Americade 2008 - Pictures

This year I'm publishing highlights of my activities at the 2008 Americade Motorcycle Rally, day by day in a blog. Americade is scheduled for June 2-7, this year. The blog will also include my preparation in getting ready to take the ride to Lake George, NY, my observations while there, the ride home, and getting back to normal.

The trip will now also include intermediate stop-offs at at our son's house in Boonton, NJ (three grandsons) and daughter's house in Middle Grove, NY (grandson and granddaughter). Our daughter made a move to the Saratoga Springs area last year after Americade. Since her house is now 25 miles south of Americade (and on the way), we now have a fringe benefit of making the trip.

I have finally processed 96 pictures taken throughout the Americade journey. Take a look.

I also promised you road tests for the three demo rides I took. That should be happening within the next week.

Read the blog each day for further reports.

An evolving blog index to these Americade 2008 blog entries is also available.

Americade 2008 - Day 6

This year I'm publishing highlights of my activities at the 2008 Americade Motorcycle Rally, day by day in a blog. Americade is scheduled for June 2-7, this year. The blog will also include my preparation in getting ready to take the ride to Lake George, NY, my observations while there, the ride home, and getting back to normal.

The trip will now also include intermediate stop-offs at at our son's house in Boonton, NJ (three grandsons) and daughter's house in Middle Grove, NY (grandson and granddaughter). Our daughter made a move to the Saratoga Springs area last year after Americade. Since her house is now 25 miles south of Americade (and on the way), we now have a fringe benefit of making the trip.

I'm finding it difficult to stay up-to-date with this "daily" blog. It takes a lot of time out of a day to do a blog entry especially when pictures and videos are involved. I'll do the best I can but first priority will be going to doing the actual activities of Americade.

Monday arrived and we finished packing the trikes. I was a little concerned that I might have a recurrence of the vibration I had a few days ago. But it was time to finish the ride to Lake George.

It only took about 45 minutes to scoot up the Northway and get off at exit 22 that led down to our motel at the north end of Lake George. I registered and headed down the sloping hill to our room where unpacking started. We still hadn't gone to the Holiday Inn to complete our pre-registration so that was next.

Some people like to get in line at 8 a.m. and spend the next 3-4 hours working up to those tables where your pre-registration package has been squirreled away. Not me. The Americade message board contributors seem to enjoy this. Not me. I hate lines. When we usually arrive on Monday, at about 3 p.m. the line has disappeared. We did see a small line today but that was only because our name was early in the alphabet. Our friend Marion who has a last name beginning with R was told to walk right in. We waited a bit and took in some violin music provided by someone willing to give up his whole day to help entertain those people who really spent a long time in line. Our standing was over in 5 minutes, thankfully.

We headed back to the trikes and started for the exit to Canada Street. Now, Americade only allows you to turn right when you leave the Holiday Inn. It's just too confusing and dangerous to turn left with so much two-way motorcycle traffic. In the past we turned right, then quickly pulled off to get gas and then were able to pull out and turn left on Canada Street with no restriction -- still just as dangerous. Since we didn't need any gas, I had told Jane -- who was leading -- to pull off at the new diner (the old one burned down last year before Americade) and then we could just pull back onto Canada Street and go left. However, this time I saw a few extra words on the bottom of the Right Turn Only sign. It said to immediately turn on the next street for an easy way back to town. As Jane pulled out of the diner and was trying to turn left, she wasn't having any luck. I thought maybe it was time to try that nifty turn that would lead back to town. I told Jane over the CB to turn right instead and turn at the next street. But, she had some trouble understanding me.

Jane turned right and by the time I made it through the right hand turn, she was way ahead of me and past the "next right hand turn." I was now at that turn and made a right as I got back on the CB. "You missed the turn," I said.

"What turn?" said Jane. "I didn't see anything. I'm already at the next light and I'll just have to turn and go out to the Northway and bypass Lake George to exit 22."

"I guess I'll just stay on this route and see where it comes out," I said. "I'll see you back at the motel."

My route brought me around and back to Canada Street where the traffic was light. I turned left and headed through town working my way light-by-light through the heavy traffic. I arrived at the motel to see Jane waiting outside our room. She had beaten me back to the motel, as shown here with Jane between the two trikes.



By the way, I had no recurrence of the trike vibration on the 35 mile trip from Saratoga Springs to Lake George.

We had dinner across the street with members from the Spokes-Women Motorcycle Club, shown meeting before we walked across the street to the restaurant.



