New Brunswick, Canada - The Chuck Palahniuk Ride

[Brian A]

some comments.........

a) States we rode in:

Alabama
Georgia
Tennessee
North Carolina
Virginia
Maryland
New Jersey  >:(
New York
Connecticut
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
Maine
Vermont
Pennsylvania
West Virginia

and of course New Brunswick, Canada.

(we missed Delaware and Rhode Island)


b) highlights:

* Eating breakfast in Springville, Alabama Saturday morning then dinner in Portland, Maine Sunday evening.
* Newark, New Jersey. Just because.
* Lobster dinner and finding folks from Birmingham had signed the guest book immediately prior to me signing it.
* The near death ride in the rain on the Pennsylvania Turnpike
* lots of other, incidental memories. too small and too many to tell.

c) The 650 Versys

It did fantastic. The regearing (sprockets) was a great change and made a huge difference in the over-the-road performance and comfort. It will cruise at 80 mph without effort and The GIVI cases were worth every dollar. The stock windscreen, although less than half the size of the GIVI aftermarket, is a better performing windscreen. I have added aux LED lights since the Canada ride and could kick my own butt for not having done so from the get-go. (Same with the GIVI cases)

There is a part of me which will, every now and then, think "I might like to trade bikes." 
Maybe a Super Ten or something along those lines. But I will inevitably walk out to the garage, sit on the V and find myself at home.

I know there are a host of nicer, more advanced, better appointed motorcycles, but for me, for now, my 650 V is what I want and all I need.

It is a reliable as a brick, gets good gas mileage, is a very fun bike to ride and only gets left behind if the game goes up above 120 mph.
I don't play that game much anymore so that's not a big issue for me.

I don't see it going away anytime soon.

(and yes, it is butt ugly in the face)




So that gets us to Chuck.

Chuck Palahniuk.

I'll try to post sometime over the next few days and wind things up.

[Mulley]

Brian's views and what he sees when riding are so different from mine. There are times when I enjoy the view and scenery. I really do. I'll slow down and soak it in. I think he's more reflective than I am. A lot of that comes from having a terrible memory. I've heard that taking Ginkgo Biloba can help to improve memory function. So I went to the pharmacy and bought some but damn it, I can't remember to take it.



Turrible jokes aside, I distinctly remember riding at a reduced pace for half a day from Bangor, ME to some small town gas stop on our way to Mt Washington, NH. I was soaking it all in. It wasn't exactly picturesque, the roads weren't straight but they also weren't windy. No one would ever recommend them as a good sportbike road. To truly have fun in the large radius curves our speeds would have been in the "lose your license" range so I decided to go 5 over the speed limit and enjoy the day for what it was. So as it was, we were just "cruising".

At the gas/ice cream stop (did Brian mention how many dang ice cream joints they have in a part of the country that doesn't have a real summer season? It's crazy) Lincoln commented on how much he despised the last section we just rode. Darrin seemed to not have an opinion either way but Brian and I both thoroughly enjoyed it. The strange thing is, any other day I wouldn't have enjoyed it near as much either but for that day it was the right place and the right pace.

Sometimes just an average country 2 lane and my thoughts is all I need to be happy.

[Brian A]

Good add Mulley.

I remember that stretch of road perfectly. And I really did thoroughly enjoy it.

Part of it for me: When you ride faster, you have to take more of your senses to just ride safely at higher speeds. When you slow down a bit there is a lesser demand on your senses and you can afford to use more of your senses to soak in the scenery.

Also, the brain itself is more free to wonder and wander.

A slower pace has its own rewards. Things and thoughts missed at brisk speeds come more frequently and more easily when the pace is slower.

[yamahamer]

Theses reports are a love/hate thing.  ;D
I love reading about these great long adventures but I hate the fact I haven't done one yet.

Nice work guys!

[Chuck & Susan]

Theses reports are a love/hate thing.  ;D
I love reading about these great long adventures but I hate the fact I haven't done one yet.

Nice work guys!

HERE HERE!!!

