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Well, sort of. This area will feature odd tid bits and Hopey's experiences within the BIA and as a novel vintage bike rider. And we're off... |
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8 | 6 | 2008 |
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1 | 12 | 2008 I do apologize for the missing 2007! I was very busy with a new job and new bike. It's a Harley 2007 Dyna Street Bob - my commute bike. I still kiss the Triumph! The McBike is currently under going a small 'face-lift' - new seat cover, new pipes. It made it to a bike benefit in Foxboro in 100 degree heat (with NO pipes at that time!) and I almost got the coveted "Weenie Queen" title - and yes, there are photos in existence of that event. The Harley is a good work-horse of a bike, gets great gas mileage and is able to take me farther than my little trusty Triumph. The shed is now full of bikes, including a project Shawn has been working on: a 1957 Triumph bobber. I'm already thinking 3 bikes ain't so bad... ;) If time permits, I may be giving this site a face-lift and some liposuction as well. I hope to also get my HOOLIGALS website going - or at least put some content in it - female bikers are the fastest growing sector of the bike industry and I need to capitalize on that! Happy New Year everyone and keep it safe. |
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7 | 20 | 2006
Coming
up for air... work has been nuts, but at least I've done some bike
related things so far this summer: WORLD'S FASTEST INDIAN: Great movie with Anthony Hopkins! The opening sequence will make most of you all warm and fuzzy.. like, hey, that's MY shed! Read some reviews... RIDING TO WORK ON FRIDAYS: To save on gas and pass out some fall flyers. Even met a banker in the parking lot who has an old BMW but wants a Brit bike, so I may be hooking him up with one... hmm, there could be profit in that! HOOLIGALS.COM: I finally sort of started my 'all-grrl' website for chick bikers. Any ideas, send them my way. RIDING
ABOUT RHODE ISLAND: Shawn and I occasionally cruise to
parts of RI. We've done Aidan's in Bristol twice (once I had no
rear light - again! - coming home) and the Newport beaches. At a
BBQ, a friend's little girl got all decked out in my riding gear,
although she kept saying "BOO!" for some reason. |
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6 | 23 | 2006 Sorry
it's been quiet on the blog front, been ultra busy with work and
more injuries, but the shed is all painted purty now, complete with
flowers in the tiny window boxes. It's nice being able to work on
the bike in the shelter from the rain and take it out easily into
the sun. The spring show went very well I was told and I finally
snagged a trophy for the McBike. Been doing some riding, not much,
as I threw my back out (those damn funky disks in my body just get
outta whack and BLAMMO...). One day I was out riding all by my lonesome
(Shawn got called in to work) and I rode by the Hot Club and saw
a row of Triumphs, an old Honda and old Harley. I went inside and
had a beer trying to figure out what group of leather-clad people
were the owners. No luck, so I sat outside on my bike taking in
the view. They approached and I feebly introduced myself, as I'm
always trying to find Brit riders to ride with around town. Of course,
they're from Beantown/Cape, except one RI local, and rarely come
down this way. They were very friendly and we chatted for a few
minutes. I dug the young gal on the old Honda, that was cool to
see! The other female had the drooly all-black new Bonnie that I
crave. Shawn and I have also befriended a punk guy on Thayer St.
who has a nice flat-blacked Harley and is very very keen on getting
his hands on an old British bike. Anyone? We hope to get to the
Hot
Rod Riot in Manchester, CT on July 22 since there's no Rockabilly
Rumble this year. We may also check in on the Summer Nationals in
Worcester and say hi to the Scooter gang up there. |
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4 | 11 | 2006 Oh, so a few weeks back I'm doing my 3 mile commute over the 195 bridge into the East Side of Providence and I notice a new sign at the end of the off ramp - "MOTORCYCLES WITH STRAIGHT PIPES PROHIBITED (31-23-13)" - huh? Why did this suddenly pop up? Where does this ban extend to? Is it allowed in Pawtucket? I remember going to Fox Point community meetings before I started riding, and all the homeowners would bitch about the bike noise. Don't live in a city I thought! (And believe me, there's more noise up on Route 105 in sleepy Middleboro where THOUSANDS of bikes would pass by Shawn's old place daily and nightly. Those East Siders should spend a night THERE.) So there was an attempt to ban bikes on Thayer Street (near Brown/RISD) - to which even the local bike cops scoffed at the idea. One biker guy I spoke with on Thayer Street said "It would be like banning minorities from the street, or people in funny hats..." I spoke with Deb Perkins about this odd sign, and she said many a town do this to deter the noise (...and possible troublemakers?). So I gleaned this from the 'net:
Wow, talk about serious stuff that cops can't really enforce anyway, but this is interesting... Bristol, RI was cracking down on loud pipes and most cops couldn't tell if the exhausts had been tampered with or didn't have the right equipment to check:
Ah, so keep that in mind, vintage riders! It could be utter BS, but it sounds so true! The RI law books has the noise level at: Max A-weighted sound level as measured at 50 feet (Title 31, Chapter 45 31-45-1): 1) 86dBA at 35 mph or less; 2) 90dBA above 35 mph. I found
