W H A T ’ S
I N S I D E 32
MO NT HLY C O L U M NS
Motorcycles, Travel & Adventure
FREE WHEELIN’ ..................................................3 WHATCHATHINKIN’ ...........................................4
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Brian Rathjen • Shira Kamil
POSTCARDS FROM THE HEDGE.......................5
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Mark Byers, Bill Heald, Dr. Seymour O’Life
ON THE MARK ....................................................6 BACKLASH..........................................................8
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BACKROADS (ISSN 1087-2088) is published monthly by BACKROADS™, Inc. 2019. All rights reserved. BACKROADS™ may not be reproduced in any manner without specific written consent from the publisher. BACKROADS™ welcomes and encourages submissions (text and photos) and suggestions. Include phone number with submissions. BACKROADS™ will only return material with enclosed sufficient postage. The written articles and opinions printed in BACKROADS™ are not necessarily those of the publisher and should not be considered an endorsement. The Rip & Rides® published are ridden on the sole responsibilty of the rider. BACKROADS™ is not responsible for the conditions of the public roadways traversed. Please respect the environment, read your owner’s manual and wear proper protective gear and helmet. Ride within your limits, not over them.
BACKROADS • FeBRUARY 2019
FREE WHEELIN’ BRIAN RATHJeN
Until the time rUns oUt… We’d all play till the end of the time… runs out Robert Lamm Until, the time runs out… I have a theory about time. When we were all kids time took – forever. I remember time, and the years leading up to around age 12, taking so, so long. It seemed to go on forever. It did go on forever – not that I knew that then. I do now. For most of us things happen around twelve years old and then the clock of our lives began to accelerate. Our teens seem to almost blast by, but nothing compared to how quickly things will get. Our twenties? Swoosh. Thirties, forties and beyond – faster still. I have a friend who must look at the clock and the calendar pages and simply say “holy shit!” So, it is not too odd that this last season whisked by in a blink of an eye. I write this in a well-deserved ‘Indian Summer’ - the day before Halloween and what started off as 30 ended up in the 60s. I was working in the office as the afternoon crept to-
Page 3 wards evening as I heard Shira zip off on her bike to grab some pictures in our hometown of Branchville, New Jersey. It seemed the ‘Pumpkin Contest’ they began a few years back exploded with popularity, creativity and tons of artistic talent. We had ridden by the town a few days earlier and saw the nearly 80 displays. Wow. So Shira felt the need to get out and do a few bike pictures. We were surprised that the Mr. Spock pumpkin had vanished. Obviously beamed up, of course, the logical answer. As I saw her pull into the drive, I watched the sun as it dropped so far south, barely clinging to the sky. Why is the return of the sun so torturously slow compared to the journey into the longer nights? I am Kvetching. Uggg. Why does winter have to mean the end of riding? It’s 2019, we have seriously good heated gear these day. I am warmer on my bike than my bed sometimes. Coming up from the south back in late October we were surprised that summer ended and winter began in just 12 hours. Shira turned on her Gerbing’s and I turned on my Venture gear (Bluetooth and easily done). Warmth quickly spreads along my chest, arms, and back. Gloves get warm at the same time. Although there is still a biting chill hitting your face, life is toasty elsewhere. I have found I can ride a whole day heated this way, only to shiver when I walk into a hotel room or home at the end of the day. Go figure I had errands to do the other morning, and as I readied to get to them Shira called up from the office. “You going to take your bike?” Continued on Page 7
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FeBRUARY 2019 • BACKROADS
WHATCHATHINKIN’ SHIRA KAMIL
s & m motorcycles It’s been the talk of many riders lately. If you receive any weekly motorcycle e-newsletter, they are full of the new releases. For several years, these S & M motorcycles have been infiltrating the streets and trails everywhere. What am I talking about? Smaller and more manageable motorcycles, that’s what. A recent announcement from the Motorcycle Industry Council had women motorcycle owners at 19% of the motorcycling population, with women 2438 making up 26% of the market and ages 39-53 at 22%. With these numbers, and ever growing, the manufacturers are looking very seriously at the size and weight of what they are producing. That’s not to overlook men, whether of shorter inseam or just in the market for a lighter ride. These small-displacement bikes aren’t just a stepping stone or entry-level for new riders, but offer some great big bike touches, stylish design and serious amount of fun. From trail to track, let’s take a look at some options. Let’s start with, what I think, a bike that offers maximum fun with minimum size - the Honda Grom. Yes, this probably wouldn’t be your best choice for a Backroads Rally, but if you are tooling around town, taking to the trails or tramping down the steps of your townhouse, this little joy of a motorcycle will keep a grin on your face. Starting at just $3,399, it’s a great two-wheeler to whet your wanderlust whistle. Moving on up a notch, let’s head to Sweden, where the birth of the Husqvarna began with the
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king’s command to build a weapons factory in 1689. This morphed into kitchen appliances and sewing machine. In 1896, bicycles were added to the product range and 1903 saw the first motorcycle unveiled. The rest, as they say, is history. From their dirt heritage, the VITPILEN and SVARTPILEN street bikes have risen, giving us a 373cc water-cooled single-cylinder retro cafe racer and scrambler. With looks that might make you think of the Terminator and a price tag of $6,299, they are certainly a niche option, but most definitely a member of the S&M club. Perhaps you are looking for a sportier ride, something that can take you to the track for your first go round. This category has had a flood of models from all the Japanese manufacturers as well as KTM. Personally, and strictly from a lust/look perspective, the KTM RC390 has my attention. Yes, this is a true sport bike in miniature and with that come the high, uncomfortable seat, hot engine and small gas tank. But if you are looking for a track bike that will turn heads, this just might be your best option, even at a starting price of $5,499. Speaking more realistically, let’s take a look at the Kawasaki Ninja 400. Building off the reputation of the Ninja 300, this bigger, 399cc engine has been improved in many ways while keeping the weight down to 371 pounds and the cost at a reasonable $4,999. I think this little Ninja would be a blast sprinting around the south course of VIR during CLASS. If you’re worried you might need more power, bring its larger sibling along in the trailer. I have to mention the Royal Enfield Himalayan because it is intriguing and I could definitely see myself riding in either India or the Walpack Valley on one of these. Looking at the specs, it is not particularly light, fast or technologically advanced, but the upright seating and comfort of the 410cc aircooled single engine give it a place on the S&M list. Coming in at with a price tag of just $4,499, the Himalayan could be a great choice for commuting or cavorting. And, of course, there is the versatile and solid-based Suzuki DR-Z400SM. Yes, the seat height puts it out of my league, but for those long-legged riders looking for a lightweight jack-of-all-trades, this is certainly something to look at. Just ask Mark Byers or Dangerous Dan. If you are a newbie, a returning rider or just looking to downsize from the hot and heavy liter bikes, let your mind wander to the world of S&M motorcycles. You just might find that you like it there.
