Home to the darkness

Once again...like last year, I will make the loooooooong trek home to darkness. We have three fuses on the pole at the end of the street that blow one at a time while the area power surges hit. After three pops your in the dark And just like last year, there are no trees down in my area, all the wires are intact but the fuses are out. Last year it took Eight (8) days for a truck to show up and pop them back in place...so far we are on day three and the fuses are hanging. We'll see if they can beat last years time.

More of Sandy, what was and what is

Misquamicut Rhode Island State Beach

 is gone, the beach is gone, some of the homes are gone. 

Seaside Heights New Jersey

Also Gone...along with the homes around it.

The Ship HMS Bounty headed out to sea to ride out the storm

Took her Captain with her.

Here are a few other photos:

I heard someone yesterday say Sandy was a wimp, nowhere near as bad as they said. Maybe they should be glad they are standing where they are instead of in someone else's shoes.

Some people just don't know how to be thankful of what they have and what they received.

There may be power at the Club tomorrow

The Prez got his today.

So you may not need to bring a candle.

And I was looking forward to singing Kumbya.
Peter, Paul, & Mary

Power issue !!!

The power in Montville is out at this time, as a contingency plan, if the power remains out, it would be nice if everyone brought one candle with them to the meeting. 

More morning after

So..we're open today, a car dealership, I expected as much. Reuben came to work, even brought coffee, for himself and another tech, so much for being a brother.

One of my guys called in, expected, he lives above Plainfield and it's a long ride. He offered to come in, but I told him it didn't matter. Another one of my guys showed up, I didn't see him, but he left his Challenger here inside over night and it is now gone, didn't even bother with a how you doing.

 So I only have one person who actually came into work and he came on time.

Jason. 

And he picked up coffee.


klay

It's the morning after Sandy

New York City had a building collapse down by the Battery, a crane collapse which is hanging over Midtown, and a flooded fire storm which burned 50 homes in Queens. 

New Jersey may have had a Levy break in the Little Ferry area, The towns of Little Ferry, Carlstadt, Moonachie had to be evacuated.

Bethlehem, Allentown, and Easton PA are under water, literally. The power is out, there is no clean water and the people were evacuated. 

Old Saybrook was flooded, Stonington Borough is reportedly an island.

New Haven has trees down and flooding.

So I guess I can't complain. I lost power at 9:30 last night, woke up in the dark and drove to work.

We hope all our members are safe and make out OK

They are talking two more days of rain with occasional thunderstorms.

They gave me the day off

On a Monday, I was given the day off...go figure. It's probably because the owner of the business is in Florida. But who cares...

There's no one on the roads!!!

There's no lines at the gas pumps....

Mainly because most of them are closed.

But I have a full tank...

LET'S RIDE!!!!

Sunday

So I woke up early this morning with plenty planed to to do. I woke at 5am, turned on SPEED TV to watch the Formula One Grand Prix in India. My man suffered a flat on the first last, then later pitted out of the race. I did laundry, I moved potential flying objects out of the yard in preparation for Sandy's visit. The E-mail I saw from the Club on Saturday night told me AOB was at 9:30, and no one was sure there would be anyone to lead it. My plan was for breakfast at 7:30 then head to Stop and Shop to pick up two birds then over to DD at 9am. I ate breakfast, I don't suggest the pastrami abd eggs, its a tad salty for that time of day. While I was there a couple friends from the Fire Department rolled in, so we sat together and chewed the fat. 

Curious term "Chew the fat", in case you are interested it comes from the fact that, that is exactly what people used to do, they would get together, talk things over or visit and while they were doing so they would chew on fat rind to get the "juices". Sounds yummy, and so good for you. 

Anyhow, After visiting with the FD boys I jumped on the bike and headed out, I looked at the time and noticed it was 9:50am. So much for picking up a bird and meeting the club.

So I went home to a boring day in the house, at about 1pm I read the mail...The ride was on, AOB changed to 10am...


Greeeeeeaaaaat



klay

Club treemagedd​on

Evert sent me a photo, he sent it to my phone. It is a picture of a bucket truck at the club taking down that tree that was going to come down by itself on Monday or Tuesday. So it looks like that tree which was split up the middle has met it's maker. I would post a photo here from my phone but my phone is a Samsung CE1068, which means it was made before the diode was created. If I open it and found a rotary dial one day I would not be surprised. Buuuuuut,   
Knowing the issue, Evert sent it to my E-mail, so here it is...Ant Tree.

After work I decided to stop by for some Aftermath photos

Anyone need some wood?

