2015 Gettysburg Ride

Link to Americade Website

Wanted to get some basic information out on our tentative ride to the Americades Touring Rally in Lake George New York slated for June of next year. We are trying to get the information out now so people can decide if this is something they are able to do due to it being a 2 week trip and the need to book hotel rooms now or in the very near future.

For those that don't know the Americades is the largest touring oriented motorcycle rally held every June in Lake George New York. Lake George NY is a summer vacation spot in the Adirondack mountains in upstate NY and is about 1 hr due north of Albany NY. Next year the rally dates are June 1 (opening ceremony) thru Saturday June 6th.

Plans are to make this a two week trip and take some sights in along the way on the way up, spend 4-5 days in Lake George attending the rally and riding the area and then spend 4 days riding back in a direct route. Right now we are planning to leave on Friday May 22 around 12-1pm and then spend the next 5-6 days riding up. Will be taking in Skyline Drive, a couple of Civil War battlefields (Antietam, Gettysburg), Harpers Ferry, before arriving in Lake George on Sat the 30th or Sunday the 31st.

Monday evening June 1 is the opening ceremony for the rally and the rally officially kicks off on Tues June 2. Plans are to stay in Lake George from Sat or Sunday night (May30, 31) to Friday am (June 5) . Will plan to do some riding in the area and attend the rally during that week. There is great riding in the area as you can go north up thru the Adirondacks and see such things as Ft Ticonderoga or go east into Vermont and take in the green mountains. All are within a 100 mile radius of Lake George. The Lake George village area itself is nestled in the mountains on the southern end of the Lake and is very picturesque. Weather that time of year is usually good but you can have rain also. The rally has had both during its history.

By going to the rally early in the week we will miss a lot of the weekend crowds that will be coming in beginning June 5th and thru the weekend.

We would plan to leave Lake George for the return on Friday am June 5th and will spend 4-5 days on the road coming back (average 425-450 miles per day) and would arrive back home on Monday or Tues evening June 8th or 9th. That daily mileage sounds like a lo coming back t but it would be almost all interstate so you can really knock out some miles fairly quickly and easily on the return.

The good news is that it would only require 2 weeks of vacation time for those that are not already retired as May 25 is Memorial day so we add in three weekends and the 1 holiday and you get some extra time to allow us to stop and take in some things on the way up.

I checked the Hampton Inn that is located in the Lake George Village and it is only about 2 miles from the rally headquarters. Rates there are running $169 per night plus tax for June 1-5th. Other hotels close to the rally site or in the village are around the same rate or more for those dates. Bear in mind that you get about 50K-100K people who attend the rally over the whole length of the rally (1 week) and Lake George is already a vacation spot so hotel rates are somewhat higher than what we are used to on previous trips.

The main thing right now is to decide if you think you can take the time off and if so make your hotel reservations for the dates we are going to be in Lake George.

I checked and the hotels are taking reservations now for next year and a lot of rooms may already be spoken for as many people make their reservations for the following year when they check out from the previous rally.

You can also go to the Americades website and there is quite a bit of information on their website (there is not too much for 2015 yet but you can find information on the area and the 2014 rally.) You can also sign up for their newsletter e mails and chat with an operator if you have questions on the rally. Prices are not set as yet for the 2015 rally registration fees but there are ticket options from a single day pass to registration that covers all the things and activities that are going on that week. You can also check out the vendors that participated in the 2014 area and every year they have a huge vendor area set up during the rally and usually they will do installs if you buy something at the rally and want to add it to your bike while you are there.

We will probably be talking more about this at the August meeting but right now we want to get a approximate head count on who thinks they would want to go. Get back with me and let me know if you are interested.

David Adams