Americade 2008 - Pictures

This year I'm publishing highlights of my activities at the 2008 Americade Motorcycle Rally, day by day in a blog. Americade is scheduled for June 2-7, this year. The blog will also include my preparation in getting ready to take the ride to Lake George, NY, my observations while there, the ride home, and getting back to normal.

The trip will now also include intermediate stop-offs at at our son's house in Boonton, NJ (three grandsons) and daughter's house in Middle Grove, NY (grandson and granddaughter). Our daughter made a move to the Saratoga Springs area last year after Americade. Since her house is now 25 miles south of Americade (and on the way), we now have a fringe benefit of making the trip.

I have finally processed 96 pictures taken throughout the Americade journey. Take a look.

I also promised you road tests for the three demo rides I took. That should be happening within the next week.

Read the blog each day for further reports.

An evolving blog index to these Americade 2008 blog entries is also available.

Americade 2008 - Day 11

This year I'm publishing highlights of my activities at the 2008 Americade Motorcycle Rally, day by day in a blog. Americade is scheduled for June 2-7, this year. The blog will also include my preparation in getting ready to take the ride to Lake George, NY, my observations while there, the ride home, and getting back to normal.

The trip will now also include intermediate stop-offs at at our son's house in Boonton, NJ (three grandsons) and daughter's house in Middle Grove, NY (grandson and granddaughter). Our daughter made a move to the Saratoga Springs area last year after Americade. Since her house is now 25 miles south of Americade (and on the way), we now have a fringe benefit of making the trip.

Saturday was Parade day at Americade. We got up early and loaded the trikes. We would be leaving today after the parade. I moved my trike out to Canada Street and backed it in to the curb so I could later sit on it to view the parade. Actually, I wouldn't be doing much sitting but rather I would be taking more pictures and videos from several positions off the trike.

We walked over to the restaurant that used to be Wegars for our last breakfast this year at Americade. Every time I've gone in there, I've been looking for donuts. They're supposed to sell them. That was my first question. Unfortunately, no donuts today. Maybe next year.

The parade begins at 10 a.m., sweeps down Canada Street to just past Mario's Restaurant, and then makes a 180 degree turn in the street and goes back the other direction. The effect is that you get to see the parade twice and parade participants get to see the parade too.

It gets very quiet just before the beginning of the parade since the side roads are blocked and all traffic stops, except for the parade.

Here are some pictures and videos.

Jane also moved her trike next to mine and relaxes before the parade begins.



I'm on my trike and shortly will be getting off to take pictures and videos.



Police motorcycles start the parade.



The largest group at Americade, the Knights of Fire.



Parade participants have balloons tied to their bikes.



This was a stunt rider in the middle of the parade. There was a special vehicle filming him as he performed at many points in the parade. I wasn't able to catch any video of this. See the official Americade video.



Marriages occur at Americade.



The parade has looped back on itself.



Santa goes to Americade too.



There goes Santa in the other direction.



Parade gridlock.



Coors Light Envy.



Customs make it to Americade as well as touring bikes.



Note: These short videos (less than 15 seconds) may be slow to load. Just let them complete in slow motion and then replay them.

The sound of a fire whistle is heard in the parade. Look at the center of the first few frames of this video to see the stunt rider doing wheelies.

Both sides of the street are filled with the parade in this video.

The music of the parade is heard in this video.

The parade rushes by.

After the parade, we rode up to the Northway and headed south to the Saratoga Springs area where I let the Garmin GPS take over and lead us to our daughter's house via a scenic tree-shaded route. We will be staying there until Monday when we will start the journey back to New Jersey in 96 degree heat. We expect many stops since Jane does not tolerate heat well.

More to follow. Read the blog each day for further reports.

An evolving blog index to these Americade 2008 blog entries is also available.

Americade 2008 - Day 10

This year I'm publishing highlights of my activities at the 2008 Americade Motorcycle Rally, day by day in a blog. Americade is scheduled for June 2-7, this year. The blog will also include my preparation in getting ready to take the ride to Lake George, NY, my observations while there, the ride home, and getting back to normal.

The trip will now also include intermediate stop-offs at at our son's house in Boonton, NJ (three grandsons) and daughter's house in Middle Grove, NY (grandson and granddaughter). Our daughter made a move to the Saratoga Springs area last year after Americade. Since her house is now 25 miles south of Americade (and on the way), we now have a fringe benefit of making the trip.