Afterward, we walked Canada Street and I took a few pictures and videos.









I came upon a group surrounding a bike. It was a Can-Am Spyder. I would be riding one tomorrow.





Canada Street Videos:

These videos load slowly. Let them complete in slow motion and then replay them to see full motion.

Video 1


Video 2


Video 3


More to follow. Read the blog each day for further reports.

An evolving blog index to these Americade 2008 blog entries is also available.

Americade 2008 - Day 9

This year I'm publishing highlights of my activities at the 2008 Americade Motorcycle Rally, day by day in a blog. Americade is scheduled for June 2-7, this year. The blog will also include my preparation in getting ready to take the ride to Lake George, NY, my observations while there, the ride home, and getting back to normal.

The trip will now also include intermediate stop-offs at at our son's house in Boonton, NJ (three grandsons) and daughter's house in Middle Grove, NY (grandson and granddaughter). Our daughter made a move to the Saratoga Springs area last year after Americade. Since her house is now 25 miles south of Americade (and on the way), we now have a fringe benefit of making the trip.

On Thursday we parked our trikes across the street from the motel and had breakfast where the famous Wegars used to be located. They still have the old player piano there but it's not turned on. The overhead train is totally gone. The food was good anyway, except they ran out of donuts.

We headed out to Tour-Expo. I hadn't been there yet. When we got inside, Jane went one way and I went another. Cell phones would get us back together later.

I walked past the Corbin booth and saw a Spyder all decked out in a touring seat, touring bags, and full fairing. I had heard that a Spyder touring model would soon be introduced and I thought maybe this was it. A few words with one of the reps standing there informed me otherwise. Corbin had accessories to make the Spyder into a tourer. Only about $5000 would do the trick. Corbin was ahead of the curve again.

I stopped in at Cycle Gadgets and picked up a long extension for my camera mount.

Then I turned the corner and strolled over to the Motor Trike area. I wanted to talk to the Motor Trike dealer from New Jersey. I finally found him and explained a problem I was having with my rear trunk. It kept loosening up, was hard to open, and always let rain in. Every time I stopped, the door was ajar and I had to reopen it and then slam it shut, usually skinning my knuckles in the process. Then another rep from Canada came over and offered advice. My explanation of the layout of my trunk hardware was lacking and I really needed to show them the actual trunk.

I walked out to the parking lot and returned to the side gate outside Motor Trike where the two reps examined the situation. The guy from Canada said the latch needed to be repositioned and lubricated. He went looking for tools and a thick washer and returned with some WD-40 as well. In five minutes, he had the trunk working perfectly with an easy open and no leaks. As far as I was concerned, my trip to Americade was worth it just to get this free fix. Thanks Motor Trike.

Also, I told them about the vibration I had been getting. The NJ guy slid under the trike and checked everything out. "No problem," he said as he emerged covered with dirt on the back of his T-shirt and grease on his hands from the trike undercarriage.

I also asked about why the left side rear fender was so close to the tire while the right side was not. Then the rep pointed out that there was an abrasion all the way around the tire where the fender had been rubbing against it. Whoa, we have a problem here. He said he could fix it in his shop in New Jersey by making a simple undercarriage adjustment. I needed to make an appointment when I got back from Americade. Better still, his shop was close by my house.
More problems were being solved by my trip to Americade.

At 3 p.m. we rode down to the Log Jam Restaurant to meet members of our GWRRA chapter who had ridden up for the day. Here are a few pictures.





That evening we walked Canada Street again and I took the following pictures and videos. First off is a bike carrying just about everything needed to go to Americade.



Dogs were everywhere. Some got the royal treatment like this one in his own trailer.



It's a car, no it's a bike, maybe it's a trike. Regardless, it's fun for the Americade scene.



Jane looking at a Spyder decorated with a spider web.









Just enjoying the view on Canada Street. She looked pretty serene.



The cops were giving out parking tickets this year. If you didn't have a PP sticker for $7 or didn't keep feeding the meters, you got one of these.



A block from our motel I saw a 911 memorial bike. It was pretty spectacular.



I also took a short video of Canada Street traffic. (This video loads slowly. Let it complete in slow motion and then replay it to see full motion.)

Finally, I also took a short video of me walking alongside the Canada Street traffic.

More to follow. Read the blog each day for further reports.

An evolving blog index to these Americade 2008 blog entries is also available.

