Dan Smith's Harley Adventures http://04flhtcui.posterous.com Most recent posts at Dan Smith's Harley Adventures posterous.com Thu, 28 Jun 2012 16:56:00 -0700 2012 Harley Trip - Day 6 http://04flhtcui.posterous.com/2012-harley-trip-day-6 http://04flhtcui.posterous.com/2012-harley-trip-day-6

Day 6, as planned started early and it turned out that was a very good idea.

We checked out of our hotel around 6:00 AM, packed up the bike and headed out. The traffic in Toronto starts surprisingly early. As we headed west the traffic subsided somewhat and we're able to make some pretty good time.

As we neared the London area the traffic reported a closed freeway, luckily we exited onto the 402 before it impacted us. So far, so good. But not so fast.

Next thing we know, we're entering Sarnia and the Blue Water Bridge at around 9:30 AM. We changed our money back to US currency, paid our bridge toll and headed onto the bridge.

We made it over and got in line, of course I picked the WORST line. It seemed like for every two or three cars that moved on either side only one would move in ours. But that is just the beginning. It was now almost 10:00 and it was really starting to heat up. The bike was getting very hot and that back cylinder was really making things unpleasant for me. I now know why the newer models have a rear cylinder deactivate.

So we finally made it up to the booth, answered all the questions and thought we were on our way...not so fast...we were "randomly selected" for inspection. We were pulled aside and had to wait for further Customs review. In our case, we had to wait about 30 minutes and basically answer the same questions and fill out a form. All told we spent just about an hour at the border.

It's now 10:30 and it is really starting to get hot. We got back on the bike and headed home. It was smooth sailing from there and we made it home around 11:30.

We logged over 1000 miles in two countries and two states.

Another great adventure comes to a close.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1333845/CIMG5035.JPG http://posterous.com/users/hckikRRYOr3my Dan Smith 04flhtcui Dan Smith
Wed, 27 Jun 2012 17:49:00 -0700 2012 Harley Trip - Day 5 http://04flhtcui.posterous.com/2012-harley-trip-day-5-66463 http://04flhtcui.posterous.com/2012-harley-trip-day-5-66463

Day 5 was a day of exploration.

We left the Hotel around 7:30 and headed to downtown Toronto on foot. We enjoyed the nearly 2 mile walk and had a chance to see the city on the "ground".

We then decided to take the double decker bus tour of the city. The nice thing about it was the ability to get on and off as much as we wanted to.

We picked up the first bus of the day at stop #1 at Toronto's equivalent of Time's Square across from Eaton Centre.

We rode the bus for the majority of the loop, stopping at the Distillery District. We explored the area, had lunch and then walked over to the St. Lawrence Market (it's huge).

Caught the bus, we were surprised to see the same guides (a one in seven chance) and took it back to the hotel to get a jacket as it was overcast and cool. We decided to take advantage of the Harbor Boat Tour and got back on the bus and headed to the harbor.

The boat tour was very relaxing and just about the right amount of time. Got back on the bus and headed back to Yorkville for dinner at the Oxley.

We are going to get an early start tomorrow to hopefully beat the traffic in Toronto and Detroit.

The trip has been smooth so far, planning on a clean final leg!

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1333845/CIMG5035.JPG http://posterous.com/users/hckikRRYOr3my Dan Smith 04flhtcui Dan Smith
Tue, 26 Jun 2012 17:46:00 -0700 2012 Harley Trip - Day 4 http://04flhtcui.posterous.com/2012-harley-trip-day-4 http://04flhtcui.posterous.com/2012-harley-trip-day-4

Day 4 was a day of transition. We started out the day in the countryside of New York and ended the day in a completely opposite environment, the metroplex that is Toronto.

Our ride was very smooth and well timed to avoid most traffic until we got to the exit for Toronto. In addition to the delays in Toronto, the border crossing took almost 30 minutes, hopefully the crossing on the way home will be smoother.

We arrived at our hotel around 2:00 and spent the rest of the day touring the Yorkville area of Toronto. We toured the Bata Shoe Museum, grabbed some dinner, walked around and started planning our Wednesday.

