One Ride, Pownal, Vermont Sept 22

[Woodstock]

I have been reliably informed as follows: One Ride will be meeting at the RE Pownal, VT store at 10am, kickstands up at 11/11:15 a.m., ride will be from 11-12/1230 p.m. depending how everyone feels on the ride.
Route still being mapped but about an hour with a half hour wiggle room for cruising/stops. Back at the shop to hang out after that.
There will be a food truck on site. If the same one I remember from Demo Day during the summer, burgers and sodas but no coffee for some reason. Being a fiend, I particularly remember there was no coffee. Bring cash for the food van.
Disperse for 2pm.

3584 VT Route 346, Pownal, VT 05261

 

[brimmergj]

 

[Woodstock]

View attachment 20360

See you there.

 

[brimmergj]

Looking forward to it. Should be a decent turnout

 

[Alan F.]

The weather seems to be cooperating. The forecast calls for a sunny day, 60°F at 10am and 70°F from 1pm until about 6pm when temps begin to drop.

I'm sorry to miss this event.

 

[wspollack]

Okay, got up exceptionally early for me this morning, bundled up (with a heated liner powered via my side-cover Powerlet outlet -- I like to be warm), and rode the hour or so to get to Pownal, VT.

I was among the earlier arrivals (that's my Bumblebee):



Proprietor "AJ" locked the doors of RE of Bennington (https://www.royalenfieldbenningtonvt.com/), and led us on a nice ride in the countryside. Here's the group at the one mid-ride break:



This rare bike (and its owner) were part of the ride:



(I know the manufacturer, because I chatted with the owner.)

Meanwhile back at the shop, the food truck was ready to serve (no pic).

And late in the afternoon, this other rare-ish bike (and its owner, from western MA, and a really old guy like me) showed up:



I had a very nice time, and got to see @Woodstock again, and met @jumanji, er, I mean @brimmergj, and probably some other members here, but whose names didn't penetrate my hearing aids (or brain).

"Film at eleven," as they say. That is, I hope to have the video of the ride up later today or tomorrow, on the YouTube.

In the meantime, here's where we went on the group ride:

 

[brimmergj]

It was great to finally meet you both.
Great weather, great bike and a bunch of great people. Fantastic day!

 

[Woodstock]

Yeah, really good day out. Good to see @wspollack and meet @brimmergj. I didn't realize there were so many of us reasonably close though I had heard the sales numbers before. It was a bigger turnout than expected, at least by my estimates, and stunning day. I'm sure next year will be bigger if the weather permits. I spoke to very few people as it turned out but there were many interesting little groups. I took five random pics and wspollack made three of them. It will be good to connect with people more often.

 

[wspollack]

Okay, the group ride video, in its entirety (well, minus the stopped time) is now up on the YouTube:

If you can't spare 45 minutes right now, but you do have 11 minutes you want to kill, here's part of my ride home from the N. Pownal get-together. I'm always interested in how well 20HP fares on mountain passes (in this case, Petersburg Pass, Rt. 2, MA to NY):

(No engine sound on that one -- it worked fine during the group ride -- for reasons unknown to me, BTW.)

 

[Bill S]

Darn, I did not see this ahead of time, but did have plans Sunday anyways.
Wish I could have been there.

 

[Woodstock]

Darn, I did not see this ahead of time, but did have plans Sunday anyways.
Wish I could have been there.

Next year. It will be bigger.

 

[Woodstock]

Okay, the group ride video, in its entirety (well, minus the stopped time) is now up on the YouTube:

If you can't spare 45 minutes right now, but you do have 11 minutes you want to kill, here's part of my ride home from the N. Pownal get-together. I'm always interested in how well 20HP fares on mountain passes (in this case, Petersburg Pass, Rt. 2, MA to NY):

(No engine sound on that one -- it worked fine during the group ride -- for reasons unknown to me, BTW.)

I love that pass. I always think of it as the Taconic Pass. I try to do the whole thing from Troy to Rte 7 and back as often as possible. Sunday we did it both ways from 22 to 7 just because it so nice. I have 300 miles of running in on The Bullet but can't wait to try it with the J350. The Interceptor kills it even two-up. I will watch the 45 minutes before bed. Thanks for posting.

 

[brimmergj]

I'll give both vids a view later this week. I did catch that the video of the Pass ended just as you got to my road by the bridge. For some reason, seeing my road in a YouTube video is pretty cool.
I really enjoy the bonus info at the bottom of the vids. Seeing the lean angle and neat.
Thanks for posting

 

[StefArmstg]

We don't have anything like that out here. The Harley shops will put together an occasional ride, or a Toys for Tots run. But bike shows, rallies, or major racing events... It's a wasteland.

The road races at Woody Creek, near Aspen, were a party, with camping at the track. And it was a great ride getting there. The vintage races at Steamboat Springs where even better. And some of the hotel balconies overlooked the course. Long gone.

 

[Woodstock]

We don't have anything like that out here. The Harley shops will put together an occasional ride, or a Toys for Tots run. But bike shows, rallies, or major racing events... It's a wasteland.

The road races at Woody Creek, near Aspen, were a party, with camping at the track. And it was a great ride getting there. The vintage races at Steamboat Springs where even better. And some of the hotel balconies overlooked the course. Long gone.

But your riding routes are good so it's all give and take.

 

[StefArmstg]

True. There are a fair number of great roads close to home. But this is the west. Once those rides start getting stale, there can be a lot of wide open spaces to cross to get to the next fabulous place. All day rides used to be frequent. And weekend rides were common. I'll never see those places again. Now a half day ride wears me out.

When I think I've used up my luck in the canyons, I'll take a lazy ride out in the flatlands. The Interceptor makes even boring roads enjoyable. But how much better it would be if I was heading to an event.

And because it's so cool...
My new (vintage) coffee cup. A gift from a vintage Triumph owner.

 

[Alan F.]

I agree, more events and more destinations are what we need.

 

[StefArmstg]

Exactly. A trip to the drugstore can include a forty mile ride to get home. But it's not the same...

 

[Alan F.]

Indeed not the same.

Years ago i supported a field service territory of half a dozen customers and i could take a bike weather and project permitting. I'd average 150 miles a day mostly, and it was easy to stop somewhere to check messages and return calls. I always had a next stop to ride to, and that's what I mostly miss these days. Now I can't use a bike for work. When I do ride it's just out for a looped route and back home. My last ride day included 4 stops after meeting up with another rider and it was a very good day.