posted September 19,2010
Short Version:
We got on our bikes, we rode, we got off the bikes, we got gas, we got on our bikes, we rode, we got off our bikes, we ate, we got on our bikes, we rode, we got off our bikes, we you know, we got on our bikes, we rode, we got off our bikes, we got gas, we got on our bikes and we went home.
Now...for those of you who require a tad more info:
A.O.B. (Ass on Bike) was at 1000hrs, (I love that salty talk), for those of you who don't understand military time, just pretend I didn't write the hrs part, and add a Colon tween the 0 and the 00.(Colon as in punctuation NOT the other one, that would be messy and ugly.
The club rode south on 32, took 163 to I-395 and followed that til Norwich where we picked up route 2 west. The weather was a little over cast but there was sun, the air was warming as the day progressed. We rode to Hartford where we picked up route 91 North, at Jennings road the New Haven and Hartford Counties joind in at the rear of the column.
The original plan was to be ride 91 north to Massachuseets then rte 5 to 20 west, ride into the Berkshires then route 8 to Pittsfield. Unfortunatly The Big E is this weekend and 5 and 20 would be a mess, so Road Dad came up with an alternative route. We continued on route 91 and as we ran through Springfield Mass. another Club entered the highway. There were two patches in the group, it looked to be "Capitol Riders" and "Girlz" but I couldn't tell for sure. They followed behind until we vacated the high speed lane in Holyoke Mass.then they passed us and continued north up 91.
The warm weather disappeared instantly as we passed the first barrier hills of Mount Tom and entered the Northampton flats. Tom's new route dropped us off the highway here and we picked up route 9 west through that town. This was our first fuel stop and just about everyone from the original A.O.B. topped off, the Hartford group abstained. This was our first chance to visit with the entire group. Route 9, once you leave Northampton behind is a fantastic road, no traffic, and plenty of hills and curves, nothing technical, but enjoyable none the less. Tom chose damn well. The route runs east and west through the Swift River Valley, passing through some really pretty country, with rock cuts, stone works, and farms. We headed west passing through Leeds, Williamsburg, Goshen, Lithia, Cummington and West Cummington where Tom found a roadside picnic area. After lunch we hit the road again running through East Windsor to Dalton where we picked up rte 8. Route 8 took us into Pittsfield where we made another stop for restrooms then picked up rte 8 north, we passed through Towns Crest Village, Cheshire Harbor,along the Cheshire Resevoir, to Adams. The sky was now heavily overcast and it began to look as if it might start raining anytime.
We rode along, passing Greylock on the way to North Adams, in North Adams we met the same Club we met in Springfield, they were coming down off the Mohawk Trail and were just enetering route 8 as we were entering rte 2. We started the climb up the trail as the first drops of rain started to fall, as we hit the hairpin it was a constant mist, not quite a drizzle. We crested the top and entered Florida, from somewhere in the back of the consist came a question to Tom about the rain, Tom said we were doing fine and we would outrun it, we started down the east slope and the rain was gone, Tom called for single file, and the first 4 bike slowly pulled ahead, down through the sweepers and hard sharp curves, then a few more sweepers and it was over. A call came from the rear to go back up and do it again, but Tom maintained his mission and said we will be back for the Greylock ride we can do it then. We passed through Charlemont, Buckland ,and Shelburne Falls, all to soon the trail was over and we were entering Greenfield, the Club made a last stop for fuel, I stole three other bikes and we broke off. The Club was heading to I-91 south and home, I took my three through Greenfield on rte 5, turned off on River road (Opposite Cheapside) and took them to the PanAM Railways, Ex-Guilford,X-Boston and Maine Railroad Freight yard. Then we followed River down through the Switchback, and a few winding curves, along side of the Connecticut River, through Former Connecticut Broad Leaf Tobacco fields, survived now by a few old Tobacco sheds. We continued along the road to Sunderland where we picked up 116 then ran down to North Amherst and took North Pleasant, We rode through UMass, it was too cool, the College Girls were dressed, Summer is over (sigh). In Amherst we turned onto route 9 and made a coffee stop at Dunkin Donuts.
After Dunkin we followed 9 down through Dwight and Pelham, grabbed 202 into Belchertown, then south on 181 to North Washington street, a road where the term pavement is used loosly, more patches than surface. We continued through Barretts and Three Rivers (The Polka Capitol of New England), a few hills,small, and a couple corners, a couple single lane railroad underpasses, and then back on 181 in Palmer. We picked up route 20 passed through downtown crossed the B&A and pulled into the steaming tender Resteraunt parking lot. After a couple minutes (spelled ciggarette) we took rte 32 south through Monson, and South Monson, past Quabaug Riders MC hillclimb area and into Ct, making a stop to remove helmets. From here I handed the lead over to the 2nd VP,(needed a change of view), we rand down through Stafford. We stopped at the gas station at the rte 84 overpass, (two cups of coffee, two cups of tea, a Stewarts Birch Beer, and a Rockstar LocoMoco), back on the road we continued along making good time and enjoying the curves, until that is we came upon...Merrow, here we came up behind 4 motorcycles, we followed them to rte 44 where two headed west, now there were just two ahead of us, and that was more than enough, Through Eagleville, and Perkins Corner, down to Cider Mill road in Coventry, we followed them, the roads, if you know them have a sweet bunch of esses and twists, they went unfulfilled. The people on the bikes ahead of us seemed to enjoy taking corners by "not" leaning into them, just sort of putt through, like a grandma in a 78 lincoln driving to a dental appointment.
At cider Mill they turned off but for all intensive purposes the ride was over, 32 through Willimantic is traffic and residential, Windham and Frankin are boring, and before you know it 32 is done and you find yourself on 395 heading south to home.
All in All an absolutely great day, a good sized turnout and great roads. Father Natale even parted the waters, no kidding, I walked down to the embankment on the Swift River and there he was, standing in the middle of the river and it refused to flow around him, it just sort of oozed by between the stones.
There was a Comment made as the women returned to the bikes after a rest stop in Pittsfield, someone said look Charlies Angels, then someone added a + sign to it. I won't say who.
I hope everyone had as good a time as I did, and hope to see you for the Greylock ride, the color in the region is just starting and three weeks should put us right in full foliage.
Photos to follow in the next blog, it is 11:32pm as I write this, 2332hrs, and YOU should be in Bed. You probably have to work tomorrow, as for myself, maybe I'll see what Rick is up to, meybe we can , I don't know..ride.
klay
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