NE Trip Next September

[tallyho]

Good day to all in the Northeast.

I'm looking for some local route, lodging, and food ideas for the Berkshires and the southern coast of Maine. With respect to lodging, we're interested in the local flavor/experience and not too concerned with cost as long as the value proposition is there. Pretty much the same with the food. Two couples traveling together. For example, some place on or near the Maine coast with a great lobster place within walking distance would be great. We'd prefer not to do B&Bs unless there is a really compelling reason. We'll be spending about three days in the northeast then have to start heading back toward California.

Is it realistic to run from say Altoona, PA to southern ME in one day and take more time on the return route with a stop in the Berkshires and then to Niagara?

Any thoughts, esteemed BMW riders of the Northeast?

[Omega Man]

Here is a show on Boston channel 5 that airs weeknights at 7:30 pm. I watch it regular and chances are you can get some ideas. http://www.thebostonchannel.com/chronicle/index.html Enjoy, Gary

[tommcgee]

Western MA is good, the entire state of Vermont is good, SW and northern NH is good, southern Maine is good if you seek out the waterfront, but it's best Downeast in Hancock county as well as the western mountains.

Best lobstah roll in the world is at Red's in Wiscasset, ME.

[tallyho]

Good stuff so far. Thanks!

[johncolleton]

Check out the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, MA. There might also be a show at Tanglewood in nearby Lenox Ma that you could attend.

[Friedle]

If you plan your trip for the later part of Sept, you could attend the Colors in the Catskills 4 being held the first weekend of October, 2011 at Hunter, NY.

Check down a couple of items on this forum for a comprehensive thread of this great event.

Friedle

[Theo]

Tallyho --

I would suggest nabbing a copy of the Mad Maps Northeast map. Some great routes are listed on there, as are a number of really neat roadhouses/scenic stops. You can also download Mad Maps to your Garmin GPS.

Altoona to Portland is a VERY long day! Remember, it's not just the miles, it's the amount of traffic, the bikes you'll be riding, and the awareness/courteousness of the cage drivers. Having learned to drive in Italy and having been a resident of three other states, I find drivers in New England (at least MY area) to be the reason I would not want to plan a 10-hour haul. Of course, I am one of those drivers, too!

A stop in Lenox, MA will be fairly easy 7-hour jaunt on the superslab. The earlier suggestion of the Red Lion Inn will reward you with local flavor and a needed rest. Your next day to ME will be shorter, and you will be more relaxed for the part of the route where a relaxed, rested approach will be welcomed.

Now that leaf season is over, the coastal ME traffic will have eased. Rt. 1 is wonderful but can offer some unwanted traffic tie-ups in popular coastal areas.

PM me with the dates when you might be passing though the Springfield area on the Mass Pike (or other roads) and I'll try to catch up with you for a quick rest break!

[tallyho]

If you plan your trip for the later part of Sept, you could attend the Colors in the Catskills 4 being held the first weekend of October, 2011 at Hunter, NY.

Check down a couple of items on this forum for a comprehensive thread of this great event.

Friedle

Thanks for the idea but we'll be out of the NE by the 13th or so.

[tallyho]

Tallyho --

I would suggest nabbing a copy of the Mad Maps Northeast map. Some great routes are listed on there, as are a number of really neat roadhouses/scenic stops. You can also download Mad Maps to your Garmin GPS.

Altoona to Portland is a VERY long day! Remember, it's not just the miles, it's the amount of traffic, the bikes you'll be riding, and the awareness/courteousness of the cage drivers. Having learned to drive in Italy and having been a resident of three other states, I find drivers in New England (at least MY area) to be the reason I would not want to plan a 10-hour haul. Of course, I am one of those drivers, too!

A stop in Lenox, MA will be fairly easy 7-hour jaunt on the superslab. The earlier suggestion of the Red Lion Inn will reward you with local flavor and a needed rest. Your next day to ME will be shorter, and you will be more relaxed for the part of the route where a relaxed, rested approach will be welcomed.

Now that leaf season is over, the coastal ME traffic will have eased. Rt. 1 is wonderful but can offer some unwanted traffic tie-ups in popular coastal areas.

PM me with the dates when you might be passing though the Springfield area on the Mass Pike (or other roads) and I'll try to catch up with you for a quick rest break!