BACKROADS • FeBRUARY 2019
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sure. I recall that a few years ago I was talking to a personal injury attorney about the world of motorcycle claims (for a story ultimately killed by my gutless Editor at a publication far different from this one, which should have BILL HeALD been a warning to me at the time but that’s another story). Anyhow, this attorney mentioned he was embroiled in a case where his client took a really the ProPer Pigment bad spill on his Harley when his front end was de-tractioned by a wet bit of Here’s an odd one I’ll chalk up to the pavement paint in an intersection. There were extensive medical bills inmore unpredictable nature of seasonal volved, and they were holding the state responsible. I didn’t think much about change, which in general seems to be later and later this century. It was in it at the time, as I hadn’t heard of any widespread cases like this (and it hadn’t the waning days of fall, a few days before the official start of winter in fact, happened to me), but my little trip to the mailbox and the reveal of the new just a couple of months ago. I strolled to the mailbox one morning and noslippery striping reminded me about this incident. Like a cold-climate ticed a strange sight: the highway construction folks had freshly painted the Columbo it dawned on me that maybe there was a genuine fly in the ointment stripes on our road. Now, this would norwhen it came to this simple bit of road mally have been a welcome sight as I’m all maintenance. It was yet another grim ren my cursory perusal of the paints it dawned on for the maintenance of roads because I spend minder that so little thought is put into me that there was little to no emphasis on the frica fair amount of time rolling down them in a the things that they do to the roads when tional components on paints that are used for variety of modern conveyances. But just like it comes to motorcycles. How brilliant is road markings, which, you know, we ride on. when the UFO lands on your lawn in broad it that, thanks to a bit of poor oversight, daylight instead of 4 AM the way it is supeconomic frugality, whatever, somebody posed to, I was startled to see such work being completed at this time of year. on a bike will get hurt or worse by simply encountering a strip of paint when Shoot man, striping the road is a summer gig where the contractor can wear its damp out. his flip-flops, and some awesome variation of Ray-Bans while driving the It does look impressive, though. That’s the primary reason the paint is apincredibly funky striping machine. But no, this was real and there was no plied to begin with, but maybe a bit more engineering would be appropriate. Tardis or Rod Taylor or any other Time Machine of any sort to explain why Oh, and my mail? There was none. Typical. this operation took place when the days are much shorter. Striping in December? What gives? I have no idea. But there was no doubt the Striping Elves (or Stelves, as I call them) had done their work, and the fact that they had performed this task when it was seasonably curious wasn’t the worst bit. As I moved closer to admire their handiwork (a white stripe at the outer extremes of both sides of the asphalt with a double yellow line down the middle), I did that thing one does to test the integrity of the paintwork: I slide my boot over the double yellow part (only when there were no trucks, cars or Road Glides thundering towards me, you understand). It was an odd shuffling dance, that no doubt disturbed the neighbors, but they are an odd bunch anyway so no harm done. When I did this there was another surprise, for apparently there had been a bit of fog overnight; the kind of light precipitation you get when the weather can’t make up its mind what season it is. The verdict? The light wetness on the road striping had made it incredibly slick. Whoa, this is not the way I like my road stripes at all. The next thing I wondered was, is this what this paint is like now, freshly applied, or will it stay in this way, clearly creating a hazard for the motorcyclist whenever it gets wet? Well, I did what any homo sapien does in 2019 and ran to the nearest portable electronic device for a little fingertip research. Do you know what I discovered? First (and this will surprise no one) there are quite a few websites devoted to road striping paint. Of course. Based on my extensive pointing and clicking, I discovered there are over a dozen approved paint compounds available, depending on what a particular state’s rules may be and what the budget can sustain and what the climate is like (not necessarily in that order). There are all kinds of mixes that can enhance reflectivity at night, incorporate various plastics for durability, etc. In my cursory perusal of the paints it dawned on me that there was little to no emphasis on the frictional components on paints that are used for road markings, which, you know, we ride on. It would seem to me that the ideal material would have something very close to the same frictional characteristics of the pavement, wet or dry. Some kind of material in the paint like a sand or silica blend, perhaps? I know, it already sounds expensive. And maybe the approach is the paint will wear down initially and not be as slick when wet after that. But, in the case of the roads in my state, I’m not so
POSTCARDS FROM THE HEDGE
I
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FeBRUARY 2019 • BACKROADS
ON THE MARK MARK BYeRS
sUPer...moto
made the best of it, dicing with instructor Aaron on HIS DRZ. The Buddhists say “When one door closes, another one opens” and so it is with motos. The door that opened was the front door at Morton’s BMW, where we stopped on the way back from VIR. In front was a grey, lowmileage 2016 DR-Z400SM that they’d taken in trade from a good source.
