Thursday, September 8, 2011

AMA Roadside Assistance

In a previous post on my tire problems in Maine I wrote about how when I called AMA for roadside assistance they told me I had no coverage.  I was too shaken up to be pissed in that moment so I wrote them a letter last week asking for an explanation.

I got a call yesterday from a representative from the AMA, apologizing about what happened.  They explained that they had just contracted with a new company to provide roadside assistance.  The contract didn't take effect until September 1.  Until then I was covered by the previous carrier.  However when I renewed the AMA sent me a new membership card with the new toll free number on it, even though it wouldn't take effect until Sept. 1.  There was no mention from them that the number wasn't valid until Sept. 1.  So of course I threw out my old card with the number I needed on it.

I had requested a reimbursement of the $75 I paid for my tow, but I never got a receipt from the old boy who took care of me.  The AMA won't reimburse me without the receipt.

They were nice about it and took responsibility for what happened but I'm considering just dropping AMA when I expire next year.  My local AAA club just picked up motorcycle coverage and they've been reliable in the past.  This kind of screw-up doesn't give me a lot of faith about the AMA.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Ride Report Links

I wrote up a couple of ride reports on ADV Rider detailing my last covered bridge trip as well as a run up to Vermont on Saturday to see what the roads were like.

Covered Bridges:


ADV Rider Link

Southern Vermont Storm Damage:

ADV Rider Link

A Covered Bridge Ride Report from Last Year:

ADV Rider Link

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Covered Bridge Destruction

The news out of Vermont is terrible, especially the widespread destruction of at least some part of every major state highway.  Wilmington, one of our close neighbors, was completely cut off for a while and a young woman died after getting caught in the current while riding in a car.

The loss of the Bartonsville Covered Bridge in Rockingham has been all over the news.  It's particularly sad for me as that was one of my favorite bridges in the state.  It was situated on a country road, with an active railroad track right in front of it.  The way the bridge was placed over the water, slanted, made it even more picturesque.

It's been impossible to get reliable information on how other covered bridges across the state have fared.  The Quechee Bridge, which is not historic or a true covered bridge, was safe.  The Eunice Williams Bridge in Greenfield somehow made it even after the entire roadway in front of it and the dam behind it got washed away.  I've read one report that said the Kidder Hill Bridge in Grafton (which I just visited last Wednesday) was gone, but I can't confirm it.  Considering the severity of Irene it's amazing more bridges weren't lost. 

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Pictures

Here are the covered bridges I visited over the weekend:

Wednesday:


High Mowing Farm

This is a non-historic bridge in Wilmington that was built in 1949 to access farmland.

Cheddar Bridge in Grafton at Grafton Village Cheese Co.
This is another non-historic bridge and the kingpost design does not support the decking, only the sides and roof.

Kidder Hill Bridge in Grafton
Built in 1870 and renovated around 1995.  It has unusual side beams going across the length to protect it.

Warren Bridge, Warren
Built in 1880 and renovated in 2000.  It's in a very picturesque setting on a village road less than a half mile from busy Route 100.

Village Bridge, Waitsfield
 1833, one of the oldest bridges in Vermont.  It was renovated in 1992 and 2001.
 
The Burr truss design is one of my favorites.

Pine Brook Bridge, Waitsfield
1872, rehabbed in 1989.  I like this one because it's unpretentious and used only by locals on a dirt country road.
Brown's River Bridge, Westford
This bridge was built in 1838 but was neglected for decades after it was bypassed by a modern bridge.  It was closed to pedestrian traffic in 1987 and not restored until 2001.

Maple Street Bridge, Fairfax
Another unpretentious bridge, sitting right in the middle of a quiet neighborhood.  Built in 1865 and rehabbed in 2002 after a truck was driven through it.  It has a lot of graffiti on it from local kids.

Gates Farm Bridge, Cambridge
It's a weird sight to see this beautiful bridge just off the highway leading to a corn field.  The bridge was originally built in 1897 but was relocated to the farm in 1950 to provide access to the land after a stream was diverted.  It was extensively renovated in 1995 and is in excellent condition.

Thursday:

Scriber Bridge, Johnson
This bridge was built in 1919 and is about 2 miles off the main highway, on a dirt road.  It seems pretty original, with its missing boards.  This is another of the many unpretentious covered bridges in Vermont that serves its function without any fanfare or flair.

Lord's Creek Bridge, Irasburg
This is a sad example of a bridge that has deteriorated and will fall apart without a complete restoration.  It was moved to a private farm in 1958 and has not been updated since.  The siding has been removed, which will expose the timbers to more rot.  The decking appears rotted and steel beams have been placed across each side to attempt to stabilize it.