the RI
law on straight pipes here (31-23-13). The fine seems
to be $75.00. So lay off that throttle when passing the boys in
blue in Rhode Island. |
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4 | 9 | 2006
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4 | 2006 Well the Cabin Fever party was a total success - no bad weather, about 80+ people and catered grub. No muss, no fuss! Once again, Blakkat Bone provided the live music and added to the frivolity of the evening. The last three weekends have been crazy; the first was meant to start my bike's 'upgrades' but was post-poned due to Shawn having an old pal in town. Then the second weekend the new tires finally went on (but only after they put up a grand old fight, apparently my little 500's tires are 'special' in that they have these asinine screw/tube thingies that made it hard to get the new rubber around the rims... mallots were used at one point.) and the chain took up the rest of the weekend. Come to find out that the chainguard, which was the noise that followed me around all 2005, was kinda hacked from the junk chain I ran all year. The bracket broke again and there was a nice sliver in the chainguard. Wish I COULD chuck it but my back brake attaches to it! We were also eagerly awaiting our new shed/workshop, which came that last snowy, rainy April day. We spent the winter 'researching' shed companies and alternatives, finally agreeing on one and then dealing with my town's kooky zoning laws. But it was here! The floor was all wet and covered in mud once completed, but we didn't really care, the new home for our bikes was here! It's 12x16' (the largest my town would allow w/o a concrete foundation - plus anything larger would swallow up my backyard). Shawn has already transported his bike parts into the shed and they're piled up along one side - we'll need to build a loft/storage area for that! We're also discussing hooking up some juice to it to get some light in there for late night welding! I also bought an Abzorbs oil mat for the leaky critters. And, for insurance sake, I got a new battery - might as well start fresh, right? Don't want to crap out in the middle of nowhere again! This final weekend is fixing that damn chainguard - to which Shawn insists he has a bracket lying around somewhere (uh oh, I can see where this is going - a last minute, late night visit to Steve Rork!) All this is so I can be ready for the Blackstone Valley Ride on Sunday, April 9. I'm planning on polishing up the cases tomorrow too - they need a good shine! The bike started up after a long slumber though and I hope Saturday will be clear enough for me to put my biker legs back on and get a few miles under my belt to get back in to the swing of things. Y'know, make sure things are snug and happy, nothing rattling off... The
first Mass. BIA ride is early this year and it's gonna be a little
chilly. But I see they've at least started to sweep the roads around
here... :) |
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1 | 2006 Happy
New Year! Not much to report, just the anticipation of the Cabin
Fever party and my new tires and chain and fork seals! My bike will
be much safer this year! |
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10 | 2005 Three million hurricanes later, I finally get around to updating this blog. Not much excitement to report since July. The Mass. BIA Fall Show went way beyond our expectations - hopefully the new Singletary location was the big boost we needed. The weather was a little cool and it went relatively smooth - I played vendor ambassador and collected the door prizes. Meet and greet! I didn't ride my bike up as it's been a little cranky and with Shawn on the road with his brother on their old Harleys, I am short-handed in the fix-it area. The chain guard was rattling so I put a bolt on it that was missing, then the bracket holding the bolt broke. I put a new bracket on (well, actually the guy at Javaspeed helped me out, thanks!) - the bolt scrapes the chain now. Argh! You can't win! This is after having to mess with the wiring for the tail light that was pulling a typical Lucas now-you-see-it-now-you-don't thing. Plus the chain is old, loose and rusty and the tires are getting pretty bald. At least the center of Taunton was paved so it's not such a kidney-jiggler going through town to get to the Cape. The Kyle Molloy Benefit in October was another success for the club as well. Organized but still a chaotic fun time! We raised something like $3,500 that night and I think just about everyone went home with something. Everyone seemed pleased that I won the ladies BritJam 2005 tank top... I managed some away-time from work and visited the folks in upstate NY. One day we toured the Glenn Curtiss Museum which was a pleasant surprise! Nestled in the Finger Lakes in Hammondsport, NY, this museum pays homage to Glenn Curtiss, an early innovator of the motorcycle and aviation. The huge building had many vintage bikes on display (a replica of his infamous 136 mph V-8 bike at the forefront; the original being in the Smithsonian). See photos below, I recommend this place for anyone that happens to be going through that part of NY; it's a beautiful area with wineries, fantastic twisty back roads, lovely little hamlets and sparkling lakes. I plan on getting the Triumph up there someday and tool around like Mr. Curtiss did back in the day when he was testing out his creations. Click on pics below to view larger!