Tomorrow, we are going to take in as much of Toronto as we can.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1333845/CIMG5035.JPG http://posterous.com/users/hckikRRYOr3my Dan Smith 04flhtcui Dan Smith
Mon, 25 Jun 2012 17:30:00 -0700 2012 Harley Trip - Day 3 http://04flhtcui.posterous.com/2012-harley-trip-day-3 http://04flhtcui.posterous.com/2012-harley-trip-day-3

Day three was a day of leisure.

We started out our day with a nice breakfast at the hotel and a walk about a mile down to Wells College. Wells is a small liberal arts school across highway 90 from Cayuga Lake.

We then decided to take the 40 +/- mile drive to Ithaca and the farthest west Ivy League school, Cornell University. As expected, no cycle trip goes without at least a little rain, of course, unless you're in the desert. We hit some wet roads on the way down and literally just made it to Cornell before the sky opened up.

We spent 2 hours exploring the campus and it's huge. It is a great blend of old (it was founded in 1865) and new architecture. There was a lot of activity, a high school girls basketball camp and what looked like some college orientations. Cornell goes by Big Red, one of a handful of schools whose team name does not end in "s". Can you think of some others?

We departed the Ithaca area, headed back, had a late lunch at the Pumpkin Hill Bistro and then returned to the Aurora Inn.

Relaxed for the rest of the day, watched some On-Demand on the iPad and that was day 3.

Tomorrow back to the smooth Canadian roads and Toronto for a couple of days.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1333845/CIMG5035.JPG http://posterous.com/users/hckikRRYOr3my Dan Smith 04flhtcui Dan Smith
Sun, 24 Jun 2012 17:50:16 -0700 2012 Harley Trip - Day 2 http://04flhtcui.posterous.com/2012-harley-trip-day-2 http://04flhtcui.posterous.com/2012-harley-trip-day-2

Our second day started with an early departure from Queen's Landing. Headed south along the Niagara River with virtually no traffic. Along the way we saw some great views of New York State and a Can Am Spyder on the side of the road with a blown engine (oil all over the road).

Made it to Niagara Falls before the crowds and we were awed by the beauty and power. Crossed over the Rainbow Bridge and headed north toward Lake Ontario. We paralleled the Niagara River again on the American side.

We followed the water and then entered the strangest section of highway we've ever been on. It was called the Lake Ontario State Parkway. It is a four lane divided highway and we weren't sure why it is even there. Over the entire stretch of twenty miles we saw maybe 10 vehicles on both sides combined. We were actually getting worried that something bad had happened (the Rapture?!?)...one thing is for sure about it, it had to be one of the worst road surfaces we've ever ridden on. Maybe that is why no one uses it! It certainly was nothing like the Canadian roads from yesterday.

We continued on to our destination of Aurora, NY and arrived around 12:30. We had lunch, walked around and then headed off to one of the highlights of Catherine's trip, MacKenzie-Childs. It is just up the road and a picturesque spot. Catherine spent some time shopping and I spent the time staying out of the way. It is pretty overwhelming.

We checked in and spent the remainder of the day relaxing and actually enjoyed a brief rain / thunder shower that cooled things off. It is really low key here, in a good way, of course.

Tomorrow off to tour the Finger Lakes region.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1333845/CIMG5035.JPG http://posterous.com/users/hckikRRYOr3my Dan Smith 04flhtcui Dan Smith
Sat, 23 Jun 2012 19:03:00 -0700 2012 Harley Trip - Day 1 http://04flhtcui.posterous.com/2012-harley-trip-day-1 http://04flhtcui.posterous.com/2012-harley-trip-day-1

Day 1 was a great start to our trip this year.

We left early this morning and headed to the Blue Water bridge in Port Huron. There was virtually no line at customs and we breezed through. The take away for the road trip section today was that Canadian road construction is so much better than Michigan's. In fact, there is no comparison, it was incredibly smooth on the freeways. So much for reclaimed concrete.

We arrived in Niagara-on-the-lake around 1:30 PM, about 6 hours on the road, we took a couple of breaks and a gas stop so a bit longer than expected.

