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Americade 2005
Americade bills itself as the “World’s Largest Touring Rally”, in its 24th year this year, it has certainly lived up to its claim to fame. For a full week in June the quiet Adirondack town of Lake George NY played host to, at best guess, 65,000+ motorcyclists this year. This being the town’s biggest event of the year, the red carpet was rolled out and hospitality was served up in mountain sized proportions not only in Lake George but also in all the neighboring towns as far away as Schenectady NY and Burlington VT.
More of a super-regional rally than a national rally like Wing Ding, Americade attracts the bulk of it participants from Virginia to Eastern Canada and Maine to Illinois. There were riders from nearly every state and province present and one 90 year old rider who rides in every year Vancouver British Columbia. There were even several people in from Europe and South America this year that make Americade part of their tour of the United States.
While billed as a “Touring Rally”, Americade has grown in popularity and diversity with motorcycling over the past decade. The week before and 175miles from the Laconia NH rally, its popularity has grown tremendously with the V-Twin crowd. Word has also gotten out to the Sport Bike crowd that the twisting mountain roads of upstate New York are not to be missed. The touring crowd is still strongly represented by Gold Wings, BMWs, trikes, and sport and adventure touring bike of every kind.
With the diversity of motorcycles present comes also a wide gamut of people and riding attire. I noticed some interesting parallels in dress between the different riding groups this year. The leather crowd was mainly the V-Twin and Sport bike riders, though each had their own particular style they preferred. The Sport bikes riders and the BMW crowd also favored the new high-tech synthetic riding gear. Shorts, T-shirts/halter tops, and sandal also crossed market lines with the V-Twin and the Sport bike crowd holding these areas again, there was however an age generation difference between the groups with moms kicking back on a Harley and daughters more likely perched on a Hayabusa. The Gold Wing and true touring crowd covered the spectrum of riding gear with nearly anything and everything goes.
The key non-riding activities are divided into 3 main areas of town; Million Dollar Beach holds the bulk of the venders outside, the Expo about a mile away holds another large group of venders inside, The Roaring Brook Ranch plays host to the seminars and the Demo Rides. An unofficial vender area has also grown up about 6 miles away in neighboring Warrensburg, put off by the high price of booth space at MDB, this area has grown rapidly over the last several years. The venders represented were the normal group seen at most rallies, two notable additions I had not previously seen was an ATM van from Bank of America and UPS had set up a shipping booth at the rally to make getting your purchases home much easier. Both were doing a robust business.
The riding is not to be missed in upstate New York and between the organizers (Tour Expo), the regional visitor’s bureau, and the folks at Mad Maps, if you’re bored with the riding it’s because you never got on your bike. There are a host of guided and premium guided rides scheduled every day, self guided rides are well laid out and described on the maps, and if none of these are to your liking then just take off in any direction and let your bike wander. If you get “momentarily disoriented” during a meandering ride, just stop and ask one of the locals for direction, they were all really friendly and all recognized the economic impact of this two wheeled gathering that is upon them. Unlike many rallies that take place in larger towns, excellent riding is never more that a mile away and normally starts as soon as you turn onto the road from wherever you’re at.
Road conditions are generally pretty good in the area of the rally, occasional frost heaves and road snakes spice things up a little, but never more than can be compensated for good riding skills and a safe speed. The roads are typical mountain roads with lots, let me say that again, LOTS of hills and curves. Our 94 1500se had no problems setting a good brisk pace, even two up, through the mountains proving once again that the Goldwing is as much at home on the super slab as it is chasing a mountain breeze and grinding foot pegs with the sport bikes. Much of the riding can be done in 4th gear running 40 to 45 mph, but not all. Frequent stops and pullovers are the order of the day to truly enjoy the scenery up state New York has to offer.
