New Brunswick, Canada - The Chuck Palahniuk Ride

[Nice Goat]

Brian, I love your story-telling and self-reflection.  Thanks for sharing, man.  Next time, though, please don't make me wait four months to resolve the cliffhanger.   ???

I like the quote and can see how it could be abused by people accustomed to instant gratification, but in the hands of somebody who is capable of moderation and delayed gratification, it could be a powerful goal-setting reminder.

Thanks again!

[Chitza]

I find myself chewing on lots of the nuggets in your stories, Brian. Sometimes I chew too long before I comment and then it seems too late. Most times the emotions are too strong for words and I say nothing. Shame on me. Suffice it to say, you never fail to encourage and motivate me with your words. Thanks for taking the time and being present in the moment to catch the self reflection.

[Mulley]

@klaviator I was a lot like you. Before this trip I had only been on really long dirt/dual sport rides and 2-4 day street rides in the Southeast. I had never been more than a days ride away from home on a street bike. When Brian asked me to go I had a lot of reservations. He's asked me to go on other long rides in the past and I've declined, at the time I didn't own a proper long distance bike. A naked sport bike with no luggage was not the appropriate bike to go 3400 miles on. This time he conveyed his excitement for the trip not just in words but his actual emotions. I could tell he was really looking forward to this. I said okay and went out and bought a different bike. Yes, I bought my Verysys 650 LT pretty much for this trip. It was close to an even trade but that was a difficult decision. I miss the Tuono but I'm so glad I made the trade and went on this trip.

The trip overall wasn't epic. It wasn't anything worth writing a book or a movie about. No one will tell stories of our great interstate/highway voyage to New Brunswick, Canada. However I had a great time and I'm really glad I went.

[klaviator]

............................................. However I had a great time and I'm really glad I went.

That's what really counts.  Even though this really wasn't my kind of ride, I may very well have felt like you did if I had gone.  The fact is that I have done some pretty long trips in the past but not with a group like this.  Even though I'm an old guy, I still haven't come close to figuring everything out and who knows, I might just do a ride like this some day......especially if I keep reading Brian's ride reports!

Let me just add: I think the group you ride with makes a big difference.  It can turn a ride that would suck by yourself into a fun time.

[Brian A]

Thanks to all of you for your comments.

I sometimes think maybe I do spend too much time on my RR. I tend to find myself sometimes in the frame of mind to pen thoughts and other times it's a case of "meehh... not tonight."

I will say it takes me a lot longer to compile a post than it does to read it!

Also, for me, the best reward is reading other's comments. What do my friends, and people I don't know, think when reading the RR?
I don't really care if it's "Wow! I'd love to do that!" or "Nope. Not for me. Doesn't sound the least bit enticing."

*** So if you are reading this, and you have any thoughts or comments, do me, and the others who read ride reports a favor: Take 5 minutes and share your thoughts and comments. (Not just here, but on any RR) Those of us who frequent this subforum tend to enjoy sharing our stories and also appreciate and like it when others share whatever thoughts pop into their noggin while reading, or after reading, a RR. ***


Mulley was right.  The ride to Canada for lobster was not, in and of itself, an "Epic" ride.

But, we did it.

It's a trip that will always be there, filed away in our "Hey, remember that time when we rode to Canada for lobster and......" memory banks.

No amount of money in the world can magically put the memories and experiences in your brain.
No way you could ever experience trying to find some oddball length chain for Lincoln's Triumph in the rain in New York if you weren't there to do it.
You couldn't smell (almost taste) the cattle farms of upstate New York without being there.
Couldn't enjoy outstanding Greek food at Stella A's Bar and Grill in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania if you never went to Lock Haven, Pa.
And you couldn't get free sympathy coffee at a gas station if you didn't show up there.  And deserve it

And of course you couldn't express great desires to never see the streets of Newark and then find yourself there, and get ripped off by some automated toll both that simply didn't want to play ball, and see Mulley take off, on his own, the wrong direction, and just generally live the fiasco that was our time in New Jersey and The George Washington Bridge/The Bronx, if you weren't there to do it.



And you couldn't do this if you didn't.....


Just go.




--

[Chuck & Susan]

Awesome stuff.... And I am taking notes from the Newark parts. I know I will be using your information as I plan my lap around the US for mid 2020. Is there really a GOOD time to try and scoot thru those NE cities?

Thanks

Chuck

[Mulley]

Brian that was a perfect closing thought. I've already had a Garth Brooks reference earlier today so here's another.

"Life is not tried, it is merely survived
If you're standing outside the fire."


And by the way. I didn't order lobster. Instead I had fish, I believe it was some sort of sea trout. After all of those miles to get there I just wasn't in a lobster mood.

[klaviator]

Awesome stuff.... And I am taking notes from the Newark parts. I know I will be using your information as I plan my lap around the US for mid 2020. Is there really a GOOD time to try and scoot thru those NE cities?

Thanks

Chuck

I lived in Maryland and Maine.  My advice is on those NE cities is DON"T GO THERE.  Take 81 to Scranton PA then 84 and avoid all those NE cities.  That's what I did when heading South or going back to Maine.

[Mulley]

I lived in Maryland and Maine.  My advice is on those NE cities is DON"T GO THERE.  Take 81 to Scranton PA then 84 and avoid all those NE cities.  That's what I did when going heading South or going back to Maine.