On Friday there was a misty rain going on. The TV reported that the Albany area had been hit by severe storms and many people lost power. Not so here although the ground was wet and there were puddles galore.

We decided to take the trikes north to the Lone Bull again for breakfast. When we returned to the motel, our parking space was filled by an SUV. One thing you always try to do is get a room on the ground floor and a parking space just outside the door so you can keep your eye on your bike. When you can't, something seems to be wrong with the universe. The universe was all better at 3 p.m. when the SUV left and I quickly jockeyed the two trikes from their widely separated locations and back into that perfect space.

We reserved our room for next year. Yes, we will be returning for our 16th consecutive year.

We got a reservation at Mario's for 5:30 p.m. It's our favorite place and it's within walking distance. The remaining time was filled by me walking Canada Street again both before Mario's and after Mario's taking pictures and videos. Here they are.

Bikes coming up the hill to near the center of town.



Beach Road poured many walkers onto Canada Street.



Two Boss Hoss motorcycles traveling together.



A couple of sharp motorcycles.



Two trikes with canvas roofs.



And here is a video of these trikes in motion. (This video may load slowly. Let it complete in slow motion and then replay it to see full motion.)

Get ready, get set, GO!



Here's an old Harley-Davidson with a 1938 NY plate. Some old bikes are better preserved than people of the same age.



This couple was just sitting on their bikes watching the street scene -- a popular pastime at Americade.



Parking confusion at Duffy's Tavern and Convenience store, just one block from our motel.



I found this limited edition Suzuki parked three doors down from my room.



There were very few places to sit down, relax, and just watch what was going on. These folks utilized the existing benches, stone walls, and even wooden partitions around flower beds to take a load off their backs, legs, hips, and even knee replacements. I even saw people with folding chairs lined up in front of stores and at curb side.



Also seen at Duffy's were two riding beer coolers using a bar stool for a seat.



I took a video straight across Canada Street as the light changed to green.

You can walk downhill a block toward the lake and get away from the sounds of motorcycles. Here's a video taken as I panned from the lake, past a concert, and up the hill to the motorcycle scene.

More to follow. Read the blog each day for further reports.

An evolving blog index to these Americade 2008 blog entries is also available.

Americade 2008 - Day 9

This year I'm publishing highlights of my activities at the 2008 Americade Motorcycle Rally, day by day in a blog. Americade is scheduled for June 2-7, this year. The blog will also include my preparation in getting ready to take the ride to Lake George, NY, my observations while there, the ride home, and getting back to normal.

The trip will now also include intermediate stop-offs at at our son's house in Boonton, NJ (three grandsons) and daughter's house in Middle Grove, NY (grandson and granddaughter). Our daughter made a move to the Saratoga Springs area last year after Americade. Since her house is now 25 miles south of Americade (and on the way), we now have a fringe benefit of making the trip.

On Thursday we parked our trikes across the street from the motel and had breakfast where the famous Wegars used to be located. They still have the old player piano there but it's not turned on. The overhead train is totally gone. The food was good anyway, except they ran out of donuts.

We headed out to Tour-Expo. I hadn't been there yet. When we got inside, Jane went one way and I went another. Cell phones would get us back together later.

I walked past the Corbin booth and saw a Spyder all decked out in a touring seat, touring bags, and full fairing. I had heard that a Spyder touring model would soon be introduced and I thought maybe this was it. A few words with one of the reps standing there informed me otherwise. Corbin had accessories to make the Spyder into a tourer. Only about $5000 would do the trick. Corbin was ahead of the curve again.

I stopped in at Cycle Gadgets and picked up a long extension for my camera mount.

Then I turned the corner and strolled over to the Motor Trike area. I wanted to talk to the Motor Trike dealer from New Jersey. I finally found him and explained a problem I was having with my rear trunk. It kept loosening up, was hard to open, and always let rain in. Every time I stopped, the door was ajar and I had to reopen it and then slam it shut, usually skinning my knuckles in the process. Then another rep from Canada came over and offered advice. My explanation of the layout of my trunk hardware was lacking and I really needed to show them the actual trunk.

