2021 NORTHEAST DUAL SPORT MOTORCYCLE ADVENTURE These are Rene Larrave's notes of his motorcycle adventure exploring the Northeast Backcountry Discovery Route (NE BDR). The newest route going from Virginia all the way to Canada in big dual sport adventure motorcycles. Our group consists of 4 motorcycles (3 BMW R1200GS Adventure and one R1200GS). The plan is to alternate camping and hotels to better enjoy nature ... and the bears.
After a nice breakfast at out hotel, suited up with all my rain gear and headed to Providence, RI, for a couple of days with Christian and Annabeth after a great few days commuting through nature.
The NE BDR was indeed a great experience. Gained a greater appreciation for states that we seldom visit. Beautifully maintained wildernesses.
Left camp and went to pick up Chuck in Woodstock. The bed and breakfast where he stayed was owned and run by Rafael from Guatemala, Dana, and their 2 little boys. Small world. Rafael's grandmother had a finca near Patzun which is where Pam is doing most of her non-profit work. A small world indeed.
Had tea and talked about how they met, Guatemala, snow, and life in general.
Today we decided to skip all C4 roads as the whole State is way too wet and rain started coming down again this morning.
As we were riding, we found a group from Moto Vermont doing some dirt riding drills in an open field. Met Spencer the owner who told us that the upcoming C4 road was not as hard as the other ones so we went for it. Difficult but not at the level of the previous days. Riding in mud and ruts while the motorcycle is sliding sideways had now become second nature.
After lunch at the famous General Store in Warren, the rain began to really coming down. We tried some dirt roads but they were way too slippery. It was even hard to stop going down hill. Rear and front wheels locked and the motorcycle still sliding down. Not a good thing.
So, we decided to head straight to our hotel for the night on pavement, the Lake Morey Resort in Failee, VT.
What a great setting. Looks like Germany or Switzerland. In front of a beautiful lake, with lots of activities and water sports for families. Reminds me of the resort in Dirty Dancing.
After picking up camp, we spent the day going through a myriad of roads in the Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont. C4's continue. Wow.
We had lunch at Chester out on the veranda of this nice old hotel. Lots of history around here.
Andy and I decided to camp at Coolidge State Park which is a few miles from President Coolidge birth home. Chuck went to Woodstock to find a hotel and Richard decided to start making him way back to Dallas.
Nice campsite, nice fire, nice dinner, and on to bed.
After a good breakfast at camp, headed to Lee to meet the rest of the group (Andy, Chuck, Richard). A great leisurely ride through beautiful NY and Massachusetts backroads. The GPS took me straight through Hudson, NY, which is were Christian used to live. As I was riding into town I realized I had been there and recognized all the places we used to hang out when we visited. Pretty cool.
Andy, Richard, and Chuck rode through some heavy rain last night as they were coming to Lee but all made it safely. Once we got together in Lee, we headed north to continue our adventure following the BDR route.
A great was to start the day through some great forest roads. Easy riding. Our first stop was Mount Greylock. At 3500ft, it is one of the highest points in Massachusetts. Climbed the tower (memorial) to the very top and had lunch at the lodge. Amazing views in all directions. On our way down, we took the dirt path. Steep fun downhill all the way.
In the afternoon, we finally got indoctrinated into what a Class 4 road in Vermont and Massachusetts means. Basically, unmaintained, nasty paths through the forests. Wow! Spooky stuff. Mud, water puddles, slippery rocks, step ledges up and down, muddy ruts ... motorcycles sliding everywhere. Not for the faint hearted. On the other hand, it is amazing what these big motorcycles can do when handled with care and love : ). After a few wipeouts and lots of sliding in the mud, we made it through.
After those C4 nasty roads, we finally made it into Readsboro. At the general store, we met the new owner. A Korean American from NYC that had just bought the store 6 months ago and was having the time of his life out here in the woods with his family. He gave us some kimchi for our dehydrated camp food. A great addition.
We camped at Woodford State just outside Readsboro. Our first camping experience in Vermont. Got fire wood, fire starters, and camped next to the lake. Watch the sunset and had a nice fire for dinner.
A great way to end a very rough riding day.
!
We had a nice veggie egg scramble breakfast at the diner across the street from our hotel in Andes. It was a picturesque setting. Sitting on the veranda on Main Street surrounded by typical upstate New York buildings. A general store. A pub. A hotel.
We met John Veglak the night before while he was riding his KTM 690. We had a long conversations about motorcycles, the BDR, trips around the world, and life in general. He decided to join us for today's ride. He is from NYC but had a house close by. He also has a GS and used to do track days. Great to have him along as he knows the area very well.
The only warning he gave us was a "nasty hill" before Prattsville. Apparently, this should have been labeled expert in the BDR map but instead there was only a note for an easy bypass on the map. We decided to give it a go and see what this "hill" was all about.
Well, we thought it was only the downhill that was hairy but when we least expected we were faced with a very steep incline full of big loose rocks with water (rivers really) coming down the road. Just enough time to downshift and hit the throttle to get some momentum going. There was no stoping once committed! Wow.