Irasburg Covered Bridge, Irasburg
The original bridge was built in 1881 but destroyed by arsonists on Halloween Night 1997.  It's located in an attractive setting on a country road.

River Road Bridge, Troy
Built in 1910 this bridge has had some recent updates that make it stand out.  It's also located in a rural area and is the northernmost bridge in Vermont.  It overlooks a swimming hole.

Fuller Bridge, Montgomery
Montgomery has 6 covered bridges, most were constructed by the same builders, the Jewitt Brothers.  It was built in 1890 and rehabbed in the early 2000's.

Comstock Bridge, Montgomery
1883, it looks like it has been renovated in the last 10 years

Creamery Bridge, Montgomery
 This bridge was originally built in 1883 and was next to a creamery and furniture factory.  The guidebooks I had said this bridge was falling apart and nearly abandoned.  It's located on a rough dirt road that you would probably need 4wd to access. 
I was happy to see that bridge has been completely restored.  The area does appear to be abandoned, though it once had 49 active farms.
The remains of the old creamery are still visible.

The remote location has made this bridge the target of vandals, including those from the motorcycling community.

Hutchins Bridge, Montgomery

This bridge was built in 1883 and restored within the last 10 years.  Its treatment is a testament to the esteem Vermont holds its bridges.  It's located on a very rough dirt road, that dead ends.  I'm not sure anyone even lives on it.  There are no signs for the bridge (very few covered bridges have any kind of signage for tourists) so it's doubtful anyone but locals knows of its location.

Longely Bridge, Montgomery
This bridge was built in 1863, renovated in 1992 but is in serious need of repair.  It has a noticeable lean with many notations in chalk of sections of rotting and cracked boards.


Hopkins Bridge, Enosburg
This is another bridge built by the Jewett Brothers, just over the Montgomery town line.  It was originally built in 1875 and rebuilt in 1999.  It's located just off Route 118 but only accesses a field.

East Fairfield Bridge, Fairfield
Originally built in 1865 it has been restored within the last 10 years.  It had been closed to vehicular traffic for about 15 years before repairs could be made.

Friday:

Emily's Bridge, Stowe
This bridge serves a dirt road, just east of Route 100.  It was built in 1844 and still in excellent condition without any major restoration work in the recent past.

Fisher Railroad Bridge, Wolcott
This is a massive bridge built in 1908 for the St. Johnsbury and Lamoille County Railroad.  It has a cupola on top to allow the smoke from the steam engines to escape.  There were trains running across the bridge until the last several years.  The tracks on either side of it have been ripped up.  (You can find a video of a train going across it on Youtube.)  The bridge has been shored up with steel beams and the siding has been separated from the decking so the Town Lattice design only supports the sides and roof.  There is only one other covered railroad bridge in Vermont.  These are well worth the time for a visit to see how early engineers used wood to support heavy weights.

Greenbanks Hollow Bridge, Danville
This bridge is located in an area that once contained a company town supporting a woolen mill.  When the mill burned in 1885 it took the rest of the town with it and the whole area was abandoned.  Many of the old cellar holes are still labeled and visible today.  This bridge was restored about 10 years ago and in beautiful condition.

Chamberlin Bridge, Lyndon
Lyndon has 5 covered bridges in its vicinity.  This bridge was built in 1881 and the remains of a mill are visible right on the river bank.

School House Bridge, Lyndon
This 1879 bridge was bypassed in 1971 when Interstate 91 was completed.  Its unusual feature is the complete covering of the interior trusses, which could have been an attempt to prevent the local kids from climbing into the rafters.

Miller's Run Bridge, Lyndon
This 1878 bridge serves a very active street, making the walkway a necessity for pedestrians.  It was reconstructed in 1995 to support the weight of the traffic.  There are steel beams hidden underneath so that the trusses no longer support the decking.

Sanborn Bridge, Lyndon


This is another sad bridge that was moved onto private land and has been deteriorating since then.  The bridge was built in 1867 and slated to be torn down in 1960.  The owner of a local motel offered to take it and it was moved to the Lyneburke Motel.  It doesn't appear to have had any major updates since then.  One end has a building inside that at one time was used as a real estate office.  The walkway is now used for a snowmobile trail.

Despite its condition it has more originality than most other bridges.  You can still read some of the old advertisements inside.

snake oil elixir for pain
Randall Bridge, Lyndon
This 1865 bridge is also in poor condition.  There is a sign from 2006 saying it's structurally unsafe, though it is still being used as a snowmobile trail.  It has visible sagging and attempts made at repair.


