Puzzled
Well-known member
Stroudsburg to Carlisle to Wellsboro and Back.
I met up with my long time friend Mikey (why he is still called Mikey at his age is a mystery) Sunday morning. It was still hot but not nearly as hot as it had been the previous few days probably due in part to the overcast skies. After a few minutes of conversation we were on the highway headed toward Carlisle for the Annual Bike Fest. He was riding on his 2011 Street Glide and me on my 2001 Screamin’ Eagle Road Glide. The trip out was uneventful as we super slabbed it across the interstate in the interest of making some time.
We arrived at the fairgrounds well before noon to find to our surprise no wait to get in. Once we paid our $8.00 entry fee we road right to the front edge of the parking lot. The grounds were not nearly as full as the previous years. Maybe the extreme hot weather had kept the spectators away, maybe the economy is to blame, and maybe it’s just too early. After parking we were off with my freshly serviced camera in hand to see what images I could capture. We started with the inside building under the grand stands as the bathrooms were there, I’m not as young as I think I am as I hit the bathrooms more than the gas stations. As soon as we walked in we noticed how empty the building was. When I was still showing the Chopper this building was prime real estate and would be packed.
Moving on to the outside we started in the used parts area. The rows were about half the length of what they use to be and did not run as far down the hill as in years past. Those vendors that were set up had a wide variety of parts. Traveling on the bike tends to keep you from looking thoroughly as how are you going to get anything back bigger than what will fit in the saddlebag. We saw a few vendors packing up and it was only around 11 AM. Seeing this we picked up our pace some to insure we could see as much as possible before more vendors started leaving.
Walking in and out of the various buildings as well as the manufactures “Midway” was just more of the same. Very little to look at and watching vendors packing up. I will give credit to Kuryakyn as they travelled from California and had their entire road show set up. They were without a doubt the “anchor” of the event. Yes there were a few other 53’ trailers set up but not many.
Overall the event was a disappointment. The ride out was pleasant and the gate price was reasonable. The event was maybe a quarter of the size of what it was in 2003. I have now placed this event on my list of “If I have nothing better to do” events. A little disappointed we geared up and readied ourselves for the trip to Wellsboro. This was one of the few times that I had no clue where I was going. With two different navigation systems on the bike, I didn’t use either. I choose the “Wing it” method as we didn’t have any particular time to be anywhere.
We made our way North along Route 11/15 which follows the Susquehanna River. This turned out to be a really nice ride. We were able to move along at a decent pace while still being able to take in some sightseeing. The weather was just a little cooler along the river which was an added bonus. Once we crossed under Route 80 we were headed toward Williamsport which took us by all of the famed National Little League stuff, which was sort of cool. Once past Williamsport we took Route 15 North which is a very scenic highway. This road has some serious elevation change as well as very little traffic. We jumped off the highway a little early and took a few back roads to get to Wellsboro. Once off of the highway and I started seeing all of the gas drilling companies that I hear so much about on the news. I can’t say if it is good or bad one way or the other. I can see that the little towns seem to be quite filled with drill related equipment and businesses.
We made our way in to the center of Wellsboro and grabbed a motel room right on the Main Ave. We were meeting four friends that were riding in from Jersey and NY. They didn’t have interest in Carlisle which proved to be a wise decision so they came across scenic Route 6. They arrived about an hour after we did on a Buell 1125CR (Dave), Buell XB (Sean), HD Dyna (Mike) and a Hard tail Panhead (Fritz)! After some bs’ing we made our way off to dinner. We walked down Main Street to the historic Penn-Wells Restaurant. Our waitress/bar tender Nicole had her hands full with the six of us. After a few drinks our table of six sounded more like a table of twelve. It was a good thing there weren’t too many people in the bar area. The evening consisted or more drinks and another bar stop, more of the same……
Monday morning I started the day off with a 4 ½ mile jog around town. This is such a nice way to see the town. Mikey and I grabbed some breakfast across the street from the hotel and while eating it started raining. This was going to put a damper on the rest of the day as we were there to see the “Pa Grand Canyon”. With the rain and fog the visibility wasn’t so great. We rode around the canyon area for awhile and decided to call it a day and head home.
Heading home we stopped by a HD dealer in Mansfield only to find they are closed on Mondays as is the one in Williamsport. So with no destination other than home in mind we hit the highway and rolled on the throttle to make some time. About 70 miles away from home the skies opened up and dumped buckets of water on us. At this point there was no reason to stop so we held our pace and road straight on through the rain. My 11 year old HD rain gear still works well after all of these years.
While Carlisle was a disappointment the Wellsboro trip along with hanging out with fellow enthusiasts was worth the trip. I look forward to the next get together….. After I spend a week cleaning my Bagger.
