Winter Solstice

Today is the Winter Solstice. The official start of winter. Bleah. And we even got our first 'real' snowfall of the year last night. Nothing outlandish, but enough to plow and shovel (and for the towns to put salt down). I shouldn't complain; we've had great snow-free weather for much longer than usual. But it still doesn't mean I gotta like it!

One thing about today that I do like, though...it's also the shortest day of the year. From here on out, the days start getting longer again. And that means that as of tomorrow, the sun will begin it's inexorable return trip northward. And we, who enjoy its warmth (and the clear roads that come with it), cannot wait to embrace it's golden rays once again.

Last Miles for 2010?

The temps were hovering around the low 20's yesterday morning when I rolled the bike out. The weather had been calling for a major snowstorm hitting us Sunday night. I hadn't really been paying attention to the forecasts...but that changed when they started using the term "feet" to describe how much we were going to get. Feet? Oh man, that's not good...

Only one thing to do; get some miles on before the crapola hits the fan!! Let's Ride!!

Here's a shot of the temp guage on the bike as I rolled it out of the garage...

The guage itself actually started dropping a bit, once I got moving. Rolling through the center of town, the main bank's temp display read a balmy 23 degrees. Frikkin' Awesome! :-D

I put a number of miles on and I was having fun. I especially enjoyed the odd looks from people as I rode by. One guy in particular took one look at me, pulled his jacket tighter about himself, and shouted to me "You're making me cold!!!" Ha! Love it!

So of course I figured I should get someone else out here to share in the fun. Texting with Zig, he replied that he was doing laundry. Laundry? Laundry can wait, there's snow on the way. Let's ride! He couldn't deny that logic and said ok. With that, I was back on the road, and rocketing to his house...

Chrissy even geared up and joined us. We were soon on our way, hitting some side roads, easing through some corners here and there, and generally enjoying the day. We pulled up at a bar...er...restaurant for some grub, watched some football, and then made plans with other buds to meet up for the 4 o'clock games, followed by the PATS!!

The Picadilly Pub in Mansfield wound up being our chosen destination, and we soon had 10 individuals of questionable character, all lined up and having fun. A few beers, some popcorn thrown into each other's beers, and an occasional strangling now and then. Good times!

I kept wandering out to the parking lot to see how the storm was progressing, but there was nothing to be found. Checking the weather, it seems we'd dodged another bullet; the storm was going to miss us to the south. And while we were still possibly going to see a little bit of white stuff, the weather geeks had called off the alerts and the state was closing down the emergency shelters.

Back inside, the Pats eked out another close victory, but it was a victory none-the-less. Next week? The dreaded Bills from Buffalo! They've been looking good lately, should be a good game (and of course, King and I will have a beer riding on the outcome).

Another day full of Miles and Smiles. I like these days.

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Catharsis

Took the bike out for a putt this morning. The temp guage was hovering around the 20-something mark but I'd bundled up and was looking forward to rolling out. Without asking for anything in return, the bike offers me a clear head and a welcome chance to reflect on things. I've got great friends all around, (plus new/interesting friends from last night!), there are road trips to warmer climes in the making, and on top of all this, I've got two wheels below, a (mostly) clear sky above, and an open road in front. There really isn't much that's better than this.

And with that realization, life is good once again.

Send Good Thoughts

Kevin goes into Tufts tomorrow (Wednesday) @ 9am, and expects to be there for a few days. Send him some good thoughts.

4 Years

Ride Free, Russ. Hopefully Rosie is keeping you good company, too.

Full Bellies find a Pot Belly

On Saturday, the temps had soared into the 60’s. Clear skies were above, and beaming sunshine all around. The texts had already been coming in; bikes were being fired up and miles were gonna be logged. Yet sadly, I stood in my yard with many chores laid out before me. I’d sworn an oath to myself earlier in the week that I would ignore the siren song of the road and would remain focused on the tasks at hand. It was difficult, especially given the roaring sounds of pipes flying up and down my street all day long, but I’m happy to report that I was resolute, and succeeded in accomplishing my goals.

Once nighttime had arrived and the tools were all put away, it was time to party! Ok, well not so much ‘party’, as just ‘gather’; to discuss our plans for Sunday’s ride. For you see; Sunday was forecast to be much chillier, but we were undaunted by this. We had set an auspicious goal for ourselves; we were riding to NH for breakfast. (What the? But it gets colder the further north you ride!!) Yes, this is true, and was one of the reasons necessitating a discussion. How did things turn out? Let’s find out…

The gathering spot was Zig’s back yard around a bit of a fire. Some folks who were not going to join us in our undertaking, still had the gall to attend this planning shindig of ours - Mike, I’m looking at you! (just kidding, but you shoulda made it!), but for those that were going, it wound up being a simple plan. Checking the weather, there were to be clouds and colder temps moving in as the day progressed, resulting in the warmest temps being forecast to fall early noon-ish, rather than later in the afternoon. Given that it should take us about 90 minutes to get there, we’d depart from my driveway @ 10. That would give us ample time to arrive, eat, and be headed back south, all while maximizing the temperatures. We all agreed it was a grand plan, and with that, it was off to our respective homesteads to get some sleep before our assault on the frozen roadways.

