My dad rides a Can-Am Spyder these days. It’s a very different type of riding than a two-wheeled bike, so he understandably didn’t want me taking it out for a cruise. But he offered the next best thing, taking me for a ride on the back of it. How could I say no to that? We had a fun cruise, taking Rollercoaster Road (that’s really its name) down to Weirs Beach, followed by another fun trip down Winona Road. I had to get used to the bike not leaning in the turns, but it was quite comfortable.
I haven’t mentioned it much, but Laconia Bike Week was last week. It may seem surprising that I was so nearby, yet decided not to attend, since I’m clearly interested in motorcycles. It will seem even more surprising when you consider that I could’ve stayed in the next town over, with my parents, for free. The truth is, it’s just not my scene. I’ve been to Sturgis, on assignment for RideApart, and I got the maximum “biker rally” experience there. Leather, Harleys, and bar hopping just aren’t my thing. That’s why I planned to visit my parents immediately after Bike Week.
The bikes are gone, but many signs of bike week remain. The most noticeable one is tire marks on pretty much every road in the area from motorcycles doing burnouts. Why, I don’t know. To me, tires are too expensive to burn up like that. Weirs Beach itself is still hopping, but this time with normal visitor activity, as well as people taking down all the tents that popped up for Bike Week. The banner is still across the road for the 100th annual Laconia Bike Week. There aren’t too many places to park right now, and you have to pay for any of it.
The roads we took on the Spyder were so fun that I hopped on my own bike to try them myself as soon as we got back. Between mental notes I took on my previous ride, a good sense of direction, and Google Maps to tell me road names before I could see the signs, I managed to retrace my steps. It’s been a while since I’ve ridden around this area, but I remember how fun the roads are here. It’s no wonder a bunch of bikers decided to have a big gathering in Laconia 100 years ago, and kept up the tradition ever since. I’m not planning to venture out to Mount Washington this visit, but I rode it on my KLR two years ago during Climb to the Clouds, right before they paved the final section of the road.
Back at the Forgotten Angels campout, themadyankee told me I had to look him up when I got up to New Hampshire this summer, so I did. He brought his dad, and I brought fellow local Kaptain Granite with me, surprisingly able to wrangle himself away from his small child for a couple of hours. I call it “Shadetree Army, Yankee Division,” since we all met through the community around Shadetree Surgeon. It’s not even that he personally introduced us to each other, but because we were all fans, and now friends, of the guy. Even though we haven’t spent a lot of time hanging out in person, it felt like a reunion of old friends. Good times.
I can also highly recommend Route 132 between New Hampton and Tilton, which is how I got to Kettlehead Brewing Company to meet these guys (another place I can highly recommend — once again, trust the recommendations of the locals). This isn’t one of those epic rides like I’ve written about before, just an extremely pleasant meander through the woods. I set no speed records, nor did I need to. It was just fun.
Smokey Da Van 