Nova Scotia / Cape Breton Island

Eastern CT

Cape Cod

Lantern Hill

Mystic to Canada

Instead of re-writing this whole trip, I'll post the ride report that I posted on advrider. com. Here it is:

"Hello everyone.

A little background – About a month ago I bought a 2012 Triumph Scrambler. I’ve loved the style for sometime and decided to pull the trigger. Keep in mind I’m coming from only ever having ridden a 1974 Honda CB360 (and I’m talking recently, not in the ‘70s haha, so it’s an OLD bike) – so the Scrambler has plenty of power, comfort, guts, and glory for me. Experience is relative. So far it’s been the absolute perfect bike for me. I can cruise comfortably on the Interstate around 80, carve though twisties with fantastic handling and grace, and when I see a side road made of dirt, gravel, pine needles, or grass, I have the ability to check it out. It’s just an incredibly FUN motorcycle.

So this last week I had Thursday and Friday off, making it a 4-day weekend. I recently moved to New England (CT) from California, and so far I’d seen all the New England states (from a car) except Vermont. So I got the idea to make a run up through Vermont on the bike, to the Canadian border and back. It’s not exactly an around-the-world trek, but ya’know, baby steps!

The forecast called for rain. I decided to go for it anyway and pack rain gear, along with my camping supplies. By camping supplies I mean a tent and a sleeping pad, and that’s it haha. I was trying to keep things light, and just eat at cafes, restaurants, etc.

I’d never been on a motorcycle for more than a couple of hours, so this whole thing was a bit of a test run to see what the bike can do, and what I can do. I learned a few things about both.

I packed up the Scrambler Thursday morning. I have no luggage or rack system whatsoever on the bike, so I kinda fumbled and macgyver’d my way through it. I have a good hiking backpack that has straps on each side. I fastened the tent to one side and the sleeping pad to the other. Then I laid the whole setup flat on the rear end of the long, flat seat and used some tie-down straps to hold it in place. I looped these under the rear fender. Kinda ghetto, but it seemed to work until I figure out some sort of more permanent solution.

So finally I was off. The first leg of the trip, just to get to Vermont, was pretty uneventful. Mostly Interstates up through Hartford, Massachusetts and then to Brattleboro, VT. At this point I headed west to get to VT-100. I’d read good things about this road as the “must see” for cutting up through the state. I was not disappointed.

The day was overcast and not particularly beautiful, but it was dry, so I was happy. I really love getting onto the smaller 2-lane roads after being on the Interstate. The speeds are relaxed, the riding is comfortable, and you really get to SEE what you came to see. It’s on these back roads that you get to experience (or at least catch a glimpse of) towns, and communities that make up the real soul of America. I love to see these rural places, that time’s nearly forgot, and feel like I’m cruising through the story in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

Vermont instantly delivered. Everything is the most deep, luscious shade of GREEN. The fields, the hills, the forests, the lawns, it’s breathtaking. The small towns look like movie sets, everything is just right, and very New England. And I noticed even on the Interstates, you don’t see  billboards or tacky signs everywhere screaming at you to buy, buy, buy…it’s a very classical, timeless state. It’s like riding through an enormous, well-kept park, but still wild.

I headed up VT-100, enjoying all of these beautiful sights and smells (that lovely wood-fire stove smell fills much of the state….total nose-gasm), until I reached Gifford Woods State Park, where I would camp for the night. This park was beautiful. There were only 2 other campsites occupied. The nice, slightly awkward and nerdy teenage kid at the counter assigned me my spot (and warned of moose and bear in the area) and I was off to set up camp.

I cheerily unpacked my tent, got it up quickly, hearkening back to my days in the Boy Scouts. I’ve always loved camping (weather cooperating). Once I got all my gear unpacked, I hopped back on the bike and headed out to hunt some dinner. In the next town (Pittsfield?) I found a little deli and hoovered one of the best turkey bacon club sandwiches I ever have in my life. Fantastic. Then I headed back to camp and not a minute after I got all situated in my tent, the sky opened up and rains came down.