Very cool and useful information. Right now the plan is to be up in the that area Sept 12-14.(2011) I'm sure I'll have a better idea when the time gets closer. Yes, it's hard to get a feel of travel speeds from looking at a map of an unfamiliar area. We really don't want to make it a speed run anyway. I'd rather take more time in the NE and make it up on the other side of the Mississippi where 400 miles runs in 5-6 hours are very doable.(KS, UT, NV, etc)

[Theo]

{snip}...Right now the plan is to be up in the that area Sept 12-14.(2011)...(snip)

Ah! Yes, sorry 'bout that. So you've got a year to plan this whole thing!

The timing should still be good as school will have started and there will be fewer folks in the coastal area of Maine. Be sure to consider Bar Harbor ("Bah Habah") and the Acadia NP. You can take the bikes up to Cadillac Mtn. and see sunrise before the rest of the continental US.

On the way back from Maine, go across Rt. 2 into New Hampshire and the town of Gorham. From there you can take the bikes down Rt. 16 and up Mt. Washington (6,288 ft on an auto road WITHOUT guardrails!), then take Bear Notch Rd in Bartlett to the Kancamagus Scenic Hwy for some of the best bike roads in New England.

Good places to stay (not B&Bs) in Gorham/Bartlett area are The Town & County Motor Inn (Gorham) and the Attitash Grand Summit Hotel (Bartlett). The T&C is no frills, reasonably inexpensive, and has a good basic restaurant. The Grand Summit Hotel is an upscale, modern Lodge with luxurious rooms, a very good restaurant and a snack/sandwich shop. Located next to Bear Notch Rd, you might expect to actually see a bear; and last summer one crossed in front of me in the parking lot on a rainy evening! Of course, that was also the night I saw 2 moose on Rt. 16, too! The Atitash GSH welcomes touring bikers. Contact Jack Lufkin and tell him Theo recommended the GSH!

[glenfiddich]

Visit WhitehorseGear.com and order their motorcycling in New England book for starters. I have no knowledge of Mass and CT, as they are in the Deep South. But if you intend to spend any time in VT, drop me a line. I know the roads pretty well and my wife works in tourism, so knows all sorts of little tidbits. And I'm up for a beer or shop time if you need repairs, new rubber, etc. I live halfway between Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and Smugglers' Notch.

Pete

[statdawg]

Tallyho --Altoona to Portland is a VERY long day! Remember, it's not just the miles, it's the amount of traffic, the bikes you'll be riding, and the awareness/courteousness of the cage drivers. Having learned to drive in Italy and having been a resident of three other states, I find drivers in New England (at least MY area) to be the reason I would not want to plan a 10-hour haul. Of course, I am one of those drivers, too!
!

Agree, I live 160 miles northeast of Altoona and Portland is a long haul. The slab in the northeast of Pennsylvania is just as bad as the Philadelphia corridor. The area has many shipping hubs for the big box stores, meaning more tractor trailer traffic. One bad accident or bridge repair and you will be sitting in a parking lot or traveling at 10 miles an hour.

I would split the trip to Portland over two days and take the backway up through the Endless Mountains of Pennsylvania, the Catskills and into New England.

[Omega Man]

One bad accident or bridge repair and you will be sitting in a parking lot or traveling at 10 miles an hour.

Actually we've graduated-now it only takes thinking of an accident or bridge repair anywhere between New York and Portland on the I95 corridor to bring everything to a stop. Gary

http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/showthread.php?t=48905

[tommcgee]

I live halfway between Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and Smugglers' Notch.

Nice landmarks, Pete!

[tallyho]

This is great information and I'll be checking my maps this weekend. I agree we'll need at least two days to get up to Portland as you've suggested. Nothing like excellent local recon data!

So you have a flavor for the trip, we're all from California. We're shipping the bikes to Bob's BMW in Jessup, MD touring the NE a bit and heading back to CA. From Bob's we're heading up to Altoona where my brother and mother live. Although my brother has lived in Altoona for probably 20 years, he's never been north of NYC(maybe Niagara) and completely useless for the kind of info you guys are providing.

Here's one for you. We had "hoped" to attend the opening of the Flight 93 Memorial on Sept 11th. The site is pretty close to Altoona. Most on the plane were not just from California but from the Bay area close to us. Do you think this will be a complete zoo and something to avoid? Maybe we should see it on the way back from the NE several days after it debuts?

Keep it coming. I'm listening!