June 7th Seacoast Ride - HMR and MT Washington!
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(MORE PICS HERE)
After skipping the Hurricane Mountain Ride last year, we brought it back on Sunday. This had to be among the best of the best rides ever!
By 8:30 there were 21 riders assembled, fueled up, geared up and, thanks to John at Seacoast, coffeed and donuted up?!
Ducatis - 8 (including the surprise of the day for me, Rob (aka Cheese), on his 848)
Aprilias - 4
Moto Guzzi - 1
BMW - 2
Honda - 1
Yamaha - 1
Suzuki - 1
Kawasaki - 3
It was great seeing so many old friends and a bunch of new guys too. Which brings me to a question.
Were all the women saving themselves for next weeks 'Hello Ladies Ride'? I ask because this might as well have been the 'Hello Men Ride'! Not a single member of the fairer sex attended!
ASSEMBING AT SEACOAST
After a brief riders meeting we left promptly at 8:30 and wound our way on 102 through Chester and on to 107 through Deerfield, Northfield, and down into Pittsfield where we jumped on 28! We were given a lesson in patience by a gentleman in a Subaru who demonstrated what it feels like to ride at exactly the speed limit of 35mph. I learned I don't like 'patience' very much. (Actually, I've known that for ever...) There isn't much chance to pass legally and with 20 bikes in tow we all took the lesson for what it was worth. Eventually he pulled off and we carried on! (There were other lessons in patience as the day went on but it was AMAZING how many times we were able to ride at will, unimpeded! And I'll leave it to the imagination as to what that really means...!)
In the interest of getting to the interesting bits sooner, we took 28 through Wolfboro and out onto 16.
We stopped short of Conway to fuel up and grab subs at Subway. A few of the more thirsty exotic twins need to be near gas at little over 100 miles! Small price to pay for such rides!
SUBWAY
We had come this far without a misturn or a break in the group. We were stuck together like links in a chain or, maybe, more like a elastic band. There's only one reason a ride this large works well. An expert SWEEP at the back who keeps everyone together and lets the lead know that all's well.
Terry (NHbusa) is the man! Thank you sir, for your service! (Actually, I had to bribe him with the promise that he will be Sweep on next weeks 'Hello Ladies Ride'. There is no doubt in my mind that that's a job that all the men in pink would volunteer for. Anyone got a video camera for Terry!?!)
On into Conway and West Road past Catherdral and Whitehorse ledges. And then. A left. A mile or so later a right. And then.
On to Hurricane Mountain Road!
I had tried to explain to all the folks who were new to this 6 mile goat path what to expect! I got to the end, jumped off my bike and snapped a few pics as the rest of the group came sailing down!
HMR
And, the obligatory Group Photo!
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I believe that everyone enjoyed themselves on HMR...but I also believe folks were getting hungry. So, on to Evans Notch.
Its a spirited romp back into the White Mountain National Forest section in Maine! In particular, there is a very quick straight away over a completely blind crest that drops away rather sharply. I know it well but some of the others experienced the same WHOA, WTF moment as the drove toward the crest. It's a fun and surprising little piece of the ride!
We were behind a pick up with Kyaks once we entered the park so the pace was pretty tepid. Which, is probably just as well given the condition of the road. In no time we were at the picnic area where we took over the entire parking lot!
LUNCH!
Although it was slightly overcast when we left Derry, by now the weather was perfect. High scattered clouds, and previous views of Mt Washington showed a clear summit. So, after lunch, we had a nice spirited ride through the rest of Evans Notch and pointed west to Gorham where we gassed up again before the short ride to the Mt. Washington Auto Road.
As we bought our tickets we saw that the temp at the summit was 40 degrees and wind gusting to 40 knots. But clear and dry. It really doesnt get much better than that so off we went, with the 20mph and no passing rules firmly in mind. Right up until we were out of sight of the ticklet booth!
I love the ride to the summit but have to admit there are plenty of opportunities for the mind to say, "Yikes, what if...?" And the result of that imaginary exploration is never good! I also didnt realize that Mark (Tuonomark) is deathly afraid of heights!
Everyone arrived safely at the summit!
and several of us headed to the 'Peak' for another group photo snapped by a very lovely mother of a very lovely daughter!
We all milled about for a bit and took in the HUGE view.
And how huge was it?
IT WAS THIS HUGE!!!
...and no, that's NOT a repost!
Eventually, we regrouped and headed back to the bottom. Some quick. Some slow. But all intact and welcoming of the warmth.
And for Mark, grateful to be down, and, in his words, "I have done it and never have to do it again!"
(I told him that if he wanted to kiss the ground he'd have to take off his helmet!)
Already an awesome day, there was more good stuff to come.
We bolted south past Pinkham notch and on to 302 where we picked up Bear Notch Road. Still a little bumpy, we encountered only a couple of cars where we were able to pass easily and made short work of the jaunt to the intersection of the Kanc. Everyone still together we had a spirited ride to the lookout about 10 miles to the west where half the group stopped and watched the other half, so intent on the experience, whip past! They all saw us and turned around and we were all together in no time at all!
At this point, my camera battery died so I have no more pictures! In reality, after stopping for gas in Lincoln, we really didn't stop again except to say goodbyes just before we finally intersected with Rt 89.
Which is not to say the rest of the ride wasn't awesome. We followed 112 to 118 and were able to ride our own pace all the way to the end. From there, we took 118 to 25 to a bunch of 'Private Stock' roads that eventually spilled us out into Goffstown.
What a day. For me, 350 miles without a single foot on interstate or 4 lane. Entertaining roads the whole way with a balance of twisties to challenge and scenic to recover!
Here's hoping everyone else enjoyed this as much as I did.
And HUGE thanks to EVERYONE for riding so well.
HUGE thanks to Seacoast for providing the launching pad and java.
And HUGE thanks to Terry for riding Sweep!
Next ride is The Curtis Ribs Ride July 5th. For those of you not too hungover to join, this was a really fun ride last year!
Thanks again all...!!!
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Originally Posted by hoffmanas
