Canada though Bangor to South Carolina - Route advice

Hi Folks,
I am looking to break in my RT with a couple of long trips this year; MOA Rally will be 2nd trip. I consider myself a beginner motorcyclist and prefer to avoid major congestion.
My first trip will be solo and I am not familiar with the interstate routes south of Maine. Usually once I hit the US Border, I get off the main road to see the sights. Here is what I am working with:

Saturday: Nova Scotia - Portsmouth, NH.

Sunday: Portsmouth – Richmond, VA (longest day)

Monday: Arrival to Florence. Mid-morning start and early ending to day

My question is around the best route from Hartford to South of Washington?

I do not foresee me going I-95 through NY, Philly, Baltimore. Correct me if I am wrong, that would just be pure slab and traffic volume compared to my other options?

I am left with two options in my uneducated guesstimate:
Take 287 over the Tarrytown bride until it turns to 78 and meets 81 OR pickup 84 through Hartford to 81, 83 to US15.
If you have any insights to helping me plan a route, please share.

Are there tolls?




Thank you!

I'd suggest you take Rt1 from Nova Scotia to St. Stephen and cross there. From St. Stephen/Calais, take US Rt. 1 to Rt. 9 "the airline" that will get you to Bangor, from Bangor you can pickup Rt. 202 to Augusta. From Augusta, jump on 95 for a quick run into Portsmouth.

Picking up 84 through Hartford to 81, the 83 to US15 is a good choice, made that run a few times. If your not into traffic I'd stay away from 95 south of Boston to DC, I've run that too many times on the bike and in the car, miserable traffic most of the time.

When is the trip planned for? Weather can be an issue depending on what time of year.

As was mentioned, Route-9 from Calais to Bangor is a great road to take and you give up very little time vs the Interstate route, so it is a no-brainer.

As for south of Portsmouth, the

84 through Hartford to 81, the 83 to US15

Click to expand...

is a good route. An alternative would be after Portsmouth on 95, pick up I-495 at Amesbury to I-290 around Hudson, I-90 at Auburn, to I-84 around Sturbridge, then through Hartford, Danbury to I-684 at Brewster to I-287 at Elmsford. I've used both and depending on overall traffic, and construction, etc., tend to make my choice very close to the day I plan on travelling that route.

Keep in mind that these are all freeway routes. However, if you are a novice, you may find your stopping points are a bit ambitious, even if you do keep to Interstates it is 10+ hours each of the first two days. If you take in anything other than Interstates and major-secondary roads, you'd be looking at 12+ hours/day. Every rider is different and you may be comfortable with 11-hour + days back to back, but, for me, that becomes work, so give it careful consideration even an RT or GT/GTL is more tiring than driving. If you don't have to be specific places along your route at specific times (other than departure and arrival points) than I've found it is easier to ride farther than planned if you are feeling so inclinded and adjust, than to stop earlier than planned and have to adjust, so I tend to look at 8-9 hour riding days if I can with a gradual reduction in the distance/time each subsequent day. Say:

1. Day-1 NS to Portsmouth - 9.5 hrs of riding + gas & lunch stops
2. Day-2 Portsmouth to Middletown/Strasburg, Virginia - 8.75 hrs of riding + gas & lunch stops (the Ramada Strasburg is very reasonable)
3. Day-3 Middletown/Strasburg to Florence - 6.75 hrs of riding + gas & lunch stops

There are a number of tolls from Bangor on down. Give strong consideration to getting a Toll Pass. It makes a huge difference. Depending on what you plan on doing, I'd suggest either:

• an E-ZPass (Massachusetts or other) - https://www.ezdrivema.com/ezpassma
• or NC QuickPass E-ZPass (North Carolina) - https://www.myncquickpass.com/en/home/index.shtml

The E-ZPass has no fee (other than the $20~ deposit balance), but it doesn't cover South Caroline, Georgia, or Florida.

The NC QuickPass E-ZPass has a $7.40 initial fee and the normal $20~ deposit balance, but it covers the entire East Coast of the US. Also, unlike the MA E-ZPass, the NC QuickPass E-ZPass has a $1/mth fee if it isn't used for 12+ months.

I've got an NC QuickPass E-ZPass and a couple of MA E-ZPass transponders. You're welcome to borrow one of my MA E-ZPass ones if you don't want to set up an account.

Two questions: 1) What's the rush? 2) What's special about the destination?

The Interstates on the eastern corridor are IMO nightmares of aggressive or inattentive drivers, heavy traffic in sections, and gauntlets of big rigs going like gangbusters. You won't see much of the US on the slab, nor will you get much in the way of bike handling experience.

I run the Boston to North Carolina Route every April...mostly to get down to the BMW MOA Fontana Dam Getaway. I also drive often from Boston to lower New Jersey. Much of the fastest route is on interstates. The key places where traffic is the most intense are around New York City and around Washington DC.

