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(IMG:http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid107/pc9df54924bfc3b76376be2e103a47fa5/f9582361.jpg)
Our long winter has put me in a real funk to get riding again. Because it�s been too cold to ride I�ve been getting my motorcycle fix anyway I can: reading magazines (even the cruiser-oriented rags) and catalogs ad nauseum, picking up classified papers to check out bikes on sale (even though I have no intention of replacing the VFR), and spending hours at work and home browsing and posting on internet message boards. Sound familiar? Enough is enough; it�s time to go riding.
My friend John and I agreed to take a ride Sunday, the temperatures were supposed to be in the �40�s, a welcome sign from the frigid blasts of the past week.
(IMG:http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid107/pc920a66226f37482fdfffb5b21fc9b73/f9582370.jpg)
John showed up around noon on his 2003 Harley Sportster XLH 1200. Even though John�s a Harley guy I ride with him anyway. :D
John�s a great riding partner. He rides within his limits, but knows the right time to turn the wick up too. John also grew up here so he knows all the back roads. In addition he loves all things mechanical and appreciates my Honda nearly as much as his Harley.
We hit the road to 37-degree temperatures. Our objective today was to hit some of the 2 lane state highways off the beaten path in Western Massachusetts. These are your quintessential New England towns: a town green, village church and a closed up gas station. Takes about 30 seconds to drive through. Repeat.
Our path took us west of Greenfield on Rt. 2, the Mohawk Trail. From there we went south on Rt. 112, west on Rt. 116, south on Rt. 8 to Pittsfield and west on Rt. 9, returning to Northampton. Total distance was about 100 miles.
As we climbed in elevation the temperature dropped. The VFR thermometer ran from a high of 39 degrees to a low of 32 degrees in the hills. The roads were a challenge, but not dangerous. Stay off the shoulder, still too much sand. Dodge the frost heaves and avoid the melting snow and ice that was coating some of the pavement.
Traffic was very light; we never got stuck behind a cage. No cops to be seen. Our biggest challenge was the cold. Without heated clothes it got through every seam. Never really did warm up.
Throughout the hill-towns of Western Massachusetts it is still very much winter. Snow covers the ground, right up to the curb. We couldn�t stop to take many pictures because there were few safe places to pull off. We did see some nice sights though. The sugarhouses have begun their annual production of maple syrup. They are easy to spot by the smoke billowing out of the chimneys and the number of cars in their parking lots.
(IMG:http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid107/p6eadab3301db4f17200bdf14f9a32c85/f9582359.jpg)
Here�s Mount Greylock, the highest point in Massachusetts. It�s a popular summer motorcycling destination. The current issue of Road Runner has a write-up and pics.
(IMG:http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid107/p1f9ae1aea751fba67b12c75b08f750be/f958236d.jpg)
We passed many frozen lakes like this one. Some of the local residents are still ice fishing.
On our trip home we stopped for a bite to eat at a mom & pop place. Actually it was called, �Pizza by Bob� and it featured a 1999 Harley Softail sitting on a jack at the entrance. We had to walk around it to get into the restaurant.
(IMG:http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid107/p9a03bda99e8f903f54c9f722b4d42a5a/f958235d.jpg)
Bob explained that this was his �winter� bike; his regular ride was a bored out chromed Sportster (�one of the fastest in the state� he beamed.).
(IMG:http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid107/p208777b41528f218659b1af1c9441605/f9582355.jpg)
The d�cor was sure to impress the hard-core biker crowd: swords and knives lined one wall, Harley� knick-knacks adorned the other.
I thought Bob was a real nice guy, even after he asked me if I rode �that rice rocket.� I guess I was cool because I was with John on his Harley. Hopefully he�d wave to me if we met on the road. :cool:
After lunch we headed home, the cold getting the best of us. Even after spending almost an hour inside, as soon as I got back on that bike it felt like I never left. Before long I was home.
The ride was a success in the sense that it satisfied my bike fix for a few days. The warm weather is just around the corner, although if I didn�t know it I would swear it was December around here. Spring will be that much sweeter.