Americade 2008 - Day 7

This year I'm publishing highlights of my activities at the 2008 Americade Motorcycle Rally, day by day in a blog. Americade is scheduled for June 2-7, this year. The blog will also include my preparation in getting ready to take the ride to Lake George, NY, my observations while there, the ride home, and getting back to normal.

The trip will now also include intermediate stop-offs at at our son's house in Boonton, NJ (three grandsons) and daughter's house in Middle Grove, NY (grandson and granddaughter). Our daughter made a move to the Saratoga Springs area last year after Americade. Since her house is now 25 miles south of Americade (and on the way), we now have a fringe benefit of making the trip.

I'm finding it difficult to stay up-to-date with this "daily" blog. It takes a lot of time out of a day to do a blog entry especially when pictures and videos are involved. I'll do the best I can but first priority will be going to doing the actual activities of Americade.

On Monday I got to thinking that I should do some demo rides. I didn't want to go out on straight motorcycle demos since I'm basically riding three wheels these days. I decided to sign-up for the Vectrix electric scooter, the Cam-Am Spyder, and the new Stallion trike made by Thoroughbred Motorsports, INC, a Motor Trike company.

On Tuesday, we got up early and rode up to the Lone Bull Restaurant, a favorite of many Americaders. We've eaten there almost every year we've attended Americade. It's part of our ritual. After breakfast we always ride down to Tour-Expo at 9 a.m. This year the ritual changed a little.

I decided to go to Americade headquarters at Roaring Brook Ranch (RBR) to register for my three demo rides while Jane rode to Tour-Expo. I would meet her there later.

I entered RBR and found Vectrix Scooters at the foot of the infamous corkscrew road on which a motorcycle dares not stop. I registered for a ride and was told to return in 40 minutes for the next ride. I didn't think I would get in so fast. While I waited, I decided to continue up the road to the next parking lot where Cam-Am Spyder was located.

Cam-Am had an elaborate sign-up process. I first signed-in and got a plastic tag on a cord to put around my neck. A special code was on the tag. I was told to get in another line that led up to four laptop workstations. When I reached the laptop, I sat down and followed a series of instructions. I had to pass the tag through a card reader. I then had to pass my drivers license through the card reader which read off my name and address. Then I answered various other questions about my experience with motorcycles. Finally, I signed a release and then got an armband that had my demo time on it. My appointment was to be in mid-afternoon on Tuesday.

I rode back down to the Vectrix demo and got briefed on its operation. The Vectrix is a zero-emission vehicle - no gas, no oil. It was quiet. Here's a 2008 Vectrix Road Test report that I did after I returned from Americade 2008. This report also contains a short video I took of a Vectrix demo group.

On the way out of RBR I stopped at the Thoroughbred Motorsports area where demos were being organized for the Stallion trike. I signed up for a demo on Wednesday morning at 9:40 a.m. Rain was expected overnight and into Wednesday morning but I took the chance that conditions would improve. I asked if I could add my wife to the demo as a passenger. I was told that she could sign-in at the demo tomorrow.

The Can-Am Spyder demo was held at 2:30 p.m. and seemed to be the most popular place at RBR. I first had to attend a 10-minute video on the technical features of the Spyder. Then there was a riders' meeting where the demo leader went over everything about the operation of the Spyder. They even gave you a short cone-weave test to make sure you could turn the vehicle and stop it. Hit a cone and you were out. Here's a 2008 Spyder Road Test report that I did after I returned from Americade 2008. This report also contains a short video I took of a Spyder demo group.

More to follow. Read the blog each day for further reports.

An evolving blog index to these Americade 2008 blog entries is also available.

Americade 2008 - Day 3

This year I'm publishing highlights of my activities at the 2008 Americade Motorcycle Rally, day by day in a blog. Americade is scheduled for June 2-7, this year. The blog will also include my preparation in getting ready to take the ride to Lake George, NY, my observations while there, the ride home, and getting back to normal.

The trip will now also include intermediate stop-offs at at our son's house in Boonton, NJ (three grandsons) and daughter's house in Middle Grove, NY (grandson and granddaughter). Our daughter made a move to the Saratoga Springs area last year after Americade. Since her house is now 25 miles south of Americade (and on the way), we now have a fringe benefit of making the trip.

Friday started with packing the trikes again in my son's garage in Boonton. Here are the trikes just before I pulled them out to begin on the next leg of our trip.



Today's ride would take us to the Saratoga Springs, NY area where our daughter and two of our grandchildren live.

