Friday night, PoPs needs to get the new battery into the Dutchess and I need to get a second Widder plug for my bike so if my girlfriend rides with me, she can borrow my brother's vest, since he doesn't do much winter riding. So we decide to meet out at Touch of Class and catch dinner on the way home.
/* Uh oh... here comes a product review */
We get our stuff... and then I see this HG First Gear jacket hanging on one of the racks... similar material to what an Aerostitch is made from... looks decent, comfortable, and warm... so I look further, as the smoke starts to come out of my ears. Right size for me... half-way decent price, for what it is ($370.00)... So I contemplate further, and one of the voices of my conscience (which sounds an awful lot like PoPs) says that if I don't take it, it won't be there the next time I come back... so I did... Anyway, for those interested, it's a First Gear All Season... and it seems to have just as many pockets as an Aerostitch, despite its being only a jacket. It's waterproof too (according to the tags that were on it). If you can deal with not having to wear dead cattle when riding, I highly recommend this jacket. Whoever designed it had sport-touring in mind. I haven't felt the wind through it yet, and it's been keeping me quite warm (never really had to turn the thermostat above 1.5... and that was only so get my hands warmer).
/* back to the story */
PoPs and I figure on stopping at Rafferty's in New Brunswick, but the wait there is 30-40 mins for seating, so we head over to Sapporo's and have a decent meal... I'm still not sure which was more entertaining... watching the chef (who was HIGHLY skilled and did an excellent job) or listening to the people at our table, who seemed to be well on the way to a drunken stupor at a later time.
Sunday rolls around... I end up meeting PoPs at the Texaco on US 206 north around 8:30... we head up 206 to NJ 24 and go to meet up with Ray Glanville at the firehouse pancake breakfast. Turns out that the 2+ miles turned into 4.2 miles, and the only thing that prevented PoPs and me from turning around was the sign that we passed after about 3 miles that said something about "entering Ralston Historical District." Well, we manage to find the firehouse, confooze the shit out of one person by asking him to tell Ray that there's a couple of DoD-er's present, and enjoy an excellent breakfast... which was served to us... this wasn't a buffet-style thing. They sat you down and brought you the food. Excellent job, Ray... please pass on many compliments to everyone who worked there. It was well worth the slight detour. :-)
We leave the firehouse around 9:30am and head out 24 to 517... where we get caught behind an oversized pickup truck dragging a horse trailer and two other cages behind that... that's one great way to spoil the trip up that road. We eventually manage to pass all three... after most of the good twisties along the road were gone... and the trailer wasn't properly hooked up, either (tail lights didn't work). Well, we finally manage to meet up with Tom at Panther Valley Mall... using up only 1 of the 15 minute rule minutes. After exchanges of pleasantries DoD-style and application of the full 15 minute rule, we head out.
Tom leads us along some rather good roads that would've been much better had they not been wet and full of sand from the last snowfall. Fortunately, luck was with me in one corner when I started to slide a bit on that stuff... I didn't fall and managed to maintain control, though I did have visions of me and my bike smacking into the metal guard rail. Well, we get to The Cornucopia in Port Jervis after plenty of decent riding... and we arrive 30 minutes EARLY... :-)
Anyway... Eric broke down and bought the electric gloves... Tom & company head on out to do some riding, and PoPs and I hang out and wait for Chrispy... finally, around 12:55 (Noon, huh? :-) ), I see a familiar-looking Aerostitch... only it wasn't atop Baby Bike or Zexy... it was the EX500... so Chrispy finally registers and signs in for the first time this season. We leave Port Jervis and head to The Cuckoo's Nest in PA... we almost make it into the nice, twisty part of Hawk's Nest on 97 with no cages in front of us... but of course one pulled out from one of the early along-the-side-scenic-overlook-spots and nearly cut PoPs off. We rode along some really good roads in PA (even clean and dry, these are very slow corners) and grab dinner at The Cuckoo's Nest. Excellent food at a decent price, especially if you like German food. It's definitely worth a group ride out that way when it's warmer, stopping there for lunch.
Now we need to get Chrispy on the fast track to get home, since he was running late all day. (Noon, huh? :-) ) PoPs and I still aren't sure about how we want to go home yet either... until we get to Marshall's Creek, PA, when we both figure on slabbing it home on I-80... so Chrispy peels off to follow I-80 west/US 209 south, while PoPs and I grab I-80 east and head on home. I made a brief pit stop at PoPs' place, then headed on home... sorta... Instead of going home, I went to a bridge game I said I could go to.
My luck carried through to the end of the night, too... I finished third in a local duplicate bridge club with a pick-up partner. :-)
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