Hey guys,
Here is my ride report for the bike cruise I just came back from.
On March 16 we loaded up the bikes in my cousin's truck and trailer and set off for Bayonne New Jersey. The drive there was pretty uneventful but the weather was beautiful. We stayed overnight at a hotel in Watertown NY and set out early the next morning. It is a good thing that we had a GPS when we got to NJ because the mess of roads are really confusing. I think we would still be lost on the NJ Turnpike. We got to our hotel near the airport around 2pm and met up with some friends from Texas who were going on the same cruise ship as us.
On the Sunday we all decided to do a tour of NY city, we contemplated taking the bikes but then we came to our senses and took a guided tour. We went through the Holland tunnel and landed smack dab into a marathon. The city had a half marathon going on and it messed up the tour bus driver because traffic was at a crawl. We finally got past the road closures and checked out Manhattan including Central Park, Freedom tower, Wall Street, Broadway, etc. It was a full Day.
Phil, Dare, Me, Deb, Steve (cousin), Sherry, Marie, Bill (cousin)
The next day, it was time to bring the bikes and load them onto the ship. We got to the pier at 9:30am and unloaded the bikes at the designated spot and then we had to go through the regular boarding procedure.
Bikes are waiting to be put on the ship.
After we got processed and boarded the ship we had to go get the bikes just before departure and bring them onto the ship. We did notice at this time that all the bikes were Harleys except for our three bikes. Mine was the only non V-twin.
We had two sail days until we got to our first stop which was Labade Haiti. We didn't ride there since there are no roads. It was a relaxation day off the ship. My wife and I decided to do the Zip line. It was a load of fun.
Picture of Labade, not much there.
The next day we sailed into San Juan PR. We were getting reports that there were heavy rain storms and that we may not be able to ride. At the last minute though we were given the ok and we headed out to fill up with gas. We took off with the San Juan Special Guards as our guides and provide blocking at the intersections. San Juan has a law that you have to wear long sleeves, long pants and closed toe footwear when you ride.
Waiting to get gas
After only about an hour of riding the black storm clouds came back and we had to cut the ride. The insurance that the operator carries will not allow us to ride in heavy rain. What a shitter, it was the one island I was really looking forward to riding.
The next day we were in St Martine. Weather was fabulous and the ride was fantastic. We had a cop and a motorcycle club on the island as our guides and to provide blocking at the intersections. We made a stop at the Harley dealership because one of the bikes were not running properly. When it was time to go, one rider started her bike and the bike almost went through the window. Her neutral light was on but the bike was still in gear. Not much damage to her bike, only the leather saddle bags got scuffed. Good thing it didn't start or it would have been a different outcome. We rode for about 3 hours and then stopped for lunch on the beach. The place we went to caters to bikers and they even have a boardwalk that we park on.
Waiting for my turn to park
After lunch we rode a little more through the towns and then parked the bikes so that people could do some shopping. After that we loaded the bikes in the ship and set off for the next port.
The next day we found ourselves in Antigua. Here, we had a cop as an escort and we had some of our own riders doing the blocking. The weather was great and the ride was awesome. We did have one "almost" incident. There were three horses running around and everyone thought they were behind a fence.....no fence. The horses came running towards me and I blasted my quad horns at them and they changed direction....right towards the rider in front of me. He was about 200' ahead and when he spotted the horses he twisted his throttle and being in good Harley fashion, his straight pipes scared the horses enough to make them pause long enough for him to get by. I really think that if he had quiet pipes, the horses would have hit him and his passenger. Needless to say, he told us he wished he had brought another pair of underwear. Later on in the ride we had to avoid goats, chickens and a couple of cows.
One of these bike is not like the others......a lookout on Antigua
Our final ride was in St Kitts. Not a very big island. We were informed that one guy on the previous cruise had tried to go around one turn at over 100mph on his bike and did not make it. He went over the cliff and landed 75' below. He was just airlifted back to Kansas pretty battered up but he will survive luckily. So, we were asked not to do anything crazy on the island.
We rode around it in a little under 3hrs. For this island we had a cop a an escort and again some of our own guys were blockers. Really nice island but you need to watch out for the sand on the roads. We did one loop around the island and then went to a restaurant on the beach that is owned by one of the guys that work for the company that puts on the bike cruise. We had a great buffet and spent a couple of hours at the beach.
Future Valkyrie Rider
We then headed back to the pier so that people could do some shopping. We asked why we don't do the course in reverse and we were told that shopping what people generally want to do. I would have rather ridden more.
The group of guys/gals we rode with were really great, with a couple of exceptions. Everyone helped out everyone else and it made for a wonderful time. A few people dropped their bikes at some of the places we stopped because of the uneven ground but no real damage was done to any of the bikes or riders and there was always a quick response to help the bike back up.
Would i do it again....yep, if it was on different islands. Been there done those.
A couple of things I found funny. 1. When we were at the Harley dealer in St Martine, the people who walked by would always look at my bike and few others. 2. I was with a group of the riders and one guy said that everyone looked like a biker except me. I said thanks.
