North America, First and Second.

[OnHellas]

There was also a demonstration of mounted shooting. A bloke on a fast ‘orse with guns shooting balloons.
An Appaloosa horse. Very agile by all accounts.
Bullets with cotton wool so nobody get hurt.
Fast and loud....and very impressive. The chap used a pistol first and then a rifle. Both hands holding the gun while the horse keeps on running.

It’s the kind of thing that the Champion Cowboy we met way back in Texas told us about. The one that gave us a 45 calibre she’ll as a momento in trade for some Argentinian paper money.
Now we know a bit more of what he was talking about. He was right about it being a skill.

[OnHellas]

A couple of pics from Provincetown across to the end of Cape Cod. There’s a lighthouse out there somewhere.

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[fatowl]

There was also a demonstration of mounted shooting. A bloke on a fast ‘orse with guns shooting balloons.
An Appaloosa horse. Very agile by all accounts.
Bullets with cotton wool so nobody get hurt.
Fast and loud....and very impressive. The chap used a pistol first and then a rifle. Both hands holding the gun while the horse keeps on running.

It’s the kind of thing that the Champion Cowboy we met way back in Texas told us about. The one that gave us a 45 calibre she’ll as a momento in trade for some Argentinian paper money.
Now we know a bit more of what he was talking about. He was right about it being a skill.

I've never seen a horse shooting guns....
(I'll get my coat on the way out....)

[DavidS]

Cumbria is pretty hilly and Lincolnshire is pretty flat in some areas.

Our first trip to the US was back in the 90’s and it was a New England tour. Driving up into Cape Cod there was a road sign giving 13 miles notice of a roundabout!! We think it was one of the first in the states.

Banana definitely a good addition to the pancakes. We managed to avoid maple syrup as a pour on additive for our whole Canadian trip but the family loved the bottles we brought back for them.

[OnHellas]

Provincetown was a fairly busy place considering the time of year. It has plenty of old charm. It seems to be mainly galleries, restaurants, cafe and bars with a few overpriced deli type places.
It’s certainly a pretty little town with a lot of history. It’s were the pilgrims first landed back in 1670 or there abouts.

One day wandering around was enough for us, mainly because of the weather that was supposedly coming in.

So on Tuesday, which was the 8th of October, we headed south a bit to a small place called Charlestown. A fairly inexpensive old style motel with small but clean rooms would be our home for the next couple of nights.
It did rain, thankfully once we were under cover, and the wind blew too. We sheltered an extra day before a break in the rain, and the fact that cabin fever was setting in, gave us the moment to move on again.

Just up the road there was a power cut. We’d both spotted a set of traffic lights that were not in use. Being that it was at a very small intersection it didn’t occur to us that the power maybe out.
The lack of numbers in the petrol pump display at a gas station and a police officer in a very yellow coat directing traffic in the next town however......
Strong wind and lots of trees equals fallen branch on power line I guess.

Power and therefor fuel was found another five miles or so along our route so no dramas. We didn’t ride far, we didn't ride an exciting route. We didn’t ride in the rain either. It was fairly windy and some of the more exposed bridges needed a bit more caution.
We are definitely in a much busier area. I’m missing the big open expanses and empty roads of Alaska and the Canadian Prairies.

Bethel is another small town. Another day off of the bikes apart from a short ride to possibly the most soulless motorcycle shop I’ve ever been in to buy some chain lube.

We are marking time a bit really before next Friday when we shall be delivering the bikes to the shippers.
This morning we’ll head off again. A bit further west and in to Pennsylvania.

We did consider heading down in to Virginia to go to The OverlandExpo, but 6000 plus people, portaloos and temporary campsite showers didn’t sell it to me so that event can be enjoyed by other people.

For the time being we’ll ride a bit hang around a bit. Maybe we’ll even clean the bikes a bit....in a few days time. No point rushing in to these jobs.

Two happy people, two happy bikes.

[OnHellas]

At Pilgrims Point, Provincetown Cape Cod.