The sound of the rain on the tent was very hypnotic and before too long I was dozing like a baby. The next morning was…well…crappy. It had rained all night, and was STILL raining. Breaking camp, packing a tent, and then packing a motorcycle in the pouring rain is, as I now have learned, a huge pain in the ass.

Everything was muddy, soggy, and cold. (It was in the 50s). I had bought some Tourmaster rainproof gloves, which actually held up really well – once you got them on. The problem was, if your hands were the least bit moist or clammy, as they are when you’re packing, getting gas, or anything else in the rain…then it’s near impossible to get your hands/fingers into the glove. They just stick to the inner lining. Very irritating. Once the whole packing debacle was over though, the rest of the day was pretty fantastic, even with the rain.

The Scrambler held up and performed extremely well in the wet conditions. There was a sizable stretch of VT-100 that was under construction – unpaved, muddy, full of potholes – and it was a hoot to ride through on that bike (though I’m still cleaning caked and baked mud from the engine). Once I hit I-89 I hopped on there and headed up past Burlington to the border. I don’t have a current passport so I could go no further, but I snapped a few photos at the Canadian border and headed south again. Throughout this basic route, I took many small detours down small roads, or little offshoots, so I took a lot of time to cover a relatively short distance (and in the rain, I wasn’t trying to break any speed limits either).  I headed back down and got a hotel room in Barre. I could have camped again, but I cringed at the thought of getting out my tent, which was packed away wet and muddy, and setting it up in the continual downpour. Not very adventurous of me, but the warm shower and comfortable bed made me glad I opted for the creature comforts.

The next day I headed south for home. The forecast called for rain again, but by 9 am or so the clouds had cleared and the rest of the day was just perfect riding conditions. I cruised down 89 and 91 though some of the most amazing scenery. Hilly vistas, dense forests, sprawling meadows. It’s like a little version of Switzerland (or Colorado for that matter). Just beautiful.

Once I got into Mass, I hit the 2-lane roads again and cut over to route 32, and took that down into Conn., eventually winding my way down to Mystic.  Western Mass is also very beautiful and has a great New England charm to it. Worth a visit.

So after this 3-day trip through Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont, here are my basic summaries…

The bike:

The Triumph Scrambler in my humble opinion, is a fantastic motorcycle. It held up incredibly well, purred like an angry lion the whole time. It just loves to be ridden. You almost feel bad when you have to shut her off to get gas, etc. because you get a sense when riding, that the motorcycle is having as much fun as you are. It wants to be out there on the road, it needs it, just like I do.

I had fit a small windscreen on the front (from Twisted Throttle, just up the road in RI) which helps cut down the wind on your body and greatly reduced fatigue. The wind still catches my helmet, but I’m not holding on for dear life like I used to without the screen, going upwards of 65 mph. I could use some real luggage set up, for these smaller trips, strapping a bag to the seat works fine. I have no other mods – other than the TOR exhaust which was already on the bike from the only previous owner (and sounds beautiful).

My gear:

I need better rain gloves. And I could use a better full face helmet. Around here I usually just wear a ¾ Biltwell helmet and goggles. But for the distance/rain, I used my old Vega full face helmet, which kinda sucks. It’s loud, REALLY loud. And kind of uncomfortable. I had rainproof pants over my regular pants, and an old waterproof North Face jacket over my other shirt/jacket. While not proper riding gear, all of this kept me warm and dry.

The route:

I highly recommend taking a ride through Vermont if you haven’t been. It was everything I had hoped it would be, and I only saw what I saw, there are many roads and corners of the state that I have yet to explore. It’s a place set apart – there’s a great, slow pace and a realness to the landscape, to the towns, to the few people I met. I hardly hit any traffic whatsoever, which was also nice. It’s just very rural. Very wild.

All in all, I had a great few days in a great place on a great motorcycle. And for me, that’s what it’s all about. I don’t consider myself a hardcore adventure rider, but adventure is a loose term. And a relative term. Compared to sitting on my couch or at my office, carving around sweeping curves in the rain on a rural road in Vermont IS an adventure.

