Our Motorcycle Trip to Mt Washington via Maryland
During the last weekend in June, I had to go to the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, MD for some classes. I decided to ride the motorcycle there rather than ride the bus. The last time I rode the bus the movies were lousy, the bus was crowded, and the air conditioning did not seem adequate. Besides that, it is not riding my motorcycle. People that know me will tell you that if I am somewhere, my bike is usually there too, so why should this be any different. My mother-in-law was attending classes there too, and she asked if she could ride along. She has just recently began riding with my father-in-law when he purchased a BMW K1200LT. Before that, she never really rode with him. Now she loves riding and has been the instigator of many a trip.
We set off Friday after a breakfast at Tims Tavern in Canton, OH almost in the shadow of the Professional Football Hall of Fame. I did not set the GPS to take me to Emmitsburg yet as I wanted to ride US 30 out of Canton to Gettysburg, PA. I love riding US 30 through the mountains in Pennsylvania, so I wanted to go that far before actually heading to Emmitsburg, besides Gettysburg is only about 15 minutes from Emmitsburg. Just before we reached the mountains, we were being waved off of the road by Pennsylvania state trooper. Once we were waved off the road, we were told to just wait where we were. Everybody on the road was being waved off. This was right at the base of the mountains. After about 10 minutes of sitting on the side of the road, there were several police vehicles that went then several BMW motorcycles with their flashers on and they were screaming by. A few minutes later the reason for the delay, a bicycle race. We were delayed by over an hour, but it was worth it to see the race. We were right at the base of the mountain where the bikes were flying when they went by. I never realize how loud the tires could be singing on the pavement. This was a large race. We ended up seeing posters for it later, I believe it took place over six days and covered the entires state.
After the we cleared the bike race, we started seeing Harley Davidson motorcycles everywhere! There were roads and businesses that were packed with Harleys and custom choppers. We began seeing “Bikers Welcome” signs everywhere. It was starting to rain, so every overpass that we crossed under was packed with bikes. We stopped just long enough to don our rain suits. It turned out that were were passing through during “Thunder in the Valley.” We stopped to eat at a small local joint, I am sorry that I do not remember the name. I had a good roast beef sandwich, with mashed potatoes and gravy, of course. The rest of the ride to Emmitsburg was uneventful, but wet. I do not have any photos up until this point, as I left the camera at home.
Sunday afternoon, Amy showed up at the National Fire Academy after class. Her father brought her out on the K1200LT. We made the switch, Amy continued the trip with me and my mother-in-law went home with my father-in-law. It was about a six hour trip for them to get to Emmitsburg. Amy and I decided to set the GPS to take us to the Mt. Washington Auto Road and avoid freeways.
The first notable place the GPS routed us to was Gettysburg, PA. I would love to stop there some day again. I spent the better part of a day there last year, and still feel like I saw nothing. Those that have been to Gettysburg will agree, that you could spend a week there and still not see everything.
After Gettysburg, we passed through Hershey, PA.
You can see snow on the next peak over from Mt Washington. This was around July 1st.
I have friends that go there quite frequently, but this was the first time I have been there. Amy loved the streetlights that look like Hershey Kisses. I loved the smell of chocolate in the air. Once again, if we wanted to avoid the freeways, we had to keep moving for now so we could make some time. We had planned a trip that we needed to cover quite a few miles each day to complete and me to be at work on time Thursday.
We spent the night in Milford, PA. We stopped to eat at 9:45 PM at the Milford Diner. Let me tell you, this place is amazing! I ordered a meatball sub that would have fed three people! Amy ordered something else, I do not remember what it was, but a family could have shared it. Their menu had everything you could ask for on it. There are photos of the Clintons everywhere here. It turns out that President Bill Clinton ate here. There have been some complaints in some review I have read about the Milford Diner of the place being full of smoke, but we noticed none while we were there. It may be because we got there shortly before closing. I still cannot believe the menu the have for being a diner. After leaving the Milford Diner, we went up the road to a Scottish Inn to spend the night. I stayed there because a relative of mine always looks for Scottish Inns on trips as he says the are always reasonably priced and clean. This place was reasonably priced, but we got the only room in the back of the joint. I was worried about whether the motorcycle would be there or not the next day! The room was small, the bed small and uncomfortable. Within minutes of laying down I was asleep as I was tired after riding all day in the upper 90s.
