenager and my wife does it now too. I think we do it out of habbit now more so than belief that it will actually do anything.I once had one of those bells on my bike. A friend gave it to me after I laid my bike down. Said I needed the good luck it would bring. It lasted about three rides before I ripped the damn thing off and chucked it into the woods. It drove me nuts. I haven't laid the bike down since.***You can't see me right now, but I'm Knocking On Wood.*** L.O.L.

Americade 2008 - Day 6

This year I'm publishing highlights of my activities at the 2008 Americade Motorcycle Rally, day by day in a blog. Americade is scheduled for June 2-7, this year. The blog will also include my preparation in getting ready to take the ride to Lake George, NY, my observations while there, the ride home, and getting back to normal.

The trip will now also include intermediate stop-offs at at our son's house in Boonton, NJ (three grandsons) and daughter's house in Middle Grove, NY (grandson and granddaughter). Our daughter made a move to the Saratoga Springs area last year after Americade. Since her house is now 25 miles south of Americade (and on the way), we now have a fringe benefit of making the trip.

I'm finding it difficult to stay up-to-date with this "daily" blog. It takes a lot of time out of a day to do a blog entry especially when pictures and videos are involved. I'll do the best I can but first priority will be going to doing the actual activities of Americade.

Monday arrived and we finished packing the trikes. I was a little concerned that I might have a recurrence of the vibration I had a few days ago. But it was time to finish the ride to Lake George.

It only took about 45 minutes to scoot up the Northway and get off at exit 22 that led down to our motel at the north end of Lake George. I registered and headed down the sloping hill to our room where unpacking started. We still hadn't gone to the Holiday Inn to complete our pre-registration so that was next.

Some people like to get in line at 8 a.m. and spend the next 3-4 hours working up to those tables where your pre-registration package has been squirreled away. Not me. The Americade message board contributors seem to enjoy this. Not me. I hate lines. When we usually arrive on Monday, at about 3 p.m. the line has disappeared. We did see a small line today but that was only because our name was early in the alphabet. Our friend Marion who has a last name beginning with R was told to walk right in. We waited a bit and took in some violin music provided by someone willing to give up his whole day to help entertain those people who really spent a long time in line. Our standing was over in 5 minutes, thankfully.

We headed back to the trikes and started for the exit to Canada Street. Now, Americade only allows you to turn right when you leave the Holiday Inn. It's just too confusing and dangerous to turn left with so much two-way motorcycle traffic. In the past we turned right, then quickly pulled off to get gas and then were able to pull out and turn left on Canada Street with no restriction -- still just as dangerous. Since we didn't need any gas, I had told Jane -- who was leading -- to pull off at the new diner (the old one burned down last year before Americade) and then we could just pull back onto Canada Street and go left. However, this time I saw a few extra words on the bottom of the Right Turn Only sign. It said to immediately turn on the next street for an easy way back to town. As Jane pulled out of the diner and was trying to turn left, she wasn't having any luck. I thought maybe it was time to try that nifty turn that would lead back to town. I told Jane over the CB to turn right instead and turn at the next street. But, she had some trouble understanding me.

Jane turned right and by the time I made it through the right hand turn, she was way ahead of me and past the "next right hand turn." I was now at that turn and made a right as I got back on the CB. "You missed the turn," I said.

"What turn?" said Jane. "I didn't see anything. I'm already at the next light and I'll just have to turn and go out to the Northway and bypass Lake George to exit 22."

"I guess I'll just stay on this route and see where it comes out," I said. "I'll see you back at the motel."

My route brought me around and back to Canada Street where the traffic was light. I turned left and headed through town working my way light-by-light through the heavy traffic. I arrived at the motel to see Jane waiting outside our room. She had beaten me back to the motel, as shown here with Jane between the two trikes.



By the way, I had no recurrence of the trike vibration on the 35 mile trip from Saratoga Springs to Lake George.

We had dinner across the street with members from the Spokes-Women Motorcycle Club, shown meeting before we walked across the street to the restaurant.



Afterward, we walked Canada Street and I took a few pictures and videos.









I came upon a group surrounding a bike. It was a Can-Am Spyder. I would be riding one tomorrow.





Canada Street Videos:

These videos load slowly. Let them complete in slow motion and then replay them to see full motion.

Video 1


Video 2


Video 3


More to follow. Read the blog each day for further reports.

An evolving blog index to these Americade 2008 blog entries is also available.

One liner biker wit

I'm not easily distrac-





Hey look a motorcycle!