Unemployment Benefits

As I was sitting at my computer job hunting and listening to the radio this morning, the radio station reported that it was expected to be sunny today with a high near 50 degrees.

This was one time when being temporarily unemployed had its benefits. But I didn’t want to ride alone, so I put a call into my retired friend Joe to see if he would like to join me for an afternoon ride.

We agreed to meet at the Shell station on Rt. 12 near the Lisbon Landing Shopping Center at 1 PM. I fully expected to find Joe riding his Victory Cross Country with full fairing and windshield but to my surprise he was on his Buell Thunderbolt with only a bikini fairing on top of the headlight. I, of course, was riding my Triumph Bonneville with absolutely no wind protection.

I did layer up, but did not put on anything around my neck. Joe was fully outfitted with what looked like a one-piece Aerostitch riding suit, but it was actually a much less expensive snowmobile suit. He also wore a balaclava and had heated gear under the snowmobile suit.

Joe asked if I wanted him to lead and knowing that Joe knows this area better than I do, I agreed hoping he’d show me a new road or two. I wasn’t disappointed.

We headed North on Rt. 12 and I almost missed the left onto Rt. 138 as the LED turn signals on the Buell are quite small and difficult to see in full sunlight. Not to mention my proclivity to sightsee while riding. Fortunately, Joe was using hand signals which caught my attention.

We took Rt. 138 West into Sprague, making a hard right dip after Rt. 169 and flying through the downhill chicane at the railroad tracks before making a right onto Rt. 97.

We cruised on up to the border of Sprague and Scotland when once again allowing my mind to wander and taking in the scenery, I almost missed Joe turning left onto Waldo Road. This is a road not to be missed as it runs along the Shetucket River and passes the Sprague Dam. The name of the road changes to Station Road as we cross into Windham, but the road remains the same; twisty with a number of elevation changes.

We merged with Windham Center Road (Rt.203) North and made a right onto Rt. 14. Heading East now, we made a left onto Rt. 97 North and cruised through Scotland and Hampton. At Rt. 44 in Pomfret we made a right which led us to Rt. 101 heading towards Danielson.

After an hour of riding I was starting to feel the chill that had slowly stripped the heat from my body. So I was quite happy to see Joe pulling into The Baker’s Dozen coffee and donut shop in Killingly. We carried our hot beverages to the outdoor picnic bench. While I was regaining my body heat, Joe was still nice an toasty and would have melted if we stayed indoors.

Hanging out and talking bikes, destinations and motorcycle movies is almost as fun as actually riding, but with our cups drained it was time to move on. Joe had mentioned that there was more “product” down on the back roads than he had expected, so he had stuck to secondary roads after we completed Waldo Road. I assured him that I still enjoyed the back roads and am undeterred by salt and sand in the road. It just adds an extra element to the ride. 

Before we departed I took a minute to add one more layer, a "dickie". (no, not that dickie!) This one is like a turtle neck sweater without the sweater, it just covers your neck with a short bib in front and back. No more cold breezes sneaking in around my neck. I bought it a few years ago and it was the best $30 I ever spent.

We continued to head East on Rt. 101 past I395 and Rt. 12 to Cook Hill Road where we made a right and headed back South. Cook Hill Road is another treat. Very scenic and twisty.  At one point I saw Joe throw a leg out to warn about a streak of mud in the middle of the road. The streak ran with the road and looked to be a few inches deep. As we I passed it we came upon a dairy farm and I realized that it was the very thing that Dave Adams had warned us about many times. Much more slippery and odiferous than mud! I’m glad we missed it!

South of Rt. 6 this became Snake Meadow Road and finally Lake Street as we road into Plainfield where it ends at Rt. 14. We made a left and headed East on Rt. 14 through Sterling and almost to the Rhode Island border. Using Gibson Hill Road to cut through to Rt. 14A we headed back West into Plainfield again.

At Rt. 12 we continued straight onto Cemetery Road as Rt. 14A turned South, but we linked up with Rt. 14A again at the end of Cemetery Road and then merged with Rt. 14 as we crossed into Canterbury. Halfway through Canterbury we slowed to make a left onto Lisbon Road. Sitting like “Dead Ducks” waiting for oncoming traffic to pass is not my favorite thing to do, so we high-tailed it as soon as we saw a break.

Lisbon Road is another nice back road. I have been down this road a number of times, but it’s been quite a while, so it was a real treat today. Lisbon Road ended at Rt. 169 in (you guessed it) Lisbon. This is where our ride together came to an end and we parted ways to go home. It was a terrific 2+ hour ride that we will be sure to do in warmer weather. For now, I've got to get back to my job search.