I walked out to the parking lot and returned to the side gate outside Motor Trike where the two reps examined the situation. The guy from Canada said the latch needed to be repositioned and lubricated. He went looking for tools and a thick washer and returned with some WD-40 as well. In five minutes, he had the trunk working perfectly with an easy open and no leaks. As far as I was concerned, my trip to Americade was worth it just to get this free fix. Thanks Motor Trike.

Also, I told them about the vibration I had been getting. The NJ guy slid under the trike and checked everything out. "No problem," he said as he emerged covered with dirt on the back of his T-shirt and grease on his hands from the trike undercarriage.

I also asked about why the left side rear fender was so close to the tire while the right side was not. Then the rep pointed out that there was an abrasion all the way around the tire where the fender had been rubbing against it. Whoa, we have a problem here. He said he could fix it in his shop in New Jersey by making a simple undercarriage adjustment. I needed to make an appointment when I got back from Americade. Better still, his shop was close by my house.
More problems were being solved by my trip to Americade.

At 3 p.m. we rode down to the Log Jam Restaurant to meet members of our GWRRA chapter who had ridden up for the day. Here are a few pictures.





That evening we walked Canada Street again and I took the following pictures and videos. First off is a bike carrying just about everything needed to go to Americade.



Dogs were everywhere. Some got the royal treatment like this one in his own trailer.



It's a car, no it's a bike, maybe it's a trike. Regardless, it's fun for the Americade scene.



Jane looking at a Spyder decorated with a spider web.









Just enjoying the view on Canada Street. She looked pretty serene.



The cops were giving out parking tickets this year. If you didn't have a PP sticker for $7 or didn't keep feeding the meters, you got one of these.



A block from our motel I saw a 911 memorial bike. It was pretty spectacular.



I also took a short video of Canada Street traffic. (This video loads slowly. Let it complete in slow motion and then replay it to see full motion.)

Finally, I also took a short video of me walking alongside the Canada Street traffic.

More to follow. Read the blog each day for further reports.

An evolving blog index to these Americade 2008 blog entries is also available.

Americade 2008 - Day 8

This year I'm publishing highlights of my activities at the 2008 Americade Motorcycle Rally, day by day in a blog. Americade is scheduled for June 2-7, this year. The blog will also include my preparation in getting ready to take the ride to Lake George, NY, my observations while there, the ride home, and getting back to normal.

The trip will now also include intermediate stop-offs at at our son's house in Boonton, NJ (three grandsons) and daughter's house in Middle Grove, NY (grandson and granddaughter). Our daughter made a move to the Saratoga Springs area last year after Americade. Since her house is now 25 miles south of Americade (and on the way), we now have a fringe benefit of making the trip.

On Wednesday we had breakfast early at the restaurant located in the motel. The weather was misty rain. We debated whether we should ride to the demo with rain suits on but decided to wait until we got there to decide. We were going to take a demo ride in a Stallion made by Thoroughbred Motorsports. The Stallion was designed by Motor Trike CEO, Jeff Vey. The drive train is made by Ford Motor Company. It has one wheel in front and two wheels behind. It's a trike by definition even though it has a steering wheel, automatic transmission, heat and A/C. Here's my 2008 Thoroughbred Stallion User Review that I did after I returned from Americade.

Just to show the different kinds of riders you see at Americade, I shot this picture while sitting on the porch of a pizza restaurant at noon. You can keep riding even if you are disabled. Just take along a wheelchair.



Our neighbors at the motel were Harley guys. They didn't seem to know much about Americade but they sure knew how to have a good time. Here's Jane posing with one of their Fat Boy motorcycles that they had parked on the porch next to our door to keep it out of the rain.



We rode up to Roaring Brook Ranch (RBR) two-up this evening to attend several seminars. We had a quick supper in the coffee shop before making the short walk to the seminar building. Pete Woodruff was speaking as we entered the room a bit late. We took seats in the back. This was a seminar on triking.

As the hour came to a close more and more people were entering the room and getting seats in anticipation of the seminar by Fred Rau. Fred writes for many motorcycle publications but is most known for his articles in Motorcycle Consumer News (MCN). Currently, Fred is also operating a motorcycle touring service in California.

As usual Fred confessed that he came unprepared to talk but would wing it. The audience didn't seem to care since Fred is usually a pretty funny speaker. He proceeded to place emphasis on his touring service especially personal experiences of the participants. The double room was completely full of people and laughter.