We had to exit the freeway at one point in Hamilton and when we stopped to get our bearings, we had a nice local couple offer advice and even invited us in (we graciously declined). Restores your faith that there are good people out there.

Our hotel is the Queen's Landing and it's beautiful, inside and out. We had a nice lunch on the patio and then walked into town.

Niagara-on-the-lake is a beautiful and historic place. We didn't realize that this area was very involved in the war of 1812. The are "celebrating" the bi-centennial this year.

We spent the afternoon and evening taking in the shops, and the sites. There was some kind of VW club there and some classic vdubs there. Also saw a DTS with a hood ornament, awful!

Had a nice dinner at Bistro 61 and Catherine enjoyed her first taste of "ice wine".

Tomorrow, we are off to Niagara Falls in the morning with our final destination for the day is Aurora, New York.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1333845/CIMG5035.JPG http://posterous.com/users/hckikRRYOr3my Dan Smith 04flhtcui Dan Smith
Fri, 15 Jul 2011 08:52:00 -0700 2011 Day Six - Billings, MT to Detroit, MI http://04flhtcui.posterous.com/day-6-billings-mt-to-detroit-mi http://04flhtcui.posterous.com/day-6-billings-mt-to-detroit-mi

Well as you might expect, not all trips go as planned.  Our 10:45 AM departure was good, we were there around 9:15 AM and ready to go.  Unfortunately, Denver had a bad hail storm on the 13th damaging several planes, including our 2:00 PM plane to Detroit.  Luckily, we were there early and they were able to re-book us on a United flight, just five and half hours later around 7:30 PM.  What we didn't have at that point was SEATS. 

We decided to explore the shops in all three terminals to pass the time.  Suffice it to say we got to know the Denver Airport very well!

We finally got seats around 6:00 PM (good seats as it turned out).  Then after a few more thunderstorms and a delayed inbound flight we left around 8:15 PM MDT and arrived in Detroit at 1:00 AM.

We had a great trip, one we'll remember for a long time.

 

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1333845/CIMG5035.JPG http://posterous.com/users/hckikRRYOr3my Dan Smith 04flhtcui Dan Smith
Wed, 13 Jul 2011 20:24:00 -0700 2011 Day Five - West Yellowstone, MT to Billings, MT http://04flhtcui.posterous.com/day-five-west-yellowstone-mt-to-billings-mt http://04flhtcui.posterous.com/day-five-west-yellowstone-mt-to-billings-mt

Left West Yellowstone around 7:15 and headed back into Yellowstone NP. Saw some Bison and lots more steam as it was around 45 degrees at departure. Left Yellowstone through the north entrance just past Mammoth Hot springs and its amazing geology.

Followed the Yellowstone river north into Montana and hit I-90 east into Billings.

For our last experience we went to Little Big Horn and toured the battlefield. Pretty cool and not like the movies.

The bike is back at Eaglerider with 836 new miles on it and we're leaving to return home in the morning.

That's about it.

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Tue, 12 Jul 2011 21:03:00 -0700 2011 Day Four - Jackson Hole, WY to West Yellowstone, MT http://04flhtcui.posterous.com/day-four-jackson-hole-wy-to-west-yellowstone http://04flhtcui.posterous.com/day-four-jackson-hole-wy-to-west-yellowstone

The fourth day of our trip was actually two different days.

We departed Jackson Hole around 7:00 and headed west through the Teton Pass, fairly intense climbing of 10% grade with several run away truck ramps. Once through the pass we entered into Idaho and the terrain changed to pasture and farm lands. At this point, we started to see thunderstorms in the distance. Luckily as soon as it looked like we were going to get wet, the road would turn and we would stay dry.

Our first stop was supposed to be Mesa Falls, but just as we turned into the turn off, there was a lightening strike just to our south, so we passed on them and headed north. Our luck held and we arrived in West Yellowstone just about 30 minutes before the thunderstorm and rain hit town.

We went to a bear shelter and got a chance to see several bears and wolves, safest way to see them.

We checked the forecast for the afternoon and were able to head back out around 3:00. We decided to go into Yellowstone and he'd over to Canyon City and the falls there. The falls were awesome and they weren't on our original plan. The trip was 40 miles each way and again the weather held.

