Sag Harbor, NY to Visit With TheAxeman

Last fall FredW; Cota95 and myself were unable to travel to Sag Harbor to join in a ceremony for Jordan so we traveled down this past weekend, close to the one year mark from the dark day of 4/22/08.

Fred cooked up a fine secondary road route for us, and Cota95 (George) led us... I dunno where, but we saw a bunch of RI. The first ferry ride rolled enough that our bikes had to be tied down, it didn't help that the Susan Anne also listed to one side.

TheAxeman (Chris) met us for the next couple of ferry rides leading us to Sag Harbor (SH from here out). The town of SH is a beautiful, quaint sea-side town on the cusp of being a mosh pit of summer visitors. Chris led us on a walking tour and acted as a really good tour guide. I wondered if we should have tipped him We visited Jordan's resting place and several of the memorials to him. We also got to see many interesting sights, including peeking in the window at Billy Joel's antique motorcycle collection. I still wonder who the blond in the convertible was...

Chris took us to one of the local watering holes for some effervescent barely water where everyone seemed to know him. A bit later we regrouped at his girlfriend's house for some nibbles and conversation before supper. Michelle (SP?) seems to be a wonderful person, it's just that she has really bad taste in men If they offer to take you to the local Italian restaurant watch out for the olive oil and garlic bread, you will over eat on the bread.

The next morning we had a fine ride through the SH area and then over toward Montauk Park. We had a few chances at a free turkey dinner but we managed to dodge them. We split a little while later to be sure we would catch the last ferry in time for George to make it to his ball game.

I'll open with a few pix of our trip out to Sag Harbor:

The Susan Anne, our first ferry ride.



Fred adopts the ferry rider's serene patience pose. The ferry swallowed the crane in the background.



The big gulp.



Tied down against the rolling of the boat. Can you find George in this picture?



A Coast Guard training ship.



The bird is made from welded re-bar.



The next smaller ferry.



Chris, the perfect host.



The Bridge at Sag Harbor.



Well, this is a beginning.

Edit by Admin: This post by FredW was merged with ionbeam's thread by request.


Partly because we couldn't make it on the weekend in May for Wheaton's planned mid-west foray, partly because we decided a mid-week ride would likely result in less congestion than on a weekend, but mostly just because we're bastards and wanted to be the first FJRforum-ites to make the trip there , three of us New Englander types (cota95, Ionbeam, and yours truly) took a ride down to Long Island on Thursday and Friday of last week.

We really lucked out weather wise. Thursday was just a tad chilly (mid 30's) at 8AM when I met up with Ionbeam in Hudson, NH, but the day warmed up quickly and we had clear skies, dry roads and bright sunshine for the entire 2 days. We first rode south thru NH and MA via some interesting secondary roads (suggested to me by my good friend Lee Garmin), to avoid slabbing it with all the working stiff commuters and skip the traffic in lovely downtown Worcester.



Ion and I met up with cota95 at the ubiquitous Dunkin Donuts in East Douglas MA at around 10AM. After I gave the boys their morning workout helping me to pick my bike up (you mean you're supposed to put the kickstand down? ), George lead us out on a nifty route that he had schemed out for us, down through western RI and into eastern CT, to take us to the New London ferry dock. Since we were a little ahead of schedule, he even threw in a bonus sightseeing loop around the Scituate Reservoir.


Boarding the 1PM ferry, the crew pointed us to parking positions near railings and proceeded to tie the bikes down pulling against the bikes' side stands, as they had been doing some rocking and rolling on their prior trips that day. Once we we sure everything was secure for the ride, there was finally time to go topside and break out the camera...

Leaving New London, looking off the back end of the ferry:



The barque, USCGC Eagle, sail training boat at the Coast Guard Academy in New London:



We also passed by the Electric Boat Yard in Groton, CT. Not much going on right now.
But I'm sure this will bring back fond memories for some of you old bubble heads...



And lighthouses... I'm a sucker for lighthouses.




These folks have a nice spot for a house. Not much room for a volleyball court, but fishing out the bedroom window sure would be fun:



The ferry ride to Long Island was about an hour and twenty minutes. Plenty of time to scarf down a burger. When we arrived at Orient Point we were greeted by Chris (TheAxeman) taking pictures of us as we rode our bikes off the ferry boat. Chris led us from there on to Sag Harbor. To get there you can either drive all the way around Gardiners Bay, or take the more direct route and ride two more, much smaller ferries across the bay hopping over Shelter Island in the middle, which is what we did.