I missed my Suzuki DR-Z400 dualsport. “Spike” was too tall and heavy for me on the tight offroad trails at my disposal in Maryland and she liked to sit on top of me rather than the other way around when we went to ride the Hatfield-McCoy trails in West Virginia. She was great for the Shenandoah 500 dual-sport ride, but otherwise would kick my butt in the hairy stuff; however, as a commuter bike, she excelled. Not fast enough to get me in real trouble with the bronze, she was snappy on the back roads to work and nimble in town. One winter night, I was accosted by a cash-waving lunatic and sent Spike to a different home, where her pretty blue and white clothes were ripped off and she ended up looking like her green Kawasaki cousin, the KLX. What’s done is done. I was constantly reminded of my DRZ fetish by Dangerous Dan, whose deft use of a DRZ as a woods weapon never ceases to amaze me. His eightfoot legs and athletic ability are perfect companions for the big gal on the trails. When we went to CLASS at VIR in October, DD decided to put some roadworthy tires on his DRZ and play supermoto, a prescient move considering what happened: heavy rains passed through central Virginia in the days prior to CLASS, so on the first day, we were confined to the South Course, a tight, 1.65-mile circuit perfectly suited for the DRZ. Needless to say, DD 1269 DOLSONTOWN RD MIDDLETOWN NY 10940
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The SM is the supermoto version of the DRZ, with sweet, gold, 17-inch wheels designed to hold sticky street tires. Dangerous and I were both immediately in lust and after much deliberation, the following Saturday she came home with me, but only after I promised DD visitation rights. I took her out on a shakedown cruise around the county and my first ride confirmed everything I remembered about the DRZ: fun on the twisties, but on the open roads, you’re looking for a sixth gear. Pulling away from stops is fun, but first is low and short-shifts are needed. The smaller wheels and road tires definitely made a difference in smoothness and the “DRZ Dance” in the handlebars at higher speeds was absent. Overall, I was back in love, but the seat still sucked – like sitting on an old fence rail. Some new Continental Attack SM tires are already installed, along with new tubes, and some Barkbuster handguards to make sure my hands stay toasty and I never have to worry about a broken lever. An LED taillight and license assembly cleans up the factory mess in the back. As soon as I install the new seat foam and cover, I will be back in the land of DRZ happiness again! A still-legal, but more open muffler and accompanying jet kit will probably appear to reap some benefits typically neutered away. But overall, there isn’t much to farkle on a DRZ. There’s a rumor going around that CLASS will once again make use of the short, snappy South Course at VIR in 2019 and if so, it is an almost certainty that there will be TWO DRZs in our trailer, mine and DDs. Or should I say OURS and DDs? That whole visitation rights thing is still to be worked out… I also haven’t named her, which is another of my weird rites of passage for new-to-me motos. I called the last one “Spike” after the Roller Derby Queen in the Jim Croce song because of her propensity to kick my butt. This bike has better manners, at least on the street, so I need to think of something a little more refined. My publisher would probably like “Kara Zor-El” in homage to the name of Supergirl in DC Comics, but my jury is still out. Maybe I’ll name her “Ramona” for the woman in Ray Wylie Hubbard’s song “Snake Farm.” Or maybe, she’ll be the “Horse With No Name” and I can ride her through the desert. I think Rathjen would like that one too.
BACKROADS • FeBRUARY 2019 Free Wheelin’ Continued from Page 3 It was a bright and clear day. Brisk might be the word for some – friggn’ cold for others. The lovely redhead was still in warm PJs, coffee in hand and an annoying cat running around her keyboard. She had not stuck her head outside this day. I had already been outside (numerous times) and knew how chilly it was, so the Durango was already started, heated and ready to go. Take the bike, I thought? Yup, she was right – take the bike! Sneakers come off, boots go on – electrics and Aersotich riding suit slide on. Plug in, fire up - hit the road for an hour of local towny riding. Lowes… Staples… a quick fuel stop with the questioning glance from our friendly neighborhood fuel jockey - then a ride down to the Post Office. Post Office folk are like the local barbers. They know all, tell all, and love to chat in between. Comments come easily from these people that make our lives run from day-to-day. “Seriously, you’re riding today?” asked Walter behind the counter at the Augusta post office. “Sure… easy, Walt.” He looked up and said… “It’s snowing.” This started during my wait on the line. My neck did that little twist thing my son says I do. “Indeed it is Walter…indeed it is.” I like riding in snow – to a point. So here we are… friggin’ winter. For you folks lucky enough to live in the New Jersey area you have the Grand Polar Bear Tour. Let’s ride! The thought here is don’t let the time run out until it does. When that happens you’ll know.
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FeBRUARY 2019 • BACKROADS
BACKLASH Dear Shira and Brian Special thanks for sending me a sample of your magazine. I received it few days before and I study it every free minute I have. I am very pleased to saw me on a few pictures. So I think, maybe this is my special, personal copy. So thank you again and have a good time. Many lovely greetings, gerfried Dear Brian, I am responding to the editorial ON THE MARK. First my background, I have been a Motorcycle Safety Foundation Rider Coach for 26 years and teach both the Basic Rider Course and the Basic Rider Course 2. I am now in training to become a Total Control Beginner Riding Clinic Instructor in Pennsylvania. Once this is accomplished, I will pursue Total Control certification as Intermediate Riding Clinic Instructor and finally as an Advanced Riding Clinic Instructor. It is not so much that additional training is not available. It’s more that most students simply don’t go on to take these courses. Ironically, students consistently voice the value of their initial course and intention to take additional rider training. As part of the wrap up for all classes I teach, I ask the students, “Let’s think about where we have done all of our riding for this course.” Without fail, the students readily acknowledge, “In a parking lot.” The conversation then leads to the need for a lot of practice in a parking lot and on known roads without a lot of traffic prior to venturing out to more challenging riding scenarios. Following the “PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE” discussion, I put my money where my mouth is by sharing that I take at least one rider training course per year. Plus, I give out course suggestions and how they can check out these courses on their own. The students genuinely show interest in the information. However, there is very little follow through on the part of the vast majority
Letters to the Editor Mail: BACKROADS PO Box 620 Augusta NJ 07822
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of the students. This is not just true regionally. National research demonstrates that very few riders choose to take additional rider training once they have that motorcycle endorsement on their licenses. I share this all in the hopes it will start us all thinking about how to get all riders to take additional rider training on a regular basis. Check in with Lee Parks, Total Control Training. Lee has done the research proving the value of additional rider training and its impact on lowering the fatality rate for those of us who consistently take rider training courses. sue slate • national Programs chair Women’s motorcyclist Foundation, inc. Hi Brian, I just received the January issue of Backroads. Please tell Shira I enjoyed her spider story (we’ve all been there, LOL) and thank you for mentioning The Hornet in Whatchathinkin’. Hope all is well with you and Happy New Year! Jill • X3 corporation Thank you for the New Jersey edition of Backroads. It would take me my remaining years to visit all the sites. But I must add an additional road to your list of interesting riding roads. It is Clinton Road in West Milford. This
