So close to Halifax now I can almost smell it. Or is that a slight whiff of Dartmouth? ;-) and RELAX

This sign had me diving for cover.  That is until I realised that I was under a solid roof and that it was the middle of October.  Freezing conditions were a little way off yet.

This number plate had me smiling that is until the owner of the vehicle rightly enquired as to what I was doing.  I said that the New Hampshire moto is very bold and interesting to an outsider.  What I should have said is 'that I am free, I am alive and if the other option is to be dead then surely I can do what I like'.  Being of the quiet and unassuming type I decided that this was not my best option.

Madeleine had recommended a great camp site at Hermit Island but on arriving I found out that it had closed the day before.  The manager was really helpful and recommended somewhere else.  Before I found him I drove around the island and it was a fantastic place to camp.  What I should have done was find a secluded site and set up camp since at that time of day nobody would have found me.

Above is the alternative which was not bad.  It was at a place called 'Unpronounceable' or 'Sagadahoc Bay Campground'

Men will recognise that bottle over my left shoulder!!!

Amazingly these 2 leaves landed on my mudguard like this.  Perhaps me assisting them so that they only had 1mm to fall had something to do with it :-)

The problem with unburied power lines.  They get in all the best shots.

Even the grass goes red.

A very nice hotel in Machias, Maine and the same hotel the following morning.  You will not be surprised that I got very wet on this day.

I did however find a great trail to ride and despite the amount of rain it was still in good shape.  It was not until I had been on it for 20 minutes that I hit another road and realised that I was not supposed to be on the trail.

Hooray for Dave!

 So if you want to keep people off your land what would you say beware of?  'Beware of the dog' or 'Trespassers will be shot' but no

 it would seem that people in the east are very protective of their land. 

Perhaps the town should be called 'Bogofformybeeswillsortyouout'

The border crossing back into Canada was a breeze and then I stayed with Larry at his house in Economy, Nova Scotia

Great location right on the Bay of Fundy, although the bay is sadly lacking in this shot.

From right to left meet my hosts.  Damn good looking bloke (I wish), Mildred Larry's Kenyan wife, Larry, Kevin Mildred's cousin, Jake Larry's son and Kerisha Kevin's Jamaican girlfriend.  Bit of a Heinz 52 household.

Bay of Fundy

My last photo of the trip.

So Crazy did really well for a little 400cc bike and I did really well for an old geezer :-) Though just a day on from the end I am taking a while to unwind.  The next trip is already in the planning!!

A few distance figures

Total distance - 8739 miles (14565 km)

Distance with Camilla - 3345 miles (5575 km)

Distance solo - 5394 miles (8990 km)

THE END!!!!

(for the moment)

Peeling around the big apple and onward to Massachusetts

On leaving Rhode Island the plan was to get round New York as quickly, simply and safely as possible.  The last thing that I wanted was to be sat on a saddle narrower than a blade of grass and ride c#Crazy through the traffic of New York City. I managed it more simply than expected though it did involve being sat on major 4 lane roads for a lot of the time and that is 4 lanes in either direction which made for a long, exhausting, uninteresting and at times scary ride.

I finished the days ride at the Budget Inn, Extension 184, Stonington,  Connecticut.  Just north of Exit 93 of Interstate 95.  I want everyone to remember this hell hole since it was $90 per night, in a terrible condition

and from a night in the room I ended up with 95 'bed bug' bites.  You might ask if I was a little pissed off and in reply I would say 'do bears shit in the woods?'

they even had the gall to feast on my face.  I would like to think that women would pay thousands to be able to do that ;-)

 

The road north towards Worcester, Massachusetts was a good riding one with lots of colours and some lovely bends.  Again it was one of those times where I could do with a few more horses.

These 2 lovely young ladies were having a Yard Sale (Car boot sale).  From the amount of stuff they had to sell it must mean that they had a separate house just to keep the junk sorry merchandise.  I suspect they were hoarders :-)  but insisted on giving me a key ring each to keep as a memento.

Lots of dead people!! but at least they would have a good view.

Some bloke that did something on a horse once though for the life of me I cannot remember what or perhaps it was not that interesting!  Some of you might be able to read the writing and solve the mystery.

Spent the first 10 minutes here looking for the hippies.  Apparently a apparently a number of people have arrived having driven many miles being certain that they would be able to get tickets for at least one gig.  Unfortunately they were 200 miles too far east.

