6. Golden Gables Motel, Conway, NH
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| Mountain Range Crossed by the Kancamagus Highway |
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| View Point on the Kancamagus Highway |
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.
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| 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
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.
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| Golden Gables Inn |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 1983 Postcard Picture of the Road on a CLEAR DAY |
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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Railway Tracks Are Snaking Up the Mountain Behind the Water Tower |
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| Stop - Pay Toll Before Riding Up the Mountain |
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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
