2011 Americade trip

This week I rode to the famous Americade Rally in Lake George, NY. Having never been to a rally before, I was curious to see what it was like. I rode with a couple of guys from work who had never been there, and a 3rd person - Boog - who had been to Americade 8 times already. Boog was our guide for getting there and for the event itself. His experience made everything hassle free.

We were leaving from Kingston, Ontario. The trip is about 380 kms (236 miles). We would cross into the U.S. just east of Kingston and go along the southern bank of the St. Lawrence River. At Ogdensburg we'd head east along route 68 and head into the Adirondacks (turning onto route 56 at Colton).

We were only going for 3 nights (Monday to Wednesday) & returning Thursday; Boog didn't want to be there forthe week-end when the crowds increase significantly. Since the weather in Lake George is apparently unpredictable, I had to pack for both cold & warm weather. As it turned out, these were some of the hottest days for the area, so I didn't need the sweater or jacket liner. Glad I brought my shorts & swimtrunks though. In any case, my Oxford Sport tank bag & a gym bag secured with a bungee net & 2 extra cords did the trick.

Packed & ready to go - Monday, 7:55 a.m.



We met up around 8 a.m. Jeff was on his Suzuki Bandit; Chuck on his Kawasaki Voyageur; and Boog on his Harley Crossbones.



30 minutes later and we were crossing the St. Lawrence via the Thousand Islands Bridge:



Crossing into the U.S. on Hill Island:



We were lucky to have great weather...sunny and temperatures ranging from 19 to 24 Celcius (66 to 75 Farenheit) as we rode along the U.S. side of the St. Lawrence.

At about 11:30 or so we pulled into Tupper Lake and had lunch at The Lumberjack restaurant.



The roads here (Route 56, Route 30, etc.) in the Adirondack hills are great. Forrests, lakes, rivers, some nice curves, excellent scenerey.

Crossing the Raquette River on the outskirts of Tupper Lake:



Tupper Lake:



Further down Route 30, we reached Long Lake.






As we got closer to Lake George, there were of course more and more motorcycles on the road. Eventually we all dropped the hand greeting to passing bikes as they were everywhere. As you'd expect, it was virtually all large cruisers and Goldwings.

We passed through Warrensburg, just north of Lake George on Route 9. They had vendors set up along the side of the road there...a sort of Americade Jr. for the vendors that couldn't get into the actual event. In any case less crowded and less expensive.



At about 3:30 p.m. we reached Lake George and our hotel.



A quick swim in the pool cooled us off after the trip.

The main road in town is Canada St., and even though it was only Monday, there were already very large amounts of motorcycles. Yes, mostly cruisers & land yachts, but a few sportier bikes & adventure bikes as well.

Here's a shot of Canada St. Notice the trike with a trailer carrying an electric scooter. The vast majority of riders were older guys, probably retired with the kids out of the house and good disposable incomes.



I actually felt young here!

Next post: the Americade Rally.

 

Americade Part II

There are basically 3 components to Americade:

1) Canada St. This is the main street in town where bikes come to be seen. There are a variety of restaurants, hotels, bars & stores selling touristy Americade t-shirts & stuff. The atmosphere is very friendly, certainly from Monday to Wednesday evenings. People are more than happy to talk about their bikes & shoot the breeze.

Some of the bikes & things that we saw there:







A Captain America Boss Hoss...



The only two VFR's that I saw:



The evening brings with it a light show...



2) Riding. The area around Lake George provides roads that are excellent for enjoying rides. Some hills, roads that meander through forrests, nice views...the only thing is that during Americade week, there are lots of bikes. Which on the one hand is kind of cool; but getting stuck behind a Goldwing going below the speed limit can be irritating, especially when you're on a VFR and you want to explore the potential of your bike.






The above picture was taken by a photographer who had a trailer off the side of the road with a big sign: Roadpics.com. Sure enough, I found the picture on the website and ordered this one.

3) Actual Americade events. These include seminars on riding safety, touring, etc.; extracurricular activities such as rafting & hot air balloon rides, horseback riding, etc; the Tour Expo in which a multitude of vendors display their stuff (cases, cleaning products, pin striping, etc. etc.); and demo rides.

As we were there only for two whole days, we did the tour expo, some riding, and the demo rides. If I had been there for an entire week and could see doing some of the other activities.

A field of motorcycles at Fort William Henry. A sign said $5 for parking, but nobody asked us for money so we parked for free.



A bit of a line-up Tuesday morning but only for a few minutes:



The 'new' Indian Motorcycles displaying some of their bikes. I have to amit, they looked really nice to me:



Most of the stuff here was of course geared towards tourers and cruisers. There's a sub-culture here that I don't fully get...a lot of war vet patches & memorabelia, especially in regards to Vietnam. I guess it's just part of the demographics. I noticed more than a few older guys with "Vietnam Vet" ball caps & what not. Also, that MIA symbol was prominent...I don't know why that's become part of the biker scene, but I've noticed it being associated with bikers for years now.