BACKROADS • FeBRUARY 2019 is a 9.3 mile great motorcycling road that we have been on many times in the past. But do not venture on this road in the dark. Besides being a great riding road, it is one of the top 10 haunted road in America. It is not unusual to see a ghostly figure of a young lady in a prom dress or come across coins in the middle of the road at ‘dead man’s curve’ bridge, placed there by the ghost of a boy drowned when he fell off the bridge or the phantom truck that get behind you flashes his lights and then disappears. Many strange things happen in New Jersey and this is just one of them. Dick roberts
Social Comments Things have been very busy here since Christmas that we haven’t had time to share this. The past year has been full of lots of great unexpected turns, and we’ve grown by such leaps and bounds from just two years ago, but what has really blown our mind is the incredible honors that have been bestowed upon us. The year started out being named a memorable romantic B and B by Pocono Mountain Visitors bureau and, much to our surprise, we got this month’s issue of Backroads Motorcycle Touring Magazine and opened it up to see our Inn took first place in the ‘We’re Outta Here’ Category in their annual Best of issue. We almost fell off our chairs, totally taken by surprise. WOW! We cannot express our gratitude to Brian and Shira and the staff of the magazine. These are road weary travelers, who take touring to heart, by exploring all ends of the earth. They are the number 1 regional motorcycle touring magazine in the country and if you like to travel, by bike or by car, the magazine is a great read! What can we say but Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, you made our year complete and we’re glad all of the love we put into it shows. The images do not do the publication justice, so our apologies to Backroads, but we will post the link to the magazine as soon as it becomes available, but for now here are a few screenshots. We are still in shock. From: the inn at Birch Wilds via Facebook
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IN DU STRY INFOBITES ENERGICA MOTORCYCLES HEADING TO THE NORTHEAST US Energica Motor Company S.p.A. continues to expand in the United States: a new commercial agreement with Hudson Valley Motorcycles in the significant market of New York State and the Northeast Region of the U.S. has just been signed. This will delight hundreds of riders all over the east coast who have been clamoring for Energica to open a retail presence there. New York has the fifth largest number of motorcyclists in the U.S., with over 392,771 registered street bikes in 2017 and accounted for over 4% of all motorcycles sold in the country that year. According to Plug-In America, New York is also the second largest market for EV vehicles, with about 30,645 currently registered and a growth rate of 67% in just the last year. There are over 2,400 charging stations already in place in the state, the fourth-highest number in the country, behind California, Texas, Florida where Energica already has dealer representation. Highly ambitious plans have just been
FeBRUARY 2019 • BACKROADS
News from the Inside announced by Governor Cuomo to add over 10,000 additional charging stations and expand the New York EV units in operation to 800,000 – so the outlook for electric motorcycles to follow the growth in electric cars in New York is very positive. “We know that riders have precisely the same concerns as drivers do about the range of EV and the frequency of charging stations. Like cars, this is the #1 barrier to purchase by consumers. Our bikes will travel for over 100 miles on a single charge, so the challenge is the number of places to charge up, especially DC Fast Chargers that Energica alone of all electric motorcycles is able to use,” stated Stefano Benatti, CEO, Energica Motor Company Inc. “The massive build-out of charging stations planned for New York makes that state a rival for California as a market for electric motorcycles.” The new relationship between Energica and Hudson Valley Motorcycles is particularly noteworthy as the dealer will have exclusive representation for the entire Northeast region, incorporating Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont – altogether equally the size and importance of the New York market. “The attraction of electric for avid riders isn’t just ecological. It’s the immediate acceleration and absolutely linear torque,” says Richie Alexander, General Manager for Hudson Valley Motorcycles. “We have a deep experience in sportbikes and racing, but also in electric; and this makes Energica a perfect fit for us. Energica’s high-performance bikes will be a great option for those of our customers who want something truly different and unique.” Richie added that “We saw enormous interest at the New York IMS show about Energica and that made us very excited to sign up with them. And we are already getting a ton of phone calls from riders wanting to test ride the most powerful electric motorcycles you can buy for street use.”
LOCAL AUTHOR TO TEACH COURSE ON MOTORCYCLE HISTORY Armand Ensanian, author of the acclaimed 510-page book Discovering the Motorcycle, will be teaching a course on the history of motorcycles for the Kittatinny Adult and Continuing Education program starting February 21st. A first amongst adult education programs, this sixweek program will offer a comprehensive overview of motorcycling, including its origins over 150 years ago, cultural impact, contribution to society, technological development, and a thorough review of various types of motorcycles. Countless makes and models, and specific applications from leisure to racing, from off-road to long-distance riding, will be explored. The course is ideal for anyone interested in motorcycles and its history; expert and novice alike. It will offer newcomers a view of its vast offerings and guide them into making decisions as to what motorcycle may be right for them.
BACKROADS • FeBRUARY 2019 The course is offered at only $10 and extremely limited. Applications and a check should be sent to Kittatinny Adult School, 77 Halsey Road, Newton, NJ 07860. Discovering the Motorcycle is available from Amazon or www.discoveringthemotorcycle.com
2019 – THE LAST D.C. ROLLING THUNDER Come 2020, Memorial Day weekend in Washington, D.C., will be a whole lot quieter. Rolling Thunder, the veterans advocacy group that organizes a massive annual motorcycle ride through the nation’s capital, has announced that the gathering in 2019 will be its last big rally. The sound of thousands of motorcycles rumbling through the city has been a staple of the holiday weekend for decades. But Artie Muller, a Vietnam veteran and executive director of Rolling Thunder, told NPR that the event had become too costly and that federal agencies were making it overly difficult to organize. “We’re just sick and tired of getting the shaft from them,” Muller said. There were problems getting permission to use the giant parking lots at the Pentagon where bikers gathered for the ride, he noted, adding that some people this year hadn’t been allowed into the lot and left out of frustration. The group also took with what it described as restrictive Department of Defense security guidelines, a ban on merchandise
Page 11 sales and limits on sponsors, The Washington Post reports. Muller criticized the Defense Department and the U.S. Park Police: “Despite planning meetings, agreements and exorbitant permit charges fees these DC agencies do everything they can to divert and complicate our event.”Rolling Thunder Vice President Pete Zaleski told Military Times that it costs over $2,000,000 to host the event. “It really has exploded to beyond what we can support,” he said. Pentagon spokesperson Sue Gough said, in a statement to NPR, “The department supports the peaceful, lawful exercise of American citizens’ First Amendment rights, and remains focused on ensuring the safety and security of the demonstrators and the Pentagon Reservation. The department is prepared to support the 2019 Rolling Thunder ride, as we have for the last 31 years.”