For those that have never been to the eastern end of Long Island and Shelter island, it is very pretty.
Sort of quiet (in the off season) and quaint. Similar to Cape Cod and the Massachusetts islands, IMO.

Chris had prearranged rooms for us in the village at the Baron's Cove Inn.




A nice comfy little place. But the best part was the view out my window.
Alan thought the pool might be a bit shallow for any fancy diving.
But past the pool and the sparsely populated marina, the objective of the trip, Jordan's Bridge.





After we settled in, Chris led us around on a walking tour of Sag Harbor. The village is an old whaling port with many historical houses and buildings. We visited Jordans' grave site where he rests right up front, surrounded by prominent sea captains and ship's masters. I was too moved to remember that I had a camera around my neck, but in retrospect I think it is best for others to experience this first hand anyway.

We then walked past the old church building where Jordan had been eulogized.
Such strange and interesting architecture...




Pictures of the main harbor. Chris confirmed that in the summer time, these slips are full of multi-million dollar boats owned by all the "beautiful people".








Finally, we made our way to Jordan's monument and bridge.

The three New England pilgrims (from L) FredW, Ionbeam, cota95:




After wandering around Sag Harbor for several hours and building up some ferocious appetites, we then swung by Chris's girlfriend Michelle's for some tasty hors d'œuvres. Later the five of us all went out for a very nice Italiano dinner at Il Cappucino restaurante, just off Main st. Highly recommended for future travelers! The garlic bread is to die for! (am I getting that long islander talk down?)



Friday morning, Chris led us on a ride out further east on the south fork of the island. Surprisingly, there are a few interesting twisty roads in the island's interior, though the roads are obviously short. Then some side road sections passing by some of the bigger mansions and estates in "The Hamptons".





Here's Chris' "island hopping" bike. The stickers are to confuse the tourists:









A stop for photo op at "Main Beach: on the Atlantic side:








But soon the boys were just "itching" to get on the road again...



Eventually we made our way all the way out to the eastern most point on long island, the famous Montauk point.






There were several guys there with surfboards, though I couldn't actually see where they were surfing, the waves looked pretty good. But you have got to have a good, thick wetsuit to brave the Atlantic ocean at this time of year.







From Montauk, we boogied back via the main "highway" to Sag Harbor and bid farewell to Chris at the town beach. Then retraced our steps, taking the two smaller ferries back across Shelter Island to meet the 1PM ferry back to Connecticut.


Once we hit the mainland, we headed back up north via a different, more western route, hitting some very scenic roads in Connecticut. Cota dropped off in Brooklyn, CT at Rte 6, to head home for the PawSox season opener that night. Alan and I continued on up to NH through some neat little towns and villages in central Mass that had been absolutely hammered by the ice storm last fall. Lots of cleanup efforts still ongoing.

Total riding distance for the trip was only about 450 miles, but we sure got a lot of quality saddle time into 2 days, and I, for one, had a magnificent time. Thanks Alan and George, and especially thanks to you Chris, for everything.

Thanks for posting this Ionbeam. Sounds like you had a really great visit. :clapping:

:good: More!

Dang... I must have been posting mny trip report at the same time.

Alan makes much mo' better pitchers...

But I gots the GPS routes!!

Edit - Link to my report deleted. Thanks to admin SkooterG, the ride reports have been merged (but not ribbed) for your viewing pleasure!!

Cool.

Wish I coulda been there with you fellas.

Thanks for a great trip guys! Hospitality from Michelle and Chris was outstanding. It was very moving to see the memorial for Jordan and how the entire town claim him as their own. Here are a few more shots...

Here is Alan getting one of his great photos.



Alan and my bikes tied up for the rolling trip across Long Island Sound



Jordan's bridge from my motel room



Chris's FJR



Jordan's memorial at the bridge





At the beach in the Hamptons



Chris's hybrid KLR

Looks like fun. :thumbsup:

Thanks for the post's!

Thanks for the pictures guys. Looks like it will definitely be an interesting weekend when I go over.

