App Gap Status

[markbvt]

17 is bumpy as all hell this year! Its getting a bit better since I last rode it, I ran it this weekend, but still, the Bristol side is terrible. Hard to get good drives outta corners when the bike is buckin all over the place.

Even worse that that is braking into the corners heading westbound (downhill), when the front end gets upset by the bumps and divots in the pavement.

It's getting to the point that you need a dual-sport to have fun on the App Gap.

--mark

[Falko]

I was thinking about a weekday run up there next week. Is it worth the long ride or wait till later in the year for the heaves to smooth?
Thanks

[catamount]

Not trying to be a pissah....

But why all the hype about throwing a knee down at the App Gap (not talking about anybody specifically here)?

I ask because I think the emphasis gets put on dragging a knee instead of body position, lean angle, proper technique, etc.

It's a great question that I'll always wonder about myself.

Case in point... this guy has his knee down:



These guys don't:

[tsanterre]

[markbvt]

I was thinking about a weekday run up there next week. Is it worth the long ride or wait till later in the year for the heaves to smooth?
Thanks

How far do you have to go to get there?

I wouldn't bother making it a destination -- it's just in too shitty shape. If it's part of a longer route, great, but if you're just heading that way to ride the App Gap, it's not really worth it anymore.

The problem isn't so much the frost heaves, it's the ripples and huge cracks that have developed in the pavement (some of them exactly where you'd typically want to put your tires going around a turn).

--mark

[tsanterre]

How far do you have to go to get there?

I wouldn't bother making it a destination -- it's just in too shitty shape. If it's part of a longer route, great, but if you're just heading that way to ride the App Gap, it's not really worth it anymore.

The problem isn't so much the frost heaves, it's the ripples and huge cracks that have developed in the pavement (some of them exactly where you'd typically want to put your tires going around a turn).

--mark

Very true. So many great roads in VT that are ruined because of crappy pavement.

I enjoy Huntington Road leading to the Gap more than the gap itself. Although it's a bit more residential and has a pretty low posted speed limit.

[Falko]

Thanks.
i start a new job week after next, looks like i'll be finishing here this week. Gives me some down time to rack up some miles. Any word on rte 9 across the bottom? I don't want to hijack the thread, but it seems some local VT'ers checking this thread. Maybe some other suggestions? Thanks.

[markbvt]

Rt 9 has some nice sweepers, but it tends to be fairly high-traffic.

There are lots of great roads in Vermont -- just look at Google Maps and plan out a loop that looks good. You can't really go wrong as long as you avoid Rt 7 as much as possible (nothing wrong with it, just boring). The Adirondacks have a lot of great riding as well.

--mark

[tech1234]

Upset? Naw. I've touched a knee down a time or two on 17 but the turns are too sharp to make me happy. I don't like how low speed some of them are and when the bike isn't rev'd into oblivion, it just feels off so to speak.

If the turns weren't as sharp as they are, or tight, like heading west @ the picnic table...it would be a lot better. Hence why T**** rd takes the cake. Longer open turns and the pavement NYDOT decided to throw down is really really nice

what is T**** rd?

i do the app gap at least 3 times a year. great ride and american flatbread is up there! its 300 miles round trip for me so i hope the road isnt getting too bad! i hate to go that far for bad pavement

[RandyO]

No idea what the dust stuff is, no one knows really.

I don't think theres is any question what the dust is, winter salt residue. they use so much of it up there that rain just moves it from one spot to another and never really washes it away

[scottfromboston]

I thought the App Gap was closed winters.

[TIMMYDUCK]

I thought the App Gap was closed winters.

No, it is open year round.

Lincoln Gap to the South and Smugglers Notch to the North are the ones that close.

[RandyO]

I thought the App Gap was closed winters.

60± years ago when it was McCullough Turnpike, always been open even before it became part of Rt 17 in 1965

[markbvt]

Christ. Randy = New England road encyclopedia.

--mark

[RandyO]

Christ. Randy = New England road encyclopedia.

--mark

no, just a coincidence that's where I grew up

[Doc]

60± years ago when it was McCullough Turnpike, always been open even before it became part of Rt 17 in 1965

I still call it that and people don't know what I am talking about.

[RandyO]

I still call it that and people don't know what I am talking about.

when I was little, my great grandfathers house was on a dirt road that is now known as Rt 17, the turnpike was paved over the mountain from the intersection with the Gore road. my uncle had a camp just a couple hundred feet in the woods from the A-frame house at the 2nd hairpin. There were several picnic spots on the way up to the top, good trout fishin in the brook

[Cambridge K]

3:50 in the video is where we found a Harley wedged under the guardrail - No Rider anywhere - the next day someone painted on the guardrail "The Mt. Gotta Ya" Here's our outing - bottom of pg. 7 photo of the Harley, pg. 8 gets better,http://forums.pelicanparts.com/bmw-r...-5-31-a-7.html
Then dinner & drinking and the townie come out - good weekend - there's a group going up next weekend - http://forums.pelicanparts.com/bmw-r...y-15-16-a.html
FYI