PROFILING RESOLUTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY IN U.S. SENATE The United States Senate has approved the Motorcycle Profiling Resolution (Senate Resolution 154) without amendment by unanimous consent on Dec 11, addressing concerns of motorcyclists across the country regarding law enforcement discriminating against bikers in traffic stops, citations and arrests. This bipartisan and bicameral resolution (H.Res. 318 companion in the House) could provide a national solution to the discriminatory profiling of motorcyclists over mode of transportation or style of dress in enforcing the law. Several states have considered bills to prohibit police from profiling motorcyclists, and Washington became the first state to pass such an antiprofiling law in 2011, followed by Maryland in 2016. The two companion measures in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, which are nonbinding and do not have the force of law, seek to curb profiling of motorcycle riders at the federal level by “Promoting awareness of motorcycle profiling and encouraging collaboration and communication with the motorcycle community and law enforcement officials to prevent instances of profiling.”
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FeBRUARY 2019 • BACKROADS
Morton’s BMW Motorcycles Presents Dr. Seymour O’Life’s MYSTERI OU S AMERIC A coUDersPort ice mine 176 ice mine roaD, coUDersPort, Pa 16915 seasonal hoUrs - oPens memorial Day Some things are etched in stone, right? Hot in the summer, cold in the winter? This may not be the case alongside a mountain slope in the small town of Coudersport, Pennsylvania. Let me introduce you to the Coudersport Ice Cave. Here, in a tiny man-made open-air cave, the seasons are reversed. In the summer, when ice is a distant memory from months past, it begins to build here at the ice cave. When autumn is over and the season slips into winter, and snow covers the Endless Mountains, the ice disappears from the cave. It is very perplexing to scientists. Although this odd geological mystery has probably been going on for thousands of years it was only discovered in the summer of 1884. Local tribes were trading for goods and supplies with raw silver. Some locals believed that this silver had to be mined locally and, for one reason or another, they chose this particular mountain as the source of the native silver. The story has it that a divining rod was used to locate this supposed ‘Mother Lode’ and when the stick got a strong hit a couple of guys started digging. But silver is not what they found. Curiously they found a shaft full of … ice, ice baby. To this day the Coudersport Ice Mine is a fascinating and puzzling geological anomaly. As I said, in the spring, as the rest of the Northern Hemisphere thaws, ice begins to form in this 40-foot-
deep cave, increasing in volume as the temperature outside gets hotter and hotter. It is truly bizarre. If you ride to the Ice Cave on a hot summer day and stand outside of the mine you will feel a cold breeze from the ice that forms inside the rocks. Then, in the fall when the temperatures begin to drop, the ice starts to melt, dwindling down to nothing over the course of the winter. Come spring the cycle begins anew as it has for as long as the mountains have been there. Scientists from various universities and reporters from the Science Channel have studied the Ice Cave for years and still no one has a definitive answer. The current main theory states that cracks and
BACKROADS • FeBRUARY 2019
Page 13 uniqueness of the cave and made it a curious local attraction in the early 1900s. The Ice Cave remained an attraction for decades, but had been closed for almost a quarter of a century before it was purchased by Gary and Diana Buschen. The Buschens set about refurbishing the Ice Cave and the attached gift shop. They have added picnic tables, lots of flowers (that the old attraction was known for) and a large seating area. The Coudersport Ice Cave is now a wonderful and interesting attraction – well worth the short detour off of Route 6 and definitely a part of Mysterious America. ~ O’Life out!
crevices along the mountain draw in cold air during the winter, then slowly release this chilled air in the summer. Because of the unusual patterns of these fissures, the discharge of this superchilled air is channeled directly into the Coudersport Ice Mine. This cold air draws moisture from the humid outside air and the ice is created. Over the summer warmer air fills these fissures and come the winter the process begins to reverse itself and the ice slowly disappears. Today scientists and geologists constantly monitor the temperature – keeping a close eye on this geological peculiarity. There are other ice caves like this, particularly in other geologically similar places in Pennsylvania as was well as West Virginia and New York, but the Coudersport Ice Mine is the largest such cave east of the Mississippi. For a time the cave was used to store food and other materials shortly after its discovery, but smart entrepreneurs quickly saw the
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FeBRUARY 2019 • BACKROADS
G REAT A LL AMERICA N DINE R RUN Mark Byers maclaomainn’s scottish PUB 52 soUth main st, chester, Vt • 802-875-macs • maclaomainns.com oPen: sUn-thU 11:30am-11:00Pm; Fri & sat 11:30-miDnight There isn’t a lot in Chester. Ten miles west of I-91, at the intersections of VT Routes 35, 103, and 11, with a 2010 census of just over 3,100 people, it was the last place I expected to find an amazing pub. But, on a sultry July day, that’s exactly what Betsy and I did. I usually don’t trust the GPS to find food, but after a quick stop for syrup at Plummer’s in nearby Grafton, I punched the knife and fork icon and saw, to my surprise, a listing for a Scottish pub! After our trip there a few years ago, Betsy and I dearly love Scotland, so we hit Route 35 with alacrity and right by the intersection with 103, was MacLaomainn’s. At first, with the large outdoor deck filled by colorful umbrella tables, you might mistake the place for something more…beachy, but once you walk inside and are greeted by a full suit of armor, a giant sword, a dart board, and a set of bagpipes, you know you’re in a wee bit of Scotland. A sign proclaims, “What’s For You Won’t Go Past You” and another says, “All Our Guests Bring Happiness, Some by Coming and Some by Going.” MacLaomainn’s was founded by Deb and Allan Brown, she of
tasty places to take your bike
Chester and he of Scotland. If you’d like a spirited game of cribbage, I wager they’d give you one because they met online playing it and Allan came to the U.S. to marry Deb and open the pub in an extension of their home. And homey it is, true to their slogan of “Scottish hospitality in the hills of Vermont.” The mark of a great pub is two things: their beer and their food and MacLaomainn’s gets full marks on both counts. I normally refrain from consumption whilst moto’ing, but I made a ten-ounce exception for the light and refreshing Tenant’s
Lager. I also intended to blend it with food, and what amazing food it was. I started with a bowl of the tomato cheddar soup made with fresh, local cheddar and it was outstanding. Betsy had the humorously-named “Cock-aLeekie” soup, which was a delightful combination of chicken and leeks in a creamy broth. It was reportedly as heavenly as it was rich. There’s a wide array of traditional Scottish fare available, including haggis and “tatties and neeps,” but Betsy had the “Mary Queen of Scots” sandwich, with sliced turkey and apple butter,
BACKROADS • FeBRUARY 2019
Page 15 granny smith apple slices, and white cheddar on a honey oat bread made on site. Mary would be proud of her namesake sandwich. I had the house-grilled cheese, also on the honey oat bread and with local cheddar, bacon, and onion. We were served by none other than Allan himself, fully attired in a kilt complete with a sporran and he was as friendly and attentive as
orabilia – it’s more like eating at someone’s kitchen table than a restaurant. The Hawksbill comes by the memories honestly: Woody claims it’s the oldest continuously-operating diner in Page County, originally opening in 1942. The stools at the counter are original, as are the soda coolers, which Woody got running again with the help of a buddy in the refrigeration biz. He says, “Upkeep keeps me busy!” There are oldies on the jukebox, along with country (Woody is a distant relation to Chet Atkins), but the wide selection of pies in the cooler are brand-spankin-new.
