Day 19

Okay, first things first there are a few things I wanted to post yesterday but forgot. Every state and province always has a motto, most of them extremely cheesy or mild. "Live Free or Die" is the state motto for New Hampshire, which makes it the coolest state there is by that token alone! Secondly, and Stan can attest to this, it frustrates me to no end when paying at the pump for gas with a credit card and it asks for a zip code. Being from Canada we obviously use a different system for our postal codes. I learned yesterday that if you enter the 3 numbers we have in our postal code, followed by two zeros, the machine actually accepts that as a zip code. It's worked the only time so far I've had to do it which really makes it easier to get gas three times a day! On that note, it's sickening how much cheaper gas is across the border. I've been paying on average right around $1.45/litre for premium gas in Canada but the minute one gets across the border it drops to around $1.05/litre. That saves me around $9 for a full tank and would have saved me around $200 on this trip so far!!

Anyway, back to today. The sun was up and shining brightly by the time I awoke, ready for another day in the saddle. The plan for today included a lot of interstate riding, not ideal for seeing scenery, but I need to start putting in a few decent days as I've got a service job appointment in Jamestown, ND on Friday afternoon and also have plans for Sunday in Swift Current.

Traffic wasn't too heavy as I hit I-89 for the first 35km or so, making it a nice way to start the day. At Burlington I turned south on US-7, and then took VT-22A south once I got to that junction. From there it was US-4 to Glen Falls where I got on I-87. The scenery was nice once again riding through the countryside, lots of farm land with rolling hills. Of course the speeds are pretty slow on the non-interstate highways which makes it harder to make miles.

After getting on I-87 I decided to just stay on it until it hits I-90 and take that west. It was already after 2pm once I got on I-90 with around 400km left to go. The riding is pretty easy on interstates but there's so much traffic around here that one has to be careful all day. A bike can get lost in all the vehicles and trucks so I make sure I keep an eye on my surroundings all the time. At least there were nice rest stop locations, with wi-fi, bathrooms, and even markets and fast food joints. I was a little surprised at the cost of the toll on I-90, over $12. I don't recall ever paying a toll on interstates out west, must be an eastern thing.

It was around 7:30 by the time I got to my hotel in Williamsville, NY close to Buffalo. I spent the evening doing some planning as I need to be in Jamestown, ND for a 3pm appointment. The bike has been running great so far, just keeps humming right along. I passed the 10,000km mark for the trip this afternoon, ending the day with 10,362km travelled. Once again, not too many pictures today.

Tonight she get's a roof over her too, well deserved I'd say

The route today, except I went all the way down I-87 to I-90 at Albany, NY