Did you reserve for the ferry from Connecticut or just buy tickets when you got there?

Geezer said:

Thanks for the pictures guys. Looks like it will definitely be an interesting weekend when I go over.
Did you reserve for the ferry from Connecticut or just buy tickets when you got there?

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We bought the ticket there. On the trip home we were on standby but the clerk said that bikes almost always are fit on.

Geezer said:

...Did you reserve for the ferry from Connecticut or just buy tickets when you got there?

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The only ferry you may need to reserve in advance is the Cross Sound Ferry which is a $27, ~1.5 hr ride. Do check the online schedule to see when the ferry runs. Right now, before Memorial Day you should be able to ride up and get on. All the ferries use motorcycles to 'chink' the voids between bigger vehicles or fill in the tail end of the boat. The Cross Sounds have large indoor seating areas and surprisingly good food, albeit at a price.

At the North Ferry, $6; and the South Ferry, $7; just ride right up to the ferry loading area where there is a small reserved spot striped on the pavement. Once the ferries are as full as they can get with the available traffic they wave the motorcycles on, again to fill in spaces where cars and trucks won't fit. Hit an ATM and bring cash for the North/South ferries. The Cross Sound Ferry has indoor ticket windows that take credit cards.

The Cross Sound Ferry line has three boats, two are good and the Susan Anne we rode both ways sucks. The SA lists to one side and on a calm day it rocks like a boat at sea :blink: whereas the others don't.

wheatonFJR said:

Thanks for posting this Ionbeam. Sounds like you had a really great visit. :clapping:

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...and you too Fred & Cota. I appreciate the photos...looking forward to "being there" in Sag Harbor.

See you soon Chris...

Absolutely a terrific visit and you guys really took some nice photos of the trip. I'm happy to report that the hotel is actually going to allow me to book rooms there again even after hosting you three. Its a shame you weren't able to stay another day to check out some more sights. Thank you also for leaving beer in the refrigerator for Wheaties future visit. Its not often that I get to hang out with people who drink as much as I do....it was a refreshing change. :drinks: I swear I have not been in that bar in over 2 years.....

Of all the times I have ridden the Cross Sound Ferry (which is alot) I have never had to tie down and I have never had to wait standby, even in the summer. Of course I usually travel alone which may have something to do with it.

Interesting Bits of Trivia

IONBEAM Former hang glider officianado who once broke both arms at once. CIA operative.

FREDW Fixes sophisticated electronic medical equipment for fun and profit and really likes garlic rolls.

COTA Competes against older, frail men in Trial's competition aboard a Montessa and enjoys the color [SIZE=24pt]green[/SIZE]

Cool pix and that part of Long Island is a real treat. Thanks!

Chris. Your family will be in our prayers on Weds.

btw, from another FJR/KLR owner: Love the stickers!

Bob

Green? Is that what color his jacket was? I could never really tell as every time I faced in cota's direction when he had that jacket on I was immediately and semi-permanently blinded.

And as to the lack of drinking... I was just following the crowd on that one. I'm actually a serious lush in real life.

Wheatie and Geezer, and anyone else headed down in the May migration, you guys are really in for a great experience. I've already warned Chris that he was too damn nice so much that I'd probably be coming back sometime in the future.

Checkswrecks said:

Cool pix and that part of Long Island is a real treat. Thanks!
Chris. Your family will be in our prayers on Weds.

btw, from another FJR/KLR owner: Love the stickers!

Bob

Click to expand...

Yep. First order of the day Wednesday.

Nice report. Nice pictures. I grew up in East Hampton and still live there part time. I think I actually saw you guys on the turnpike Saturday. I've always been drawn to Sag Harbor. Good restaurants and bars and a nice wharf to hang out and drink coffee. Lately I've been working on a renovation right in the village there.

It's a great time of year to visit eastern LI before the cidiots invade. More pictures!

Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

Benjamin Franklin

Nate said:

Nice report. Nice pictures. I grew up in East Hampton and still live there part time. I think I actually saw you guys on the turnpike Saturday.

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Couldn't have been us, Nate. We rode down on Thursday and home again on Friday. Must have been some other group of FJR hooligans...

very nice, great visit and report

thank you

and big ditto on tomorrow (Wednesday first order of business)

Cheers,

Mike in Nawlins'