Day 23: June 24th Riding the Kancamangus

The morning was dry with a few puffies floating around 4000 feet trying to team together and build something stronger in the winds.  The Weather Channel indicated possible thunderstorms and isolated showers.  Hell, that’s pretty much the forecast for the northeast for all of June and July!

US2 was right out front of the motel and I headed west for about 75 miles to Gorham then about 6 miles north on NH16 to Berlin.  Upon reaching Berlin, the beginning of the required SCMA Best Ride, the road was split into a northbound one-way running through the small town, and a south bound one-way one block to the west.  The town was old and quaint, I liked it and would have enjoyed exploring it.  But I was on a time limit and needed to complete the ride and then head to Niagara Falls to visit my sister.  So I turned west and got on the south bound one-way, refueled at the town gas station, then headed south on NH16 to Conway. 

After passing through Gorham the 2^nd time and turning south off of 2/16 to continue on NH16, a Forestry Visitors Center showed up.  Usually I’ll pass on these centers, but lately new and interesting facts have been introduced to me via such visits.  So in I went. 

The Parks Ranger was very helpful.  From him I learned about the road going to Mt. Washington and that I had better hurry to get up there as they were forecasting storms to hit the mountain.  Mt. Washington is the highest hill in the northeast reaching 6,288 feet (kinda hohum if you’re from the west coast and have been in the Rockies and the Cascades).  The base where entry onto the Mt. Washington Rd begins is roughly 2000 feet, so this is going to be an interesting ride to the summit.

Disappointingly, the ride never came about.  When I reached the base, only 5 miles or so from the Visitor’s Center, I was stopped at the fee gate and told that motorcycles were not permitted on the road due to winds gusting to 60mph and visibility dropping to 10 feet. 

Now what do I do? I was going to plead with the fee collector but frankly, the weather conditions didn’t sound pleasant.  Other bikers were also turning around, as were a few cars!  So I called the SCMA’s Chair of the 15 Best and whined about my predicament.  The adjudication he made was that we’d have to treat the closure similar to highway 1 being blocked in the Florida Keys due to an incoming tropical storm.  Hence, I was granted a reprieve from the requirement to ride Mt. Washington. 

After taking a few photos with the entrance attendant, I continued heading south on 16 towards Conway, very frustrated with not being allowed to climb the highest peak in the Northeast. 

Some where in Conway I grabbed a turkey subway sandwich before finding the start of the Kancamangus….which I had almost missed.  The signs aren’t very obvious so I ended up passing the turn onto NH112.  About a mile later I came upon some locals who were able to get me back to the turn off located near the Ford dealer and rolling along my way on the famous NH112.  

The views of the surrounding NH country are gorgeous.  Of course being at altitude in the forest further enriches the air with O3 (heavy air).  Here’s a pic of the views and one at the Pass.

When I reached the end of the road in North Woodstock the skies were starting to fill with fast moving clouds.  After taking a quick photo at the Woodstock Post Office I quickly donned the rain gear….and just in time. 

As I rode on NH-112 to connect onto NH-118 towards Warren, which is the end of the complete ride, the rain began coming down. 

Once on 118 the road began climbing over the mountain…..and the rain came down harder.  Visibility was dropping to a hundred feet when I realized the helmet face shield/visor was fogging.  I flipped it up so the bottom edge was just above the top edge of my goggles.  This allowed me to see further ahead until the rain came down even harder.  The road had some nice turns, as it climbed and descended the mountain, as well as endless forests and possibly some vistas.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t see anything beyond my focus on the road.  The lightening was close by as thunder was heard within a second or so of the flash.  And there were way too many flashes for my tastes!  I briefly thought of seeking shelter under the trees but there was no easy access to such….besides, trees are more likely to get zapped than me on a Harley….at least I think so.

Big scare happened to me near the top.  The rain was heavy, visibility was maybe 30-50 feet and I had slowed to about 30 mph.  I figured there was about 10 miles left to reach Warren so I decided to gut it out.  Suddenly I saw a downed tree branch lying across the road.  There was no time to react; again, visibility was only around 30 feet.  Just as I let off power the front tire hit the multi-leafed branch, its stem looked to be about 3-4 inches, and the Harley went slightly airborne in the rain on the wet road.  First thought: “Oh KWAP!”.  There was no second thought.  The bike landed on the road, wobbled a few times, but stayed upright.  Then I had the 2^nd thought, “IATOFTS”!  Which means, “I am too old for this s^*t”.

About 20-30 minutes later I reached Warren and pulled into the first (only?) gas station and tried to dry out a little as I waited out the continuing storm.  An hour later and I was back on the road.  A few miles south of Warren I picked up 25A and headed east to I-91.  It was still raining as I headed south, but half way to Battleboro it finally let up and a little sunlight shined down upon my weary face.

 At Battleboro I called it a day, got a room at the Econo Lodge, ate a hamburger for dinner, and hit the sack hoping for a quick nod into sleep land without having to count leaps over tree branches.

C ya mañana,
Gonzo
Twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
Email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com
Cell: 949-433-0761