neiar08

Welcome to the 4th "can you believe it" The fourth meeting of the North East Intruder Alert riders. This years ride is called "Cones, Notches, Peaks & Chasms". Why the funny name you ask? Continue reading the itinerary and hopefully it'll make sense to you then.

This years ride will have an added twist. Our accommodations will be in campgrounds. That's right, Campgrounds! These are not ordinary campgrounds however. Each of the CC's we'll be staying with have alternate lodging accommodations. The first campground is along the beautiful Ausable river. They have cabins for rent as well as campers and standard tent sites.

The other CC is located in a very beautiful and scenic area. This CC also has one room and two room camping cabins, Yurts (that's what were getting) and also a bunkhouse which sleeps 6 for $20 pp a nite, as well as tent sites (regular and waterfront).
Each nite we'll have a group campfire to sit around and talk about the days events. We won't be doing any cooking. Instead stopping to eat at restaurants before returning to the CC's.

On this Thursday we ride from our homes to our meeting destination which will be a little town in the Adirondack park of New York called Keeseville, NY. Conveniently located just off of exit 34 of the northway.

In the Adirondack section of New York you'll enjoy some of the nicest roads to ride the United States has to offer. Many vistas and twistas await you. Take your time. Half the fun of these rides is getting to and from the ride itself. We'll meet at the Ausable River Campsites . Their will be a meeting at 8pm in one of the group areas(tba). Please come to this with full bellies and your favorite cocktail.

We head out on our 205 mile group ride. Our first stop will be a short photo op at the Ausable Chasm. Then we head for Lake Champlain and a small ferry crossing over to Vermont (You knew I'd fit a boat ride in somewhere). The Essex, Charlotte crossing.

During our 20 minute crossing to Vermont, Keep your eyes peeled for monsters, that's right MONSTERS! Lake Champlain claims to have they're own version of the Lock Ness Monster that seems to appear in the waters near our crossing. Have cameras ready for the photo of a lifetime.

After we deboard, we'll head somewhere for an early lunch followed by a stop for ice cream at Ben & Jerrys.

From there we have to make a mile. We'll jump on interstate 89 to Barre VT. From there we jump on rt302, over the border to New Hampshire and get on the famous Kancamagus Hiway. After a few stops on the Kanc we head for our dinner stop at Delaney's Hole in the wall.

With full bellies and toped off tanks we head for our home for the next two nights, The Crawford Notch Campground.

Our journey begins at 10 am sharp. Our first destination is the Mt. Washington Auto Road! Mount Washington is home to the "world's worst weather."

At 6,288 ft. (1916.6 m) above sea level, Mt Washington is the highest peak in the Northeast. Famous for its unpredictable weather, it holds the world record for the highest wind gust directly measured at the Earth's surface, at 231 mph (372 km/h), recorded on April 12, 1934. Weather at the summit can go from sunny and calm to foggy and rainy in a matter of minutes.

As the oldest man-made attraction in the country, the Auto Road is 7.6 miles long with average grade of 12% and a 22% grade on the last 50 yards.

If the weather is not looking good, motorcycles are the first vehicles to get restricted from the road. If the weather isn't looking good we can still get to the top of Mt. Washington via The Cog Railroad. A ride up Mount Washington on the world's first mountain-climbing cog railway remains, as it has for well over a century, an exciting and unforgettable experience.

For those that feel they aren't ready to climb the auto road by scoot are also welcome to take this the cog train to the top and we'll meet you up there. The cog riders and the scoot riders will then meet at our lunch stop at Crabby Jacks Mexican Grill.

After lunch we head out for an approximately 100 mile run jumping back and forth between New Hampshire and Maine. Of coarse we will be making a few stops along the way. We'll end our day with dinner at the Muddy Moose. After dinner a quick stop for some dessert to bring back to the camp with us to eat around the campfire.

Everybody should have their own flashlight for walking around the campgrounds.
If your renting a cabin, you are going to need to bring bed linens. A sheet and a blanket or sleeping bag will do.
Bring some warm cloths. Even though it may be warm during the day. Dawn and dusk may be chilly. Bring rain gear and make sure you bring them when we climb Mt. Washington. The weather at the top can be very different from the weather at the bottom.
A towel to shower with.
Bathing suits. If its warm enough, I've found a place we can take a dip. Their is also a river that goes through the CC that has a swimming hole.

Well that about covers everything. Make sure you check the links page out. Its got a lot of great things to check out. Also the links to the two campgrounds we are staying are there for making reservations.

Also, please try to attend the monthly cyber meetings in the chat section on the home page and below. We will hold them on the first Wednesday of every month until August.

Jill and I are looking forward to riding and hanging with you all.

Regards, Click