Columbia Bridge, Lemington, VT
This bridge sits on the Connecticut River in far northern Vermont.  This is not far from the source of the Connecticut and you could nearly throw a rock across the river from here.
It was built in 1912 and renovated in 1981.  It's in excellent condition and in the kind of setting that would be perfect for a picnic.

Mount Orne Bridge, Lunenburg, VT
This bridge is several miles south of the Columbia Bridge.  I'd been looking forward to seeing this one for a long time; there aren't too many double spanned covered bridges anymore.

Sadly, this bridge is closed.

A truck driver tried to drive his rig through the New Hampshire side last year and heavily damaged the roof.  While the trucking company's insurance paid for the damage an inspection revealed a number of other structural problems with the bridge, which was built in 1911 and last renovated in 1983.  With budget cuts to the federal government funding for this project seems in doubt.  There was no work being done on it while I was there during the work week.

I crammed a lot of bridges into 3 days of riding.  It gave me a chance to see some extraordinary sections of Vermont.  I'll post some more pictures of those next.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Burlington to Home, the Long Way

I started off the day by leaving Burlington, VT at 8am.  I headed to Stowe and stopped at Emily's Bridge and then continued towards Danville.  I stopped at the Fisher Railroad Bridge again and then detoured over some dirt roads to Danville and the Greenbanks Hollow area.  Besides a covered bridge they have the remains of an old village from the late 1800's.

From Danville I took more dirt roads to Lyndon, where I visited six more covered bridges. 

I then pointed the KLR north to Lemington, one of the northernmost towns on the VT/NH border.  I found some amazing roads:  Route 114 goes between Lyndon and Island Pond.  It cuts through a wilderness area with mountains on both sides.  Then I took Route 105 to 102.  It's a very isolated part of Vermont that reminds me a lot of the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  Great views and no traffic.  The Columbia Bridge crosses the Connecticut River, at a spot where you could practically throw a rock to the other shore. 

I took Route 102 south to Lunenburg to visit the Mount Orne Bridge.  Along the way I witnessed a motorcyclist that was down, laying on the ground.  It was hard to tell what happened; there weren't any crashed bikes.  It appeared that he had a medical condition, got off his trike and collapsed.  He was flat on his back and not very responsive, but he was breathing.  Some other riders were attending to him.  When I stopped to see if I could help the ambulance pulled up so I went on my way.

The Mount Orne Covered Bridge spans the Connecticut River at Lunenburg, VT and South Lancaster, NH.  Last June a truck driver from Mexico tried to drive his semi onto it and heavily damaged one side.  (It's marked 6 ton weight limit.)  While the bridge was closed an inspection revealed more problems.  The bridge needs about half a million dollars worth of repairs and it looks like federal money for bridge restoration is getting cut.  It's a shame as the Mount Orne bridge is pretty magnificent.

The Mount Orne Bridge represents a milestone for me:  I have now visited every single historic covered bridge in Vermont.  I started about 3 years ago but got serious about it last year.  I took 2 motorcycle trips with my friend Doug, some car trips with my friend John and on this 3 day trip I managed to cram in the final 29 out of the 103 total in the state.  I learned a lot about bridge engineering, the culture of Vermont and it was a great excuse to ride some excellent roads.

I had a long ride home from Lunenburg and broke it up by alternating between I-91 and U.S. Route 5.  Following the Connecticut River Scenic Byway was a better alternative than the long spells of 91 that I have done so many times before.  I got home exhausted; it was an 11 1/2 hour day and I covered about 370 miles, which is a lot for the KLR.

Pictures will follow!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

I (heart) Vermont

I started the day early and headed east, visiting 11 covered bridges from Burlington to Newport. The promised rain and storms never really materialized. It only rained for about an hour.

It's beautiful out here. There's an authentic charm to this place. There aren't any tourists, there's no natural wonders to visit or places to shop. What you see is how people live. Lots of farms surrounded by mountains. The pungent odor of cow manure was present all day. I don't think I saw one traffic light until I got to Burlington (where the traffic is awful, BTW).

Once I got back I went to the Shelburne Museum for a while. This place is incredible, a must-see. They have their own covered bridge, steam locomotive, train station, paddle-wheel steamship and an actual lighthouse.

I have 7 more bridges to visit to finish off the list of every covered bridge in Vermont. They are all concentrated in the northeast corner of the state. I'm headed there in the morning.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Covering the Bridges

Settled in for a couple of days in South Burlington, Vermont. Visited 9 covered bridges today, spread out from southern to northwestern Vermont. Beautiful weather here today. It was great spending the day on the two lane country roads that connect the towns.