The ride to Saratoga Springs was straightforward. Just ride north to I87 -- the Northway -- and keep going. However, shortly after Albany, I began noticing a vibration through the footpegs of my trike. That had never happened before. I thought I was on my old '94 Sportster again.

I thought maybe the U-Joints were going. Or maybe it was the trike undercarriage that was loose somewhere. Jane said her trike once felt the same way and we found that one bolt had completely worked itself loose and fallen out. I was getting worried.

As we approached my daughter's place, the vibration was still there. I thought maybe the road surface might be causing it but I just didn't know what to think.

I knew that Motor Trike would be at Americade and that the dealer who built my trike might also be there. Maybe he could look at it and see if there was any obvious problem that could be corrected. I decided to call the dealer who was located in PA. Sure enough, he would be here on Thursday and said he would take a look at it but couldn't promise anything. I expect to go visit Motor Trike soon after Tour-Expo opens on Tuesday to see if anyone else there could take a look at it before Thursday. I continue to be worried about this. First I have to ride the trike another 30 miles to get to Lake George. That will give me another chance to see if the problem is persisting. Wish me luck.

We finished the evening by attending a softball game in which our granddaughter was playing. She just decided one day that she wanted to play softball at age eight and she's pretty good in her first year. Of course I may be prejudiced.

We got there early and Jane, daughter Sue, and granddaughter Caroline got in some family practice. It made for a memorable picture of three generations.



It seems that almost every girl playing softball has long hair and they're all tied back. Caroline is in the middle.



I had no idea how these games are now run. The pitcher could only throw five pitches to one batter before a coach from the same team stepped in to throw two pitches. I guess this allows each batter a better chance of hitting the ball and gaining experience in hitting. These are only eight and nine year old girls.

The game runs a total of 90 minutes. The limit came and it was nearly 7:30 p.m. We headed for a late dinner at McDonald's before heading home.

Tomorrow, Saturday, would bring two more games, one softball and one baseball. Rain was expected.

More to follow. Read the blog each day for further reports.

An evolving blog index to these Americade 2008 blog entries is also available.

Americade 2008 - Day 4

This year I'm publishing highlights of my activities at the 2008 Americade Motorcycle Rally, day by day in a blog. Americade is scheduled for June 2-7, this year. The blog will also include my preparation in getting ready to take the ride to Lake George, NY, my observations while there, the ride home, and getting back to normal.

The trip will now also include intermediate stop-offs at at our son's house in Boonton, NJ (three grandsons) and daughter's house in Middle Grove, NY (grandson and granddaughter). Our daughter made a move to the Saratoga Springs area last year after Americade. Since her house is now 25 miles south of Americade (and on the way), we now have a fringe benefit of making the trip.

Saturday began with a news report on the local TV station that a checkpoint had been established on I87 at the rest area near exit 18. This was a motorcycle checkpoint. Bikes were being pulled over for inspection of helmets, credentials, pipes, and safety equipment. If a cop had probable cause that you might be in violation, they pulled you over. Here's a link to the news story and a video.

The Americade Message Board was abuzz about this checkpoint. Check it out.

It may be that this was only a one-time thing to sound the alarm that motorcycle violators would not be tolerated this year. Some think the state of NY was just looking for more money. Others think that safety was the only concern since there have been too many motorcycle-related accidents at Americade in recent years. Some riders said they would bypass the checkpoint. Some found themselves with money to pay for riding with no motorcycle endorsement on their driver's license or for wearing a non-DOT approved helmet. It remains to be seen whether the checkpoint will be there when the main Americade traffic starts on Monday. I'll let you know.

The majority of my day was spent at a softball game where my granddaughter played and at a baseball game where my grandson played. We got through the softball game with only a few drops of rain. Such was not the case at the baseball game.

We rode into Saratoga Springs, parked on the street, and walked a couple of blocks to the game site. We carried our canvas chairs and umbrellas with us and parked ourselves high on a grassy area that rose above the right field fence. It was great for a few innings but then the rains came. Thunder was heard. I kept waiting for lightning which never came. When the rain got intense, they called the teams into the dugout and covered the field. We sat in the rain under big umbrellas and waited and waited. Finally the rain let up to a sprinkle and men ran onto the field with sand and dirt and brushed everything clean. It was just like in the major leagues. Then the teams rushed back on the field and resumed playing. Several hits were made and a couple of runs came in. Then the rain started again. It poured and everything was soaked including us. The field was covered and again we waited. We sat there like drowning rats for another 10 minutes of intense downpour. Then, mercifully, the game was called and we slinked over dripping water behind us and piled into the car.

