newb questions 1

[THE MIGHTY VEXORG]

My girlfriend and I have the last week of April off, and are looking to check out the northeastern US on our KLRs. Since we don't know the area at all, I thought I would consult the collective wisdom of the list. We'll be coming from Toronto, Canada, so I expect the first and last days of the trip will be spent doing the freeway drone, but other than that, we'd rather be riding the fun stuff. Any suggestions on areas we should check out? Pat

[Tengai Mark Van Horn]

At 12:52 AM -0400 4/16/06, THE MIGHTY VEXORG wrote:

>My girlfriend and I have the last week of April off, and are looking to >check out the northeastern US on our KLRs. Since we don't know the area >at all, I thought I would consult the collective wisdom of the list. >We'll be coming from Toronto, Canada, so I expect the first and last >days of the trip will be spent doing the freeway drone, but other than >that, we'd rather be riding the fun stuff. Any suggestions on areas we >should check out?

The closest *good* riding is in the north-central forests of PA, only about 5-6 hrs away from you, depending on which side of the city you live and how the traffic is on the Peace Bridge. There are a few list members in the area, myself included, who would be glad to show you around or at least hook you up with more info. The state forest system provides plenty of free maps and there are roughly 6,000 miles of forest roads and over 1,000 miles of jeep trails to which you have access. The scenery is great. Mark

[Don]

Although I live in south central PA, I too was going to suggest the southern tier of NY / and the northern tier of PA. PA tourist bureau issued a booklet on Route 6 (runs east / west just inside PA). Maybe you could get that in time or download it off of the internet. Over the years, we (my family) have been big fans of the distinations north and south of this two-lane. Such things as the the gas / oil fields around Drake's oil well near Meadville in western PA, the Zippo lighter factory / museum in Bradford, PA's Grand Canyon outside of Wellsboro along with timber related museums. North of Wellsboro is Corning & Elmira NY. In Corning, you have the Corning Glass museum at which you can watch them blow handmade glass objects. That whole area, down to Williamsport, PA has been shaped by and represents the lowest point of coverage of the last ice-age glacier - if you're aware of what you're looking at all of the classic geological features are all around you. Then as you travel east on Route 6 again, you start getting into the hard coal areas around Scranton & Wilkes-Barre and that is a big deal around there. BTW - on your trip south out of Toronto, stop at Niagra Falls. Another goofy place just off the Route 90, not that there is anything to see, is the town of LeRoy, NY, which is the home of Jello - really. BTW # 2 - Watch out for deer, always. PA has one of the highest deer- vehicle collision levels in the USA. Worst times are just getting light and just getting dark. Have fun whatever you decide. Don R100, A6F KLR

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, THE MIGHTY VEXORG wrote: > > My girlfriend and I have the last week of April off, and are looking to > check out the northeastern US on our KLRs. Since we don't know the area > at all, I thought I would consult the collective wisdom of the list. > We'll be coming from Toronto, Canada, so I expect the first and last > days of the trip will be spent doing the freeway drone, but other than > that, we'd rather be riding the fun stuff. Any suggestions on areas we > should check out? > > Pat >

[Matt Smith]

Haven't read the thread yet so I don't know if it/s been mentioned .... NOVA SCOTIA... yes I know its not the US ... bt damn its some of the finest costal riding around ... and then factor in the cabot trail at the end of it all? Woooh I'm starting to sound like a Tourim Nova Scotia commercial ... but yah it's a little peace of heaven in some respects ... and Halifax is a blast. In the north eastern US ... make sure to at least check out dinosaur BBQ in Syracuse ... On the KLR's ... It'll be about time for dinner by the time you hit that, unless they're still running the fairy to rochester ... But yes definitely hit the http://www.dinosaurbarbque.com/ its a blast and fantastic ribs. If you travel through Maine try and hit The Taste of Maine restaurant ...http://www.tasteofmaine.com/ I hit it up and at the time they had an all you could eat lobster deal ... but regardless it was pretty tasty Try and take the ferry across lake champlain if you can, its a not bad cruise and would make for a much needed break off the saddle Anyways my .02 Ceers, now I'll read the rest.

On 4/15/06, THE MIGHTY VEXORG wrote: > My girlfriend and I have the last week of April off, and are looking to > check out the northeastern US on our KLRs. Since we don't know the area > at all, I thought I would consult the collective wisdom of the list. > We'll be coming from Toronto, Canada, so I expect the first and last > days of the trip will be spent doing the freeway drone, but other than > that, we'd rather be riding the fun stuff. Any suggestions on areas we > should check out? > > Pat > > > Archive Quicksearch at: http://www.angelfire.com/ut/moab/klr650_data_search.html > List sponsored by Dual Sport News at: www.dualsportnews.com > List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html > Member Map at: http://www.frappr.com/dsnklr650 > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[THE MIGHTY VEXORG]

