Ride Report: Ottawa, ON - Laconia, NH - Ottawa, ON

Route Summary

Ottawa - Hwy 417 - Montreal Hwy 30 - I87 - Route 2 Lake Champlain - I89 Burlington - Route 202 Montpellier - Route 110 - Route 4 - Route 104 Laconia.

Laconia - Route 104 - Route 4 - Route 22A - Route 9N Ticonderoga - route 73 Elizabethtown - Lake Placid - Route 86 and 30 Malone - Route 37 Canada US Border to Route 138 Cornwall - Highway 417 Ottawa.

Thursday June 14: Ottawa, ON - Laconia, NH

Highway 417 Ottawa - Highway 30 Montreal

We met at Paul's house for around 9am and got on the Queensway just before 10am. We rode into some strong winds from the east for about an hour and stopped for fuel and food at a truck stop, where we finally discussed comfortable highway speeds.

Got back on the highway after a long stop and bypassed Montreal by keeping to highway 30 east. There was a toll bridge at $1.50 per bike, which was very much worth it to see the new bridge over the canal. We were then able to blast on down the 30, entirely bypassing the city and its traffic. Not much scenery to discuss, but a fast route.

I-87 to Route 2: Interlakes Route

It wasn't long before we came to signage for I-87, and I remembered that Paul had wanted to ride the route between lake Champlain. So gesturing wildly to each other and shouting over the wind and the noise of two engines, we agreed to take the exit. Until this point, we had pretty much been riding in blocking formation, but I had been noticing that the air was very disturbed in the rear position and it was pulsing on my ears uncomfortably. I decided to ride up right next to Paul's right saddle bag; lo and behold I had found a totally peaceful spot to ride! It was as if Paul's faring was creating a little dead zone right next to his bike. The wind died down and I could hear both of or exhaust notes perfectly. It was a really cool spot to ride, and it felt like a true tandem ride now. We took another quick comfort stop at duty free and then hit the border.

The border guard asked me a bunch of questions about my bike and sent me on my way to the secondary inspection, where the guards essentially waved me through. From here it was only a few miles to the interlakes route, which I was thankful to see: riding the highway had already gotten boring.

The interlakes route is a pleasant little two-laner. Nothing exciting, mostly low speeds and gentle curves, but two-lane traffic and gorgeous scenery with the lake on either side and the mountains in the distance. We got back on the interstate just before Burlington and joined the high-speed insanity for another few miles before our asses needed a break. Thankfully there was a rest stop between Burlington and Montpellier, VT, so we pulled off for some more jokes and snacks.

It was only another half hour to Montpellier, VT, where we stopped for a proper meal. By this time the weather had changed significantly and I was officially cold (and possibly complaining). I was on a hunt for soup, and we ended up in a dingy pub where we had some mediocre food, but gathered some excellent information about the route we had been planning to ride. Apparently there were fifteen miles of construction on route 25, so after some quick searching and smart phone mapping we decided to try route 110, which ran parallel to the interstate.

Montpellier, VT - Laconia, NH: Rain in the Hills

Route 110 turned out to be the best route of the day, even though this is where it started to rain. It appears to be some sort of mountain pass, and we were riding through the gorgeous green mountains, with farms and rivers on either side. Indeed this is where the rain began, so we pulled over to get into our rain gear.

The rest of the ride was pretty much in the dark and the rain along routes 4 and 104. I was starting to get a little grumpy as my feet were now wet, so the cold was setting in. A bit of route confusion led us very briefing onto a dirt road just after dark and added to my end of day frustration, but Paul finally managed to get his GPS to lead us into the B&B: the Lake House at Ferry Point.

Our hosts (James, Cindy and their lovely family) were very welcoming and made every effort to talk me into forgetting my wet boots. They very proudly showed us around the lovely common areas: the lobby with fireplace (a very welcome touch at this point), the dining area complete with 24-7 on-demand coffee via Keurig and the living room with magically appearing television.