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7
| 16 | 2005 Rockabilly Rumble, E. Hartford,
CT Ronnie's '71 wasn't too happening either. It was losing juice - so we spent the next morning next door at Auto Zone getting his battery recharged. We got to the Rumble just past noon when things were hopping. We crammed our bikes into the motorcycle section (which is TOO small!). One full-sleeved tattoo fella blurted out "I love you!" to me as I passed by looking for somewhere to settle in. Well, at least he was under 65... There were several other Triumphs there, a couple of CT BIA members too. The price to get in to the show seemed steep ($15!!!) but you get to gawk at some wicked cool cars - and cats! The bands were great as always, but sadly we had just missed our friend's band and I think we missed Sasquatch and the Sickabillys too. I was getting the feeling that the weekend was a little off, a little a-kilter, but not a total disappointment. We chatted with so many people it was hard to keep faces and names straight. Some fella from Pittsburgh had a spit-shined '63 Triumph chopper that he had trailered in (boo!!!). There was also a lovely little BSA chopper that looked nothing like a beeza! But the crowning bike for me was a really inventive Shovel that this kid had added so much personality and character to, it was beyond words. I'll add the pic of it soon... Anyway, this bike had a lovely sheen of rust and was all hand made bits. The suicide shifter was a glass ball 'full of amaretto' and other various little ancient bottles were incorporated in the bike. The builder/owner had welded a little devil jumping through the frame underneath the seat. It was so unique without lots of bells and whistles, it just made you stop and stare. Kudos! Sadly this event kinda winds down by 5pm so we cruised for food - not much out there in East Hartford! Ronnie had a mishap with some sand and his bike got a few new scars but we traveled on. (He had to contend with a slow tank leak all the way home!) After eating, we headed back to the hot rod hotel where the kids were partying fairly hard in the parking lot, we met some more people and we got to look at the cool cars again. Shawn struck up a lengthy convo with a guy named Gypsy who writes for the Northeast Rider magazine - he told us of some cool biker bars out in the sticks. He snapped a shot of Shawn on his bike and said he'd be in the next issue. That would be fun to see! But all the staggering drunks made me a little nervous and so we headed back to the hotel to go swimming and cool off. Our room came with a kitchenette so we hit an Indian supermarket next door and cooked up some yummy curry dishes and naan bread. A lot cheaper than eating out! A pool hall next to that could have been our next destination but the day's activities and extreme sun wore us out. We crashed early to get up and enjoy a nice slow ride back home. The next morning we were all feeling sore and burned but the weather channel gave us a reason to skedaddle - rain! Two old bitties outside the hotel saw me packing up my saddle bags and wished me a good ride. I mentioned the rain and one replied "Oh honey, they ALWAYS say it's gonna rain in CT and it never does!". I think she blessed our ride home with that remark. We stuffed ourselves silly with the free breakfast and got back on route 44 - our destination being the Bach Dor, which none of us had been to and thought it would be a good halfway stop. Well, we get there a lot faster than we thought, and pull in - the lot is empty! It was only 11am. As I pull off my jacket I feel a pinching on my belly and when I take my zip up shirt off I notice a bee - Ack! I flick it off me but too late, it got me. I must've made a scene in the parking lot with all my flailing, because when I got inside, the bartender already had a pack of ice and first aid cream for me. I joked about not knowing if I was allergic, and a guy at the bar offered me CPR. Ha ha. I was a little freaked out as bees are my childhood nightmare and I needed some sit down time to chill out. The Bach Dor started to fill up slowly and we chatted with other riders, most were amazed that we actually ride our bikes and we got the old timer stories about their days with their British bikes. Long gone those are for these fellas, but they get misty-eyed and talk about their Bonnie or BSA like a grandchild of sorts. The rain seemed to threaned but never arrive. Shawn wolfs down the $1 roast beef dinner and I sip on my ginger ale. Ronnie had his usual Coke and orange juice (try it sometimes, it's not bad!). We head out to cruise down some back roads and keep ahead of the storm. I look in my mirror and don't see Ronnie - Shawn is off like a bullet... I turn around and Ronnie's sitting on the side of the road looking really frustrated. We wait for Shawn to realize we're no longer behind him and he buzzes back after a few minutes. Ronnie had no power. Oh shit. We were in the middle of nowhere! It made no sense as he'd had it charged the day before. We sit on the girder, thinking of what to do or who to call. Ronnie fiddles with some wires, tries to kick it again - VROOM! We scramble to get back on our bikes as he takes off, not taking any chances of it dying again. We eventually catch up and we see him waiting for us, giving us the thumbs up and our plans were back on track. Guess it was just a short in the wiring? We take some nice twisty farm roads, complete with stone walls and whiffs of manure. Kinda reminded me of Wales in some parts and I imagine that I am there on my little McBike tearing through the Welsh countryside. I come back to reality when we pass a CITGO and Seven Eleven. We see a quaint non-Dunkin' coffee shop at the intersection of route 14 and 198 with a line of bikes out front so we decide to stop for a coffee. We chat with the bikers and eye the sky as it was getting ominous. A few of them were heading west and I gave them the weather report. A few groaned. Some guy was complaining about paying $1,300 for parts at a Harley shop and I had to bite my tongue! I wanted to say, dude, go to swap meets and build your bike yourself!!! But to each his own... We saunter down route 14 heading into RI. At the border are a few cool remnants of grist mills and something called the Olde Youngstown Pound or something. We spelunked around these old overgrown Stonehenges and munched on some wild blueberries and watched some frogs in the little stream that cut through the site. We were hoping to see and hear the bagpiper that we came across here last year. It was quiet except for the crickets this time. We
pulled in to my driveway around 4:30pm after hopping on the highway
for the last few miles of our trip. The weekend away was much needed
for me and I relaxed on the porch with a beer as Shawn snoozed it
up. Glad we all got home with only a few typical old Triumph ticks
and one bee sting! |
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6 | 11 | 2005 Kevin's memorial service All I can say is, wow. Arriving at the clubhouse and seeing the gobs of bikes waiting to ride together to the service was awe-inspiring indeed. New Bonnies and old Nortons rumbled down the road, in the heat, through the McMansions of the backroads to Southboro. (Thanks Karen for the nice jaunt!) We all lined up, packed like sardines, in the parking lot - several other bikes were there already and George and Pete were all dressed up nice. Despite the heat, hundreds packed into the small church, BIA members lining the walls. Unfortunately, the heat and Hopey do not mix, and before I made a scene and possibly passed out and whacked into a pew, I retreated back outside to get some fresh air and water. I missed Paul's speech, but I heard a few rounds of laughter and then a huge round of applause. There were people spilling out of every doorway, listening intently. Afterwards we all just milled about and slowly the bikes dwindled. Others had to go to graduations or start their way up to Laconia. Shawn had to zip-tie his rear light back on and we headed out, picking some back ways. We passed right through a policeman's funeral at one point and got some nods from the bike cops. We stopped in Attleboro for ice cream and spotted a nice shiny Beeza and a blue Norton roll by. We weren't sure who they were, but I bet we knew them. We helped a self-proclaimed vagabond (Thadeus was his name) try to locate a camp ground nearby. We ended up back at my place and chilled out after a very long day - and it was only 3pm. Whatever people are saying about Kevin and what happened, I've been through it with my brother who died suddenly at age 29. I was fairly angry at what happened with my brother and didn't make it to his memorial (using work as an excuse), which I regret to this day. But I was the first in my family to accept what happened, he simply wanted to move on. Many of us cannot fathom what makes people want to leave this mortal coil (as I personally believe that this is the only chance you get!) but we are not them, we do not understand their pain and we should not pass judgement on them. Y'know, that 'walk a mile in their shoes' mantra. Those 'shoulda woulda couldas' plague your brain for a long time, but in the case of my brother I am sure nothing could have stopped him. And he's gone to where he wanted to go, a happier place now. And that's what I believe where Kevin is now... and we are all the better for having met him.