the food was good. In nearly a decade of going to Vermont, there are a few places to which we return nearly every time and now we have another one. Another sign says, “Haste ye back” and that’s a sign we are bound to obey.
the hawksbill Diner: Food and Family Family. When you think of good old country cookin’, you think of family. When Woody Atkins went to the Hawksbill Diner with his family as a child, he never imagined he’d run it. Life and family are funny, however, and 26 years ago, Woody and his wife Nancy became the owners of this little diner on US 340 just outside Stanley, Virginia, a “suburb” of Luray. I sat next to Woody at the counter and asked how he got in the diner business. A smile pierced his beard and crinkled the eyes shining out from under his baseball cap and he said, “My wife Nancy got me into it.” Woody sure married a woman with a passion for feeding people: she came out of the back, wiping salmon from her hands, and said, “When we first started, I was here from four-thirty in the morning to eleven o’clock at night. After ten years of that, I had to slow down a little.” She hasn’t slowed down much, because I went there for breakfast and dinner multiple times in one weekend, twice when they opened the doors at six AM, and Nancy was always at the helm. She does have plenty of good help, however, including their son, Teddy, and an adult niece who has waited tables since she was 14. The Hawksbill is festooned with family photos and mem-
They don’t make their own pies, but everything else is made on site, including their daily specials. One night, I had the hot roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy. When I told them to “Get gravy all over everything!” they had no problem with that. Nothing is fancy, including the prices: two eggs, a sizable rasher of bacon, fried potatoes, two pieces of toast, and a hot tea set me back about six dollars, with refills on the tea. The whole place, including the restrooms, is neat and clean as your freshly-waxed bike. I asked Woody if they were motorcycle-friendly and he said, “Sure. We have a couple groups that come in regularly from Washington, DC. They’re good people. My son Teddy rides a Harley Electra Glide.” That makes the Hawksbill Diner an absolute lock to be on the “Great All-American” list, so point your moto toward Stanley, Virginia and prepare to become one of the family. The Hawksbill Diner, 1388 East Main Street, Stanley, VA 22851. 540778-2006. Open 6 AM every day, close at 8 PM, except Friday and Saturday nights, when they stay open until 9 PM. CASH ONLY or LOCAL checks – NO CREDIT CARDS.
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FeBRUARY 2019 • BACKROADS
Frontline Eurosports Presents
B IG CITY GETAWAY american helicoPter mUseUm 1220 american BlVD., West chester, Pa 19380 610-436-9600 • americanhelicoPter.mUseUm We have a few acoustic guitars here at Backroads Central – but the ‘go-to’ guitar is an old Ovation 6 string. Everything about it is beautiful. But, the reason I mention it is that this month’s stop here in the Big City Getaway is all about helicopters. Ovation’s Charlie Kaman got his start making helicopters and, being a serious guitarist, he thought they could build better than what was on the market at the time. Ovation already had mountains of research measuring how helicopters twist, torque and vibrate. They had a couple of intense years of guitar research behind them by 1966 as well. It’s probably safe to say that no guitar manufacturer knew more about vibration, mode shapes and resonances than Kaman’s engineers. Which brings us back to the American Helicopter Museum – cause’ it’s all about torque, vibration and design, baby! Rotary aircraft have been around since the late 1930’s and history says that on September 14, 1939, the VS-300, the world’s first practical helicopter, took flight at Stratford, CT. Designed by Igor Sikorsky and built by the Vought-Sikorsky Aircraft Division of the United Aircraft Corporation, the helicopter was the first to incorporate a single main
daytrip ideas to get out of the daily grind rotor and tail rotor design. Since then the versatile and amazing aircraft have taken off – literally. Planes and jets go by all the time but unless the jet is something special or military, we hardly notice. But, have a helicopter come by on a low pass and we are all looking. Backroads Central is under a flight path for the U.S. Army and we have some great helicopters come by on occasion. When 6 Chinooks, in formation, flew over… the office shook, the cats ran under the beds and we ran out to the driveway to see the show. Much of the cutting edge design, thinking and production of these innovative crafts all took place along the Delaware River and west, in and around the Philly region. To celebrate this fact you will find the American Helicopter Museum which opened to the public in October 1996 to serve as a “lasting tribute to those men and women who pioneered the development of rotary wing aircraft” and to encourage future generations of aviation pioneers. Located at the Brandywine Airport, the museum holds over 40 civilian and military autogyros, covertiplanes and some serious helicopters. So many of the real pioneers of these craft called this region home – Harold
BACKROADS • FeBRUARY 2019
Frederick Pitcaim, Arthur Young and Frank Piasecki. The American Helicopter Museum continues to record the new and ever expanding role of the U.S. helicopter industry. The exhibits span the history of rotary wing aircraft from the earliest rotorcraft to the newest tilt-rotor military craft. They have a V-22 Osprey! We had never been up so close to one of these unique crafts. If you are a museum person (Dr. John, we mean you), expect to spend a few hours taking it all in. On the floor you will find copters from Bell, Hughes and Piasecki. There are a number of hands on displays to educate on just how helicopters really work; and it is education that is key here at the American Helicopter Museum. They are noted for their ‘Women in Aerospace and Technology’ that engages young girls to look toward science and technology in fun and exciting ways and to mentor and encourage their future career and growth opportunities in technology. They also hold a number of Boot Camps and you can start your own journey to flying here. But, it always seems to be the heavy machinery that grabs our attention
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(well, mine at least) and I really think we need a fully armed Bell AH-1F Cobra at Monkey with a Gun! The MASH US Army H-13 helicopter (Bell Model 47) had me singing ‘Suicide is Painless’. The dual-rotor Boeing CH-46E Sea Knight, built nearby at Boeing Vertol’s Plant 2 near Philadelphia International Airport, was an important part of the Vietnam War and, for those who grew up in New York City, you might remember the civilian version of this aircraft that was flown by New York Airways and landed, for a time, on the Pan-Am building. The big green U.S. Marine Sikorsky Seahorse was my favorite – just something about the sheer size and big ‘nose’ of this helicopter does it for me and these craft did yeoman’s work snatching Gemini capsules from the ocean. We were so excited to ‘discover’ this museum, as it was a serendipitous stop, and even happier to share it with you. If you are a fan of helicopters and aircraft then a stop at the American Helicopter Museum. It will get you spinning.