(IMG:http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid107/pc9df54924bfc3b76376be2e103a47fa5/f9582361.jpg)
Our long winter has put me in a real funk to get riding again. Because it�s been too cold to ride I�ve been getting my motorcycle fix anyway I can: reading magazines (even the cruiser-oriented rags) and catalogs ad nauseum, picking up classified papers to check out bikes on sale (even though I have no intention of replacing the VFR), and spending hours at work and home browsing and posting on internet message boards. Sound familiar? Enough is enough; it�s time to go riding.
My friend John and I agreed to take a ride Sunday, the temperatures were supposed to be in the �40�s, a welcome sign from the frigid blasts of the past week.
(IMG:http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid107/pc920a66226f37482fdfffb5b21fc9b73/f9582370.jpg)
John showed up around noon on his 2003 Harley Sportster XLH 1200. Even though John�s a Harley guy I ride with him anyway. :D
John�s a great riding partner. He rides within his limits, but knows the right time to turn the wick up too. John also grew up here so he knows all the back roads. In addition he loves all things mechanical and appreciates my Honda nearly as much as his Harley.
We hit the road to 37-degree temperatures. Our objective today was to hit some of the 2 lane state highways off the beaten path in Western Massachusetts. These are your quintessential New England towns: a town green, village church and a closed up gas station. Takes about 30 seconds to drive through. Repeat.
Our path took us west of Greenfield on Rt. 2, the Mohawk Trail. From there we went south on Rt. 112, west on Rt. 116, south on Rt. 8 to Pittsfield and west on Rt. 9, returning to Northampton. Total distance was about 100 miles.
As we climbed in elevation the temperature dropped. The VFR thermometer ran from a high of 39 degrees to a low of 32 degrees in the hills. The roads were a challenge, but not dangerous. Stay off the shoulder, still too much sand. Dodge the frost heaves and avoid the melting snow and ice that was coating some of the pavement.
Traffic was very light; we never got stuck behind a cage. No cops to be seen. Our biggest challenge was the cold. Without heated clothes it got through every seam. Never really did warm up.
Throughout the hill-towns of Western Massachusetts it is still very much winter. Snow covers the ground, right up to the curb. We couldn�t stop to take many pictures because there were few safe places to pull off. We did see some nice sights though. The sugarhouses have begun their annual production of maple syrup. They are easy to spot by the smoke billowing out of the chimneys and the number of cars in their parking lots.
(IMG:http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid107/p6eadab3301db4f17200bdf14f9a32c85/f9582359.jpg)
Here�s Mount Greylock, the highest point in Massachusetts. It�s a popular summer motorcycling destination. The current issue of Road Runner has a write-up and pics.
(IMG:http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid107/p1f9ae1aea751fba67b12c75b08f750be/f958236d.jpg)
We passed many frozen lakes like this one. Some of the local residents are still ice fishing.
On our trip home we stopped for a bite to eat at a mom & pop place. Actually it was called, �Pizza by Bob� and it featured a 1999 Harley Softail sitting on a jack at the entrance. We had to walk around it to get into the restaurant.
(IMG:http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid107/p9a03bda99e8f903f54c9f722b4d42a5a/f958235d.jpg)
Bob explained that this was his �winter� bike; his regular ride was a bored out chromed Sportster (�one of the fastest in the state� he beamed.).
(IMG:http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid107/p208777b41528f218659b1af1c9441605/f9582355.jpg)
The d�cor was sure to impress the hard-core biker crowd: swords and knives lined one wall, Harley� knick-knacks adorned the other.
I thought Bob was a real nice guy, even after he asked me if I rode �that rice rocket.� I guess I was cool because I was with John on his Harley. Hopefully he�d wave to me if we met on the road. :cool:
After lunch we headed home, the cold getting the best of us. Even after spending almost an hour inside, as soon as I got back on that bike it felt like I never left. Before long I was home.
The ride was a success in the sense that it satisfied my bike fix for a few days. The warm weather is just around the corner, although if I didn�t know it I would swear it was December around here. Spring will be that much sweeter.
(IMG:http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid107/pc9df54924bfc3b76376be2e103a47fa5/f9582361.jpg)