Hog's Trip 2014

Well time to explore yet another part of North America. This time we are covering the states of New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine in the U.S.A. and Nova Scotia, New Brunswick (including Prince Edward Island) in Canada. The trip will take ten days and cover 2,756 miles.

On the trip will be five of us who over the last four years we have covered Pennsylvania and the Adirondacks, shipping the bikes to Denver and riding to Sturgis and then home to Syracuse and the Hog's team also rode the Sturgis to Pennsylvania section of the Puffin ride across the USA from Los Angeles to New York city. Last year the Hogs road to Florida via the Smokey Mountains and return.

Another post

My son's film-part 1 of their trip across the USA to raise money for the Puffin foundation.

https://vimeo.com/49669586

The Last Post

Ross' bike finally arrived in Syracuse from LA. Very sad to think it did not make the trip with us.

Day 19 - 13th August

Yesterday was the last day of the trip just 287 miles from New York to Syracuse. Total mileage for the trip was 5,234.

The hotel we stayed in was very trendy but typical of a Manhattan hotel room in that it was very small. Yesterday the piglets roamed the town and walked for miles visiting art galleries and shops, Central Park etc. I think they were amazed at the sheer size of the place. Being Sunday the town was very quite except for the tourists. There was far less noise as the cars are not allowed to honk anymore except in emergencies. The piglets enjoyed their time talking bikes in Brooklyn and they were home by midnight.  We left the hotel at 8.30am and had breakfast with Susan's brother Fred and then hit the road. The roads were still quite as we were heading out against the traffic and in Summer half the town goes on holiday. We went past our house that we used to live in at Croton-on-Hudson. Ross lived there from the ages of 2 to 5. The neighborhood seemed smaller and a lot more trees. We then crossed the Hudson River at Bear mountain which is just South of West Point military academy. The ride took us through the Catskills which is famous for the story of Rumplestiltskin. The area is extremely pretty with so many trees and rivers running beside the road for miles. Deer beside the roads and trout fishermen standing in the river. Idealic.

We drove into the parking lot of Susan's shop and of course she burst into tears on seeing Ross whom she has not seen for a year and a half. (mind you she has spoken to him almost every day.) The piglets showered, did their washing and had a big meal. I sent a message to the Wild Hogs "The piglets are in their pen and clean.) It is good to be home and not have to check out and ride three hundred miles. But then again I miss pulling on the boots and starting my engine.

I spoke to James Gribble who welcomed us home. What a nice guy. The little we did to raise money for his foundation was well worth it for such a great cause and a great family.

We are holding a small welcome home party on Friday night and having a final group ride on Saturday for the piglets before they head home on Sunday. They go down to New York by train on Sunday and then go to JFK and LA on Monday. It will be interesting for them to look out the window of the plane and see the area they have covered over the last three weeks.

Some statistics: 19 days of riding, 35 gas fill ups, (piglets had double this),114.49 gallons of gas, average 44.6 MPG, average price gallon $3.92, total gas bill $475.84.

Special thanks for all of you who have read the blog and especially to all those who donated to the Puffin Foundation. I will have a few more posts to cover photographs once the lads send me there photographs and of course I'm sure I will have some reflections on the trip.

Day 18, 12th August

What a great day. We hit the road at the crack of dawn and the roads into Manhattan were very quite as it was Sunday morning. The trucks still overtook us and we were riding at 70mph (115kpm for the Aussies.) We were going to take the Lincoln Tunnel but instead took the upper deck of the George Washington  bridge. We rode down 9th avenue to show the boys all the apartments. We parked near Battery park and the boys looked at the statue of Liberty. We then left the bikes at my brother-in-laws apartment and the piglets walked all over town whilst I rested. Tonight the boys are going to a bike bar in Brooklyn and I'm having dinner with my two favorite brothers in-laws. (this will be a test to see if John, Michael or Fred read the blog. Please do not tell them.)
Hot news. We have decided to go straight back to Syracuse tomorrow.

The positives are (1)  the piglets need to be back in New York by the 20th to return to Australia via Los Angeles, (2) there are plenty of good rides in the Syracuse area. (3) The piglets  they can rest, (4) They can clean their bikes ready for sale, (5) Shawn can have a shave (6) Ross can put on a clean pair of sox.

The bad news is we will not see the Puffin Colony in Maine. Susan and I will do that before the Summer is over in the car with the boys.

Side story. Ann  Greene (who is now the famous relation in LA) asked that the piglets take a photo of Peter Puffin in front of Mount Rushmore. I asked Ross to take Peter and I asked Rully to remind Ross and I asked Shawn to remind Rully to remind Ross. When they returned I asked how the photo turned out. There answer? We forgot Peter!  Ann - we will photoshop Peter in.

New World Trade Centre

Peter Puffin with the Statue of Liberty. (where is said Peter and Robert

robert waiting with the bikes at a dog park whilst the boys are sight seeing.

Day 17 11th August

Everyone woke up early to say goodbye to us. (Even Mark T and Mike!) Mark T and Mike headed back to Syracuse and Steve to Buffalo. We headed out in pouring rain to get Rully's chain tightened on his bike and to buy Ross and Rully some wet weather gear for the trip. (The both looked like big blue jelly beans.) An hour out of Wadsworth the rain stopped and a few hours from Strousberg the sun came out. We peeled all the wet weather gear off and rode the rest of the way in comfort. It was strange just the four of us without the other four. Gas stops were a lot shorter. Hopefully an early night tonight ready for Manhattan in the morning.  Total miles today 399 and 4,851 miles for the total trip. We try and ring Ann Greene (the relation who put us up in LA) every couple of days because she went through the process of buying the bikes. She should have bought herself a bike and rode with us.

We are almost right across the country. One more stop in New York City and we head north to Maine and hopefully the Puffin colony.

Day 16 10th August

We travelled from Monticello in Indiana to Wadsworth in Ohio. 322 miles. Not a lot to report. Mark Clark (alias Dudley) headed off for home at 6am and arrived over 700 miles twelve hours later. He went through two hours of very heavy rain which slowed his journey. That night we had a really great steak at the restaurant next to the hotel . I worked on the computer for a number of hours figuring out accommodation for the next night and New York. The highpoint of the hotel was when the fire alarms went off at 2.30am in the morning. It turned out it was a false alarm with a lot of people wandering around the hotel.

Mark T even arrives on time! (he does not read the blog so he will never see this)