The HOG chapter I belong to schedules several group rides a month. There is always a ride after the monthly meeting, and several other rides - both closed and open (closed = only Chapter members allowed). I haven't been on any of the rides as I'm not really into group rides - or at least not large group rides, and most of the time I'm not really interested in the destination. Add to that all the work I have been doing on the house and landscaping these two summers, and planned rides that take up most of a day just isn't something I feel I can do.
However, I noticed there was a ride to Hoosick, NY on June 28. This interested me as I was thinking of doing an overnight trip to the VT/NY area, and one of the Queens (QOTR) that I had ridden with last year lives in NY. Jessica lives near Utica, NY and has beautiful gardens that she has shared pictures of on FB, so touring them would make that a good destination. Add to that that there was another HOG ride for charity scheduled for that day, so chances were that the Hoosick ride wouldn't have a huge group participating, and I started thinking about it.
I contacted Jessica and she said to come on out - in fact they would put me up. So I joined the HOG ride last Saturday. It was a smallish group; 10 people total with one other gal riding her Shadow, and the rest were guys. We had a meandering ride (not direct by any means) with one rest stop.
When we got to MOK, I ate a great lunch with the group then headed on my way. Oh, did I mention I was heading straight into rain? In fact, the forecast was for rain from Saturday afternoon all the way thru Sunday - on my entire route. Hey, but I'm nothing if not practiced at taking my trips in the rain, I was just glad it was fairly warm (most rainy trips I take are in the 40's).
I made it to Jessica's about 5 PM and she ran out of her house with camera in hand.
She then commenced to preparing the finishing touches on dinner that she had prepared - a gluten free, vegetarian dinner (I'm wheat free and she is vegetarian), that hit the spot - while her husband showed me to my room so I could get all set up.
Jessica and Steve are great people; we conversed late into the night hitting all kinds of subjects. I toured the gardens between bouts of heavy rain and just loved the fountain they had set up.
We went out to breakfast the next morning at the local diner
I left their place about 10:30 - trying to beat the heavy rain that was headed in. I took a more direct route than the HOG group took and was on highway for about 60 miles in NY. It rained most of my way home, although I did hit a few dry spots. Of course the temps had plummeted and I was riding in the 50's and high 40's. Still, my gear kept me dry and the rain was much better than the times I hit dry sections. In the dry sections there was massive wind. I stopped to rest in Bennington, VT at the school. The wind was so strong it was actually moving the handle bars of the bike. A few times the bike lurched and I thought for a moment it might go over despite it being blown toward the kickstand.
I was happy when I got out of Bennington. It had started raining again but the wind abated some so it was better. I was disappointed though that Hog Back Mountain was to foggy, in addition to the rain, to see any of the view. That is the 3rd time I have been thru that route in the last couple of years, and that is the 3rd time the weather has been foggy and rainy enough that you couldn't even see the end of the parking lot. One day I will go thru and have a reason to stop!
I got home about 3 so had plenty of time to see to the animals and get groceries for the week. Wish I had had more time with Jessica and her husband. If I had gone by myself I would have left much earlier (the HOG group met me at 9:30) and taken a more direct route (going by Hog Back, which may have been clear at that point - LOL), but I still had fun with the group, so it all balances out.
Great photos - especially the one that Steve took of you and Jessica. Nice to have friends scattered about that way. Obviously, you are equipped for taking on the rainy rides. Yay!
Posted by: Cop Car | July 04, 2015 at 11:36 AM