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6 | 10 | 2005 The spring swap meet went well despite the weather and the Bernier auction. Although the shocking news of the passing of Kevin Molloy put a damper on our spirits. I got up early and rode my bike up route 146 under a threatening cloud. Luckily I got there about 10 minutes before it drizzled. I put my bike on the field and milled around hoping to help out wherever I could. The meet was well organized this year with Iain Perry taking the reigns as Meet coordinator - as well as playing live with his band Blakkat Bone. Bob Bucknell wore his UK-pride on his sleeve (well, his shirt and hat anyway) and emceed again. Lovely to hear his Welsh brogue lilt across the field!... Bill Fiske and Al Polese did fantastic with preparing the food and grill. Thanks to Gerry Pothier for hooking us up again with the grill! Pete Pendergast was great emceeing the field events, hawking his video BACK YARD BIKE BUILDERS several times. There were 64 bikes entered in the show and about 500 spectators through the gate. I will post the pics real soon! The
May and June meetings had a new funtion - the handing out of 15
year rockers! This past meeting was a tear-jerker as Paul Molloy
spoke of his brother Kevin. I hope to see a lot of you at the memorial
on Saturday. |
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4 | 27 | 2005 FIRST KICK - GOOD GIRL! What a wicked winter it was in the Northeast! But the McBike shook it off with no problems and rumbled into life again eagerly. "Where to go? Where to go?" it seemed to whisper at me. Going back in time first: The Cabin Fever party was a blast - even in the drifts of nasty snow! Crawling up not-been-plowed route 146 was, at times, nearly a lost cause and even Toecutter and Bev ended up backwards and off the road near the Singletary Rod & Gun Club. Thanks to Iain Perry's band Blakkat Bone for the noise and the few brave and hearty Mass. BIA souls who attended. Johnny
Sprocket's annual Blackstone Valley Run was blessed
by a perfect day - crystal blue skies, perfect Brit bike temps and
no one got hurt. Shawn and I managed to make it to the Island to
meet everyone again, alhtough the traffic jam in Chepachet on 44
caught us by surprise! Our bikes were running perfect. Thanks to
the employees at the Island for their hospitality and terrific food
- and to the gal who won the 50/50 who bought us tons of beer. We
got to slobber over Kevin Malloy's brandie-new Thruxton, complete
with Ace Café trimmings! When I saw it on the Triumph website
I didn't care for it - but boy did my mind change when I saw it
up close. There was also an insanely perfect Norton there that I
fancied as well. |
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11 | 17 | 2004 Gerry
O'Shea's benefit on Saturday, November 13th was a smashing success
thanks to the tons of people who came and helped out! Over $7,000
was raised by the Mass. BIA; over $14,000 was raised by Gerry's
employer MathWorks. The raffle table was chock-a-block full of donated
goodies. Things like deep socket sets, motorcycle toys, Trader Joe
food, BIA shirts, Choppahead gear, jewelry and watches, sports tickets,
books, etc. More than one was won by, of course, Mark Bisceglia.
He's got more than one lucky clover up you-know-where! The 50/50
raffle was nearly $200 which was won by a fellow MathWorks employee
of Gerry's who then donated all of it to Gerry. Lots of food, tears
and laughs were shared and I had a great time. Gerry is #1 on the
waiting list and he's got high hopes that he will get a transplant
fairly soon. Photos will be up shortly. |
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11
| 10 | 2004 ARE
YOU A HOOLIGAN? I've spent the last two Sundays on the McBike (when I'm not working on the house or in the yard), and actually hanging out on Thayer St. in Providence (where they are trying to ban bikes) and chatted with the other bikers, particularly a bunch of African-American Harley riders (although one of them had a 1981 Honda that was nice). The weather has been kind and the bike is running fine. Too bad it's gonna be sitting for the next few months! :( I hope to see all of you at the Benefit for Gerry on Saturday at the clubhouse. I am donating a barely used, size 42 leather Mr. Motorcycle motorcycle jacket that was given to me and is just too large. Bid on it and help out Gerry! There
is also the Dec. 3 Pot Luck Dinner and Election Night - ballots
are on the way! |
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10
| 18 | 2004 Did
a little journeying of my own this weekend with Shawn, Ronnie and
Wayne - we ventured out in the chilly Sunday air to sip hot apple
cider at The
Big Apple in Wrentham. It's a cute place and it was
fairly active - good to take the kids to - there's hayrides, fresh
pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin picking, an apple grader, live doughnut
makers, a dozen pies to chose from, and other various goodies hand
made and all-natural. The backroads to and from there were peppered
with red and orange leaves - one large leaf whapped me right in
the face and stuck there - OUCH! |
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| 10 | 12 | 2004 | |||||||||||||
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09
| 22 | 2004
We
briefly stopped at a farmhouse owned by a friend of Shawn and Bobby's.
