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I came home from Americade the day before yesterday. Now (that I've rested a little) its time to share my adventure with the forum.

Monday, June 1: I woke up at 5:30 to record lows in the state of Connecticut. It was 37 degrees in my town. I ate a good breakfast at home, secured the suitcase on Dixie, and off I went. About 25 miles before the New York line, I saw one of those informational brown highway signs that said something like 'Highest elevation point on Mass Pike'. The temp had to be between 40 and 45, but at 65mph, it felt a lot colder. I stopped for a cup of jo' at the last rest area. I had made plans to take some twisties going up there, so I got off the Pike at exit 1 and headed north on Rt 41, then Rt 22. Its a great ride if you're ever that way. I took it all the way to Rt 149, then headed west right into Lake George. I quickly checked into the hotel, unloaded Dixie, and rode over to sign in to Americade at the Holiday Inn. I then just ran scouted out the area the rest of the day. I wanted to make sure that I knew where everything was for the next day. I hooked up with Alain on his cell phone after 5, got something to eat, returned to the room to read all the stuff they gave me, and retired for the night.

Tuesday, June 2: Terrible night sleep. I woke up at 3:45, and after trying everything to get back to sleep, gave up and got up at 4:35. After opening Dunkin' Donuts at 5:00, had some coffee and a breakfast bagel, and decided that since the demo rides opened at 7:00, I'd head over to Kawasaki to wait the hour and 15 minutes. I was the first one there, but not for long. Before long, there were about 25 of us ready to wait almost two hours (you see, the demos started at 8, not 7). EVERYONE was there to ride the new Voyager. They had one. I ran into Tony and Sean there and we made plans for later. After demo sign up, I went over to Million Dollar Beach. I bought some new Cruiserworks boots, then I met up with Alain. We walked around the expo until it was time for me to go ride the Voyager. I'll talk about the demo in another post. I hooked up with Tony and Sean and we ate lunch together then went back down to the M$B until it was time to head up to the planned dinner with everyone. There, eleven of us met at The Raintree for eats and camaraderie. We made plans for the next day and retired for the evening.

Wednesday, June 3: Met up with Tony and Sean again and rode to Bolton Landing to meet Alain for an enjoyable breakfast where Alain tried his best to do a one man roast of me. (He was in good form and actually did a pretty good job. He even got the waitress in on it.) Afterward, we rode up Rt 9N to Fort Ticonderoga and played tourist there. It was interesting. We ate there and headed back via Route 8, River Road, and Route 9. Alan saw his brother (Trollsabre), and left the group to meet up with him. Tony, Sean, and I went back to M$B where I finally broke down and bought some Kuryakyn switchblade highway pegs for Dixie. Tony, Sean, and I decided to eat at the Olive Garden in Glen Falls before we retired for the evening. Of course, I went back to the hotel and installed my new highway pegs before retiring.

Thursday, June 4: Breakfast at The Silo, then into Roaring Brook Ranch to get in line for Kawasaki again. I wanted to just ride something that would be fun. I chose the ER-6N. I'll do a review of that one too in another post. I saw Tony and Sean one last time at the Victory demos before I left. I also briefly saw Rich and Joanne as they were leaving the Ranch. I also ran into Richie and his girlfriend (sorry, but my memory won't let me recall her name) at the Kawasaki demos when I returned to do my ER-6N ride. After the ride, I ran into Dave, Fred's brother I had met back in 2004. I then returned to the hotel to load up and head back home. It was a great ride home and I got back in time for supper with my wife and kids.

All in all, it was a very good time. I have some great memories to look back on. I had a lot of laughs. All of the forum members I met at Americade are simply good people and everyone reading this should do what you can to meet as many of them as you can. I'm awfully glad I had this opportunity, and I hope that we can do all of this again some time. It was a great four days for me, and the first and only time that it didn't rain on me at Americade. Everything ran smoothly at Americade, but it was a little disappointing that so many manufacturers did not show up. I was disappointed, and a lot of other people that I talked to also, to not have Honda, BMW, Moto Guzzi, and Triumph there. Maybe next year. For those of you that have never been, Americade is a great motorcycling event to attend. There's a little something for everyone. Most of all, some of the best riding in the country. It's absolutely amazing how many two-lane highways you can go on for 30 or more miles and not hit so much as one stop sign. Great scenery too. I hope that everyone gets at least one Americade in their life.