Ride Report: 20th Century Cycles - Part One

The morning started out quite cool; 45 degrees in Norwich when I left. But the prediction was that it would rise to the high 70’s, with sunshine. So layers were the order of the day.

When I arrived at the ferry, most of the members of our group were already there and the others arrived shortly thereafter. It wasn’t long before there was a line of cars waiting to get on behind our bikes. Everyone was remarking about how cool it was this morning.

The sun was slowly rising and shined brightly on the white ferries at the dock: blinding us when we looked in that direction. Joe decided his legs and back needed relief more than his eyes and sat on his bike facing us as we stood with our backs to the sun.

One of the staff motioned for us to start our engines by holding imaginary handle bars and revving an imaginary throttle. After securing the bikes and shedding a layer or two, we headed topside. Being a landlubber, I headed to the top deck to take some photos as we pulled into the river and out into the sound.

Fortunately we did not have any need to use this equipment.

Having temporarily satisfied my shutterbug needs, I headed down to the cafeteria to satisfy my gastronomic needs. Two lovely young ladies took my order for a turkey club sandwich and the young chef was agreeable even though it was only about 7:30 AM. I chatted with them while waiting for my order. Their shift starts at 6 AM and they make two round trips on each shift.

As we prepared to disembark Dan suggested that we pull to the side and park the bikes so we could use the restrooms before heading out. It was decided that Greg should be my wingman since he had a CB and Dave would be the tail gunner.

We took the only road out of the ferry parking lot and enjoyed what I thought was the best part of the ride; passing farms, vineyards, horse ranches and causeways with nice views of the water. But with no time to stop for photos; I pulled the following shots from the same trip I made in 2010.

 Country Store

 Bike loaded up with sand loving vegetation in the background

 Some views from the road

Digging for clams?

The roads weren’t especially challenging, but they didn’t have much, if any shoulders and there was a charity bicycle ride in the oncoming lane. We must have passed over a hundred bicyclists. Many oncoming vehicles over compensated to avoid the bicycles and swerved into our lane.

Jim had mentioned to me that he would need to get gas at some point. We didn’t hit a gas station for quite a while and the first one was on the opposite side of the road. It wasn’t too long before we were able to stop at a station on our side of the road. Having a small tank, I also took opportunity to top off my tank.

I noticed Jim walking around the building. When he came back he asked if there was a restroom. Dan said he didn’t think so. Jim went into the convenience store to check and came right back out, confirming that there was none. As we pulled out on the road I noticed a Dunkin Donuts not too far ahead. I motioned to Greg to pull in, so that Jim could use the restroom. 

The line for the counter was out the door, but the one-seater, unisex bathroom was free. It was interesting to people watch while waiting my turn. There was a little boy (about 4 or 5) arguing with his older sister (by a year or two) about what bottled drink to get from the refrigerator. All the while this little boy is walking around with a 20-dollar bill in his hand. Their Mom walked in a few minutes later with a teenage daughter clutching a trendy teacup Yorkie.

I wondered when the Kardashian’s were going to walk in, but they probably wouldn’t stoop so low as to be seen in a common Dunkin Donuts. 

Tanks full and bladders empty we continued on our journey. The road was becoming more urban and less rural. The nice little two-lane road was now four lanes divided by a turning lane and wall to wall retail stores. Routes 25 and 25a run parallel for the most part, with 25 being more commercial and 25a more scenic. At one point I thought I must have missed a turn because this looked like Rt. 25, but a road sign confirmed that we were on the right track. Shortly after this Rt.25a diverged to the right and we were passing through a more rural residential area on a nice two-lane road with sweeping turns and some tighter turns too.

I wanted to turn off onto Moore’s Hill Road before we came into the town of Oyster Bay. This would bring us Northwest and closer to our destination and it appeared to be a nice “back road”. You know how I love the “back roads”. The plan was to take it to the end and make a right onto Cove Road.

I was watching diligently for Moore’s Hill Road when I saw a sign for Cove Road. We must have passed it, so I took the next right onto Bean Hill Road. This turned out to be a very nice, tree lined, technically challenging, downhill road past some truly beautiful houses. I doubt that Moore’s Hill Road could have been any better. Later a few of the members remarked how nice that road was. Greg advised me that I shouldn’t have confessed to finding it by mistake.

Now we were in the town of Oyster Bay. After all the twists and turns I had a very rough idea of which direction we should be heading in. Fortunately Greg had a GPS that confirmed which intersection we were at and we arrived at our destination moments later.

There was a bike and scooter, both with sidecars, and an enduro bike parked in the driveway in front of 20^th Century Cycles. 

Opposite 20^th Century Cycles is the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum. From what I read online, it is not ready for the public yet, but I did see people going in and out.

As I walked into 20th Century Cycles I found my contact, Alex, cleaning the air filter and air intake on the carbs of a modified Indian motorcycle. He said that Billy Joel wanted it ready to ride for an upcoming event and that the air intake chronically gets gummed up. He later took it out for a test run around the neighborhood.

Putting this post together has been a time-consuming joy, but more urgent matters must take precedent. Rather than keeping everyone waiting I've decided to split this story into two posts. Check back later for part two.