We got an early start on day 5. We were packed up and out of camp by 6:45. We did stop at McDonalds in town for breakfast, so we really didn't hit the road until about 7:45, but all in all a good start to the day. By the way, the McDonalds fruit smoothies are great if you haven't tried one yet!
We hit the road and made good time most of the day. We of course had the mandatory gas stops as well as the "give rick's back a break" stops as I was really taking a beating from towing the trailer with little or no suspension. The only real hitch was in Danbury CT.
We made a gas stop. When we were pulling out everyone took off and promptly went down the wrong ramp to get onto 84 west (our direction) except me. I was bringing up the rear with the trailer. I pulled over to see what they were going to do and realized in short order that they could not come back around the way they came, so I came back around to a light to join them. By the time I got there, they were gone. I spent the next 20 minutes and about 10 miles trying to find them and the highway. Once back on the highway, I decided to just keep heading west not knowing if they were in front of me or behind me at this point. I crossed into NY and figured I would keep going until the next rest area then pull in there and try to raise someone with text or call. As I travelled along I saw a single bike along the side of the road. As I approached I realized it was Mark. He was ready to pull out, so I went on by and he caught up with me a minute later. I asked him where everyone else was and he said "up ahead looking for your". We reached the next rest area and there they were. It seems that Mark had lost one of the bundles strapped to his back seat and had to stop to retrieve it from the roadway. That's why he was there. We were back together and the rest of the trip was relatively uneventful. We arrived at home about 5 so we did the trip in just over 9 hours. Not too bad. It was really hot though and I was sort of missing the cool breezes of the MA coast.
I hope to be able to go back to New England again in the future. It was a great experience and I would love to be able to ride it on a bike that has proper shocks. I have since replaced the shocks with air shocks which will allow me to adjust for the load of the trailer and equipment. I'm not sure where next year will lead yet, but there is talk of heading to West Virginia to visit some of the old stomping grounds of our youth. There are great roads for riding and some old friends to visit, so it seems like a good idea to me. We shall see. So ends another Wild Hogs Adventure.
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