Richard was going to take the detour given that he was riding a new motorcycle but John told us at the top of the mountain that he was right behind him at the start of the hill so we waited. After a while, we assumed he turned around before the "hill" to t are the detour so we went on to Prattsville for lunch and to wait for him.
Once in Prattsville we were able to briefly connect (bad cell service) with Richard. He was indeed stuck so Chuck decided went around the detour to meet him. After a brief message, we knew they had met and after a couple of hours with no more news, John, Andy, and I assumed they had gone on so we set out to catch up. The ride in the afternoon was one of the most beautiful areas we have ridden so far.
Great riding through beautiful woods and mountains. For a while we rode though very tight, overgrown, unmaintained roads with lots of water puddles, and areas where we had to crouch to get through the low lying branches and vegetation. Fun.
Eventually, we all met in Windham at around 4pm to load gas and to decide our plans for the night.
We said goodbye to John as he headed back to Andes. Richard and Chuck decided to stay at a hotel in Lee. Andy and I loaded water and decided to camp. I went ahead to scout our camping site while Andy finished working some real estate deal with Richard.
Found a great camping site next to a nice lake in the North-South Lake State Park.
First night of camping. Dehydrated beef stroganoff for dinner and a nice cappuccino before bed.
Ooops. A big storm is coming. Time to batten down the hatches.
Tomorrow we are planning to make it through Massachusetts to reach Vermont where allegedly the best and most challenging riding is.
After a some coffee and breakfast egg sandwiches on the balcony at the lodge, we finished getting our motorcycles ready and headed out to get gas, water, and adventure.
It was still misting when we left. Everything was wet. The road, the trees, the dirt, the gravel, the rocks, but not bad enough to require rain gear.
The day started with some easy gravel roads through some great landscapes. The woods, the rivers, the hills. This is like Disneyland or Epcot. Everywhere you look you see a perfect setting. The mountains, the impossibly green grass, the trees, the red barns, the white fences. It is like they hired a landscape architect to design this whole area.
We followed the south and the north sides of the Delaware river through some beautiful forests. The small rivers coming down the mountains to the Delaware followed stepped stones in between the trees that were almost hypnotic. Very cool. Chuck almost hits a big turkey in one of those turns. And deer were everywhere.
All in all a great ride in a the mist, fog, through deep green forests up and down the Catskill Mountains. Magical. Nothing too hard yet. A couple of interesting sections and a log blocking the road that forced us to go around into the wilds. The tall grass covering muddy ruts made me think of Siberia. Spooky but it was nice to not be alone in case a big ditch full of mud materialized all of a sudden.
We had lunch in Downsville at the Old Schoolhouse, on the lawn. Very civilized. A great old building with a pub and rooms full of stuffed animals. Their specialty was Longhorn burgers that they process themselves at their farm. I had to have one. Wow.
We also crossed our first covered bridge.
In Andes, we checked in at our hotel on the Main Street and had dinner on the balcony.
After an incredible weekend at BMW's DoubleRFest at the Virginia International Raceway (VIR) running our S1000RR's at 150+mph in the front straight, we headed north to the start of the northeast Backcountry Discovery Route (NE BDR) for a change of pace ... dirt, nature, camping.
After 11 track sessions over the weekend at VIR, I would like to report that the new S1000RR is amazing. The electronics and the ability to fine tune what you want the bike to do (i.e., traction control, engine response, engine braking, wheelie control, suspension, etc.) is out of this world. And, it is also sooo light. It feels like it is turning by itself when you look down a turn. Very confidence inspiring. A truly amazing machine.
So, after a couple of rain microbursts Sunday afternoon, we packed the “Motopia race team” paddock (4 tents, 8 chairs, 5 motorcycles, tables, rugs, fans, generators, food, drinks, stands, warmers, helmets, suits, etc.) and headed north.
After 4 hours of driving, I took a small detour to park the Revel (camper) by a river at the Seven Bends State Park in Virginia. Grateful to have a 4x4. It got interesting and steep getting down to the campsite. Great area. In the morning, there was a big peacock on a perch outside my window. I finally know what a peacock sounds like in the wild.
After a beautiful drive through Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York, we all arrived at our lodge in Starlight, PA, at around noon. Right next to the Delaware river. To our surprise the NE BDR route actually starts at the bottom of the lodge's driveway. Very convenient.
The lodge only has 10 rooms and is located on a bluff overlooking the Catskill mountains. Everything here is so green. Temperature has cooled a bit (80’s) but still pretty humid. The owners are from the DC area and just bought the lodge. Great conversations on the porch with Kia (artist, photographer), Scott (ex-restaurant concept entrepreneur), Taina (Boriqua, dancer), and Billy (restauranteur).
Went to have a home cooked dinner at the Hancock Hotel (the big town around here) on the other side of the river (NY) and once back at the lodge, we were almost hit by lightning that landed a few feet from Andy and I. Like an artillery shell. Ears were ringing, strong shock wave, static electricity everywhere … then the tornado warnings started. I thought this apocalyptic weather was a Texas thing. And then, we lost all power and cell signals.
Tomorrow, we head to Andes, a popular town with NYC people. Motorcycles are ready. Richard will be riding a brand new Husqvarna 701 he just picked up around here.
Excitement is in the air.