Chickens all over and a few old bikes in the barn. The change in
route on the way back was of course, met with altered roads, Labor
Day traffic, detours, more clutch adjustments and construction.
By the time we got back to Shawn's I was freezing cold and sore
from nearly 12 hours of solid riding. How did that happen??? I have
yet to get back on the bike... |
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| 09
| 01 | 2004 I went to Irene Freel's memorial at Turner Hall in Clinton, MA on the McBike on Sunday, August 29. I managed to get a battery charged up just in time to ride, although we were an hour late and missed some other BIA members - the joke was that there were more Mass. BIA members there than at a regular meeting. It was a nice ride but I had been to a wedding in NH the day before and BritJam earlier that day as well (scored a center stand finally!), so I was fairly tired. The hall was packed and steamy hot; it was good to see the familiar faces, and the few I hadn't seen in quite some time. I think Dick was surprised by the big BIA turnout. I made sure I gave him a big hug. Shawn, Ronnie and I rode back with Toe, Bev and Don - the more the merrier! Congrats to the CT BIA for BritJam - jammed it was and they had a great turnout! Some gal from RI won the fabulous door prize, a black Norton Commando (and no, it wasn't me unfortunately). RIP
Indian Larry
- man, it's been a rough year for bike accidents. Everyone take
it easy out there! |
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08
| 23 | 2004 Since
we had about 3 hours to kill, we messed with my bike a little more.
It's usually the simple things that are overlooked - I noticed my
headlight wasn't working - aha! Dead battery - the same symptoms
happened to Ronnie's '71 last year when his battery went ka-put.
Wish I'd thought of that earlier, if I'd kept the bike going we
might have made it home. But better to be safe than sorry. While
we sat and drank burnt coffee we met several of the locals of Douglas,
MA and I have to say they're a mighty friendly bunch. Two Harley
guys pulled up sensing our troubles and proceeded to hang out with
us until Shawn came back with the van - we swapped stories and the
two (Ken and Tony) even helped load our bikes into the van. One
of them had a nice '77 Harley FLH in near mint condition. Once again
we heard the "I used to have a Triumph" story. As it got
dark and rather chilly Shawn pulled up and I was so relieved to
see him - but the 3 hours wasn't too bad. I figure it could've been
much worse and I learned another thing or two about my bike. It's
really coming close to a decision of retiring the ol' '72 and getting
an '04 though... |
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08
| 15 | 2004 Hurricane Charley threatened to erase any fun this weekend, but I think we lucked out and only got heavy rain overnight Saturday. So I saddled up early on Sunday and with fingers crossed I left after Shawn and I messed with my very leaky pipes. Screw it, they're meant to smoke, right? Shawn went on his way to play with his new '69 Harley. I nearly turned around at the Plymouth Airport since I didn't see the lineup of bikes; figure I had missed everyone as I was fairly late. But then Karen popped out of nowhere and flagged me down. One other bike was there; I was representing the E-board; off to Toe's we went to get the other bikes and have a nice, mellow, no fuss ride through the chilly windy hills of Plymouth, MA. As piss poor as the turnout was, I enjoyed it since the ride was a little faster this year, and there was no complicated blocking or chase cars. Five bikes, all old Triumphs except for Karen's Ducati, wound through the sometimes treacherous roads of the state park and Toe brought us to a rather high point on the coast - the wind was whipping! I was afraid to get off the bike and have it blown over! Hurricane Charley's remnants were evident as the surf was crashing way below and the heavy mist in the air sometimes made it hard to see the lead bike. We were blown into town and settled in to the British Beer Company for a round. Stupid me had to bum a few bucks off Don for a beer since I left in such a hurry that morning and forgot to bring enough for gas AND a beer, I felt like a cheap schmuck. I owe ya one Don! We all departed shortly after - still with eyes to the dark skies... Karen and I rode back up Route 44 and she hopped on to 495 to make a hasty retreat home. Every minute was spent wiping the heavy mist off my goggles, but luckily no rain appeared and I got home, fairly tired and cold. Ah, New England weather! I heard
the campout was a bigger success with 35-40 people and not much
devestation to the wilderness. And two Gumbys are always better
than one! |
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08
| 09 | 2004 The
Friday night meeting was poorly attended once again, but you lost
out if you didn't go - the new merch came in and to toot my own
horn, the shirts came out awesome. I will be posting the new stuff
in the "merch" section soon once I get finalized prices.
We discussed the Gunstock rally and I will be posting info ASAP!!! |
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07
| 19 | 2004 So Shawn and I headed out for the Road Agents Rumble friday, both of us taking a much needed day off. Both bikes were smoking like crazy, but seemed to run fine. We headed out west on route 44 and after battling traffic up through Chepachet, RI we eventually were spat out onto some fine twisty roads with few other vehicles. We stopped for a really tasty pizza in Ashford at the Midway restaurant. Although we got a little lost heading into Hartford, we turned around and got to our hotel in Manchester, CT. This place was finer and bigger than the last few apartments I'd lived in! We spoke with a fella in the parking lot after we spotted his ratty ol' Comet and he was headed for the Rumble as well. After a brief rest we saddled up and rode 3 short miles to the Rumble. As we rode into the venue, Shawn's loud pipes alerted everyone of our presence. We slowly pulled through the lot and into the field to find the other bikes. I lagged behind since I'm not used to riding on grass and felt really self-conscious and afraid I'd spill as dozens of people watched! We pulled up next to some other bikes. One slightly sloshed guy even announced to me that he suddenly felt horny. Oh boy, this was gonna be an interesting evening!