The next morning found me up early…much too early (stupid brain – can’t sleep before a ride!), but the good news is that it allowed me to get the wood stove roaring. In short order, the living room was soon experiencing its own little heat wave in anticipation of the frosty riders soon to appear.

While waiting for said riders, I figured a bit of preparation was in order. Our breakfast destination was a place called Parker’s Maple Barn, in Mason, NH. They boldly mention on their website that they do not have a license to serve alcohol, but you are more than welcome to bring your own. Well then, that sounds like a mighty fine invitation! And something that has always appealed to me on a frosty morning is a nice hot chocolate that has been enhanced with a bit of schnapps. So, with that in mind, it was time to pull out the trusty pocket flask and stock up for the event.
Additionally, and also in light of the expected chill, I pulled out some handy dandy hand warmers. Yep, we’d have things covered for certain!
Matt was the first to arrive, followed shortly by Zig and Chrissy. But wait; there was another attendee this morning; Mr. Sun! And he'd brought warmer temps than had been expected! In fact, Matt checked the temps again and noted that things had warmed up 10 degrees in a little over an hour. How sweet it is! (I still packed the hand warmers but they weren’t needed at all.)

We hit the road a bit after 10am and were soon hammering up 495. Traffic was light, but moving quickly, and we found ourselves enjoying a solid pace within the relative safety of the middle lane. We only had one missed turn (stupid highway numbers – I was looking for Rte 13 but got cornfused and took Rte 113 for a few miles until I realized my error). A quick back-track, a few more miles until we found our correct path once again, and we were back in business.

Now Matt had commented earlier that he didn’t have a flask to bring along for this trip, and as it turned out, Zig didn’t, either. But Providence provided for us, for when we pulled into a NH State Liquor store…

… they wound up having a tobacco store next door that carried flasks. Sweet! A quick trip inside and the lack of flasks was soon remedied.

Here’s something you don’t always see; the tobacco shop had a cigar room in the back. This thing was sweet! Recliners (which were facing a large flat-screen TV on the wall behind me), a poker table, and, off to the right (out of sight in this pic) was an enormous, walk-in humidor!

Anyway, a short visit to the liquor store for additional supplements (vanilla schnapps for Matt, and Bailey’s for Zig), and we were back outside. Zig opted to fill his flask at this time and we were certain that he would spill the Bailey’s all over the place as he tried to pour the thick fluid into the tiny opening, but he managed it without much product loss at all. We all agreed it was indeed an impressive feat, particularly given his many claims of being hungover from the evening before. After this, it was back to the road. A few short miles later found us pulling into the Parker’s parking lot.
We pulled up and off to the side, claiming some real estate within full view of the windows to park our rides.
Now our proximity to the windows is important to point out, for when Matt was filling his flask, he had a full bank of spectators who were enjoying the show from inside. No pressure, Man, no pressure! Sure the flask has a tiny opening, but you can do it – don’t spill!
(I’m happy to report that he also managed the task with minor product loss – these guys are pros!).

I walked in and put our name into the queue and was informed the “wait” was about 45 minutes. Zoinks! Ok, let’s check out the area while we’re waiting. I see they have a gift shop next door. (My conspiracy mindset kicks into full gear. Hmmm, a gift shop next door…could it be that this plays a part of why the “wait” is so long?? I wonder…) Ok, let’s check out the gift shop. Yep; it’s a gift shop, replete with all the kitsch you expect to find in a gift shop. Ok, back outside it is. How much longer, now? Well, the gift shop visit knocked off a whopping 4 minutes, so that leaves us…yes; quite a while, still.

Checking out the area, we found one tree that was adorned with various ‘distance to’ signs on them…

…and a second tree adorned with various terms of greeting…
Sadly, this was about all that was available for entertainment for hungry patrons left waiting outside. So, we passed the time by sitting on the cedar swingsets.

Zig and Chrissy…
…and Matt. Matt was deeply entrenched within his inner musings (IE: his phone) and looked a bit perturbed at being interrupted when I called out his name so that he would look up…
…yet once we were inside and had our hot chocolates (and flasks) in front of us, all moods were significantly improved!

