Rhode Island Tagged

362 miles

It was misting as we left the Holiday Inn Express this morning. But on the distant horizon it was clear. After about 40 miles we broke out ahead of the gray clouds and there was no rain the rest of the day. Although it was mostly sunny there were enough clouds to prevent it from getting too warm and the sun visors were off on on.

Traffic was light most of the day but we saw more police today than in all the days since we started. At one point we came up out of a valley to find a trooper in the median. Our indicated speed was +/-76 meaning our actual speed was +/-69-70. Speed limit was 65 all day (except in construction zones) so either our actual speed was within the allowance or the trooper was occupied with something else. In Massachusetts there were several unmarked cars in hot pursuit on the other side of the highway. There were also several cars on the side of the road apparently having been pulled over. The traffic around us seemed to stay pretty close to the limit i.e. not many folks passed us.

We came on a group of five cruisers (big old boys with long grey whiskers). We were steady at about 78-80 indicated (actual +/- 72). We gradually joined up behind them when they were in the left lane. The guy in the rear had a motorcycle safety sticker on his helmet and a very big beautiful classic cruiser. He pulled over into the right lane and waited for his compatriots to follow but they did not. He pulled back into the left lane and we traveled for quite a while in the left lane behind them. Eventually they all pulled into the right lane and we sped up just slightly (indicated 82) to pass them. We waived as we passed each one. Gradually we pulled away and they continued to shrink into the distance. Then suddenly the leader came roaring past us on the left. We sped up a little and at an indicated speed of nearly 90 he was pulling away. We backed off and the rest of his group passed us as well. After a few more miles the guy at the rear signaled to them to pull over a rest area. They all put on their turn signals and slowed to pull over. The leader was the last to pull over. It looked for a moment like he was not going to join them. As I passed the guy at the rear he gave a a friendly waive. Later we surmised that the leader was frustrated when he realized he was passed by a little old lady on a scooter. He just had to show how fast he could go. Peggy reported that when she initially passed him she gave a right handed waive and he mockingly waived one hand and then the other to one of his buddies.

We liked the last guy but not the leader.

Route I-90 through New York and Massachusetts is a tollway. The attendants were helpful allowing our leader to take the tickets and pay for everyone. (Although in Massachusetts the tickets come from a machine and each person must take his own, the leader may pay and pass the tickets on.) Each time though we were cautioned to pass over the sensor one at a time. I am sure the machine matches the tickets and tolls to the sensor count and there would be problems if two bikes passed the sensor at once and only registered as on vehicle.

We made good time and stopped in Smithfield Rhode Island tonight just short of Providence because all the downtown Providence hotels have a surcharge for parking. We made ferry reservations for 12:00 noon and printed them from our motel business center. Tomorrow we will tour Providence for breakfast and head for the ferry to Long Island. After that we will cruise through New York City and on down to Atlantic City. On Monday we will hit the Cape May ferry to Lewis Delaware and the last of the 48 states.

I did not realize that upstate New York and Massachusetts were so sparsely populated. There were stretches of 30 miles or so with no exits and little sign of life. Unlike the cultivated land of the Midwest, this was just forested hills, lakes and rivers. All in all it was very pretty, very moderate traffic and a joy to ride. We are bracing ourselves for all the aggressive traffic tomorrow.