[Brian A]

Thanks guys.

Fact is, my yearning for planning and making the next "Big Trip" all started as a result of one Rider Report and one pic.

Donovan's American Flesh Eater RR and this pic. It changed the way I view life and motorcycle riding.
It truly did spark the fire that has resulted in Ecuador, Colorado, Key West, Alaska, Baja, Idaho, Canada, etc.

[Brian A]

So, who is Chuck Palahniuk?

He is an American born author/freelance journalist, best known for his award winning novel "Fight Club" which was made into a movie by the same name.

Chuck P. and I are the same age, 55, born about one month apart in 1962.

Aside from me really liking the movie Fight Club, being the same age is about all he and I have in common.

Well, there is one other thing.............


I do not remember when I first heard or read it. It was probably 4 or 5 years ago, maybe a little more. Whenever and wherever it was that I first came to know of it doesn't matter.

What has mattered is that I remembered it and have kept it filed away in some little cubbyhole in my brain, to be pulled out and put to use every now and then.  It's the kind of thing, for me at least, where I fear if it were to get over used it would risk getting trivialized. It might cease to have the weight and impact I like to keep reserved for it. One might, if they were so inclined, use it to justify any sort of action or pursuit.

Greed could be justified.
Poor decisions be given support.
Fodder for the cannon of self-indulgence or self-gratification.

Perhaps my worst fear: It could create a sense of entitlement if applied without prudence and discretion.

On the flight home from Baja, when I got to thinking about having been to the SE, NW and SW corners of North America, and my thoughts drifted to a visit to Maine for lobster (which morphed to Canada for lobster), Chuck P.'s quote poked its head out of the cubbyhole and said "Hey. Remember me?"

I studied on it. 
Was a desire "to go" a good enough reason? 
Was I entitled to it?
Did I somehow deserve it?

In the end I realized that none of those questions mattered. I'd be doing SOMETHING with my time and money.
I make an honest living at an honest job. I give to my church and many other reputable organizations that do outstanding work for others not as blessed and not as fortunate as I have found myself.

Truth is, life owes me nothing. I take what comes my way, share my blessings with others, and then look at what's left over and what I am going to do with my time, my money, my friends.

My life.

It was all that which lead me to decide "Yep. That's what I want. I'm going NE to eat lobster."

Because as Chuck Palahniuk said......

[klaviator]

I still remember when you were planning first planning this ride and the plan was to ride to Maine for lobster.  I remember asking myself if I would want to go on this ride if the opportunity was there (Which it wasn't).  My thought at the time was no.  The idea of riding long days on roads that weren't that great just to see Maine and eat some lobster just didn't appeal to me.  Of course I lived in Maine for four years so I had been there and done that.  What did appeal to me was the fact that you would be doing this ride and afterwards I would have another great ride report to read. 

Then the plan changed to Canada.  It still didn't appeal to me.  The you did the trip and just now finished the ride report.  I certainly wasn't wrong about the ride report.  Outstanding report and very entertaining just like all of your reports

Brian you truly are a great writer, even if it takes you a while to finish a report ;D

So now that I have read the whole story, do I suddenly have a desire to duplicate your trip??

Um.......no.

It's just not my style of ride.

But if I had gone would I have enjoyed it or at least been glad to have done it?

That's a much harder question to answer.  Chuck Palahniuk may have said:



But do we all truly know what we want? 

Yes this trip involved some long day, some crappy weather and even getting lost.  It also involved spending some time with friends, overcoming hardship, seeing some new sights and achieving a goal together. 

So how would I have felt if I had done this trip??

I have never done a long ride of this kind with a group before.  Maybe I should try it some day

Anyway, thanks for taking the time an effort to do this report.  I enjoyed it and am already looking forward to your next one.



And just where might that be???

[springer]

So, who is Chuck Palahniuk?

He is an American born author/freelance journalist, best known for his award winning novel "Fight Club" which was made into a movie by the same name.

Chuck P. and I are the same age, 55, born about one month apart in 1962.

