Through my eyes

living my life without regrets

Friday, November 30, 2018

FL Rally and Club Ride - 6. Golden Gables Motel, Conway, NH


6. Golden Gables Motel, Conway, NH

Mountain Range Crossed by the Kancamagus Highway
View Point on the Kancamagus Highway
It was not a long ride from White River Junction, VT to the town of North Conway in NH. About 180 km or let’s say 3 hours using mostly back roads. We rode with a split up group; Martin lead our group. He is a good ride leader; he does not go too fast, is always aware of the people behind him and is a careful rider. His planning of the route showed, it seemed he was familiar with the way to go. Martin made an effort to ride as much of the Kancamagus Highway as he could. It seems this highway is one of the most famous roads in New Hampshire. 

We were too early in the fall season to see the colors but Carol and I had ridden this road already a few times in our lives. The twisties and corners of the road did not seem too impressive this time, we must have gotten used to riding crooked roads. Still, the Kanc is wonderful road. 
Golden Gables Inn - Nice Place

We arrived at the Golden Gables Hotel a bit early and all checked in without a problem. We had a good lunch across the street but then decided, while it was a nice day, to ride the infamous Mt. Washington Road.

This road up Mt. Washington is treacherous. There are no guard rails to protect anybody from driving off into space. The sides drop off rapidly, the road is steep and has an awful crowned
Golden Gables Inn
surface. The road is just about 2 car widths wide. Some of the road is gravel or sand.

The surface for most of the way is not in great shape, even if tarred, it has many cracks and bumps. The top of Mt. Washington is above the tree line and is usually in the clouds, which, when you ride up is like riding in deep fog. Visibility can be so bad that you cannot see the road you are riding on. What usually happens then is the road will be closed at the bottom of the mountain, but… the people on top still have to come down somehow. It’s a fickle mountain to ride. 

Cannot Even Imagine What That Feels Like

I had tried 3 times before to ride up this not so high mountain (6288 Feet – 1916 meters) but was turned back by the guards at the bottom of the road each time. Sometimes it is not the fog that impedes the ride but Mt. Washington is known for high winds, for very fast changing environmental conditions. The highest winds on earth have been clocked up on top, 23l miles per hour (372 km), recorded April 12, 1934 by Mount Washington Observatory Staff. Only a recent measurement inside a typhoon in Australia, measured by an unmanned instrument, beats this long time record by a little bit.

A motorcycle is very susceptible to side winds, especially on a narrow road with nary a side protection. Too much wind and you get blown off the road. 
The Sign Says It All

You are told you ride this road at your own risk. Before starting to ride up, you are made aware by the toll collecting guards at the bottom of the mountain, that this is not a leisurely put-put ride. Well, here I am, with a road in front of me that I have heard lots about but never ridden before. Yes, I am told it’s a difficult ride, so I am kind of pumped up.

1983 Postcard Picture of the Road on a CLEAR DAY
Carol, who had ridden this way once before, years ago, told me her difficulties. She had fog so bad and winds so high, she could not ride down. Here is her comment about what happened to her years ago, when she rode this road with her late husband, Norm. 

The weather at the bottom was calm and clear, blue skies and no wind. But partway up, it changed dramatically. The winds became strong enough that it took all my strength to hold the bike upright. Each corner presented a new challenge as the winds would be coming from a different direction. I was told at the top that the winds were a steady 50 MILES an hour, gusting to 70 mph. 
Fog Was Clearing Here When It Was Time to Go Down in 1983

Also, once above the tree-line, the fog (clouds?) rolled in. There were no pavement markings to mark the centre-line or road edges because now I was on dirt. It was impossible to stop as I was afraid of being rear-ended. Norm with his bright reflective vest was long out of sight. His strength and additional weight mitigated some of the effects of the wind and allowed him to make better time.  
Same Stairs In 2018

Finally, at the top, I found a parking space and a car driver showed me the steps up to the Summit Building. After climbing the steps, I stumbled over the cog railway tracks because they could not be seen in the fog.

I was so grateful when Norm offered to ride my bike down while I took the bus. He then took the bus back up and rode his own bike down. And of course, by then the fog had cleared somewhat.

It was not a pleasant experience. But I rode the Mt. Washington Road – although just in one direction. 

Carol did not ride up today; she took the cog railway train up with Paul. That is an experience I still have to do too, one of these days, use the cog train to get up the Mountain… ah, life is so short, so much to do.
Railway Tracks Are Snaking Up the Mountain Behind the Water Tower

Stop - Pay Toll Before Riding Up the Mountain
After I paid the $17 toll at the gate, the group decided to stop at the gift store. Well, to me, who is not interested in ‘stuff’ from gift stores, it was a sign that I should ride this mountain alone, without the group mentality and without the distractions a group can provide. It suited me just fine, I like riding alone. 

So off I went. 