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FeBRUARY 2019 • BACKROADS
WE’RE OUTTA HER E the rangeley inn & taVern 2443 main street, rangeley, me 04970 207-864-3341 • WWW.therangeleyinn.com As you head into Maine from the bordering state of New Hampshire you begin to enter a true wilderness. For sure New Hampshire is forestry – but Maine gets down right wild. In the northwest part of the nation’s furthest northeast state you will find the town of Rangeley. It is now known for its superb fishing, hiking and vacation getaways. We were traveling north in early June and found ourselves riding through Rangeley right around ‘hotel time.’ As we headed east on Route 16 we had the large lake with the larger name to the right and we passed a stately looking inn on our left. U-turns were made, steps climbed, front desk found and a room taken for the night. Welcome to the Rangeley Inn & Tavern - located just about halfway between the Equator and the North Pole. Nice. Rangeley originally came about when an English Squire, Squire James Rangeley, inherited a 31,000acre tract bought from Massachusetts by his father in 1796. He arrived in 1825 to establish an estate based
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a weekend destination keeping you on the backroads on the English system of landlord and tenants, also giving extensive land to settlers. He basically built a town with mills, a two-story mansion, and a tenmile road to connect his property with the rest of the world. Years later the region became a haven for sport fishermen – it is still this today. But there was a time when grand hotels ruled this part of the Maine Mountains.
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BACKROADS • FeBRUARY 2019 The Rangeley Inn is the last of nearly a dozen grand hotels that once hosted visitors arriving by train from Boston, New York, and Philadelphia to experience the region’s stunning natural beauty and sporting heritage. Some say it was built in 1908, and others say 1877... so we’ll just say “turn of the century”. Regardless, The Rangeley Inn has been around longer than any of us, and it offers a chance to experience the opulent history of Maine’s lakes and mountains. The Rangeley Inn was built in sections and attached together over time. The main section of the Inn, where you will find the lobby and dining room, was built in 1907 and 1908. It opened in 1909. The Ellis Wing was built in 1900 and attached to the Inn around 1920. The Tavern Wing was expanded in the 1940s. Today it boasts a bar and lounge and 21 guestrooms & 7 suites and the Haley Pond Lodge, just steps from the Inn, offering private decks and serene water views from 15 renovated units. We took a room here. The Inn does have its own restaurant should you like to stay put for dinner and a drink or two, but it’s convenient in-town location made it easy for us
to stroll around and find a few options – choosing Parkside and Main that offered great food and a nice westerly look for the approaching sunset. The morning in this part of the US and this time of the year starts very early and the laughter of the loons echoed through the early morning light. Making a cup of ‘real’ coffee in the room we stepped outside to watch families of geese swim by to a chorus of bull frogs announcing their presence. It was magical and the moment could have lasted forever. We really did not have to ride this day. The Inn offers a decent complimentary breakfast in their very opulent and beautiful dining room. Nice way to start the day. Right outside of town, on the main road, you will find an easy pull-off with a stupendous view, at ‘Height of Land,’ of Mooselookmeguntic Lake. Yes – that is the name. And, if that handle was not cool enough for you, head to the rhymingly named ‘Smalls Falls’, which are well worth the trip. The rocks and falls are picture perfect and its okay to take a quick dip in the pool at the bottom if the weather is on the warm side in the Pine Tree State. While in the region try not to miss the Rangeley Outdoor Sporting Heritage Museum, (there are two) which is in the small village of Oquossoc in the western mountains of Maine - this is easily one of the best museums
Page 19 in the state. Operated by the Rangeley Lakes Region Historical Society they also have another history museum in the town of Rangeley itself. Just west of the town you will find a great Mysterious America at the Wilhelm Reich Museum. Reich was a psychologist and student of Freud, who moved into the realm of Tesla with his weather-controlling gun, the Orgone Collecting Cloud Buster. If you love a taste of the weird in the most unlikely place then you will enjoy the Reich Museum. Rangeley is that part of Maine that you rarely hear about – with the DownEast and rocky coastal towns always being brought to mind when you talk about the state. But, we’re telling you to head west young man, or woman – the real wildness is waiting in Rangeley.