Another Raffle

1974

Anyone remember Agnetha Faltskog? Remember 1974?  Jim was probably still boppin' around Rhode Island. In two years I would have my drivers license, Tom was probably sitting on a motorcycle, where were you and what were you doing?

In 74 I was 14 years old, and I liked Agnetha. I didn't care for the music, but she was hot. Now though, for some reason, I like the music...must be a nostalgia thing.

Of course, in 1974, she looked more like this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFiul07QXiM

Another Test...Anyone Have any idea...

This one should stretch your mental capabilities.

Who is this Woman,

Well here's a link which should take you back

If you were here yet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVdOQvx379Y&feature=related

Thursday

Tomorrow's meeting starts at 7 pm for the winter months. 6 pm is dinner. $7.00/pp

I guess the economy is effecting everyone

Even Aquariums must be having difficulty. I find it surprising with the amount of business they do. You can drive by the Mystic Aquarium any day of the week and they are busy. This summer they were using the main parking lot, the east parking lot and a the dirt employee paring lot across the road. I never would have believed they would have cut backs and lay-offs, but...it was on today's news. They let two seals go today.

From the President
Check out these cool do-rags being made by Sherry. The tail has the patch pressed on and the front New London Motorcycle Club Script. Sherry and Paul modeled them at the meeting yesterday.

Here are a few picture you can forward if anyone is interested. Again they are $20 with $5 from each going back to the club. Anyone can email me at sdskullwear@aol.com to order them or I will have some made up at each meeting on Thursdays.

Thanks,

Sherry Ambrosia

Schedule

Thu. 10/25/12

Dinner/Meeting

7:00pm Change of Season meeting time

6:00pm 1st Dinner of the off Season.

Meatloaf, Mac&Cheese, Salad, etc.

Sun. 10/28/12

Turkey Run for Food Share

Bring 1 Frozen (12lb) Turkey or a $ 20.00 ck made out to Food Share

Reg: Gengras HD 221 Governor St. E. Hartford, CT 10:00am - 11:30am

NLMC AOB: 9:30am Dunkin Donut's, Rte 32 Uncasville

Thu. 11/01/12

NLMC Election night:

6:00pm Hand carried ballots accepted at the door

6:00pm dinner

7:00pm meeting

Sat. 11/03/12

NLMC Annual Banquet Party

Holiday, Inn, Norwich

6:00pm Cocktails

7:00pm Dinner

Requesting Gift Baskets or Raffle Prize

Sun. 11/04/12

Annual Gift Run

AOB: 10:00am Dunkin Donut's

Coleman Street, New London, CT

To Breakfast at Stash's

Sun. 11/11/12

Veteran's Day Fundraiser

American Legion Post 112

$ 10.00 donation for Vet's

6:30pm to 7:00pm Luminaries

She fell over like a drunken...

   Sandwich decided he wanted to visit Rick today, so we both brought our bikes to work. the weather was fairly nice this morning so that was no issue. After work we headed up route 85, made a stop at Davids to change glasses. We cruised up 85 with Sandwich leading, turned onto Witch Meadow Road. At Alexander Road Sandwich put a smile on his face and proceeded straight through the intersection to pick up the dirt road section of Salem Road. I guess he thought this would trouble me. So once on the dirt section I blew by him and cruised to the end of the road to wait for him. The road there is pitched to the left and as I came to a stop I put my left foot down, but the road was a little low on that side so the bike started leaning to the side. With my foot now flat on the ground the bike was severely listing to port, Because of the position that my foot touched down at, it was was at the wrong angle to hold the bike up. A thought came to me... I believe it was from my left leg...it said..."Do I look like a damn kick stand?" Then she fell over like a drunk forcing me to hop away from it to clear my right leg from the top of it, then jog down the road to the guard rail. The best part...she never spilled her drink. There was one of those fountain soda paper cups with a snap on plastic lid and a straw in her cup holder and it was still there when she got back up.

We then ran up Hopyard road to the bridge and visited with Rick for a bit, then took Foxtown across the stream to Ed Williams rd to Baker then W road #2 which brought us down to 82.  I knew Sandwich had no idea where he was so I turned right and ran up to the south end of Hopyard road, where, I let him lead and we repeated the loop except for a left on 82 to 85 and home.

91's Close

91's Closed?













I guess you had to be there.

HONDA Birth to 58

Honda was founded in the late 40's as Japan strived to rebuild itself after the war.