It's supposed to rain tomorrow so the plan is to visit the Shelburne Museum. They have their own steam locomotive, steamship and authentic covered bridge. I've been wanting to see the museum for a few years.

Friday's weather looks great so I'll be visiting more covered bridges.

Back on the Road

I re-grouped, re-packed the bike and am headed north to Vermont for a couple of days.  The plan is to visit covered bridges in the northern part of the state.  I've slowly been picking away at visiting all the 105 +/- historic covered bridges in the state and have only about 30 left, all concentrated in the more remote areas.  This seemed like the perfect opportunity to finish off the list. 

I'll be taking back roads towards Burlington, where I plan to camp tonight.  Tomorrow it's supposed to rain so I will go to the Shelburne Museum and grab a motel room to keep out of the elements.  Friday I should be able to finish off the remaining bridges and get home.

I'll have the Spot Tracker active again if you want to follow me.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Day 4: Bangor to Home

I didn't sleep well as it rained all night, which added to my stress level.  But the rain ended and it turned out to be a beautiful day.


I got over to Bangor Motorsports just before they opened at 9am.  My spirits picked up when I saw they were also a Kawasaki dealer, a better chance of having the parts I needed in stock.

I brought in my blown tube for added effect and told them my predicament.  They didn't act like it would be a problem and had me bring my bike around to the service bay and remove the luggage.

After a short time one of the staff told me they had a stock tire and tube and that the existing tire was definitely bad.  They checked the rear wheel for straightness and it was fine.  I was out the door within 2 hours, to great relief!

The tech showed me the tire and I believe it was definitely the cause of the second blow out.  The beading was all deformed and had I tried to ride home on it I'm certain it would have come off the rim again.  It could have caused the first blow out as we had stretched the cords pretty far to get the tire on the rim at the campground. 


hard to tell in the pictures but the lines around the bead did not line up all around the circumference of the tire; the sidewall was bulged out

The first few miles getting back on the highway were tough, with the feeling and sound of a blown tube in my mind.  I took a lot of breaks and getting on and off the road helped put that behind me.  By the time I got into southern Maine I was feeling like the bike and I were normal and I was anxious to get home.

I never thought I'd be so glad to see a stock KLR tire.  They are terrible in the dirt and wear out quickly.
I made it home by 5:20 pm, relieved.  I've still got 2 weeks of vacation that I intend to use.  I'm already planning to get back on the bike and head to Vermont for a few days while my family is away on their vacation.

The thought of Labrador will have to be put off for a while.  If I try it again it will be with at least one other person.  I used to think all you needed to travel was a cell phone and a credit card but this trip made me realize I need some companionship and security too.

Daily Mileage:  290
Riding Day:  6 hours, 2 minutes
Moving Time:  5 hours, 6 minutes

Total Trip Mileage:  951

Day 3 with Some Pictures

I woke up at 6:15, intending to hit the road early.  My goal was to make it into New Brunswick and later Quebec to try to make the ferry at Matane.

But this is how my day started out:

I brought all the tools with me and I knew how to change the tire, but it's a royal pain to change a flat on a motorcycle.  It's messy and it takes a lot of work to get the tire back on the rim using only hand tools.

I had the tire off in a short time:

At least it wasn't raining.

I took a look at the old tube and noticed it was pinched in a couple of spots. 

I automatically assumed that it had a pinch leak, which caused a slow loss of air.  I went ahead and put another tube in its place.  I got help from the kids in the next site and it took three of us to muscle the tire back on the rim.

I was feeling pretty good about my skills and decided to patch the old tube in case I needed it over the next two weeks.  Running it under some water I discovered that it wasn't pinched at all, it had a puncture.  I patched it and then looked at the place in the tire where the puncture occurred and discovered this:


My mistake was that I had installed and then inflated the new tube with the nail still embedded in the tire.  I should have started all over again, but I was in such a rush I decided to push on as the tire seemed to be holding air.

I drove to a nearby gas station and checked the tire again and it was holding pressure.  I turned onto my route for the day, which would take me into more remote areas of Maine.  After about 15 minutes I was doing 50 mph on this two lane country road, looking around for a place to pull over and check the tire.  Then it happened.

BAM!  The rear tube exploded in a catastrophic failure, which sent the tire off the rim and the bike out of control.  The handlebars were going back and forth and the rear end had a mind of its own.  I knew enough not to grab the brakes and to just try to coast to a stop.  The bike started fishtailing and heading towards and then onto the sandy shoulder.  I thought I was definitely going to crash, but as long as the bike stayed upright I didn't give up.  I saw a telephone pole but kept looking ahead and missed it.  Eventually the bike stopped right on the shoulder/pavement line.  I held it up and just sat there stunned for a few seconds, taking deep breaths, not believing that I didn't crash.  I took off my helmet and tried to get my composure.  I couldn't put the kickstand down because the bike was too low to the ground.  I had to set the bike down on its left side.