Aside from me really liking the movie Fight Club, being the same age is about all he and I have in common.

Well, there is one other thing.............


I do not remember when I first heard or read it. It was probably 4 or 5 years ago, maybe a little more. Whenever and wherever it was that I first came to know of it doesn't matter.

What has mattered is that I remembered it and have kept it filed away in some little cubbyhole in my brain, to be pulled out and put to use every now and then.  It's the kind of thing, for me at least, where I fear if it were to get over used it would risk getting trivialized. It might cease to have the weight and impact I like to keep reserved for it. One might, if they were so inclined, use it to justify any sort of action or pursuit.

Greed could be justified.
Poor decisions be given support.
Fodder for the cannon of self-indulgence or self-gratification.

Perhaps my worst fear: It could create a sense of entitlement if applied without prudence and discretion.

On the flight home from Baja, when I got to thinking about having been to the SE, NW and SW corners of North America, and my thoughts drifted to a visit to Maine for lobster (which morphed to Canada for lobster), Chuck P.'s quote poked its head out of the cubbyhole and said "Hey. Remember me?"

I studied on it. 
Was a desire "to go" a good enough reason? 
Was I entitled to it?
Did I somehow deserve it?

In the end I realized that none of those questions mattered. I'd be doing SOMETHING with my time and money.
I make an honest living at an honest job. I give to my church and many other reputable organizations that do outstanding work for others not as blessed and not as fortunate as I have found myself.

Truth is, life owes me nothing. I take what comes my way, share my blessings with others, and then look at what's left over and what I am going to do with my time, my money, my friends.

My life.

It was all that which lead me to decide "Yep. That's what I want. I'm going NE to eat lobster."

Because as Chuck Palahniuk said......

Truth, there is a lot of it in that quote/\\/.

[Brian A]

Indeed there is Springer.

It serves to remind me to make decisions and choices that fill my life with the things that matter. Without some degree of thought and direction we'd just wind up with a bunch of crap which, in the end, didn't matter for much one way or the other.

[Brian A]

Win/klaviator -

Your input is always good. I enjoy and appreciate your comments and point of view. Maybe especially so when, as is the case here, the ride I took was not the kind of ride you'd take.

Do we all know what we truly want? and Where might my next planned ride take me?

Not 100% positive on either but at this point I can say is I think I know and it involves me, a sticker book from 45 years ago and one of these.....

[jrobinson]

I don't think we can call this a ride report, you went way past that on page 1!  This is a great piece of story telling.

I've said, Our lives is made up of roads traveled. If we take the right road or the wrong road, it makes us the person we are and in a way defines our future. We can always take a moment and go back to a defining moment that put us there.

I heard someone say life is like fabric, made up of many threads. If you remove or change 1 thread, you change the fabric.

Great job and I try to wait on the next story you can tell.

[springer]

Win/klaviator -

Your input is always good. I enjoy and appreciate your comments and point of view. Maybe especially so when, as is the case here, the ride I took was not the kind of ride you'd take.

Do we all know what we truly want? and Where might my next planned ride take me?

Not 100% positive on either but at this point I can say is I think I know and it involves me, a sticker book from 45 years ago and one of these.....

Ooooh...A Convair B-58 Hustler! I remember seeing those take off and land at a couple of Air Force bases my dad was stationed at!



Some good possibilities for this ride.  ;)

[Brian A]

Johnny - Thanks for the kind words. RR continue to be a labor of love for me. I just try to tell the story as I remember it and hope others enjoy the tale.


Springer - I am envious. I never saw a B-58 Hustler, other than in the little sticker book and in the dreams of a 8 or 9 year old boy.

[springer]

Johnny - Thanks for the kind words. RR continue to be a labor of love for me. I just try to tell the story as I remember it and hope others enjoy the tale.


Springer - I am envious. I never saw a B-58 Hustler, other than in the little sticker book and in the dreams of a 8 or 9 year old boy.

Grew up on S.A.C. Air Force bases until I was 13. Dad flew Air Rescue.