New England Ride with Arizona Harley Dude

Paul asked me to write a guest blog on his site about our trip through New England. At first I was going to write about each day, but instead I have come up with some things I have learned or observed on my first extended road trip.


I have learned:

• When Getting directions from a local, a “little bit down the road” can mean two blocks or two miles. For example, “Down the road, past the well, turn left, and go down to the stop sign” really means, “Down the road, past the manhole cover, turn left and go 10 miles to the stop sign.”

• No matter what state you are in, there are 6 road workers watching and 2 doing all the work.

• The back roads of New England are beautiful and green, but I kept picturing them with 10 feet of snow in the winter and realize we can get the same thing in Arizona by driving two hours north.

• Arizonans don’t know what humidity is until they’ve experienced it back east.

• I take pretty good pictures for being a passenger on a bike that is going at least 50 mph.

• How to hold onto and read from a small piece of paper with directions on it while riding 50 mph on the back of a motorcycle.

• That we need chatter boxes for the next extended ride so that I don’t have to hold onto that small piece of paper.

• The best places to eat are the “Mom and Pop” restaurants.

• I do not have to have a clean bra every day, but the girls do need to be captured depending on road conditions.

• I can wear a pair of jeans two days when it is humid and they will last three if we are in a “dry” heat.

• I do not have to have a hair dryer – that my naturally curly hair that I hated as a teen now has its advantages. However, there really is no perfect helmet hair style other than wearing a hat.

• A fingernail repair kit is an absolute necessity.

• Monkey butt powder is your friend.

• That I still can’t figure out why is Niagara Falls considered a romantic wedding/honeymoon destination? Breathtaking, mesmerizing, yes, romantic????

• A corkscrew is a necessity – otherwise you have to breakout the tool kit from the bike in order to open the bottle of wine you bought at the local winery.

• Paul is patient and slow to anger even when I left the attraction passes on the people mover in Niagara Falls. (We did get them back).

• Nothing beats a room on the penthouse floor overlooking Niagara Falls.

• How much fun it is to be with someone who wants to do all the tourist things and how much I love him.

Paul has learned

• It is easier to get me to rise and shine and on the road if he waves a cup of coffee under my nose.

• A good day of riding does not necessarily mean getting on the road at 4 a.m.

• It was wise not to camp while it was so humid.

• I am a good sport and up to try anything.

And finally – to all of the lady riders out there – any hints, suggestions, mentoring you can give me for the next ride would be greatly appreciated.