Steve on Mt Washington enjoying the view.
We woke the next morning, and resumed our trip. We had to get on the highway long enough to cross the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge. Our first stop was at a McDonalds in Springfield, Massachusetts. Amy got to see and hear a mockingbird for the first time in her life. I had seen and heard them growing up as a kid, we had them in Kentucky and at my grandparents farm in Tennessee. We sat and ate our breakfast and talked to some great locals. They were older gentlemen who could not believe what motorcycle had become. They told us about when Indian Motorcycles was still in town. They told us to stop and see the Basketball Hall of Fame. These men loved the BMW R1200RT that we were on. One guy said he used to ride a Honda 305 Dream and he rode across America on it. It was one of the most pleasurable breakfasts I have had. All of these men were of the World War 2 generation. Sadly, we are losing too many veterans of this era everyday. I was glad to get to converse with these men. I learned a lot about their city.
We ended up getting on the highway just long enough to exit Massachusetts and Connecticut. While I would liked to have stayed off of the freeways, we were passing through every town on the map and there was no way to escape the constant stop and go of city traffic. Once we got into Vermont, we began running back roads again. We had to stop and put our rain suits on again, what would a ride be without that? We got rained on for the rest of the trip to Mt Washington.
Arriving at Mt Washington was great, we had just busted
Nobody told Amy it was windy at Mt Washington.
out from the clouds and rain. We paid our toll and climbed to the summit. I kept a distance from a tour van in front of us, as they were driving extremely slow. As I came around a switchback turn, on a steep hill, the van was stopped were I had to stop on uneven pavement. I was not sure I was going to keep the bike upright, but I did. The van never once turned into a turnoff to let people take photos, the driver just stopped in the middle of the road 6 more times during the ascent. After the second time, I resolved that I would pass the van if I came around another turn and found it stopped. I gave the van a few minutes to get ahead of me, and I never had to stop for it again, but it was close.
Amy was a little concerned when the road turned to gravel and dirt, but it is far better than the driveway at home, so I was not concerned. Arriving at the summit of Mt Washington, we could see forever. The weather lived up to its reputation. It was cool and windy. The clouds were getting lower by the second. We went to the summit building and got lunch. When we climbed the stairs to the summit building, the Mt Washington Cog Railway was at the summit. We took some photo and then went in to eat. I had a chili dog that was basically a hot dog in a
Steve standing in front of Mt Washington Cog Railway locomotive.
bowl with a bowl of chili poured on it. It was the best chili dog I have had. I know that chili dogs do not usually become the topic of food reviews, but I was impressed by the amount of chili I got. The dog costs the same as a bowl of chili, so it is like getting a free hot dog with the bowl of chili. While we were inside, I heard the whistle blow on the locomotive, so i ran outside to watch it depart. It was as foggy as it could be! We had only been inside for about ten minutes. They are right about how weather conditions can change in an instant at Mt Washington! We killed a little time, looking through the gift shop and the museum. I talked to the postmaster for a while and then a park ranger. I learned much about the history of the park and the railroad. I then heard the locomotive ascending the mountain. I am a sucker for steam engines. I have always been fascinated by them. We took a few more photos and then left. We had made it to Mt Washington!
Can you see me now? I would say my Olympia jacket is visible!
I don’t quite know why, but that was our destination and we are glad it was. We started the trip home, where we never once had to access a freeway!
Look for more about our trip home in the next post.
Tags: BMW R1200RT, Milford Diner, Motorcycle, Motorcycle Trip, Mt Washington, Mt Washington Auto Road, National Fire Academy