Bryan's Blog

Since I’ve been in New Hampshire covering Laconia Motorcycle Week 2010, numerous people have told me that I’ve got to make the ride up Mt. Washington Auto Road. Being from the West Coast, I had never heard of Mt. Washington before. It was an experience I won’t soon forget.

Mt. Washington is New England’s highest peak at 6288 feet. The summit can be a tempestuous entity. It can be a warm sunny day at its base and almost freezing cold at the peak, even in June. Winds can whip the mountain with merciless fury. Other days it can be so clear that you can see five states from around the New England area. But first you have to get there.

A sign at the gate to the road up the mountain warns people that are afraid of heights against making the ride up and guided tours in vans are offered as a substitution. Then the gate keeper runs down the rules of the road to you – single file, no passing, the speed limit is 20 mph. It’s an eight-mile ride from the base to the summit on a narrow road that ascends steeply immediately. The bottom part of the ride runs through a verdant, rain-forest like canopy of lush green. As you climb, the forest thins until the trees disappear altogether.

It is one continuous climb. The Dirico Speedster I was riding is equipped with Harley’s 110 engine and powered up the slope with ease. Most of the climb I was chugging along in second gear, but there were stretches where I had to drop it down into first. About 3500 feet, the paved road turns to dirt. It also narrows and there are no guardrails. Luckily I’m on the mountain side but riders coming down the hill face a nasty vertical drop. There was a point on that stretch where the Suburban I was following could barely squeeze by the tourist van coming down the hill. It’s that tight.

The rock-strewn summit is lunar-like. Reaching the crest, I felt like Rocky Balboa on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The ride, though low-speed, is intense. The view once you reach the summit is spectacular. It’s hard to believe that this road was first opened when Lincoln was president. The East Coast icon will be celebrating its 150th anniversary next year.

On the ride back down, I got one last unexpected treat. Near the bottom of the road at the last turnout, a crowd was forming, looking down at the open meadow below. A young black bear was sauntering around at the tree line, scratching in the soft soil looking for a bug to chow on. The bear seemed oblivious to the crowd that was forming as he went about his foraging. One car from Virginia stopped and a young girl popped out and then opened the passenger door to help her grandmother get out for a view. It obviously was the first time in her many years on this earth she had witnessed such a spectacle. To see the wonder and joy on her face was almost as gratifying as seeing the bear. And though I can’t promise you’ll see a bear on your trip up the Mt. Washington Auto Road, if you’re ever in New Hampshire, put the ride on your priority list.