Cuckoo Ride

When I got up at 6 AM everything outside had a nice coating of frosting. So much for the weatherman’s prediction for a low in the mid 30’s. But by the time I left the house about 3 hours later, the temps were already in the 40’s. Margo Rossiter had intended to join us somewhere along the route, but she advised me that her ignition was frozen and she couldn't get the bike started. I later learned that she also had neglected to put the battery tender on and had to wait while the battery recharged as well, but she did get out for a short ride later.

No Windshield and No Helmet!!

Mike Demers pulled into the parking lot at Dunkin Donuts right behind me and Lane came out to talk with us for a while. Lane isn’t ready to get back on the bike just yet, although he claims his bike asks him to take her for a ride whenever he’s in the garage.

Mike was riding the 1980 Suzuki GS850 that had been rusting in my driveway. It was good to see her up and running again.

We waited until 10:30 AM but no one else showed up. It was their loss, because we had a great ride. The roads were clear (no sand or black ice) and traffic was minimal. It was overcast to start, but it wasn’t long before the sun came out.

We stopped at Dunkin Donuts on the other side of the East Haddam Bridge as planned and discussed the new road track being built at Thompson Motor Speedway (http://www.thompsonspeedway.com/new-track.php) as we warmed our hands around some warm beverages.

I was concerned about how much time we spent there since we left a half hour later than planned, but the ride from there to the Cuckoo’s Nest only took about 30 minutes. We found my wife, Rosie, waiting for us and we went in to eat.

The restaurant has a lot of atmosphere and while the sign clearly says Mexican Food, there were quite a few Cajun items on the menu as well as tried and true American favorites.  We placed our orders and were noshing on tortilla chips and salsa when Joe Fogarty came in. He had some things to take care of this morning but took a chance on catching up with us by taking the highway. 

Everyone seemed to enjoy their food. Joe tried the catfish fingers which he said were very good. I had an enchilada that was on the dry side and a tamale that was very good. Rosie had an empanada which is a type of turnover that we usually treat as “finger food”, but here it was served covered in a cream sauce and was delicious. I found the food to be on the mild side and I'm not one who relishes Hot & Spicy dishes. Anyone who does better ask for hot sauce. 

After lunch Rosie took off to one of her favorite craft shops while the boys hit the road towards home. Mike planned to peel off of Rt. 82 onto Rt. 11 so I asked him to take the lead when we got to the intersection of Rts. 156 and 82. He took off like a bat out of hell, showing that the old bike still had some umph left in her. Joe and I caught up with him in time to wave goodbye as he got onto Rt. 11.

Then it was Joe’s turn as he took Rt. 163 North and I continued on Rt. 82 East. I got home at the respectable time of 2:30 PM. What the ride lacked in quantity, it made up for in quality, and you can’t ask for much more than that in late December.