The end of an Era and the beginning of another.

Friday, January 7, 2011

The end of an Era and the beginning of another.

POSTED NOVEMBER 1,2010

Sunday, the 31st of October, Halloween, marked the end of the Tom Llorett era as Road Captain, The Toy Run next week will be the start of Steve Natale's reign as The Cap.

Toms last ride left D&;D a Little after 10am (as usual) and he led us down 32 to 163, and onto 395 north. The weather was sunny in the low 50's and windy, a great day for a ride. The ride took us north to rte 97, we passed through Sprague and Baltic, and into Scotland, then a short hop east on 14 to 97 again.The Autumn leaves being blown around was a feature of the day, get hit in the right eye with a piece of leaf fragment, get it cleared out just in time for debris in the left. We stayed on 97 through Hampton and across rte 6, then north to rte 44 in the Pomfret area. We cruised west on 44 through Eastford and West Ashford, through Storrs, across rte 32, and through Mansfield then south into Coventry for lunch at The Bidwell Tavern on rte 31. Here the Club took over the inside dining area and was soon joined by three other groups from the Club. 2nd VP Dunn gave a short speech about Tom's last ride and welcoming Steve Natalie to the position. Steve and Tom toasted the transfer with a shot of anisette, (Tom doesn't drink and one beer usually gives him a buzz, a shot sets him off into smiles and babbling , unfortunately it doesn't last long and by the time diner was over he was back to his old self). With lunch over we headed south on 31 to 32, 32 through Willimantic, to rte 289 and into Lebanon. There the club picked up 207 west, rte 16 south into Colchester, then 85 down to Salem and rte 82 to Salem Ice Cream.
After Ice cream the pack broke up with Tom leading a group of us to the Hopyard to watch a girl climb the falls, slip and fall in. Leaving The Hopyard it was no longer a Club ride and everyone headed off in their respective directions.

At Dunkin...