We returned home to get into dry clothes. Jane, daughter, and granddaughter headed back to do shopping -- the rain had stopped. I headed for my laptop to do Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4 of my Americade 2008 Blog.

Not much left for today except dinner and relaxation. The trikes sit dry in the garage.

More to follow. Read the blog each day for further reports.

An evolving blog index to these Americade 2008 blog entries is also available.

Americade 2008 - Day 1

This year I'm publishing highlights of my activities at the 2008 Americade Motorcycle Rally, day by day in a blog. Americade is scheduled for June 2-7, this year. The blog will also include my preparation in getting ready to take the ride to Lake George, NY, my observations while there, the ride home, and getting back to normal.

The trip will now also include intermediate stop-offs at at our son's house in Boonton, NJ (three grandsons) and daughter's house in Middle Grove, NY (grandson and granddaughter). Our daughter made a move to the Saratoga Springs area last year after Americade. Since her house is now 25 miles south of Americade (and on the way), we now have a fringe benefit of making the trip.

Wednesday was a hectic day trying to get ready to go on our 2008 Americade trip. This year we are going to visit our son and daughter on the way. We'll also be stopping in to see our daughter on our return trip. Packing has been a problem trying to decide what to take that will still fit on our two trikes.

Jane was out running around on Wednesday and called to say that she had chipped a front tooth and could I make an appointment for her at the dentist. Great timing. I gave her the number and she called back to say that the office was closed and she'd have to wait until Thursday to try to make an appointment. We wanted to be on the road Thursday by 2 p.m. so we now had another worry.

Earlier in the day, Jane was trying to print out my Motorcycle Packing List, when I heard her say, "Someone has stolen your packing list."

I hurried to her computer and saw both my How To, How to Pack a Motorcycle For a Trip, and my packing list on her screen but on someone else's website.

I jotted down the URL and then thought that I should send off an email to the offending webmaster. This happens to me quite a lot. I'm doing a Google search for something and up pops one of my articles on someone else's website. They just see something and grab it as their own often with no mention of where it came from. In this case, I did get a credit but it was to the old site and there was no link to me at all. Within three hours, I got a response promising to take it down. When one spends days and days working on an article or feature and then someone just sees it and takes it, that's just plain wrong.

The rest of the day was spent packing and loading the trikes. Final loading will be on Thursday morning with a 2 p.m. start.

More to follow. Read the blog each day for further reports.

An evolving blog index to these Americade 2008 blog entries is also available.

Americade 2008 - Day 5

This year I'm publishing highlights of my activities at the 2008 Americade Motorcycle Rally, day by day in a blog. Americade is scheduled for June 2-7, this year. The blog will also include my preparation in getting ready to take the ride to Lake George, NY, my observations while there, the ride home, and getting back to normal.

The trip will now also include intermediate stop-offs at at our son's house in Boonton, NJ (three grandsons) and daughter's house in Middle Grove, NY (grandson and granddaughter). Our daughter made a move to the Saratoga Springs area last year after Americade. Since her house is now 25 miles south of Americade (and on the way), we now have a fringe benefit of making the trip.

Sunday started with a breakfast of bacon and eggs served by my daughter. With both she and her husband working and trying to get the two kids up and out to school each day, she finds that the weekend is the only time for full breakfasts.

The rained out baseball game was restarted today at noon in Saratoga Springs. It took a couple of innings and a fine play from the outfield to second base by my grandson to help get another win for his team.

Late yesterday afternoon I was sitting right here at my laptop. I could see out the window that the sun was shining. In almost an instant the weather changed and it poured and poured for 10 minutes straight. Then it stopped and the sun came out. Such is the weather of this Adirondacks region that Americade is part of.

I saw a few Gold Wings today in Saratoga Springs. Several trikes -- one pulling a trailer -- were seen outside a restaurant. More and more bikes were seen on the Northway heading north to Lake George. I expect to be out there tomorrow shortly after noon doing the same thing. Of course, I'm hoping all goes well with the vibration I was having on Friday.

I'm looking forward to seeing those 50-100 thousand bikes tomorrow. After all, that's why I've been coming to Americade for the last 15 years.

More to follow. Read the blog each day for further reports.

An evolving blog index to these Americade 2008 blog entries is also available.