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Friday night is open and free to any ol' rod and chopper. And the field was jam packed. People were cramming their vintage cars in like a can of sardines. The rockabilly bands were blaring away and we grabbed a beer and wandered amongst the row after row of gleaming re-builds and ratty racers. I met up with a web client and friend of mine and I showed off my bike to her. Her boyfriend may have old Triumph parts for Shawn, cool. We turned in fairly early because we wanted to get up early (free breakfast!!!). Saturday the main field was closed off to anything newer than 1964 and the bike section was fairly small and forced other bikes to be scattered around the parking lot. That was sort of a shame and we expected to see a lot of old school bobbers. There were a number of really cool custom choppers and old Harleys; we jammed our bikes in closer to get others to fit theirs in. It was weird having cameras clicking away and people asking you to pose for them. Shawn ignored them, but I obliged being the camera whore that I am... A lone green Triumph, a crazy BSA and a stock Norton were all that represented the Brit bikes besides our own. I figure there would be plenty of CT BIA members there and I did spot one. Truth and friends from Choppahead were there of course. Once again we headed in to view the even larger number of cars lined up on the field. It was very hot and the sun was blaring! We occasionally would check in on our bikes and get stuck talking with former Triumph owners or young kids asking Shawn about his personal touches on his chopper. The saddest story of the day was: "I used to have a Triumph and the ex-wife got it in the divorce... and she sold it". We perused the vendors and checked out more bands. It was also fun checking out the other people there, from old geezers to young pompadoured greasers and Betty Page wanna-be's. A father had created a crazy hot-rod carriage for his young daughter; she posed for me, clinging onto the little suicide shifter. I longed to see the cars all moving and full of people instead of feeling like I was in a museum parking lot, but sometimes a car would rumble into life and creep around the lot real slow, the fuzzy dice swinging from the rear view mirror.
By 3pm we'd had enough sun and just wanted to ride to cool off. We decided to head home after I snapped some more shots of cars. We started out on Route 44 but stopped halfway and whipped out a map. We chose to go scenic - route 169 to route 14. An excellent choice through beautiful farmlands, picturesque little villages and lonely twisty roads where in spots the trees would create a green cover overhead and provide a cool cave-like breeze. We entered RI and missed a turn. Shawn yelled to me "I think I hear bagpipes" and my face screwed up, like, "what?". He spun around and I followed and lo-and-behold there was a grey-haired man in shorts and hiked-up white knee socks playing the bagpipes. In the woods. We stopped the bikes and watched for a while. There was another man with a mandolin and harmonica. They would each take turns playing songs and telling us stories of local lore. Another couple of bikers had stopped to watch and even a cool hot rod pulled up briefly. But a raincloud loomed in the distance and so we quickly hit the road. By this time Shawn's bike was spewing oil pretty badly out the left pipe and so another tear-apart-and-rebuild-it is in order. Sigh. But we are already planning on going next year and bringing a few friends. You can see the photos from the Rumble here. So
screw Disney World, check out the backroads and maybe a few bagpipers
will pop up in your stories! |
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07
| 06 | 2004 Early
in the a.m. we take Shawn's van loaded with "One Little Thing"
- his nickname for the bike - back over hill and dale. The welder
did the job with it in the van and $20 later we were off to head
back to Shawn's to do some Cape riding! Good, it was getting warm
out and the wind on a bike is very welcome indeed. |
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We put the pipe and muffler back on and head over to his friend Wayne's. Wayne had stopped by the previous day and gave us a hand with the timing once the Boyer was in. He recently scored a mint 1977 HD Super S something-or-other for 3 grand and was riding that instead of the ol' '57 Triumph chopper he normally rides. The thing was spotless and sounded great. I would even ride it! We headed through some back roads through Carver and ended up smack dab in the middle of Plymouth's Fourth of July parade! We, and other bikers, had trouble getting out of the blocked off cove. We decided to sit and wait it out. We headed out of town eventually and ended up at Erickson's Ice Cream in Carver on Route 58 (see photo). Just before this a whopper of a bee or bug got stuck on my face and I ended up pulling over to remove the rest of the critter fearing it could sting my eyes out. | ||||||||||||
A daring squirrel had also leapt in front of Shawn and Wayne in front - darting back and forth before launching itself into a loop-de-loop backdive into the ditch - maybe it was the GEICO squirrel? It was hysterically funny watching this from behind and I could see Shawn and Wayne bust out laughing. We passed the Plymouth Airport and got a good stare at the Good Year blimp on the ground as well. As I headed home later that evening, the bike was starting to behave a little grumpy. Fouled plugs I suspect... maybe the timing? Shawn cranked the idle a little bit and sent me on my way. Fingers crossed. I also got my first motorcycle cop wave from one of Middleboro's finest... Oh
and that extra old headlight bulb came in handy - the new one blew
out; must've been made by Lucas! ;) |
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06
