The ride from Catasauqua to Hampstead must rank amongst the most fraught I have ever done. Started out with a battery that had run flat, but then been charged overnight and seemingly behaved correctly – 13.3 V off the charger and reaching 14.5 with the bike running. The plan was to ride to MD whereContinue reading "2/17 – Rip-Off in Maryland: 23-30 May 2024"

I left Art and Eve at the crack of midday, with the prospect of 270km ahead to get to my destination at a campground in Montgomery, a small town in Pennsylvania. The ride along Route 44 was brilliant; the day was sunny and warm, the road was smooth, empty and snaked through mixed forest, andContinue reading "2/16 – NY to Belfast, PA: 20-22 May 2024"

I arrived at Eve Kushner’s house later than planned and absolutely soaked, having ridden for about 3 hours in heavy, continuous, and at times torrential, rain from Niagara Falls. Fortunately, my 1980’s vintage rain suit is still 100% waterproof. Sadly, the company, Balerno, seems to have disappeared as I could find no trace of itContinue reading "2/15 – Belfast NY & Cattaraugus – 17-20 May 2024"

Having made my conclusion regarding Belfast, ON, I set off in the direction of Niagara Falls, although the GPS did its level best to frustrate me again, by sending me west instead of east. Nonetheless less I arrived and was greeted by Annemarie, who, along with husband Randy, was hosting two other bikers, Stacey &Continue reading "2/14 – Niagara Falls Back to USA – 15/16 May 2024"

After a long ride along long roads, I managed to find my way to Wayne’s in spite of the odd, to me, road naming system. The roads in this part of Canada are laid out in a grid pattern; some have a name, some have a number and some are called things like “Side RoadContinue reading "2/13 – Belfast Ontario – 14/15 May 2024"

Leaving Stu behind I headed towards my stop for the night in Saratoga Springs and my hostess Denise. She had warned me that she had big dogs, and she hadn’t exaggerated. She breeds Old English Mastiffs, and had one male, 4 bitches and 4 puppies remaining from the latest litter. To say the place wasContinue reading "2/12 – Back to Canada: Bethany, Ontario – 10-14"

I left the Bellmard Inn on a bright morning headed for Benton, about 230 km away. I took Route 1 north to the junction with Route 6 and followed this to Lincoln; Route 2 took me to Bangor and finally Route 202 took me through Unity to Benton. After a while, one road seems muchContinue reading "2/10 – Belfast Maine – 04 May 2024"

Thursday 25 April 2024 The day started bright, but with a wind that cut right through you. I decided I was going nowhere in the +/- 0ºC temperature. I thought to use the time to adjust the clutch which had been troublesome since France. Even though I didn’t really know what the problem was adjusting thingsContinue reading "2/8 – John Smith’s Mermaid"