Almost immediately I could tell this road was twisty, snaking itself up a steep mountain. The road is crowned, meaning there is a middle hump in the road; the road is not flat but curved from the middle to the sides. In the corners the road is ‘crookedly’ pitched (off-cambered) to the side for better drainage, not for better traction. I need to ride carefully here, I thought. But not too careful, stopping on this kind of upgrade, putting my foot down on a crowned road, not finding the right angle around the turns could be detrimental. 
Riders Heading For the Gift Shop

I kept my bike mostly in 2nd gear. The motor on a BMW is a high compression engine; it’s ok to really rev up to the red line limits. Shifting the gears up or down while being in a precarious position is not recommended; at least in my book. So my bike got a good workout. 

I noticed one rider following me, I later found out it was Brian on his Honda Goldwing, but I just noticed Brian, I did not pay attention to what he did, this is my ride, I need to get to the top. This is not the time to be ‘helpful’ to others, this ride is not the time to be accommodating, I thought. I had enough trouble with cars in front of me that drove in the middle of the road, afraid they would fall off the sides; afraid they would somehow be swept aside by some magical wizard. 
Made It to the Parking Lot at the Top of Mt. Washington

I passed cars as soon as they became visible to me and there was plenty of room to pass. I learned while riding in China that a beep from my horn made them aware I was there, and when I had a good chance I passed every car. I noticed Brian behind me did the same, because his headlight was always in my side mirror. 

It was somehow exhilarating to be so fully alive, I never felt I was endangered, never really felt I had any trouble except maybe once, on the way up, when a SUV in front of me stopped short all of a sudden, just slammed on the breaks, the driver taking a picture totally oblivious that a motorcycle was behind him. He did not pull over to the side of the road, just slam, stopped to take a picture. Yikes! Naturally, it had to be the section where the road is just gravel, no tarmac, sudden stops like that on gravel are not recommended. Of course I beeped, cursed a bit, too but I passed the car, even
though there was not that much room for me to it. I did however need to quick shift down to first gear and my motor did not like that. Well, it was not the motor, more the clutch, the bike had a bit of a time to find true first gear and then respond when I let out the clutch again. Remember, this is on a steep incline, on a graveled surface; it is difficult to change gears going up a mountain. 

Summit of Mount Washington
Well, there will always be folks in SUVs I thought, the epitome of cage divers to me. I saw in the mirror, Brian passed the car, too.

I never stopped in any pull outs; the view from my bike was good enough for me. I thought I could get some good pictures, some nice views at the very top. 

Ha, little did I know… the top was covered in clouds. Fog to me!  Not extreme mind you, but bad enough that my distant vision was diminished. I could not see around the corners, I was looking at a white wall when I tried to see oncoming traffic. Remember, while I was going up, some other folks were coming down. I did not have the road all to myself.
Tip-Top House Hotel - Now a Museum, Built in 1854 Before the Road

I kind of envied the down traffic after a few minutes of riding up, they already were at the top and just had to get down now. 

The road going up snaked itself, ever gaining height. Never were there any flat areas, it was always up, up, up. Some sections were steep, steep enough that I thought of using first gear instead of the 2nd gear I had the bike in.  There were very few 3rd gear sections; I could say the whole trip was mostly 2nd gear for me, albeit in 2nd gear the motor ‘screamed’ in certain parts of the road. 
Hotel Bunk Beds With Privacy Curtains

So, after about 30 minutes or so, dealing with downhill traffic, road conditions, some fog, and cars I needed to pass I was at the top. The top came unexpectedly in a way. I think I was too pumped up and still in full attention mode when all of a sudden there was the top parking lot. I am sorry to say there was not much to see at the very tippy top. I was fogged in. I could not even see the buildings that housed the weather station up there. I understand there is an array of buildings but following an upwards staircase I came to just the ‘museum’ where you can see pictures of the history of this station, where some extreme weather conditions are shown in slide form. 
Hotel Kitchen

Well I may visit this museum some other time, I was keener to have seen where exactly I was, I wanted to see the other mountains around Mt. Washington, but there was no view. I was fogbound.

I never saw any of the other people of our group, I just ran into Terry and of course, Brian parked next to me on the parking lot, but I made believe I had had a solo ride up Mt. Washington.

Did I like it?   YES!  Was I hyped?  YES!

Impossible to See Nearby Mountains

All of it, because now I can say I rode Mt. Washington. Before this day I could only say I tried to ride it, but now this is a notch in my belt. Been there, done that!

The ride down was really fun. 3rd gear fun, most of the time. Once out of the fog I had a much better view and there were many stretches that gave me an aerial view of the road far ahead.  I could sweep those curves much better on the way down, than when going up. No, I never over-rode myself, I had control of the bike, and I never went to 4th gear. 
Map of the Nearby Mountains

Reaching the bottom of the mountain however was an anti-climactic feeling. The forests left and right looked pristine and quiet, the traffic in town moved along at a snail’s pace because of the traffic lights and the multitude of cars. 

I was back in ‘civilization’ down here; the ride up Mt. Washington was more of a raw ride. Primeval in a way when you consider there were tricky road conditions, the unknown danger that was just around each corner. 

There are only a few challenging rides left in the civilized world of NH today. I am glad I rode MY ride up Mt. Washington.
Thai Dinner

Dinner that night was at a Thai Restaurant and I got ribbed by some folks for ‘beeping’ when I passed a car…. It must have been Brian who told them stories. 

Ha, let them ride in China… they will beep, too.








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