| 21 | 2004 The rest of the night was spent tooling around the backroads of MA. There was an awesome twisty road that Shawn took us on near Wrentham I think it was. A challenge to me since my bike (much smaller than theirs) had a hard time hauling up those steep inclines. I would like to revisit that road during the day and in the Fall. Once again, as we approached Middleboro on our return, a fine mist settled over us making visibility poor through goggles. It seems to rain or something everytime we get back to that town. I had earlier topped off my gas with high octane since Bobby offered me the nozzle. That's what he uses in his old Shovelhead. I normally use the middle grade stuff. It began to smoke a lot out of my pipes, the pinging started and I'd fouled the spark plugs halfway through the night's ride. We stopped at Bobby's to grab a pair of new spark plugs just to be careful and get me home. Saturday Shawn and I got up and drank coffee for quite some time but to be sure we bought a WHOLE box of spark plugs at Bettencourts. After checking and cleaning off the spark plugs, we biked on down to a family shindig in Attleboro. After that we headed to Providence to check in at my place (gotta feed those kitties). A tiny catnap and off we were to another BBQ at my friends' new 3-story Victorian on the other side of town, in the Armory District (just past Federal Hill). We pull up and lo-and-behold, there's another Triumph sitting outside their house! Come to find out my friend's husband's boss is a Triumph rider. I whip out a BIA card as Shawn and he talk shop for like an hour. Our arrival was a big crowd pleaser - we stashed the bikes in their garage since the area has some sketchy spots. My friend Mary kept saying to me "THAT's your bike? Wow. THAT's your bike?" Several veggie burgers and lamb steaks later we head out to stop in at Federal Hill Tattoo and say hi to some old pals - Shawn's mission was to book an appointment for a new tattoo. I peer through the front door and see a few people gathered around the bikes pointing. Bob Goudy, new artist to the shop and an old acquaintance of mine, checks out my bike and he tells me he just bought a 1980 Sportster and has already gone through a battery, some wiring issues. I just can't see this great big guy on a Sportster! As I sit on my bike, a limo full of drag queens, leather boys and gay pride flags rolls by - they all cheer and wave when they go by me and I greet them with a cheer and a wave. Never a dull moment in Providence. We finish the night off at Lili Marlene's, on the ass-end of Atwells Avenue - J.R., the bartender there, owns 2 Triumphs and we frequent the dark and artsy bar when we can. Best Guinness in town! His Triumph is parked out front (carefully to the side on the sidewalk, it was knocked over a while ago and caused several grand in repairs). We cram ours inbetween and settle in some comfy leather chairs and listen to the Ramones. He greets us with a big grin and when things quiet down, runs outside to check out the bikes. Another fella asks Shawn if he could check out his bike when we leave. We hear the same old story from him, so-and-so got a deal on an old Triumph and put it together and sold it to so-and-so and tore it apart and now it sits in boxes. After a quick beer we head off down the traffic-choked street full of overpriced restaurants. A gang of crotch-rcokets bikers sidle up to us, revving their engines. After a few seconds of nervousness I notice one of them really digging Shawn's fintail pipes. They all nod at each other and at us. They furtively dart in and out of traffic beeping and we follow suit, don't want to overheat the Trumpets. Shawn lets his old-fashioned clown horn rip a few times and gets a few laughs out of the other bikers surrounding us. We say goodbye to our new friends and do a little highway riding. Exhausted, we get home and it's only 11:30pm. I'm such an old fart now! Sunday morning was spent with a map and coffee outside in my garden, soaking in the sunshine. After a hearty brunch, we picked a route and headed out. We stopped by my 'neighbor' Eddie's and check out each other's Triumphs. He was stuck pouring concrete (on Father's Day?!) and was jealous of our close-your-eyes-and-point-to-the-map road trip. By this time I'd worked most of that fancy gas through and put my regular middle grade gas in; it was still smoking and pinging a little but seemed to be running OK. Hmmmm... Getting through Warren and Bristol traffic is always a pain but the payoff is great. We headed down 114 and over the Mt. Hope Bridge to 177. I wanted to do 77, but we'll save that for a day when beach traffic won't be so heavy. The Tiverton area is so beautiful! We stopped just before the Mt. Hope Bridge to double-check the map. A van pulls up and a guy named Chris tells us the so-and-so-has-a-Triumph story. He asks if we know people that can put it back together. I just look at Shawn and see the gears in his head goin' - I know he's just DYING to get his own little shop to do projects like that and get paid for it. I know that's his life's ambition. Another car pulls up and a woman, looking like the typical biker wife (too many hard years in her youth I'd say) complete with cigarette dangling out of her mouth, asks for directions to a Clam Bake in town. Oh, and her husband is in Laconia. We whip out the map and get her on her way. As she leaves she says to us "You can always count on bikers for directions!". We climb over the bridge (what a view!) and sneak over to route 177 and get onto route 6 and stop in Marion for a coffee. Not finding route 18, we hop on to 105 North - I LOVE this road, nice and twisty with farms and cranberry bogs - almost has a British countryside feel to it in parts. We finish in Middleboro only to rest a bit and I head back home on 44 with Shawn following in his van (he was picking up some of my old furniture). By the time I got home I decided I was done with riding for a bit, my wrists were killing me and the tip of my nose was sunburned. I am sure next week will be spent checking my carbs and I really hope to get the new pipes and mufflers on soon. The ones I've got on now are starting to look like swiss cheese! What
a great weekend, did I mention the great weather? |
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| 06
| 11 | 2004 I've seen a guy on a Triumph in my 'hood a few times... So I was out exercising and I came across a dude in his garage shining up a newer Triumph. I stopped and yelled "So YOU'RE the guy with the red Triumph!" and he said hello. Within a minute we recognized each other - we were in the same RI motorcycle class! He was the guy with the lower leg prosthesis and wanted a right-shifter bike and we talked Triumph... he got a Bonneville America from Bill Morrow - with a heel shifter. Anyway, being that he's only 3 blocks away, we plan on riding soon! YAY! I finally found a local Triumph rider practically in my back yard! |
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| 06