If you venture into Vermont pay close heed to signs with “suggested” speeds for the curves. Vermont does not allow billboards and obviously has some very strong truth-in-advertising laws, when the sign say 20 mph, don’t push it any faster or you’ll find yourself in route to a meeting with a cliff or a pine tree. Even the people on the sport bikes were impressed enough to slow down for the curves out of respect for life and price of plastic. Not all were so nearly so lucky or smart, but more on that later. No trip to Vermont would be complete without a stop over at the Ben & Jerry’s factory for the tour and free samples of their latest flavor creations, the tour is interesting and the ice cream was as always, delicious. Ben & Jerry’s is definitely worth the trip and the $4 for the tour.
Accommodations in the Lake George area are varied enough for any taste. At one extreme there is the Sagamore, a 5 star resort on the lake in Bolton Landing that can cater to your every need, we stayed there last year and were quite impressed. There are a few of the standard chain motels and hotels, but the number of rooms are limited and unless you are absolutely wanting to stay in the town of Lake George, there are much better accommodations to be had close by. One motel you must locate is the Holiday Inn in Lake George as it plays host to the Americade administrative functions and where you will register; it’s a zoo the first two days but calms down as the rally picks up. Plenty of camping sites are available if this is your inclination, as for me, a hot shower and firm mattresses are high priorities at the end of a day’s riding. The bulk of the lodging in the area is in the form of homes and cabins for rent and family owned and operated cottages.
Our choice of accommodations for this year was O’Conner’s Resort Cottages, a family run resort of about 30 cottages on the lake. When you check in Mrs. O’Conner makes you feel welcome, like visiting family or old friends from out of town. When we were checking in something sweet and cinnamon was in the oven in the kitchen just off the front desk, my mouth watered and my mind drifted back to my youth in my great grandmother’s kitchen. Our two bedroom cabin was spotlessly clean despite its vintage furnishings; the place felt more the weekend mountain home and very little like rented accommodations. No trailers (to carry bikes) were allowed on property due to the steep roads and limited parking for each cabin. All of the cabins have kitchens and living rooms which add to the hominess and help rid you of the expenses of always having to go out to relax. Everybody staying at O’Conner’s during the Americade was there for the rally, the cool evenings were ideal for socializing with the other resort guests and many new friends were made. Located about 4 miles from town the $120 nightly rate was less that a minimal room in town at most of the chain or local motels.
Dinning at the local restaurants was consistently a treat, the food is delicious and varied in style and cuisine, the service was always outstanding, and the owners were always there, attentive to everything going on and making sure all was right with your meal. Word travels fast, good and bad, and they are keenly aware of it.
As I mentioned earlier Americade draws a diverse attendance, a growing segment is the 20/20 crowd ($20K & 20 mile a week and they consider themselves riders) who mainly bring their bikes in on trailers or in the back of pickups. This group is growing rapidly in number and presents a new set of variable to deal with. There is a very high instance of drinking and riding in this group as it’s looked on as part of the “image”. They also bring with them a growing noise problem, but the LGPD is working diligently at writing tickets to help curb the problem. The lack of riding skills from this ever growing group also shows itself well. Several chromed out V-Twins found out the hard way on the Vermont roads, that their bikes handled poorly on the steep hills and loose gravel that accompanies many of the turns once you leave the pavement. At another extreme, many of these novice riders were getting their first taste of real riding and had difficulty negotiating many of even the easiest turns, many turns were being taken at much less than the cautionary speeds posted, causing backups and traffic jams.
If you’ve got the time, Americade is not to be missed! The riding is as good, if not better in many cases, as any you’ll find in the Smokies and the Ozarks. The scenery is spectacular, and there are a host of historical sights to visit that were pivotal in the fight for independence of this great Republic. Along the way there and back there is the Blue Ridge Parkway and Niagara Falls to add a little more fun on the trip.
While next years vacation plans don’t allow for a return to upstate New York, 07’s dates are already blocked out for the trip, we’d love to have some company. I’ve posted some pictures from our trip this year and last year to Americade on my web site, if anybody is interested. Click on the Photos section at www.footballpoolpicks.com to see them.
The official website for the Americade is www.tourexpo.com.
Don Wiley Chapter W2 |