The way to avoid NY City traffic generally and the George Washington Bridge in particular is to take I-84 across CT, I-684 South to I-287 West. This last piece will take you across the Tappan Zee Bridge, and thereafter to the Garden State Parkway in NJ. The GSP will take you to the NJ Turnpike (I-95) and you'd just make your way south from there. An EZ Pass will cover you all the way from ME to VA.

FWIW, CT15 (Wilbur Cross/Merritt Parkway) is a truck-free route, as is the GSP.

As to cities, you'll be able to take I-495 around Boston, and as noted above I-287/Tappan Zee / GSP around New York. The NJ Turnpike keeps you away from Philadelphia, but even the peripheral road around DC is clogged with traffic at all times.

As an alternative, you could have a pleasant ride if you went to the southern end of the GSP (never getting on the NJ Turnpike). Take a short ferry ride to Delaware, (see: https://www.cmlf.com) then ride down the DelMarVa peninsula to eastern VA. That would definitely extend the time of your trip, but it would be a pleasant trip.

Anyway, there are many alternatives. Have fun!

Thank you for all the replies folks. The volume and thought in the responses is far beyond my expectation.

Depart May 26 - Arrive June 4th

I planned to leave Saturday and just need to be in Florence, SC by the end of the riding day on Monday (work reasons). So, I truly have 3 full days to make the journey and if there looks to be nasty weather, I could leave on Friday.

I typically start early in the morning as I am very light breakfast eater. In the past, my cruiser could get me 2 hours at highway speeds and I would pull in to the pump and fill up and ride another 2 hours. In essence; by 11:30AM, I have a four-hour ride completed and stop for 30-minute lunch. After that I go 60 - 90 minutes with short rest periods. When I look at a 9-hour ride, I basically have from Noon to get another 5 hours. (Variables of weather, fatigue, traffic, etc are always considered and I am always willing to modify plans).

jandhumphreyme; I am using your suggestion for US Rt.1 -> US Rt.9 -> Rt. 202. Thanks for confirming 95 South Boston-DC is not a great choice.

Glenfiddich; rush and destination are for work but I could leave on Friday if the forecast is ominous. Just trying to hold on to those precious vacation days.
Saw your room post for Des Moines…already wrangled in a room. I am a dog lover…. owned mostly beagles and labs. Look forward to finding you at the rally. I see you are from Vermont; I have rented a house in Pittsfield, VT. One trip back was (12.5 hours in the saddle and 14 hours elapsed). As with this trip, I am willing to stop anywhere if I needed. Maybe sneaking in 4 hours on the Friday might be a good idea.

ExGman; I will have more time on the return leg and will look at the Delaware ferry option. Thanks for the EZ Pass info from ME to VA.

Alan; sadly, I did not update my profile before I made my first post (probably a suggestion when I joined the forum). I am still figuring out the website. It may have just been easier for me to pop over and have the chat in person. I will investigate the NC QuickPass but do appreciate the MA transponder offer. I agree with the first day being the longest and tapering down from there.
I still have 3 months to plan the route (I love to plan because it is always funnier when I ditch plans when I hit the road). I expect I will pick your brain a little more before departure. I am curious how you find your top box for drag, balance, tractor trailer turbulence. I am always happy with a MEC waterproof bag strapped down. ….another conversation (maybe I should search the forums first)

Thank you all,

Craig

Craig, the advice on NYC and DC is spot-on and DC seems to be worse than ever. As was mentioned, 495 is fine for getting around Boston, but it can be down to a snail's pace around DC so avoiding it is paramount if you need to make time. BTW, the weekend of your return, Carlisle, PA will be holding their "All Ford Nationals"

As I mentioned earlier, with the distances you're travelling, you'll likely need to stick to super-slab, but I-287 is not bad as far as super-slab goes and it is a far more enjoyable ride than most other alternatives.

That being said, if you wanted to leave on Friday after work and ride 4-hours, that would change everything and give you the opportunity to get some secondary road riding in. It would take you to Saint John, NB. 9.5hrs the next day could take you to the Microtel Inn, in Middletown, NY and then let you do rural roads for the next two days (7.5hrs and 7hrs). Drop by and I'll show you the route or I can email it to you.

If you have enough spare time on your final day into Florence, you could drop in at BMW MOA Headquarters (now housed with BMW CCA) and check out their facilities. I believe that is also the location for their Riding Academy track. ;-)

On your return the "All Ford Nationals" car show is going on in Carlisle, PA (along your route), if you wanted a car show diversion. I took a prize there in 1998 (there were 1,800 cars entered).

As far as the top-case is concerned, it isn't noticeable except for tractor-trailers sometimes, but not enough for me to consider taking it off, I find it so useful that I can't imagine travelling without it. I've done the waterproof bag route and that works fine (quite a few thousand miles in that mode), it's just that the top-case is so secure and easy, for me. Perhaps you can tell I really like it.

Thanks Alan. Will be in touch.