| 09 | 2004 The BSA Owners Meet on Sunday at the Elks Club in Auburn was FREEZING cold - I was wearing a scarf for crying out loud! This is June? A few hearty Mass. BIA members showed up and the booth was set up. Silly me forgot to bring any newsletters, membership forms, email list form, etc. D'Oh! I luckily had a few of the last business cards in my purse. Admittedly, it looked a little rag-tag but we managed to have a few people sign up or renew. I scored some shorty mufflers for $10 and the rain didn't start pouring until heading home, so it was worth the trip! The turnout was relatively mild (probably due to weather) - I do hope they can do it again next year, and maybe spell our club name right in their pamphlet... |
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06
| 01 | 2004 I dropped the newsletter off at the printers, hope to have it by Thursday and for the meeting on Friday. The cover is fairly funny. I hope everyone gets it. Checked out a few cool websites today: www.theroadagents.com and www.indianlarry.com. |
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05
| 21 | 2004 The swap meet last Sunday was awesome in my opinion. Nearly 700 people through the gate and a tidy profit on the food sales. The trend of the day seemed to be side cars - from BMW to Ariel to Honda! Very cool. We pretty much ran out of parking space and the bikes were lined up in the lot nearly to the gate it seemed! The Triumph Demo Truck was a big draw, even though the much anticipated Thruxton and Rocket III were not present. While working the gate, I stopped a row of riders coming through rather fast - to which the leader pointed to the lights - "DE-MO" it read - boy, did I turn red! Luckily
it only rained for about 5 or so minutes - and the clouds kept threatening
afterwards but no torrential rain came like last Fall! My only disappointment
for the day was the lack of vendors. See
the photos! |
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05
| 05 | 2004 To join: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/massbia/ The
Death or Glory Scooter Club in RI are planning on attending the
swap meet. Don't laugh, these guys (and gals!) can build some fast
Vespas and can drink more than you. Their shop, JavaSpeed
also serves up some strong coffee and vintage scooters. |
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04
| 29 | 2004 I finally
got the photos off my camera from the Blackstone Ride - please send
me your photos! I will post them soon. |
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04
| 05 | 2004 Also there seems to be a lack of rides planned this year. Are we all too busy or burned out? Heck, I'm guilty like everyone else; I've only been to one. Are we just waiting for the rally instead? Any newbies are encouraged to plan a ride! I'm thinking in the future of having a RI ride someday. Maybe meet near my house, ride down to Bristol and stop at the Irish pub down there. Excellent food and ale! I just need some time to do it and a little more riding experience. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions regarding my Triumph woes. Shawn checked it out and fixed the points (wrongly gapped) - seemed to run a lot happier. Also a new set of plugs went in; my bike seems to run "rich" on the right side... any solutions are welcome! Did
someone remake Motorcycle Gang? I did a search on half.com
and there's some cheesy brand new Canadian version of this classic
B-movie with Carla Gugino and Jake Busey. Email me if you've seen
it. |
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| 03
| 29 | 2004 Motorcycle exhibit in Albany NY until June 6, 2004: might be worth checking out! |
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03
| 01 | 2004 I will be putting up more info soon on the May 16th swap meet including the flyer. It
was a great day on Sunday and I pulled my bike out and after some
hopping around on the kickstart, it rumbled to life. But taking
it down the road seemed difficult and I turned around after a mere
3 blocks. Second gear was a struggle and the dread of rebuilding
it came into mind. Maybe it's slow due to it's winter slumber? Bad
plugs? Crappy gas? Hmmm... Needless to say it's back in the shed
waiting for next weekend's warm weather and a good going through! |
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02
| 23 | 2004 I've
designed the May swap meet flyer, and I need the nod of approval
from the E-Board - I think it's fairly good. I will provide PDF
formats of it ASAP. Thanks to everyone for their positive comments
on the new newsletter. I apologize for the mixup on the Swap meet
date - it IS May 16th. We're all excited to have the Triumph Demo
Truck scheduled to appear - that should be a big draw!
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01 | 21 | 2004 HAPPY NEW YEAR! I've nearly got the newsletter done, and so updates to the web site are slow in coming... I should have a few new photos up in February. I've managed to sneak out to my shed and start my bike and just let it run; it's been DAMN COLD this January. My pipes in my house froze last week in that -7 degree weather. The E-Board has had plenty to discuss and we're busy busy busy! The Cabin Fever Party in Auburn has posed a problem - the Sportsmans Club is rennovating so the party may be pushed back 2 weeks or held elsewhere. We will keep you informed! I have updated to a newer version of Dreamweaver so please bear with me if there are a few new glitches...
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| 12 | 08 | 2003 The e-board elections and potluck dinner was a blast! Luckily that nasty Nor'Easter held off (well, it took me over 2 hours to get home that night!). Thanks to everyone for voting me on the board - phew! I will be busy this year, huh? I'm also taking on the newsletter; I've redesigned it, and need submissions! You can send them to me at massbia@massbia.com. Please be sure to state "newsletter article" or whatever in the email title since I get a lot of spam and throw out emails that don't make much sense. I think George is happy to pass the newsletter torch. Alan Dube and Kevin Malloy are offering their help as well - thanks guys!
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| 12 | 01 | 2003
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| 11 | 26 | 2003
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| 11
| 17 | 2003
I wish there was a photograph. You wouldn't need a garage! How would you shift on a 2.5 inch bike?
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