An hour or so after the seminars were over, there was a Balloon Glow. I saw this last year also. Basically it's three hot air balloons that are tethered to the ground with intermittent bursts of flame to light up the balloons. The whole thing has background music and a certain amount of narration by one of the balloon pilots to egg on the balloon keepers to fire up their flames so people can take pictures. Here's a picture of one of the balloons. I also took a short video of all three balloons going strong. (This video loads slowly. Let it complete in slow motion and then replay it to see full motion.)



After the Balloon Glow, we returned to the motel, parked the trike, and walked down Canada Street for a little night life. Here are a few pictures.

I got this picture of a Ward's Riverside motorcycle. Probably bought it right out of the catalog.





More to follow. Read the blog each day for further reports.

An evolving blog index to these Americade 2008 blog entries is also available.

Americade 2008 - Day 7

This year I'm publishing highlights of my activities at the 2008 Americade Motorcycle Rally, day by day in a blog. Americade is scheduled for June 2-7, this year. The blog will also include my preparation in getting ready to take the ride to Lake George, NY, my observations while there, the ride home, and getting back to normal.

The trip will now also include intermediate stop-offs at at our son's house in Boonton, NJ (three grandsons) and daughter's house in Middle Grove, NY (grandson and granddaughter). Our daughter made a move to the Saratoga Springs area last year after Americade. Since her house is now 25 miles south of Americade (and on the way), we now have a fringe benefit of making the trip.

I'm finding it difficult to stay up-to-date with this "daily" blog. It takes a lot of time out of a day to do a blog entry especially when pictures and videos are involved. I'll do the best I can but first priority will be going to doing the actual activities of Americade.

On Monday I got to thinking that I should do some demo rides. I didn't want to go out on straight motorcycle demos since I'm basically riding three wheels these days. I decided to sign-up for the Vectrix electric scooter, the Cam-Am Spyder, and the new Stallion trike made by Thoroughbred Motorsports, INC, a Motor Trike company.

On Tuesday, we got up early and rode up to the Lone Bull Restaurant, a favorite of many Americaders. We've eaten there almost every year we've attended Americade. It's part of our ritual. After breakfast we always ride down to Tour-Expo at 9 a.m. This year the ritual changed a little.

I decided to go to Americade headquarters at Roaring Brook Ranch (RBR) to register for my three demo rides while Jane rode to Tour-Expo. I would meet her there later.

I entered RBR and found Vectrix Scooters at the foot of the infamous corkscrew road on which a motorcycle dares not stop. I registered for a ride and was told to return in 40 minutes for the next ride. I didn't think I would get in so fast. While I waited, I decided to continue up the road to the next parking lot where Cam-Am Spyder was located.

Cam-Am had an elaborate sign-up process. I first signed-in and got a plastic tag on a cord to put around my neck. A special code was on the tag. I was told to get in another line that led up to four laptop workstations. When I reached the laptop, I sat down and followed a series of instructions. I had to pass the tag through a card reader. I then had to pass my drivers license through the card reader which read off my name and address. Then I answered various other questions about my experience with motorcycles. Finally, I signed a release and then got an armband that had my demo time on it. My appointment was to be in mid-afternoon on Tuesday.

I rode back down to the Vectrix demo and got briefed on its operation. The Vectrix is a zero-emission vehicle - no gas, no oil. It was quiet. Here's a 2008 Vectrix Road Test report that I did after I returned from Americade 2008. This report also contains a short video I took of a Vectrix demo group.

On the way out of RBR I stopped at the Thoroughbred Motorsports area where demos were being organized for the Stallion trike. I signed up for a demo on Wednesday morning at 9:40 a.m. Rain was expected overnight and into Wednesday morning but I took the chance that conditions would improve. I asked if I could add my wife to the demo as a passenger. I was told that she could sign-in at the demo tomorrow.

The Can-Am Spyder demo was held at 2:30 p.m. and seemed to be the most popular place at RBR. I first had to attend a 10-minute video on the technical features of the Spyder. Then there was a riders' meeting where the demo leader went over everything about the operation of the Spyder. They even gave you a short cone-weave test to make sure you could turn the vehicle and stop it. Hit a cone and you were out. Here's a 2008 Spyder Road Test report that I did after I returned from Americade 2008. This report also contains a short video I took of a Spyder demo group.