It ended up being 686 miles from door to door. I’ve got the bug. It was the first of hopefully many such trips on the Scrambler. I’ve got my sights set on riding up through Maine to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Anyone ridden that way? Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this silly “ride report” – Here’s to many more. Safe riding!"

Conanicut Island

 

Today I rode from Mystic to Beaver Tail Lighthouse and back. The lighthouse is part of Jamestown (Conanicut Island), Rhode Island. Yesterday I rode up to Twisted Throttle and picked up a windscreen for the Scrambler. Today was my first time testing it out. It was unfortunately a very windy day, which made it tough to judge (some friends that were going skydiving were cancelled on by the company due to high winds). Even so, there was a significant reduction in the wind that hits the chest/body, which really cut down on fatigue. Usually, going anywhere upwards of 50 or 60 mph I'm fighting the air pretty hard, but there's nothing hitting the chest with this thing. The air starts hitting right about chin level. Which still wears you out after a few hours (did 4 hours on the bike today), but it's definitely an improvement. I'm still deciding if I like the look of it or not. I'd prefer to not have it at all, it's just the looks/functionality ratio I have to dial in. 

Conanicut Island was beautiful. The open landscape, the tall grasses, the fields. It's just a beautiful part of New England. It reminded me very much of Denmark, even down to the smell of the grass and the sea air. I rode out to the lighthouse and then did some exploring down small farm roads (even some barely-there double track thru grass - I love riding through grass). All in all it was a great day. The Scrambler performed beautifully, even with the obnoxious winds. 

With this upcoming trip through Massachusetts and Vermont, I'm going to try and stay off of the Interstates as much as possible. In the few weeks that I've been exploring and riding this Scrambler, I've come to discover my preference really lies in two-lane, rural roads. Cruising along at 50 or 60, sweeping corners, seeing the landscape and the soul of the country. The bike seems happier in that environment as well. Pointing the bike straight down the slab and just holding 80 mph for hours just doesn't appeal to me the same way. If all goes to plan, I will be heading out either Thursday or Friday morning, riding North. 

Arcadia / Rhode Island

Today I planned on heading up to a motorcycle shop in Rhode Island to look at jackets and boots. It's right off I-95, but there's no real adventure in that, so I decided to take the long way round. I headed north up 49 to Voluntown and then headed east on 165 (Beach Pond Road). I'd been out this way many months ago in the truck but didn't really know where I was. It's strange how it almost instantly changes when you cross into RI - the trees are taller, more pines, more dense.  A little more wild. I stopped off at Beach Pond (first photo) and shut the bike down to just take in the breeze and the quiet. It was perfect weather today. 

I continued east and saw some small dirt roads going off to the south, into the forest. I pulled a U-turn and headed down one of them. I rode another mile or so and then smaller roads started branching off to the east. I took a couple of these, explored into the darker forest until they'd end at a trail head or fishing hole, and turn around to find another. I think that's the greatest thing about this motorcycle; the versatility. You can smoothly whirr thru the gears on pavement and pull a comfortable 80 or 85 mph; and then you can turn off onto a gravel or pine-covered dirt road and it feels equally at home. It's just incredibly fun.

There's just something indescribable about riding a motorcycle on a beautiful day. Something about it that just feels natural. Here you are, unobstructed by steel and glass, moving through your environment in pleasant harmony with the ground beneath you, the open skies above you, the trees waving beside you, and the air - the ever-present wind, with all it's aromas and temperatures and countless other sensations - flowing over you. You feel alive. And you never want it to end. 

Once I found the motorcycle shop, there was some massive event going on with parking attendants and lines of people everywhere, and I quickly decided I'd rather be riding than dealing with that mess. So I continued on, and looped south down 112 to Charlestown (great twisty road through some incredibly beautiful country). Then I headed west towards Mystic on Route 1, taking little detours to East Beach, RI and Watch Hill, RI. When I got back into town I headed straight for the Snack Shack and had a bacon cheeseburger, onion rings and a Dr. Pepper. Pretty good day.