I met up with my long time friend Mikey (why he is still called Mikey at his age is a mystery) Sunday morning. It was still hot but not nearly as hot as it had been the previous few days probably due in part to the overcast skies. After a few minutes of conversation we were on the highway headed toward Carlisle for the Annual Bike Fest. He was riding on his 2011 Street Glide and me on my 2001 Screamin’ Eagle Road Glide. The trip out was uneventful as we super slabbed it across the interstate in the interest of making some time.
We arrived at the fairgrounds well before noon to find to our surprise no wait to get in. Once we paid our $8.00 entry fee we road right to the front edge of the parking lot. The grounds were not nearly as full as the previous years. Maybe the extreme hot weather had kept the spectators away, maybe the economy is to blame, and maybe it’s just too early. After parking we were off with my freshly serviced camera in hand to see what images I could capture. We started with the inside building under the grand stands as the bathrooms were there, I’m not as young as I think I am as I hit the bathrooms more than the gas stations. As soon as we walked in we noticed how empty the building was. When I was still showing the Chopper this building was prime real estate and would be packed.
Moving on to the outside we started in the used parts area. The rows were about half the length of what they use to be and did not run as far down the hill as in years past. Those vendors that were set up had a wide variety of parts. Traveling on the bike tends to keep you from looking thoroughly as how are you going to get anything back bigger than what will fit in the saddlebag. We saw a few vendors packing up and it was only around 11 AM. Seeing this we picked up our pace some to insure we could see as much as possible before more vendors started leaving.
Walking in and out of the various buildings as well as the manufactures “Midway” was just more of the same. Very little to look at and watching vendors packing up. I will give credit to Kuryakyn as they travelled from California and had their entire road show set up. They were without a doubt the “anchor” of the event. Yes there were a few other 53’ trailers set up but not many.
Overall the event was a disappointment. The ride out was pleasant and the gate price was reasonable. The event was maybe a quarter of the size of what it was in 2003. I have now placed this event on my list of “If I have nothing better to do” events. A little disappointed we geared up and readied ourselves for the trip to Wellsboro. This was one of the few times that I had no clue where I was going. With two different navigation systems on the bike, I didn’t use either. I choose the “Wing it” method as we didn’t have any particular time to be anywhere.
We made our way North along Route 11/15 which follows the Susquehanna River. This turned out to be a really nice ride. We were able to move along at a decent pace while still being able to take in some sightseeing. The weather was just a little cooler along the river which was an added bonus. Once we crossed under Route 80 we were headed toward Williamsport which took us by all of the famed National Little League stuff, which was sort of cool. Once past Williamsport we took Route 15 North which is a very scenic highway. This road has some serious elevation change as well as very little traffic. We jumped off the highway a little early and took a few back roads to get to Wellsboro. Once off of the highway and I started seeing all of the gas drilling companies that I hear so much about on the news. I can’t say if it is good or bad one way or the other. I can see that the little towns seem to be quite filled with drill related equipment and businesses.
We made our way in to the center of Wellsboro and grabbed a motel room right on the Main Ave. We were meeting four friends that were riding in from Jersey and NY. They didn’t have interest in Carlisle which proved to be a wise decision so they came across scenic Route 6. They arrived about an hour after we did on a Buell 1125CR (Dave), Buell XB (Sean), HD Dyna (Mike) and a Hard tail Panhead (Fritz)! After some bs’ing we made our way off to dinner. We walked down Main Street to the historic Penn-Wells Restaurant. Our waitress/bar tender Nicole had her hands full with the six of us. After a few drinks our table of six sounded more like a table of twelve. It was a good thing there weren’t too many people in the bar area. The evening consisted or more drinks and another bar stop, more of the same……
Monday morning I started the day off with a 4 ½ mile jog around town. This is such a nice way to see the town. Mikey and I grabbed some breakfast across the street from the hotel and while eating it started raining. This was going to put a damper on the rest of the day as we were there to see the “Pa Grand Canyon”. With the rain and fog the visibility wasn’t so great. We rode around the canyon area for awhile and decided to call it a day and head home.
Heading home we stopped by a HD dealer in Mansfield only to find they are closed on Mondays as is the one in Williamsport. So with no destination other than home in mind we hit the highway and rolled on the throttle to make some time. About 70 miles away from home the skies opened up and dumped buckets of water on us. At this point there was no reason to stop so we held our pace and road straight on through the rain. My 11 year old HD rain gear still works well after all of these years.
While Carlisle was a disappointment the Wellsboro trip along with hanging out with fellow enthusiasts was worth the trip. I look forward to the next get together….. After I spend a week cleaning my Bagger.