During the second part of the day we also had the most wildlife sitings with three separate Buffalo and a dear. The roads were great and traffic was not an issue.

Tomorrow we are back to Billings, MT.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1333845/CIMG5035.JPG http://posterous.com/users/hckikRRYOr3my Dan Smith 04flhtcui Dan Smith
Mon, 11 Jul 2011 19:42:00 -0700 2011 Day Three - Jackson Hole, WY http://04flhtcui.posterous.com/day-three-jackson-hole-wy http://04flhtcui.posterous.com/day-three-jackson-hole-wy

Spent the day on activities in the Jackson Hole area.

Started the day early with an 8:00 scenic rafting trip down the Snake River for 13 miles with the Sands rafting company. We had a total of six passengers on the raft which gave everyone plenty of room. The trip was great and we saw at least seven eagles, dozens on Pelicans (video attached of them in Tour de France mode) and geese. Would do the morning trip again.

Next we took the bike up to Teton Village ski area. But first we stopped at Calico for lunch. It came highly recommended by Chuck and Judy from Mesa, Arizona who we met on the boat. We were not disappointed, fantastic food in an idyllic setting with views of the Tetons.

When we got to the village we decided to take the Tram to the top of the mountain. We went up to 10,450 feet, unbelievable experience and well worth the visit. You could see down both sides of the mountain range, Jackson Hole, Wyoming on one side and Idaho on the other.

Headed back to town and spent the rest of the day walking around, picked up a Harley shirt (of course), a hat and a Bison for my Leather Jacket zipper pull.

It's been a great visit, tomorrow off to West Yellowstone, MT via Idaho, expect to visit a number of waterfalls along the way, should be another great day.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1333845/CIMG5035.JPG http://posterous.com/users/hckikRRYOr3my Dan Smith 04flhtcui Dan Smith
Sun, 10 Jul 2011 19:38:00 -0700 2011 Day Two - Cody, WY to Jackson Hole, WY http://04flhtcui.posterous.com/day-two-cody-wy-to-jackson-hole-wy http://04flhtcui.posterous.com/day-two-cody-wy-to-jackson-hole-wy

Departed Cody at 7:00 AM, it was around 50 out so it took all our gear to keep warm.

Stopped at the Pahaska Teepee for breakfast, met a nice couple from Texas (driving a Z06 Corvette) and split a "short stack" of pancakes that was HUGE! Also met a couple from from Indiana, he works at the Toyota plant and she at Meijers.

We then entered Yellowstone and took the southern loop to see Old Faithful. She was a little "tardy" so the crowd started doing a wave (what is it 1985?), of course as they were doing it the geyser started and I'm sure some missed the beginning.

Then it was off to Jackson Hole, WY via The Grand Tetons. What an amazing view and gorgeous mountains. Got out of the visitor's center just before a nasty thunderstorm.

We made it to the Wort Hotel and have logged over 330 miles on the bike so far.

Next up a Snake River rafting trip, expecting some great photo ops on that trip tomorrow.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1333845/CIMG5035.JPG http://posterous.com/users/hckikRRYOr3my Dan Smith 04flhtcui Dan Smith
Sat, 09 Jul 2011 18:57:00 -0700 2011 Day One - Billings, MT to Cody, WY via Red Lodge, MT http://04flhtcui.posterous.com/day-one-billings-to-cody http://04flhtcui.posterous.com/day-one-billings-to-cody

Arrived safely in Billings, MT around 10:30.

Took cab to Beartooth HD to pickup 2011 Electraglide Classic.

Based upon advice of Dealer advice, took road to Red Lodge and then down to Cody, WY

The Chamberlin Hotel is awesome, extremely clean and historic.

Amazing how many different types of terrain and how few other vehicles we saw. On road had a minimum of 10 miles of completely straight road.

Went to the Buffalo Bill Cody museum, which has quite a collection.

What a day!!

Off to Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and Jackson Hole tomorrow.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1333845/CIMG5035.JPG http://posterous.com/users/hckikRRYOr3my Dan Smith 04flhtcui Dan Smith