Paul and I were assigned to the Barn, which was much more pleasant than it sounds. In fact, it was the perfect setup for a couple of single guys: a two- storey apartment, complete with a full kitchen, master bedroom, living room and bathroom. The master bedroom comes with a king bed, which we dutifully flipped for and I lost. The main floor sports an inflatable pullout couch, which was exceptionally comfortable after such a long day of riding. In fact, after hot showers, we were both content to bed down for the night with visions of Laconia dancing in our heads.

The Ride Home

Threats of rain in the forecast to start the day but decent weather for leaving Laconia. Routes 104 and 4 were a total riot on a dry day: tons of twist and turns through forests and running rivers. Traffic was surprisingly light considering how close we were to Laconia.

In fact, we only ran into one trailer, but managed to pass relatively quickly. There were a few slower sections where the route took us through towns like Tiltin, but overall very fast and a huge improvement over the ride down. Temperatures held steady at just warm enough to ride without leather.

Route 104 congestion on the curves

What could easily have been the highlight road of the day was a bit of a wash due to some slow moving traffic. The advantages of route 104 are that it's a narrow little twisty with tons of scenery to enjoy. The disadvantage is that it makes for some lower speeds for the larger vehicles. We ended up stuck behind a cube van for a good half hour, where we got beat around by the wake at frustratingly low speeds, until we could finally find a safe space to pass.

Route 4: Killington, Whitehall and Franny's snack shack

The ride up through the mountains into Killington was fast, and set up for speed. There were plenty of passing lanes where they needed to be: mostly on the climbs to allow you to pass slower-moving vehicles. Paul seemed to be loving to push his bike, and I had my throttle pretty much wide open to keep up with him on the climbs. At our next comfort stop, he shouted out with a grin: ‟I love the sound of my motorcycle when it's really working!” Makes sense I thought…lots of little horsies in that bike.

The descent out of Killington wasn't as memorable as the climb, but everything changes when you cross into New York State: the asphalt becomes blacker, the road flattens out and the mountains seem to become a little less massive. Truly, Vermont had the best scenery to offer, as well as the most entertaining roads, both on the way down and the way home.

Paul's ice cream radar screamed at him as we were passing Franny's Snack Shack, so we stopped for some high quality fried food. Amazingly for a shack out the in middle of nowhere, we were granted free access to WiFi, which Paul made use of to try and buy another Corbin seat off Ebay. More importantly, we re-plotted our route, which would appear to have saved us two hours, and grant us access to burritos in Lake Placid!

Hwy 22: Frannys to Lake Placid, the big climb

The ride into Lake Placid from the western shores of Lake Champlain will remain one of the more memorable rides of the summer. We started out at 30m elevation @ Ticonderoga and climbed to 660m @ Lake placid: a ride into the eastern skies that covers some amazing scenery and fantastic roads in just over an hour. Absolutely gorgeous twisty road climbing from Lake Champlain all the way to Lakd Placid. The sky was overcast and we got some spitting rain, but it didn't matter. The scenery was so breathtaking at Elizabethtown that I went with my open faced helmet through the rain just to have a better view.

The pass into Lake Placid is at least as steep as the one leading into Killington, but there are fewer opportunities to pass. However, we were lucky on this day, as traffic seemed to be moving at decent speeds, so we made good time into Lake Placid.

Lake Placid - Ottawa

After an extended comfort stop, we got onto the last leg of the journey. There is very little about this route that is particularly memorable, except for the descent from Lake Placid into Malone. This is essentially the last of the twisties. After Malone, the road flattens out, straightens out and slows right down as you pass through Mohawk territory. The crossing at Cornwall was an intentional decision, as the bridge surface is paved (though in rough condition), as opposed to the bridge in Ogdensburg, which is surfaced in grooved steel. After Cornwall it was an hour of concession road and freeway, so nothing to report about the roads. However, riding into Ottawa at dark after an amazing day on the roads, I had a smile on my face from ear to ear.