A quick line-up of the offenders.
Food! The price for their signature breakfast was kinda steep, but the amount of food that showed up was quite impressive. (Being the fatty that I am, I’d already eaten half of my eggs and some of my home fries before it occurred to me to snap a pic.)
As we were emptying our plates, we bantered our next destination about. Where should we go? What else was going on today? When we realized our options were limited, we all agreed on where it was that we should next park our tires. (Where did we wind up? I’ll get there, I’ll get there…)

When our bellies were full, it was time to gather ourselves up and head back outside. Just as we were departing, a group of folks sat down at a table behind us and let me tell you; they had the whole “you can bring your own alcohol” thing down to a science! Out came an enormous container of red liquid (what could it be?), huge plastic cups, baggies of ice, baggies of celery stalks, baggies of olives, baggies of lemon slices, straws, napkins…what is going on here? Bloody Mary’s! Nice! They soon had themselves set up in grand fashion, and when they saw our looks of admiration, laughed and nodded in a knowing manner (they’d seen our flasks as they were walking by).

Soon we were easing our trusty machines along the same beautiful wooded roadways that we’d travelled not too long ago on our way to the maple barn. On our way in, I’d spotted a cool mini lighthouse set up on the side of a lake we’d passed. I wanted to snap a pic of it on our way out and did just that as we shot past. Unfortunately, it didn’t come out well. I’m not sure if you can even make out that there is a lighthouse in this pic, but I assure you there is one.

About an hour and a half later, we pulled into our next stop. Can you tell where this is? (Those of you who have been following our exploits of late might recognize the parking lot.) And there were other bikes there to greet us this time! Yes, it’s our favorite stomping grounds – the Pot Belly Pub! (And that means that we’d inadvertently squeezed another PBP run into this season!)
Just as we were setting our kickstands, the Mayor came walking out to the lot. Once again, he had many things to take care of and would not be gracing us with his presence inside. We were glad to have caught him so that we could say our hello’s, and we all wished each other good things, and agreed that with any luck, we might have some more decent weather still in store for a little while.

Inside, we said our hellos to the faces we've come to know, and then made a quick request of Bartender Chris for some of the (in)famous ducks. A snapped pic on the phone, and with that; a text was sent to Danno, to bust on him for missing today’s run.
The Pats weren’t playing until 8 that night, so we contented ourselves with watching both the Giants, and the Jets, and hoped they would both lose. We went 50-50 on that, as the Giants got pounded but the Jets eked out a lucky win in the waning minutes of OT. Damn.

At one point, we began to feel a bit of a vibration in the floorboards – what gives? A look out the window and sure enough; a train was coming along the tracks behind the bar. Huh, I didn’t even know those tracks were still active. That would make for a cool picture; the train gong by the bikes. Oh well, I realized that by the time I could dig out my camera and get outside, it’d already be past. Maybe some other time.

And that was when Matt came back inside from his smoke break - and guess who had been in the right place at the right time? Sweet!
After a bit of time, the darkness was beginning to really settle in so we broke for Chickie Flynn’s, much closer to home. Matt was hungry again (fat bast…er…I mean; poor guy) so appetizers and entrees were ordered all around. I’d planned on just having one beer and heading home, but then found out that these guys have a buddy who’s shipping out to Afghanistan in January, and he was going to swing by and say hello. I stuck around so I could buy him a beer (we wound up buying him a few), talk to him about his assignment, and wish him good luck. With any luck, we’ll see Jim back home safely.

Before we knew it, it was 8 o’clock and that meant the Pats were about to kick off! We settled up the tab, bundled up our bodies, and broke for our respective abodes. Back at home, I settled into the comfortable recliner as usual and enjoyed the show as the Pats manhandled the Steelers.

And now it’s Monday, once again…

Here’s hoping everyone was able to get some miles on this past weekend. We’ve got some messy stuff coming in this week, but the long-range shows chilly temps, but no precipitation, for the weekend. Maybe…just maybe…we might be able to get some riding in. But where to go?

I heard about this place in northern Maine that has a fantastic breakfast buffet…

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Thank A Vet!!

Saw something (potentially) disturbing on the news yesterday; the gravesite of PFC Nicholas Cournoyer was vandalized, and some items that friends and family members had left over the years had been taken. I'm hoping the items were taken by someone who was very close to Nicholas and took the things because they miss him so much, and that the items will be returned shortly.

Why the note about PFC Nicholas Cournoyer? Because he was one of the first funerals I attended as a member of the Patriot Guard. This was back in May of 2006. On one hand, it seems like such a long time ago, on the other, it seems like it wasn't that long at all. In fact, I still remember in one of the eulogies that his friends used to call him "Cournoyer the Destroyer". As big and strong as he was in life, a goddamn IED added his name to the list of those who have given the greatest sacrifice possible.

But I digress, as usual. Today is Veteran's Day. I mounted the flags onto the bike last night for the ride in today. (Still gotta get the back of the bike fixed before the big flags can fly again.)

When I got to work, I found that someone had printed off some "Thank a Veteran today!" signs and had put them up. Nice!

I imagine everyone has a friend or relative that is fighting (or has fought) for our freedoms. I'd love to get into the whole debate about the politicians eroding our rights more and more, but this isn't the time. Today we thank and remember those who have sacrificed for us.

Thank You!!