Failed Motorcycle trip to the top of Mt. Washington

[JumboDent]

If you have ever spent time in New England you have probably seen a few bumper stickers on cars that read "This car climbed Mt. Washington" Mt Washington is a the highest peak in the Northwest and there is a road that takes you to the peak at 6288ft. I figured why not take a day trip up there from Boston, its something I'd like to do before I move. So I set out this morning for the roughly 200 miles up there. Here is my starting mileage(14061)...

My route changed a few times along the way so I could drive through some more scenic areas rather than straight highway all the way up. Here are a couple pictures from a long the way...

Apparently this area has had some major flooding before. Each of those lines marks the water height of various floods throughout the years.
Some scenic waterfall area along the way.

I took this because a few years ago a large group of my family and I hiked a section of the trail. Being fathers day and all it reminded me of the good time I had with my dad on that trip. One of the last things I did with him before I got married and moved away up to Boston.

So then I got all the way up to the mountain, Hooked up my GoPro to record the mountain road up to the peak and stopped by the gate to pay the $15 dollar fee up to ride up...and then I found out that motorcycles are not allowed to ride up today due to high winds. FAIL. They were having steady winds around 55mph with gusts up to 100mph, not to mention the 36 degree temperature. Mt Washington has one of the most extreme climates on the planet and holds the record for the highest windspeed recorded by a surface weather station(231mph)

So I turned around stopped at the visitors center to snap a few more pics...
Mt. Washington is off to the left. and you can see a small patch of snow above the tank.

So now back home in Boston here in my final mileage...

So 435 miles later while I may not have succeeded in my goal of reaching the top of the mountain I still had a great trip and was able to ride some nice twisty roads outside of the city.

[rosebomb]

illinois sucks

[nixmak]

I have been wanting to go up Mt Washington for a while now but every time I get there the weather turns to crap. Did you get a chance to go down the Kangamangus Highway? That is always a great ride.

[JumboDent]

Originally Posted by rosebomb

illinois sucks

Haha, Massachusetts sucks as well that is why I went all the way up into NH to find good curvy roads. Everything near me is over developed and crowded.

Originally Posted by nixmak

I have been wanting to go up Mt Washington for a while now but every time I get there the weather turns to crap. Did you get a chance to go down the Kangamangus Highway? That is always a great ride.

I looked up the weather at the peak before I left and it didnt look to bad plus I wanted to ride so I just went for it. I did go down the Kangamangus Highway. I needed to get from 16 over to 93 and that looked like the most fun route. The road was quite bumpy but the turns were great, the scenic overlooks were amazing and it twisted along a pretty cool river. I had the GoPro set up on my tank so you could see the gauge cluster but the bumps and unsteady suction cup mount made it a little hard to watch. I may look through it for usable footage.

[07919Dave]

You know my house is at 6850ft +/- 13ft. However, Mt Washington is crazy. I got to go to the top as a kid and now that I think back on it I am reminded of Afghanistan in the winter.
The mountain out my front door is at 14,113ft. And soon it will be a paved road all the way to the top. You can ride it now but those crazy hairpin switch backs scare the crap out of me. Guy do it all the time though. Going up would be fine going down is another story. And at the top the weather is more predictable.

[schrock86]

Any mods?

[Pvster]

Originally Posted by JumboDent

Mt Washington is a the highest peak in the Northwest and there is a road that takes you to the peak at 6288ft.

i'm a little confused!!!! last time i checked, the northwest consisted of oregon and washington, not mass.... what happened?

[JumboDent]

Woops, meant the northeast. Definitely not close to you out in Seattle.

[boogunoogun]

Something about really steep, small, dirt roads along side of a cliff just doesnt sound like fun. Then a brake pad change after the way down. lol. I doubt you need to change them, but you must beat the shit out of any vehicle's brakes on that mountain

[JumboDent]

Originally Posted by boogunoogun

Something about really steep, small, dirt roads along side of a cliff just doesnt sound like fun. Then a brake pad change after the way down. lol. I doubt you need to change them, but you must beat the shit out of any vehicle's brakes on that mountain

Ya, I realized that as I was driving away from being turned away. I ended up behind a van that had just come down and there was a clear smell of brakes in the air.

[07919Dave]

That how we spot people from out of state. Key is to keep It in first or second, depending on the grade, and engine brake the whole way down. Half way down Pike Peak, 14,113ft, they has a check point to see how hot your brakes are. Over a certain temp they make you pull over for an hour.