...continued from
Breaking The Limit - Part 1)
(Part 2 of a 2 part touring blog)
As I was awaiting the arrival of my friend, Dave, I was walking around a bit, stretching, and surveying the area. The first picture is where I was and the second picture is what I saw. And yes, there just happen to be Harley Davidson dealer across the street.
When I was parked in the parking lot, I was parked right in front of the red truck.
Dave rolled into the lot, I could feel the huge smile on my face, he knew I was so pleased with myself. He was smiling right back because he knew exactly what the ride meant to me.
We greeted each other and he shared in my excitement in accomplishing my ride. Where to go next? Well, I was starving, I didn't get to eat breakfast because I was excited in leaving that early. We went to a Dunkin Donuts that practically across the street.
I am a lover to Dunkin Donuts, but I have to tell ya, this coffee and the donuts tasted sweeter than usual. As we drank coffee and ate our donuts, we talked about my ride and the plans for the day. Of course we also checked in with his wife, Terry, who we were going to meet for lunch. It was an unspoken agreement that I would be the follower, he asked if I wanted to ride the highway or the back roads. That was no contest, gimme the back roads any time. In all honesty I didn't care where we were heading, I trust my friend, Dave implicitly, I knew he would get us where we were supposed to be at the right time.
We took off on Willow Street and headed towards U.S. Route 3 (also known as New Hampshire Route 28) . Route 3 is also known as Daniel Webster Highway as well as Hookett Road. The highway is named after 19th century statesman Daniel Webster, a New Hampshire native. We were traveling on Route 3. We passed Livingston Park which is the home for Dorrs Pond. Continuing on, I was relaxing, but still could feel the adrenalin pumping in my veins. We passed over a small tributary of Heads Pond. Heads Pond is a reservoir in Merrimack County in the state of New Hampshire. New Hampshire has many notable fishing areas. Heads Pond is one of them. This is beautiful shot of Heads Pond, remember we only passed over a small tributary. 
As we travelled, I knew we were heading onto to Concord, that is where Terry works. We were scheduled to meet Terry, and two other friends - Mary and Rick. I met Mary and Rick in December, both of them are from the Midwest. At that time Rick had already relocated to New Hampshire, Mary was scheduled to join him in June. With the relocation finalized, this was the first time I had seen both of them since December. Terry, Mary, and Rick all work together. They all ride as well and could understand my excitement and pride in accomplishing my trip. My mind was wondering a bit, relishing where I was, when all of a sudden, I realized we were pulling into Heritage Harley Davidson. 
After buying a tee-shirt (of course) 
, we were off to lunch. Dave touched base with Terry and the destination was confirmed. We were heading to Beef Side Restaurant (this is a photograph from the Internet, unfortunately, I forgot to snap a picture AND it doesn't depict the open air dining that can't really be seen clearly from the road).
After lunch, Terry, Rick, and Mary headed back to work, where Dave and I headed to his home in Belmont, NH
Initially incorporated in 1727 as a part of the nearby Town of Gilmanton, Belmont was separated by an act of the Legislature in 1859 and adopted the name, Belmont, in 1869. It was home to William Badger who served as NH Governor for two consecutive terms beginning in 1834.There are thirty square miles of land area, and over one and one-half square miles of lake area in Belmont. The current population is 6,228, although the seasonal influx of temporary residents in both the summer and winter recreational seasons greatly increases that number. Source.
(Dave and Terry's house is "L" on the bigger GOOGLE map). We got to his house. Dave had agreed to adjust my right highway peg. I sat for a bit to catch my breath and relax. After we socialized and talked a bit, I rode with Dave along a small part of Lake Winnisquam which is smaller part of Lake Winnipesaukee. The lake is primarily fed by the outlet from Lake Winnipesaukee, and Winnisquam's outlet is the Winnipesaukee River, flowing to the Merrimack River. 
After running errands and a little more riding, it was growing ever closer to my departure time. Dave lead me to the entrance of I-93. I waved good bye and I was on my way.
Things were going well, I had to get through a toll road, but the area with the toll roads have confused me in the past and wouldn't you know it, the same thing happened again. I missed my exit and ended up on Bedford, NH. I knew I was off track, but I decided to take advantage of the architectural beauties surrounding me. The simplicity of New England architecture is so difficult to replicate. Here are some of the houses I was riding by:
I back tracked, making it to Nashua, NH. Still no I-495, which is what I was looking for when I got lost. Finally I found a fire station in Chelmsford, NH. 