The old and new.  I am referring to the tractors and not father and son

Great little cafe in Woodstock

Some new motorcycling acquaintances in Java Jive.  Charlie and Michelle.

and a great big smoothie served with 3 big smiles.  Jan, Josie and Hayley :-)

The smoothie was so good I had already devoured it.

The bossette in the middle even said that when my book is in the Top 10 best sellers list that I should return and do a book signing in the cafe.

I then spent a couple of days with a friend of mine in Worcester, Massachusetts but like a complete t**t I failed to take any photographs.  Dohhhhhh????????

Madeleine was great since her son let me in when I arrived and then left me to my own devices to await Madeleine as she returned from a road trip on her Triumph.  Living up to expectations of extracting the urine I proceeded to wash all of my clothing and then tumble dry it on high and everything that could not be washed I put into her freezer at -20 deg celcius in order to kill any bed bugs and their eggs.  You can imagine the thoughts running through her mind when she returned to find her freezer full with a motorcycle helmet, armour, boots, bike jacket etc etc

Quite a crowded Atlantic Coast

It might look like a Meccano  project but this is the 4.3 mile long Chesapeake Bay Bridge.  Not as long as the other crossing further to the south that is 20 miles long.

They call themselves the first state of the US since they were the first to sign up to the Constitution.

Must have been a big storm to blow the house away and leave the chimney breast standing.  Either that or the 'moonshine' was a little bit too flammable :-)

At time I imagine that this arrangement has more horsepower that crazy

Dinner at the Cape Henlope

More exercise for the skinny b*****d.  It was a long hard climb to get on top of the fence.  Apparently this can be an OK surfing spot.  Not today though

Triangulation tower used as part of the WWII coastal defences on Cape Henlope

David, Carol, Bob and Brian who provided the evening's entertainment in Lewes, Delaware.

Apparently the best site on the whole of the campground.  Good site from which to go for an exploratory run around the old military camp.  I am truly sad since I enjoy trying to piece together the uses for each building.  Apart from the observation tower there were numerous hardened bunkers.

Mria's name was in the National Parks computer so she paid for the site.  I will be recovering the cost of the site when I return.

Nice smooth crossing from Delaware to New Jersey on the Lewes to Cape May ferry.  My previous riding partner, Alex, would be feeling sick by just looking at these photos

As I rode north through New Jersey from Cape May I tried to get as close to the Atlantic Coast as possible.  Desafortunadamente the area was so heavily built up that there was always a couple of rows of buildings between you and the sea.  Since reaching the east coast the increase in population density was clear to see.

Right at the northern coastal tip of New Jersey is a place called Sandy Hook which was an old military base and is now a state park.  It has views across the bay to New York and enticed me to become a military history sleuth again..  Hooray I hear you all cheer.  More pictures of bunkers, canons and military detritus!!!!

Whilst there I met Tom and Samantha.  They looked after me really well.  Fed me, kept me supplied with beer and persuaded me that riding the following day in the pouring rain was foolhardy and that I should camp there for another day..  Not being one to argue I took their advice.

We went glassing which is going onto the beach and looking foe pieces of glass that over the years have been worn smooth in the sea.  This was my first piece and is slightly less common since the reinforcing wire is still embedded in the glass.  Yellow followed by red are the rarest.  It is interesting to imagine the history of these pieces of glass.  Were they lost from a privateer as it sheltered from a storm in the bay or was the red glass the remains of a ships port hand light?

Old WWII gun emplacement.  During the early stages of recovering bodies from the Twin Towers it was considered as a morgue since it would be easy to chill the bunkers and keep the, cold. 

I told you there would be a picture of a canon.  For those of you with a dislike of acquiring knowledge then I suggest you skip to the next post.

Officers were very privileged.

The oldest continuously operating lighthouse in the USA

The site of a mortar battery.  All mortars would fire simultaneously and just hope that one of them would find a target.

The Parade Ground

Campsite at Sandy Hook for the second night.  Meet Samantha and Tom.  Top people!!

He even let me borrow his truck.  With the camouflaged seat covers etc people were even asking me where the best fishing was and I could tell them about how a skein of geese will send out a couple of pathfinders and that you need to let these pass before opening up on the main body.  Just call me 'Woodsman David'!!!!

View of New York from North Beach, Sandy Hook.

The Peace Tower built on Ground Zero is far left

The Empire State Building is the red one in the centre

The Peace Tower

The Empire State is the tall one in the middle

North Beach

Keeping the tent dry so that I would not have to pack it wet.

From Sandy Hook I had no option but to take interstates in order to get round New York