This is the path the bike had just taken

 
tire off rim, note the deformed bead




Where the bike left the highway and entered the shoulder


the telephone pole I just missed and my path
I got cell service and called the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) roadside assistance number.  The operator told me that my coverage didn't begin until September 1!  When I explained I had the coverage last year and had just renewed it she said she couldn't confirm it with the AMA because they were closed on weekends!  They would send a truck out to me for only $124.99 however.

They did notify the police and first the local sheriff's office and then the state police called me.  Neither could send a unit, but the state police gave me the number of local tow truck operator from Millinocket.  I called him at home and he told me it would be an hour and a half before he could get to me. 

As I waited most every passerby stopped and asked if I needed help.  Some gave me the name of a local gentleman and his shop and said he might be able to help me get the tire fixed.

Eventually the tow truck driver, John, showed up and he was nice.  As he was looking over the bike two other motorcyclists stopped by and asked if we needed help.  John said that we did so the male rider helped us winch my bike onto his flatbed.  His wife, who was riding with him, (they were coming from church and had a Bible strapped to the back seat of the Harley) was the sister-in-law of the local shop owner.  She called him and he agreed to help me.

I met him at the shop and within 45 minutes we had replaced the tube.  The only tube he had was a 19" and mine takes a 17", but he said it would get me home.  We looked over the tire, the beading was a bit deformed but the owner thought it would be okay.

the old tube
I decided that my best course of action was to cancel my Labrador trip and just head home.  I didn't want to make the rest of the trip on the wrong size tube.  But most importantly the thought of nearly dying and having my son lose his father took any energy out of me.

I got on I-95 in Medway and headed south, hoping to get home sometime before dark that night.  The first few miles were tough, with a lot of PTSD about blowing the tube.

Over an hour later I was riding through Bangor, doing 70mph in the passing lane when it happened again.  BAM!.  The rear tube blew again, sending me fishtailing all over the highway.  The traffic wasn't too heavy and all the cars got behind me and slowed way down as I guided the bike across to the breakdown lane.  Again, I thought I was going to go down but I wasn't as scared as the first time.  Somehow (maybe because of all the weight over the back wheel) the bike stayed upright.  It took me a few moments to get control of myself as I dismounted from the bike and assessed my situation.  I was stuck on the paved shoulder, so if I could get the bike up on the center stand I could change the tire myself. 

I stood there holding the bike for a while, hoping someone would stop to help me.  I thought it was obvious that I needed help by the flat tire, but no one ever stopped.  I even tried waving.  Nothing.  I gave up on that and set the bike on its side and removed all the heavy luggage from it.  I tried to get the bike up on the stand again but couldn't lift it.  I tried for about 10 minutes before finally getting it to the tipping point and heaving it backwards onto the stand. 

My previous blow-out delayed me for four hours so I wasn't about to call for service again.  I went to work, right on the side of the busy highway, weekenders heading home, zooming by, and changed the tire myself.  It took about an hour but I got it done.  Luckily I had the patched tube from this morning; it would have been impossible to find the leak in the tube on the side of the highway.  This time the tire went on the rim very easy, too easy, which made me worried that the cord and bead was definitely damaged or stretched. 

I gave up going for home as I was scared and exhausted.  I hadn't eaten all day except for two pop tarts.  I hit the gps for a motel and found one about a mile away. 




I checked into the room and really lost it emotionally.  I had done a good job keeping myself under control in order to get out of trouble, but here, where I was finally safe, it was different.  I thought a lot about my son and how I could have easily died twice in one day.  I also had no clue how I was going to get home, almost 300 miles away.  This was easily one of the worst days of my life.

After calming down I called a couple of friends and talked over what had happened.  They both felt that the tire was the problem and needed to be replaced immediately.  My gps showed me there was a motorcycle dealer less than a mile from the motel and according to their website they were open on Monday, a rarity.  (Another reason to love GPS technology and smart phones!)

I treated myself to a dinner at Ground Round, steak and shrimp, and it was amazing.  I felt a lot better but noticed that the rear tire was wobbly when I just rode it down the street.  I was concerned that I had bent the rim.  But there was nothing more I could do that night.

Total mileage:  86
Riding Day:  8 hours, 39 minutes
Moving:  2 hours, 25 minutes
Stopped:  6 hours, 14 minutes