ShawnKing
Well-known member
So...my life is going to hell in a handbasket and I'm going stir crazy sitting around the house. I'd been thinking about this ride for a while and realized, I *needed* to get out and see/talk to "real people" or I'd go completely crazy. I can't afford it but...screw it...reservations made at the (as it turns out, *very* skeezy) Travelodge in Latham...
Woke up bright and early on Friday AM and checked the weather forecast - "Showers all day, everywhere you're going to be..." Great....I gear up for the weather and head off, just as the sun is rising (supposedly through the clouds), for a leisurely trip to Sweet Sue's (from Danbury, CT).
No drama on the way up. Took the scenic route and got to Sweet Sue's around 8:30 and waited. First bike to show up was a *gorgeous* red one:
Turns out, it was Garaud's custom painted bike. The color was beautiful! Next up to arrive was Geezer. The three of us chatted for a bit and watched while the rest of the gang showed up. I'd never seen so many FJR's in one spot before!
Folks settled in for a delicious and filling breakfast:
Then it was time to ride!
As the newbie of the group, I wasn't sure what to expect from both the people in general and the riders/riding style in particular. The devilishly handsome Jim:
said there would be two groups - the "fast" group and the "slow" one. As it turns out, those are apparently fairly relative terms. Jim said the lovely Iris:
Would lead the fast group so I figured I couldn't go wrong following the cute one!
The ride started off fairly sedately and I thought, "Well, I won't have any problem keeping up..." I would regret those words the next day....
Soon enough, Iris was leading us through the Catskills. At least, I *think* it was the Catskills because, at the speeds we were going, I didn't get much opportunity to check out the scenery!
Full disclosure: We were riding at a pace *I* wasn't used to. It wasn't all that fast - compared to say Valentino Rossi at Catalunya - but it was more aggressive and faster than I had ever gone on my FJR.
And Dear God it was fun!
It was great being able to chase riders through twisties, knowing that they are on the same bike and, if you just trust yourself and your bike, you can follow along just fine. I only blew one turn - but I blew that one *badly* and spent quite a bit of time kicking myself for the loss of confidence. Overall, it was a blast chasing the other riders!
Jim and Iris had a great ride planned. It seemed like we stopped at all the right times and were able to relax and just ride, knowing those two would "take care of us".
How much fun did we have on Friday? Oh, about this much!:
Saturday would be less fun though.
Friday's forecast had been for showers all day but it turned out beautiful, warm and sunny. Saturday's was just the opposite. It rained on us for a good portion of the ride. I only wish it had been raining when I lost the fast group....
We were scooting along a river road when I lost the group during a pass. In trying to catch up (BTW, *don't* do that!) on an unfamiliar road, I stopped paying attention to my radar detector - don't do that, either. The nice sheriff informed me that, "I was going to stop those other bikes I just passed but you were going faster so I stopped you instead..." Gee...thanks...
I didn't want to get anyone else in trouble so I told the LEO I was just out riding by myself. As I stood there, waiting for my Performance Award, the "slow" group went by and were nice enough to wait for me a little ways down the road.
We eventually all met up again:
The above pic was the last time my camera came out on Saturday because the promised "scattered showers" turned into all day rain everywhere we went.
Jim tried to make the rest of the day fun but wet roads and slow traffic conspired against him.
After an unfortunately "leisurely" drive through Lake Placid and Lake George, it was time to head back to Latham. While the 2nd half of the day was a washout, the weekend was great fun - meeting new riders, learning more about myself and my bike and just hanging out!
If you'd like to see all the photos I took or full versions of the above shots, you can find them here.
Woke up bright and early on Friday AM and checked the weather forecast - "Showers all day, everywhere you're going to be..." Great....I gear up for the weather and head off, just as the sun is rising (supposedly through the clouds), for a leisurely trip to Sweet Sue's (from Danbury, CT).
No drama on the way up. Took the scenic route and got to Sweet Sue's around 8:30 and waited. First bike to show up was a *gorgeous* red one:
Turns out, it was Garaud's custom painted bike. The color was beautiful! Next up to arrive was Geezer. The three of us chatted for a bit and watched while the rest of the gang showed up. I'd never seen so many FJR's in one spot before!
Folks settled in for a delicious and filling breakfast:
Then it was time to ride!
As the newbie of the group, I wasn't sure what to expect from both the people in general and the riders/riding style in particular. The devilishly handsome Jim:
said there would be two groups - the "fast" group and the "slow" one. As it turns out, those are apparently fairly relative terms. Jim said the lovely Iris:
Would lead the fast group so I figured I couldn't go wrong following the cute one!
The ride started off fairly sedately and I thought, "Well, I won't have any problem keeping up..." I would regret those words the next day....
Soon enough, Iris was leading us through the Catskills. At least, I *think* it was the Catskills because, at the speeds we were going, I didn't get much opportunity to check out the scenery!
Full disclosure: We were riding at a pace *I* wasn't used to. It wasn't all that fast - compared to say Valentino Rossi at Catalunya - but it was more aggressive and faster than I had ever gone on my FJR.
And Dear God it was fun!
It was great being able to chase riders through twisties, knowing that they are on the same bike and, if you just trust yourself and your bike, you can follow along just fine. I only blew one turn - but I blew that one *badly* and spent quite a bit of time kicking myself for the loss of confidence. Overall, it was a blast chasing the other riders!
Jim and Iris had a great ride planned. It seemed like we stopped at all the right times and were able to relax and just ride, knowing those two would "take care of us".
How much fun did we have on Friday? Oh, about this much!:
Saturday would be less fun though.
Friday's forecast had been for showers all day but it turned out beautiful, warm and sunny. Saturday's was just the opposite. It rained on us for a good portion of the ride. I only wish it had been raining when I lost the fast group....
We were scooting along a river road when I lost the group during a pass. In trying to catch up (BTW, *don't* do that!) on an unfamiliar road, I stopped paying attention to my radar detector - don't do that, either. The nice sheriff informed me that, "I was going to stop those other bikes I just passed but you were going faster so I stopped you instead..." Gee...thanks...
I didn't want to get anyone else in trouble so I told the LEO I was just out riding by myself. As I stood there, waiting for my Performance Award, the "slow" group went by and were nice enough to wait for me a little ways down the road.
We eventually all met up again:
The above pic was the last time my camera came out on Saturday because the promised "scattered showers" turned into all day rain everywhere we went.
Jim tried to make the rest of the day fun but wet roads and slow traffic conspired against him.
After an unfortunately "leisurely" drive through Lake Placid and Lake George, it was time to head back to Latham. While the 2nd half of the day was a washout, the weekend was great fun - meeting new riders, learning more about myself and my bike and just hanging out!
If you'd like to see all the photos I took or full versions of the above shots, you can find them here.
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