Agreed. The only reason we went the way we did was for bragging rights. I for one have had never been onto New England at all. I had barely even been in Virginia before. So by design we hit as many states as we could. I wouldn't do that again. That was a one time thing.

Do not ride into New Jersey or New York City unless it's absolutely necessary. I don't think there is a good time. The gas attendant told me that Sunday afternoon (when we went) was the worst. Many locals leave town for the weekend and are coming back home at that time. Yeah, we didn't think of that. Nobody accused us of being smart.

[jrobinson]

This trip may not have been epic, but visiting 4 corners of N. America certainly is. Plus the fact you are already planning the next one.

Well done, Sir, Well done!

[Brian A]

Thanks JR.

You were there, in Key West, when the seed was planted!

[fmlstewart]

And there it is. What I like to call, "The Tao of Brian".

Who really wants to ride to New Brunswick? I remember when they opened I-20 in Leeds. I've driven/ridden it a million times. I've driven it on the way to work, and and gave it not a thought. I've driven it to the hospital, and hated every inch of it. I've ridden it on the way home from buying a new bike and was giddy! I -20 means nothing in particular, but it has been under my tires when good things, and bad things, and irrelevant things have happened. Likewise, I've taken trips that seemed like I was on a mission. I've taken rides that seemed like total zen - like therapy. I've had trips that were "work" to complete. Rides, trips, adventures, like life can be planned, but the plan will not guarantee success. But then again, what is a successful ride? Surviving my most difficult times sucked, but made me who I am. Enjoying good times, passed to quickly, but again, made me who I am. Who the hell plans a trip to New Brunswick freakin' Canada?!? It just doesn't matter. Like Mulley said, Garth Brooks said... reason enough. I like bikes. I like trips. I like spending time with people who like bikes, and trips. Where, doesn't really matter. And sometimes it does. Sometimes I like to go alone. Sometimes I like to go with friends. To me, if the opportunity presents itself, and the universe gives me the green light. I'm going. Truth is, the worst trip I've ever taken, I can honestly say I would not want that experience to not exist. That said, my take on this trip...

Brain always seems to have some very deep and meaningful reason to go to some obscure location, and see...something. The beauty of  Brian is, he wants to share it, with people who completely don't understand why, but go anyway. I must admit, I'm selfish. When I have some place I want to go for some specific reason, I usually think, "nobody wants to go there and see that." So, I just take a solo trip. And I like doing that as often as possible, but I like taking motorcycle trips, as often as possible.  So it was a trip, and I was in. Long interstate days suck. The other guys talked about "fun" riding, or "scenic" riding. Put your nugget in a bucket and it can free your mind. Unless you're on the verge of suffering a heat stroke. I can even find solace in those conditions at times, but unfortunately, on this trip, I had job issues on my mind. Not good things, or opportunities, but issues of the most frustrating kind. I found the time I spent off the bike, helmet off, talking with the other guys, was the real therapy. That's when I could sometimes forget the frustration and just laugh at stupid stuff. Maybe it was the heat. Maybe it was the interstate. I just mentally wrestled with crap most of the time. But when we stopped for gas, or dinner, or a hotel, I could put the crap away for a while. I also took the opportunity to get some other perspectives on the situation, which was helpful, but I obviously didn't want to dwell on it. But here's the funny thing. When we were combat riding through Newark New Jersey, I wasn't thinking about work at all. I was actually laughing most of the time, thinking about Brian's insistence that we NOT STOP in New Jersey. See how that works?!? One of the worst parts of the trip, was one of the best memories for me. Too funny...
So, then we rode some roads, and saw some stuff. We ate some good food, and drank some beverages, and talked, and laughed and we did see some cool stuff and take some cool pics. I can't say the scenery or weather, was as great as some other rides I've been on. I can't say anything crazy happened like other rides I've been on. Can't say I would ever want or plan to go back Northeast past North Carolina. Unless somebody else wanted to go, and the opportunity was there. I'd consider it. And I'd probably go. Because spending time on a bike, riding with friends, just talking with friends, seeing whatever, wherever, is almost always, a good thing, and even when it's not at the time, when it's over, it's still all good.

[springer]

 @Brian A

The ONLY thing better than READING your ride reports is RIDING with you!  ;)

[Brian A]

Thank you very, very much Lincoln for adding your thoughts and comments.

I truly enjoy hearing/reading what others remember from our trips together.

You and I have shared some fun and funny times.

The "Head Squasher Ride". New helmet that I thought might well burst my head like a ripe grape before all was said and done. Whittling away at the Styrofoam behind the foam pad in the hope I might survive the ordeal. I did.
And I gave the helmet away as soon as I got home. Most expensive helmet I ever bought and I never wanted to see it again.

The Daytona Beach trip. Holy cow. So many cool things from that trip. The brightest, longest lasting shooting star I/we had ever seen.
And the KLR ordeal. Epiphany moment when I realized we had put it all back to together with the thrust washer on the wrong end of the shaft.
Watching the rocket launch at The Cape.

The Canada ride. You just summed it up pretty well with your post.

All those moments, and countless more, each a small part of the giant mosaic that is added to each time we ride together, or alone.

I suspect there will be a bit more to add to that in 2018   ;)



And thanks to you also Springer. That was a nice thing to say and I genuinely appreciate it.

[catang5oh]

One memorable quote from New Jersey, Lincoln looked over at me while we were stuck in Newark traffic and stated:

We have 4 GPS's, and 4 phones with GPS's and we are still lost!

I laughed so much I forgot about the situation.



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