Tengai Mark Van Horn wrote:

> At 12:52 AM -0400 4/16/06, THE MIGHTY VEXORG wrote: > >> My girlfriend and I have the last week of April off, and are looking to >> check out the northeastern US on our KLRs. Since we don't know the area >> at all, I thought I would consult the collective wisdom of the list. >> We'll be coming from Toronto, Canada, so I expect the first and last >> days of the trip will be spent doing the freeway drone, but other than >> that, we'd rather be riding the fun stuff. Any suggestions on areas we >> should check out? > > > The closest *good* riding is in the north-central forests of PA, only > about 5-6 hrs away from you, depending on which side of the city you > live and how the traffic is on the Peace Bridge. There are a few list > members in the area, myself included, who would be glad to show you > around or at least hook you up with more info. The state forest system > provides plenty of free maps and there are roughly 6,000 miles of > forest roads and over 1,000 miles of jeep trails to which you have > access. > The scenery is great. > > Mark >

This is why I love this list, you send out a question on something, and you get a lot of information in return. We won't be riding Nova Scotia and Maine this time round, as that is saved for the loop home from the Trans-Labrador highway later this summer. However, hearing about all the interesting stuff in Pennsylvania, especially the forest roads (I used to use these a lot as a treeplanter in British Columbia long time ago) and jeep trails has me wanting to check them out. We are looking for as little pavement as possible, although national/state parks are fine too. We have also planned to camp the whole way to save cash, and will only use a hotel if we absolutely have to. Any maps/route descriptions/GPS routes of fun/cool stuff would be appreciated, feel free to email me directly if you prefer. So far it looks like we will head south through Buffalo on to near Erie, then out and about from there! Pat PS Is it possible to get a tour of the Jello and Zippo places?

[Tengai Mark Van Horn]

Hey Pat, I don't know about Jello, but Zippo doesn't offer tours. They do, however, have a really nice visitors center where you can watch warranty-repairs being done. there's also a mini-museum and a retail store. Zippo also owns Case Knives and they have some Case stuff at the Zippo visitor's center. We usually stop there for a whiz we're driving up to my Mom's in Orchard Park, NY, and we often walk out of there with some trinket purchased on clearance, or some freebees. You guys can grab some couch here for a night or two if you need, or camp in the yard. I have shitloads of forest maps here. I'll also dig up a GPS track of a ride that I did last spring and email that to you. You can also grab piles of maps at any forest district office on the way down. You might also want to see Alleghney Nat' Forest. The trails are nice if you don't mind circuit riding. The circuits are a good size though, and the camping is free at the trailheads. You need a $10 day pass or a $35 annual pass to ride there and passes can be bought at many gas stations, sporting goods stores, etc. It's possible to ride from NW PA to NE PA on mostly dirt roads. I like to hit as many scenic vistas as possible, and they're clearly labelled on the maps. Check the PA DCNR website about camping in the forest. It's cheap or free, but requires the pain in the ass step of obtaining a permit from a district office and reservations. The forests also have state parks embedded in them and at this time of year, you don't need reservations. The fee in parks for non-residents is around $13-$15 pr night. All this into is on the website; I don't have a link handy, but Google will find it for you. What is your departure date? Mark

>> At 12:52 AM -0400 4/16/06, THE MIGHTY VEXORG wrote: >... hearing about all the interesting stuff in Pennsylvania, >especially the forest >roads (I used to use these a lot as a treeplanter in British Columbia >long time ago) and jeep trails has me wanting to check them out. We are >looking for as little pavement as possible, although national/state >parks are fine too. We have also planned to camp the whole way to save >cash, and will only use a hotel if we absolutely have to. Any maps/route >descriptions/GPS routes of fun/cool stuff would be appreciated, feel >free to email me directly if you prefer. > >So far it looks like we will head south through Buffalo on to near Erie, >then out and about from there! > >Pat > >PS Is it possible to get a tour of the Jello and Zippo places?

[mbarney]

I also have the Alter Ego jacket and like it, but only for light/or short duration rain. I bought a 2-piece Nelson-Rigg rain suit. Pretty cheap, and works great: http://www.newenough.com/nelson_rigg_stormrider_rainsuit_page.htm -Matt in Boise, ID

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "squasher_1" wrote: > > --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "robert_striemer" > wrote: SNIPPAGE > > > > > 5) Rain gear. I have none. Suggestions please. > > > > > > I bought an over suit at the cycle shop. Mine cost $60 U.S. it was > made by or for MOTOBOSS. If you buy riding pants and jacket, just > ones that are water proof. > > I have an older style of FirstGear HT overpant > http://www.newenough.com/firstgear_ht_2_overpants_page.htm > > The Joe Rocket Alter Ego gear seems to be the closest thing to "all > season" gear > > http://www.newenough.com/joe_rocket_alter_ego_jacket_page.htm >