A Blacksmith in Hamamatsu Japan had a son born in 1906, that boy was Soichiro Honda. The Blacksmith also worked on bicycles.As a young man Soichiro worked as an apprentice in garage in Tokyo. In 1928 Soichiro returned to Hamamatsu and opened his own auto shop. Loving speed he built his first race car and started racing. 1936 saw Soichiro injured when he was involved in a racing accident. In 1937 he started a company which made piston rings, having no training in metallurgy the company had a rather shaky start. After a bit of trial and error and diligence the product and the company took off, he became the key supplier of piston rings to the Toyota Auto manufacturer which had just started in the car industry themselves (formerly a loom making company).  In 1946 Soichiro sold his Piston ring business and started a new business, mounting war surplus military two stroke engines (designed to run generators for portable phones) onto bicycles.

In 1948 he formed the Honda Motor Co.Ltd. and he focuses on the engineering aspect of the business while the financial end of the business was handled by Takeo Fujisawa.

The first Real motorcycle built by the company was in 1949, it was powered by a 98cc two stroke. An employee watched the first bike roll out of the plant he declared it was like a Dream. The name Dream was born and classed as a Model D.

While Soichiro Honda was in love with motorcycles he hated the noise smell and fumes issued by the two-stroke engines and in 1951 the company produces the Dream E, the companies first four stroke engine (146cc).

Mister Honda did not like primitive power plants but continued to work with them, in 1952 Honda sells the "Cub F" 50cc clip on motor to thousands of bicycle shops in Japan. The power plant is only made for two years but the name Cub was there to stay.

In 1953 Benly Motorcycles were builtd with a Honda four stroke 90cc engine powering them.  

In 1954 Mister Honda declared he will participate in a TT race once he has a stable corporate structure, facilities and a superior product.  In 1958 Honda introduced the Super Cub, the CA100, C100, or Honda 50. It is a pressed frame 50cc four stroke motorcycle which will produced later in the 70 and 90cc classes. It will become the most popular motor vehicle (of any kind) built.

to be continued....

The "Founders Day Ride" recap

When I first joined the Club, the Founders Day Ride was the one ride where we had a line of bikes, it was the ride which was considered mandatory to be on out of respect for the Clubs origin/. In 2008 we rolled into Easthampton with 42 bikes. People in the street stopped what they were doing to watch, last years ride was pitiful in comparison. This years ride had members meeting at Dunkin for the 10am A.O.B., we had members from New London, Windham, Middlesex, and New Haven counties in attendance. While this sounds impressive it was only a total of 23 people...five of which followed the group in a cage (kids). Enough of that though.

The ride left shortly after 10 with Tom taking us onto 163 to 395 north. As we turned off 32 onto 163 the tail-gunner called the Road Captain to let him know we had a late arrival and he would need fuel. We headed up 395 to 2, then 32 to 87. The air was crisp yet comfortable the skies blue with fluffy clouds, in word the ride promised to be perfect, one of those Fall days you just have to be on a bike to appreciate. We took 87 to the Beaumont highway and dropped into Willimantic to pick up 32 north. Sandwich (the late arrival) pulled in for fuel up by route 6 as the rest of us pulled over up ahead and waited, the tail-gunner (Natale) kept him company. Back together, we headed north on 32 through Eagleville, Mansfield, and the Willingtons. We made another stop at the fuel plaza at route 84 for one of our members to do a Craig impersonation, again the Tail Gunner stayed with him as two other bikes joined in. We rolled into Stafford Springs then took route 190 west through Somers, Scitico, Hazardville, and Thompson across the Connecticut River to route 159. Here we deviated from the planned ride of 513 to 75 to 168 over to Southwick Mass. and decided to head up 159 into Agawam Mass. OK we made a wrong turn and it was decided for us. In Agawam we turned right at route 75, crossed the Westfield River into West Springfield  and followed that to Southern blvd and route 20 which took us to Westfiled and route 10. Route 10 took us straight up the line to Easthampton. We had a short meeting Graveside, Replaced the old bent up plaque with a new one made by Vinny Pons, then topped off the bikes and headed to the Easthampton Diner for Lunch at around 1:30.

The food was actually really good but there were complaints about the menu taking too long to read. Members ate foods ranging from Pizza and burgers, to Irish Wraps, whole belly clams and Seafood Marinara. Back on the roads the weather, roads and traffic were excellent, the bright sun and puffy clouds over the hills added to late fall foliage almost making it feel like a road trip through New Hampshire or Vermont. Sort of an any-town New England Fall kind of day.

 We took the straight route home down 91 to Hartford and route 2 with members dropping off along the way. By the time we pulled into the Dunkin at Salem Four Corners we were down to four bikes and four members. We sat around having coffee and receiving some Club history about early Club finances, the Connecticut Super Ride and such before splitting off for home. Back in my driveway at end of day, the trip meter read 199.4 miles from fill up to home. So add the ride for fuel in the morning and it was a two hundred mile day in great weather, on great roads, with great riders.