10 Things We learned at Americade 2009
By Stephanie Gibbons & Susan Matta

    1. If it starts raining when you‘re about to leave, wait a half hour and it may stop and the roads will be dry.

    2. Check to see what the waiting period is for motorcycle towing at AAA. When AAA won’t come out, call your motorcycle insurance they often have a towing service included in the coverage. (Yea, Formost!)

    3. Always make sure you know where the local motorcycle dealer/repair shop is on your trip.  (I’m sure Laura S. has told us this many times)

    4. Gwen & Steve at the Lake Luzerne Motel will treat you like family, having their son Shaun pick up deliver from the local pizza place when your bike is in the shop as well as take you to pick up the bike.

    5. Make plans for the day but also have one or two back ups then throw the whole thing out and enjoy.

    6. Finally learn what you truly need to pack, (Stephanie had 1 pair of socks & 1 pair of pants that she didn’t wear) 

    7. Always carry a ROK strap just in case you didn’t figure out how to pack your new luggage the first time.

    8. Plan a demo ride, and if you’re vertically challenged, demo something with three wheels.

    9. Going to seminars can be fun and informative and usually the ones you want to go to most are the most disappointing.

    10. A trip isn’t complete without at least one stop to Bon’s Ice Cream.

Now for the real story. We did have rain just as we were about to leave and waited an extra half hour for the rain to pass and then had dry and sunny weather the rest of the trip, yes even in Lake George. It was the only time no rain fell during the week of Americade in 27years. 

The trip up was uneventful until we left I-87 off the Wilton/Corinth exit to make a gas stop and proceed up CR 24.

Since I missed the sign for the turn to CR 25, I stopped in the first driveway (gravel of course). Susan came up behind and said that she was having difficulty steering.  I looked down and her tire was flat. After the previous mentioned calls to AAA & Formost, a tow truck came three hours later. The gentleman whose driveway we had blocked was very nice. He helped diagnose the problem and even drove Susan & her luggage to the motel. By noon the next day, the tire was fixed and we were back on the road. Based on what the tow guys & repair shop said, we believe she picked up a nail at the gas stop. 

Stephanie went on a mini tour of the Covered Bridges of Southern Vermont; it was very nice. The tour was full so Susan spent the time relaxing by the lake. We attended a talk by the publisher of Road Runner magazine that was about women riders and it was a bit disappointing. 

We also attended a fashion show that was interesting. The models looked like they were having a lot of fun. On Friday Stephanie participated in a demo of a Goldwing Trike.  It was fun but the controls are right underneath the seat instead of forward and the throttle was very thin and a little difficult to get used to. We visited the vendor area a couple of times during the week and picked up a few items. 

Stephanie had her chaps hemmed by the woman who made then and now they fit great. We decided to go out to dinner on Friday night and made the mistake of traveling toward the Great Escape where they were having the dessert party & fireworks.  We soon turned around and headed back up toward Lake Luzerne. 

The trip home was uneventful and we had a lot less trucks to contend with.  Both Susan and Stephanie had a great time.

 
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