Hooky for a Harley…with a new suit to boot!
Today was the first day in a long while I got a chance to ride my red Ducati. And of course I wanted a few friends to come along with me. Not all my usual riding buddies could join me today, but I did get Gary, Dave and Phat Pat to come along with me.
The other thing I was looking forward to was wearing my new one piece riding suit I just bought. The local weathermen were warning us of rain for the day so I figured it would be a great time to see if this thing is really waterproof.
We all met in Worcester near Gary’s place and headed off. Our first stop was to fill out bellies with fool. Coffee on the Common in Paxton is a good place to start the day.
As we all ate the rain stared to fall. Once we finished breakfast we suited up in our rain gear, and headed north. Our first stop of the day was in Keene NH at Monadnock Harley-Davidson for a stamp on my ride New England card.
The guys stayed outside while I went in for my stamp. I joked with the girl behind the counter about 3 metric bikes riding to all harley dealers today..I dont think she found that too amusing.
From here we worked our way back into the great state of Massachusetts. Aldo’s HD in Bernardston was our next visit. All the boys came in to this one, why? Well they also sell KTM’s and I think we were hoping to see a super duke tucked away in the back. No such luck 🙁
The bathroom is cool at this place, the walls are full of old posters and some cool old racing posters of Chris Carr, Scotty Parker and Eric Bostrom. I took more photos but these are the only 2 that came out.
From here we headed west. Rt 116 took us thru Conway & Ashfield. What a great road this is, but the wet pavement and my new slower riding attitude kept the pace at a level the LEO’s wouldnt mind. Some cool unnumbered roads took us south to Rt 9. Then things got a little fast. Rt 9 out in western MA is nothing like Rt 9 in Central MA. To wild and crazy honda riders passed me like I was standing still and took off into the horizon. I thru caution into the wind and took off after them. Gary was too busy singing Country & western show tunes to notice the pace had picked up a little. But it didnt take him long to catch up once he did.
We reached Pittsfield and Ronnies HD.
Dave wants one of these the next time he ride the TLH. I think I do too!
This was our farthest point west. From here we took some more great little back roads thru towns like… Hinsdale, Peru, Worthington and Hunnington. Towns most people inside 495 never heard of, let along driven thru.
River road is a great little road that dumps you out on the the Skyline Trail. I figured I should get a photo in front of the Skyline Trail sign. Seeing it was on my Treasure Hunt last year. Other than the dog and a few patches of sand in the roads the trip was going smoothly
Our next stop was at Harley-Davidson of Southampton.
Outside they had some interesting bikes. Dave really likes the red Ducati supersport, but I dont think he would like it on any dirt roads.
Pat really like the ape hangers, he’s just not sure how well the blue stich would look while riding it.
Me, well I loved this white bike, and if I win the Tour Card contest this is exactly what I want.
Once the stamps were stamped, and the tire kicking was done we headed south. Hamburgers were on our minds. Greasy & tasty ones!
White Hut is quite the place. No menus, not even a sign hanging up telling you what they sell. But it doesn’t take long to figure it out. Hamburgers, Hotdogs and French Fries.
The burger was good, not great, but very good. The grilled onions certainly add alot of flavor. The hotdog was perfect! The bun was grilled to and the toppings were very tasty.
Once we finished our late lunch Dave decided he had enough of this easterly adventure. So we said our goodbyes and he headed west towards home.
Gary, Pat and I had still more HD dealers to visit. Tibby’s in Springfield was next, followed by Sheldons in Auburn.
By the time we reached Auburn our cravings had turned from greasy fried food, to cool soft ice cream. We took a quick side trip to Millbury and fixed our craving at Cold Stone! See Dave, you should have stayed with us!
Pat will have to post up a photo of our Ice Cream. My camera didn’t come out after Sheldons.
We did some 290 miles for the day. Only 7 were on a interstate, and I took 5 dealers off my list. Leaving me with 20 left to visit before the year is up. I love my new suit, the vents really work well pushing air all around my body when moving. It was pretty hot standing around at the dealerships , especially when outside on the pavement. But I don’t mind a little sweat if it means good protection incase something happens. The best thing about it by far is the comments and looks I get walking into a Harley shop. You would think some of these guys just saw a alien peeing on their petunias in their garden.
Hey Dave, Pat & Gary thanks for coming along on my little adventure. Next time your talking with other NERd’s make sure you tell them you followed OSJ and lived to talk about it