There were no outlaws that I saw. I did notice some social biker clubs, such as the Aces (or Aces High?) MC from Brooklyn. In any case, a friendly atmosphere even if I felt somewhat out of place not having a cruiser or a Goldwing.

These girls were hired by a lawyer who had a booth at the tour expo. Lawyers & strippers...makes sense, I suppose....



Once we got to the noon hour, it was quite hot. We rode back to the hotel, jumped in the pool, then went for a ride around Lake George.

For dinner we had an early reservation at George's Steak House. The prime rib was delicious.



After a full day & a cold beer back at the hotel, we were zonked. Knowing that we had to be up again early Wednesday morning to sign up for demo rides, we didn't go out to check out the night life.

Wednesday morning we were at the Honda tent to sign up for a ride.



I wanted to try the ST1300, but decided to try the Goldwing...when else would I get a chance to ride one? They gave us each a number and we were told to return at 8. At 7:45 we were signing up and got a 2:30 p.m. slot for the Goldwings. It wasn't long before Honda was booked entirely for the day.

We signed up for KTM and then made our way to the Victory booth where we quickly got a chance to ride their bikes. I decided to try a cruiser and ended up on a Jackpot:



This bike looks sexy, but riding it was not too fun. Steering seemed abysmal to me, especially at low speeds...I had the impression that it kept wanting to turn to the left, and it took some effort to go in the right direction. Open the throttle and it sounds like a machine gun going off in my right ear. Kind of cool at first, but annoying after 10 minutes. I've ridden Harley Road Kings and ElectraGlides, and they were much easier to ride than this thing. Obviously this is a bike to be seen on, as opposed to actually enjoying the ride or doing any kind of trip. I don't really get it.

Jeff tried some version of the Vision, a big tourer, and Boog rode some other tourer - they weren't impressed.

In any case they took us for a nice scenic 30 minute ride. Unfortunately, the ride had to make a u-turn due to a fatality that had occurred moments earlier up the road, near Lake Luzerne. Turned out to be an elderly Canadian couple on a Goldwing, killed when steel beams fell off a truck. Two Americade motorcyclists from Canada killed in collision with tractor-trailer A very sobering moment that stuck with me the rest of the trip.



At 11 a.m. we went for our first KTM ride. I tried the 990 SMR:



All I can say is: WOW! Nothing could contrast further with the Victory Jackpot than this funny looking bike that is extremely fast and manoeuvrable. When I say fast, I mean it has awesome pick-up in the lower gears. This bike is the epitome of flickable (at least in my limited experience). We couldn't test the higher speeds as we were on a guided tour, but this bike felt like it will do whatever you ask it to. If I had the money, I'd have a KTM.

The day was very hot - it got up to 39 celsius (102 farenheit) as per my VFR's guage, and I was drenched under my riding jacket. Back to the hotel for a jump in the pool, and a pulled pork sandwich (they don't have those where I live!). Back to Fort William Henry at 2:30 p.m. for a ride on the famous Goldwing:



The Goldwing was pretty much as I'd heard it described...very big, yet for it's weight and bulk, surprisingly manoeuvrable, and a very smooth, quiet engine. Sinking into the seat is a pleasure, like sitting into a super comfortable leather armchair. If I had the money and was going to do lots of long distance touring, this would be the bike of choice.

At 4 p.m. it was another KTM ride, this time on a 990 Adventure. Similar to the SMR, though a bit less jerky when you open the throttle it seemed to me. Again, lots of fun. What can I say, these KTM's really put a big grin on my face.

Finally Jeff & I tried the Kawasaki Concours 14.



In the same category as the ST1300 (which unfortunately I didn't get to try, so I can't compare it). What I can say is that for VFR riders who want to step up to a more touring oriented bike, this is definitely a bike to consider. Very comfortable, a very smooth four-stroke motor, electronically adjustable windshield, and seems to have loads of power. If I were to upgrade - short of winning the lottery and getting a Goldwing or a BMW - this would be the bike I'd seriously consider.

Back to the hotel for a quick & much needed shower, and then we were off to The Barnsider Restaurant for a great rib & jumbo shrimp meal.

Thursday morning we left Lake George around 9 a.m. or so.

We were lucky to avoid any rain on the way back.

On the bank of the Hudson River:



After Piercefield, instead of continuing back on Route 56, we turned west onto Route 3 and rode to Watertown. This was a pleasant road with some nice curves here & there. From Watertown it was a 20 minute ride up Interstate 81 to the border, and I was back home by 4 p.m.

The VFR handled the trip quite well. The only problem with being in a group that included a couple of cruisers is that I couldn't push my bike as much as I wanted to - but the bright side is, no speeding tickets. Overall, I'm glad that I experienced Americade. The demo rides were great. The people were friendly. Not crazy about the crowds, and I don't know that I'd do a rally like that again, but I'd certainly return to that area, especially in the fall when the colours must be spectacular.

 

Thanks for the write up! Good stuff to follow, and glad you enjoyed yourself. Great pics too!