More to follow. Read the blog each day for further reports.

An evolving blog index to these Americade 2008 blog entries is also available.

Americade 2008 - Day 6

This year I'm publishing highlights of my activities at the 2008 Americade Motorcycle Rally, day by day in a blog. Americade is scheduled for June 2-7, this year. The blog will also include my preparation in getting ready to take the ride to Lake George, NY, my observations while there, the ride home, and getting back to normal.

The trip will now also include intermediate stop-offs at at our son's house in Boonton, NJ (three grandsons) and daughter's house in Middle Grove, NY (grandson and granddaughter). Our daughter made a move to the Saratoga Springs area last year after Americade. Since her house is now 25 miles south of Americade (and on the way), we now have a fringe benefit of making the trip.

I'm finding it difficult to stay up-to-date with this "daily" blog. It takes a lot of time out of a day to do a blog entry especially when pictures and videos are involved. I'll do the best I can but first priority will be going to doing the actual activities of Americade.

Monday arrived and we finished packing the trikes. I was a little concerned that I might have a recurrence of the vibration I had a few days ago. But it was time to finish the ride to Lake George.

It only took about 45 minutes to scoot up the Northway and get off at exit 22 that led down to our motel at the north end of Lake George. I registered and headed down the sloping hill to our room where unpacking started. We still hadn't gone to the Holiday Inn to complete our pre-registration so that was next.

Some people like to get in line at 8 a.m. and spend the next 3-4 hours working up to those tables where your pre-registration package has been squirreled away. Not me. The Americade message board contributors seem to enjoy this. Not me. I hate lines. When we usually arrive on Monday, at about 3 p.m. the line has disappeared. We did see a small line today but that was only because our name was early in the alphabet. Our friend Marion who has a last name beginning with R was told to walk right in. We waited a bit and took in some violin music provided by someone willing to give up his whole day to help entertain those people who really spent a long time in line. Our standing was over in 5 minutes, thankfully.

We headed back to the trikes and started for the exit to Canada Street. Now, Americade only allows you to turn right when you leave the Holiday Inn. It's just too confusing and dangerous to turn left with so much two-way motorcycle traffic. In the past we turned right, then quickly pulled off to get gas and then were able to pull out and turn left on Canada Street with no restriction -- still just as dangerous. Since we didn't need any gas, I had told Jane -- who was leading -- to pull off at the new diner (the old one burned down last year before Americade) and then we could just pull back onto Canada Street and go left. However, this time I saw a few extra words on the bottom of the Right Turn Only sign. It said to immediately turn on the next street for an easy way back to town. As Jane pulled out of the diner and was trying to turn left, she wasn't having any luck. I thought maybe it was time to try that nifty turn that would lead back to town. I told Jane over the CB to turn right instead and turn at the next street. But, she had some trouble understanding me.

Jane turned right and by the time I made it through the right hand turn, she was way ahead of me and past the "next right hand turn." I was now at that turn and made a right as I got back on the CB. "You missed the turn," I said.

"What turn?" said Jane. "I didn't see anything. I'm already at the next light and I'll just have to turn and go out to the Northway and bypass Lake George to exit 22."

"I guess I'll just stay on this route and see where it comes out," I said. "I'll see you back at the motel."

My route brought me around and back to Canada Street where the traffic was light. I turned left and headed through town working my way light-by-light through the heavy traffic. I arrived at the motel to see Jane waiting outside our room. She had beaten me back to the motel, as shown here with Jane between the two trikes.



By the way, I had no recurrence of the trike vibration on the 35 mile trip from Saratoga Springs to Lake George.

We had dinner across the street with members from the Spokes-Women Motorcycle Club, shown meeting before we walked across the street to the restaurant.



Afterward, we walked Canada Street and I took a few pictures and videos.









I came upon a group surrounding a bike. It was a Can-Am Spyder. I would be riding one tomorrow.





Canada Street Videos:

These videos load slowly. Let them complete in slow motion and then replay them to see full motion.

Video 1


Video 2


Video 3


More to follow. Read the blog each day for further reports.

An evolving blog index to these Americade 2008 blog entries is also available.