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First the bad...get it out of the way!
Less than 20 miles out, a little before New Boston, a rider on an F4I went down. I didn't see it happen and was able to gather little information regarding the cause. He may have target fixated, locked up his rear brakes, and went down in soft sand near a home. I assume it was low speed and when asked he maintained he wasn't hurt.
I had noticed him before we left wearing a sweatshirt and, given it was a little chilly, I just assumed he was wearing a jacket underneath. He wasn't. I also understand he wasn't wearing gloves and the only obvious injury was a cut hand. I wasn't too happy about that....
He was with a couple friends and they stayed with him to see if they could sort out his bike. Hopefully he got it going and the three of them were able to enjoy what was a beautiful day.
OK!!!
I began to suspect that this was going to be a largish group a couple days before the ride. The weather was swinging around to the 'gorgeous' setting, my email got active, and NESR started percolating.
After meeting Mark, Sarah and Nick in Litchfield, I swung into Seacoast by 8:30 and there were already a half dozen or so riders in the lot.
Thanks again to Jesse and Jim for the Coffee and Donuts. And Bobby and Danny for the lovely presentation of Hypermotards being prepped for demos!
By the time we had the riders meeting there were 31 bikes and 4 riders/passengers. Thank the lord, (it's just an expression folks...I haven't been converted), that Bruce (MYCIRCUS) was there...and more importantly, agreed to ride sweep. In his bright yellow Phantom suit he was perfect for the role. And he's ridden sweep for me before so I was thrilled.
It was fantastic to see a bunch of new folks...and even better to see some old friends joining us for the first time. I had received some PMS and emails from some newer folks concerned about whether they would fit in and I am really glad that they showed up. I hope they enjoyed the ride and were comfortable with the pace and group.
The first few miles took us through Derry, around Manchester, and into Goffstown. The lights and highway tended to amplify the challenge of a group that large and there was a bit of waiting to be done to keep the group together. Once we headed out of Goffstown the rest of the day was awesome and we rarely waited more than a minute or so for the group to regroup!
I had programmed my route into my ZUMO and while I have improved, there were still a couple of glitches in the morning. MapSource doesn't indicate 'dirt' roads and a couple of my selections turned out to be dirt. I passed them by, re-routed, and after a long uturn got back on track. (I bet a lot of you never even noticed!!!)
After crossing the river into Vermont and turned north toward Putney I swear I could smell ribs cooking way before we got to Curtis'. We arrived at about 12:20 and the whole perimeter of the parting lot was full...mostly bikes. We took over the center and went about ordering, eating, meeting and greeting. We also filled our gas tanks next door.
My hand rubbed dry smoked ribs are better. There...I said it. But as a destination, Curtis' is a great time! I believe this ride is a keeper!
While we were eating I think we were joined by 4 NESR folks from VT including MRBREAD, (who I am calling 'Patches' from now on....ask him about the repairs on his ballistic pants...the result of draggin his knee without pucks! NOT ON THIS RIDE!!! NO KNEES TOUCHED PAVEMENT TODAY!!!) A couple of riders left the group at this point including Bruce, my sweep. (Thanks again Bruce...especially for being the last guy on the slow part...Karma will reward you!)
Lucky me Mike (imkindasometin or other) stepped up. Another great sweeper. Mike's about 8 feet tall so when he sticks up his arm its like seeing a telephone pole. He did an awesome job tracking down folks that split off and keeping the group together from the back.
We took a bunch of nice roads...NOT GAP ROADS...just nice roads...through Vermont, past horse farms, through valleys, and over hills with some splendid views. We made our way to North Woodstock and in an effort to avoid the main drag, I managed to find a dirt road. (Wouldn't be the last..!) It was well packed and followed the Quechee river and turned out to be fine as it ended in a Covered bridge and back onto 4. A couple miles further we jumped on 12 south and headed back to the border. We stopped for gas then headed through another covered bridge across the river into NH.
We went by St. Gaudens Historic site. I would highly encourage folks to make the trip back there on a nice summer or fall Sunday afternoon. Its the summer studio of St. Gaudens, an artist best known for creating the 'Striding Liberty' Silver dollar and on Sundays they have classical music concerts. A very pleasant way to spend a day.
Not so pleasant was the 6 miles of dirt we traveled after St. Gaudens. I have been on that road before but recalled is being paved. I don't have any idea when they took the tarmac up and returned it to dirt....
RIDING IN JUST A TEE SHIRT......no no no no
Every got through this safely and we continued on our way waiting occaisionally but never for long.
Somewhere on rt. 114 the other side of Henniker, we got jammed up behind a motorhome that was doing a bit less than the speed limit. I debated what to do with such a large group but after 10 miles of his inconsiderate driving I passed him on a long staight, attempting with gentle hand signals to request he pull over. In no time at all the whole group was back together as we wound our way back into Goffstown where we stopped at the Exxon.
After making sure everyone knew where they were and how to get home, I left the group, headed home, watched about 5 minutes of the Olympics, and fell asleep.
Thank you, thank you, thank you all. Thanks for your patience, great spirit, and good skills! This was a ride to remember...
Regards,
Dave
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Originally Posted by OreoGitorio