With a little coaching I finally made it back to I-495. I decided to get fuel, I got off a Boxboro to fill up. After a quick refuel, I was off again. Traveling along with no problem, all of a sudden I saw
I knew these signs were my least favorite signs to see on 2-wheels. I kept remembering advice that an experienced rider told me: "Keep the throttle steady and don't give into the grooves." Keeping this in mind, I continued on. I thought, well, I can get through this.
Then all of a sudden I was experiencing more challenges. The areas of the overpass bridges were not grooved, but there was raised payment on and off many of the overpass bridges on 495. As I continued I saw the entrance signs to I-290. I was skeptical that the grooved payment was going to end on I-290. This highway, much like I-495 seems to be always under construction. On I-290 not only did the grooved payment continue, but the raised payment on and off the overpass bridges seemed to get higher. There had to be at least one time that I took flight with my ride.
Finally, almost at the end of I-290, the grooved pavement ended. I tried to relax. My legs were cramping. Because of the hazards I had been experiencing in road construction my legs were tense and cramping. I tried every position I could, I used highway pegs, I stretched each leg one at a time. No positive results. I reached I-395 and made it to Webster, MA. I got off for a dinner and try to get my legs to relax. It wasn't the most sophisticated, but I decided to eat at Burger King. I am always checking my terrain. I pulled into the parking lot and I noticed there was a dip in the parking area. I had second thoughts about parking there, but I decided I would fair well out of it. I did not back into the space and usually I do. I have tried to annotate the incline of the parking area with an arrow on the picture. 
After I was done eating, I went out, got on my ride and started to head home. My legs were relaxed, but they were tired. I discovered I couldn't really back out, the strength in them were diminished. I looked behind me, I saw these young men talking around a pick up. I asked them to pull me out so I could get going. They agreed, they grabbed my sissy bar and I pushed with my legs. I have a feeling they did most of the work. Thankfully it was a team effort and I got past the difficult part. I thanked them profusely and was on my way.
Getting back to I-395 was easy. I knew it was a straight shot practically to get home. I was relaxed more, but I was growing tired. Finally I got off I-395 and headed up Route 12. I was tired and the last 5 miles seemed like an eternity. I got to the intersection of Route 12 and Crystal Lake Road - the intersection where the Naval Submarine Base was on my right and the beginning of Navy Housing on my left. The light turned red just as I was approaching. I thought, oh I am home free....I am almost home. I put my left foot down and then my right. My right leg was the more tired. I had no idea of how tired it was. As soon as I put my right foot down, I lost my footing and I dropped my bike. Hell, I was a stop light, I didn't have my forks turned and I dropped the S.O.B. I was embarrassed, tired, and angry - all rolled into one. A gentleman was nice enough to get out of his truck to help me pick up my OZ. I did a walk around - no damage to the bike - my OZ, the only damage was my pride. I got all situated and I was off. Within 10 minutes I was home parking in the garage. I looked at the odometer - 403.6 miles for the day. Although I experienced some challenges, I had in fact broken my long ride cherry. It was 8:30 at night. I was tired. I crawled into bed and was out within 15 minutes of my head hitting the pillow. I know I was tired, but I had an enormous sense of accomplishment and was full of pride that I did it. This ride was more about endurance, accomplishment, and making it through my first long ride. There was less touring, but all in all it was a rewarding as well as excellant learning experiencing. Many people asked me if I rode with anyone. The simple answer is, nope, I did this alone. That in itself made me even stronger.
Trip map - please be patient with it loading.
http://bit.ly/b0umI
Interstate 395 (abbreviated I-395) is a 67-mile-long north-south Interstate Highway that begins at Interstate 95 in Connecticut and in Massachusetts, where it becomes Interstate 290. Travelling this early in the morning and mid week, the traffic was light. However, this stretch of 395 is not aways a heavily travelled area. Continuing on my route, at last I reached 290 and knew I was well on my way. Excitement rose, and interestingly enough I discovered my motorcycle was growing some what illiterate with little regard for post speed limits. Of course, I had to continually remind my ride - OZ - that I was the one in control, not him so I backed off the throttle - at least a little bit.
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