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[OnHellas]

We left Bethel and it’s soulless BMW dealer and headed west.
Another pack the bikes and head off to somewhere else morning. We really only moved on as that’s what we’ve been doing for such a long time it seems like the thing to do.
We headed west to Wilkes-Barre. We mainly used the interstate which never makes for a great ride.
The stand out moment of the day was probably when my headlamp bulb blew.
The yellow light on the dash and the word LAMP where the mileage is normally shown in the digital display were the five aways.
We pulled in to a service station and I set about removing the blown build before getting a replacement from the tool box Pannier. Only after getting the new bulb out of the stubborn packaging did I realise that I’d been supplied an H4.....the bike uses an H7! Bugger!
That’ll teach me to check when a very helpful and trusted shop hands something over.
The service station didn’t stock bulbs so we headed on to our destination. There was an Auto Zone car parts shop a few buildings away from the low tent motel we’d picked for a couple of nights.
New bulb purchased and fitted. Another town and budget motel chosen. Another pack up and ride off.
The route to our present location here just outside Lancaster PA was mainly very enjoyable. Small country roads. Villages and small towns. The fall colours still looking great. No interstate and not so many big trucks. Just over 100 miles of pleasurable bike time.
Yesterday was Tuesday. We cleaned the bikes.....a bit. They’re certainly better than they were. It seems like a good idea to have them cleanish for their journey across the ocean that is getting ever closer.
Also they won’t be as hard to clean back in the English winter.

We also visited one of the Amish Houses/farms that are in the area. Just to find out a bit more about this group of people who follow their way of life as they have for hundreds of years. Religion isn’t for me but it’s always good to have a look and a listen to how others do things.
The particular Amish community that we visited numbers around 40,000 people. Apparently there are Amish communities in 31 of the 50 States. They are in to farming, furniture making and construction. Luckily for us they had a great diner that served made on the premises food....WITH flavour!!
Today is probably going to be a visit to the supermarket and then watch the rain Dallas the forecast isn’t so good.
Tomorrow, hopefully under clear skies we will head to Elizabeth in New Jersey.
Another 145 miles or there abouts and we’ll be done for this trip....bike riding wise anyway as there’ll be a few more days before Norwegian Air are due to take us back to Gatwick.

Two happy people, two happy bikes.

[OnHellas]

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[OnHellas]

Wind and trucks. That seemed to be the order of the day for our last days ride from Lancaster to Newark in New Jersey.
It was also important that we calculated the amount of fuel that we put in the bikes as they need to have minimal petrol in them for their containerised Ocean journey back to the UK.

The weather forecast suggested that the wind would get stronger as the day went on. Gusts up to 60mph!
An early start without breakfast, we’d run out of milk and the Aldi own brand Raisin Bran wasn’t really up to par anyway, and we were gone by 8.30am.

The ride wasn’t bad, certainly wasn’t a Wow! day, we just wanted to get there. Two stops for fuel, one stop for an awesome brunch type feed. Food with flavour....although mine still had that nasty cheese type goo that the North American’s seen so keen on.

Finding the hotel was a bit fraught. My satnav didn’t recognise the address so Sarah led for the last little bit.
So many lanes, so many Junctions, so many roads, so many container trucks, so many cars.
Our fuel lights shining brightly and just 14 miles worth of fuel and we’d made it.
Checked in, bikes emptied and stuff sorted.
A good sleep was ensured.

This morning, Friday, was our last last ride. Just 2.9 miles to the cargo depot. We made it. Half an hour later, the bikes having been photographed, damage record forms filled in, signatures given, we walked away.
Two Happy Bikes left in a warehouse for a few days, a week or a fortnight. We don’t know when they’ll be put in a container but we’re sure that they will. MotoFreight sorted it out so it’ll be fine.

A trip to a supermarket for supplies followed by a walk to the closest McDonalds to use their WiFi.
An Uber ride back to the hotel via most of the wrong turns we took yesterday, it’s a new address here apparently, made us feel better about yesterday’s cluster anyway, and that’s it.

The bike journey is done. No accidents, no bike dropped, no illnesses, no disasters.
In 39,886 miles, according to Sarah’s bike, that’s good going I reckon.

What’s next? A bit of sightseeing in New York and then two happy people will fly back to Gatwick.

I’ll update in a few days, there will hopefully be a few photos too. But for now....

Two happy people, two happy bikes.

[DavidS]

A huge thank you for all the reports.
I have really enjoyed reading them, enhanced where I had been to the same places.
Have a good trip back ‘home’.