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FeBRUARY 2019 • BACKROADS For those of us in the northeast portion of these United States who feel that temperatures hovering in the mid-30 are not conducive to taking a lovely day’s ride, it leaves us with lots of free time to wile away the short days and looooong nights of winter. Last Christmakkah, I received a wonderful Cuisinart ice cream machine. I had been making my own ice cream sans machine for a while and it was okay but certainly not up to the standard of this column. My brother has been making his own ice cream for some time so I questioned him about methods, recipes and such and he pointed me toward The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz. A few days later, with heavy cream and egg yolks in hand (literally), I began my journey into true ice cream making. My first go was a recreation of the coconut that I had been making with sweet condensed milk and no machine. I am not of the baking school – though I can certainly hold my own in the kitchen – and the idea of making a custard base was intimidating. The outcome was ‘feh’ so I asked my brother what I was missing, doing wrong, screwing up. He looked at the recipe, listened to what I was doing and came back with ‘You need to add a tablespoon or two of liquor.’ Okay, I’m not against that, but why? It’s to prevent the final product from icing too much. Ahh, of course. Out came the Malibu rum and the next batch was more than perfect – creamy, coconutty and delicious. I was off and running. For the next few months, there was a constant flow of ice cream churning away. I was keeping the dairy business alive with my quarts of heavy cream, half + half and whole milk in the fridge. The chickens around me couldn’t lay their eggs fast enough for my egg yolk consumption (more on this later). My repertoire included Maple Walnut, Pistachio, Orange Creamsicle, Ginger and Chocolate. I experimented with some more inventive flavors like Mexican Hot Chocolate (to die for), Teaberry (wonderful if you like peppermint, which I do), Guinness Milk Chocolate (yes, made with Guinness Stout – fantastic) and Sweet Corn (Brian liked it – me, not so much). Some flavors on the horizon are Banana (we always have lots of bananas hanging around) and Cinnamon (should be great with chocolate cake). I began saving the egg whites from all these separated eggs, finding that I could freeze them for future use. When a whole shelf of my freezer was taken up with egg whites, I figured that this was a ridiculous situation and went in search of some use for the healthy side of the egg other than the obvious egg white omelet. I dis-
BACKROADS • FeBRUARY 2019 PRODUCT REVIEW
PEEPS • THE WORLD’S GREATEST EYE GLASS CLEANER We all get bombarded by internet fluff. But, on occasion, something comes across and you say, “Hey, that just might be a good idea!” Thus one day I found a few Peeps sitting on the counter. Curious to what they were… Shira told me these are seriously good eyeglass cleaners. Glasses are an odd thing. Although Shira has a bit of a long-distance issue I, on the other hand, have vision equal to Neil Armstrong or Jim Gardner on their best day. But, I can’t see squat up close. So I have cheaters too. But here were three Peeps. These little gizmos are small, easy to insiDe scooP Continued from Previous Page covered angel food cake – not too difficult and a very nice base for my ice creams. Remember, I am not a baker and really don’t like it much, but I have to say that the coffee angel food cake that I managed not to mangle too badly was pretty good. That used about 6 of the two dozen egg whites I had. Up next were some almond macarons – how difficult could these possibly be? Light, airy and maybe three ingredients – egg whites, sugar and flavoring. Yeah, sometimes things that look simple are not as they seem. First off, meringue is possibly the stickiest substance on this planet. No matter how I tried to get this mixture from the bowl to the cookie sheet I ended up with handfuls of sticky mess all over my fingers. I’m not one of those OC people who wash their hands constantly, but this made me feel like one. And the payoff for this tedious process? A cookie sheet of meringue that ran together
Page 21 use and work REALLY well. Peeps uses a unique invisible carbon cleaning compound to safely and easily clean your glasses from oily fingerprint smudges to dust and facial oils. In fact Peeps have serious street cred… well, Space Cred as this technology is literally out of this world - being the only cleaners on the International Space Station used for lens cleaning by NASA. For us it is all about what really works on the road and Peeps are a good thing in the morning and the evening. Clearer is better. No more looking for a cleaning cloth and dripping the cleaning spray everywhere. Simply brush and wipe. Quick, easy - done. Compact, easy to use and affordable it is a great addition to any tank bag. Find them for around $15 at lenspen.com.
into one big mess and did not rise one iota. Oh, and they were WAY too sweet for consumption, IMHO. I did try one more time – masochist that I may be – since I still had a dozen egg whites left, with a different recipe that used food coloring to mask the horrible look of the final product and some honey mascarpone filling. This time the ‘cookies’ rose somewhat but the filling was delicious, so maybe a wash. Final decision – stick with the egg white omelets; healthier, tastier and more creative. Other decision – if the production of ice cream continues throughout the winter months, the ratio of ice cream to gym session needs to be more heavily leaning toward the second or, come the time that I do get back on the motorcycle, that nice Swedish-colored Aerostich will need to be altered dramatically. Enjoy the ever-lengthening days and I’ll see you on the road soon.
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PRODUCT REVIEW
FeBRUARY 2019 • BACKROADS
MIRRORLOK • HIGHER, WIDER AND MORE SECURE
For years we have been lugging around a small locking system to secure our helmets, jackets and gear when out exploring in, let’s say, questionable places. Over the decades we have been stung more than once, losing a jacket and even a helmet over the years. We have found that 95% of people are good. But, that other 5% will take anything and everything they can carry. Dem Bastards! So, thus we always have a small cable lock that travels with us. But, Al Jesse – the creator of some of the most famed and useful riding luggage in the world - has come up with an easier solution - MirrorLok. To be honest when Al sent me the first images I thought … “Wow, this is going to be a big and heavy item to mount up top of the handlebars. How will this work?” But, when I actually had a set in my hand, I was happily surprised at how tiny, compact and light they were. MirrorLok is made from machined aluminum, making it sturdy and reliable but keeping it elegant with a black powder coat finish and has an oval-shape with smooth, rounded edges and measures just 1”x3”x1” weighing just 3 ounces. How’d Al do that? My thoughts went from maybe to sure – let’s get these on the GS! So, what is a MirrorLok? Simply an excellent way to secure your helmet and gear and increase the reason you have mirrors in the first place. The MirrorLok (sold as a pair) are a unique, dual-purpose accessory that raises and extends your stock mirror position for increased field of vision and better rear-view perspective while minimizing vibration. Installation was fairly easy as it mounts into the existing mirror screw mount, the ergonomic design also features a locking push-button keyed shackle release to quickly and conveniently secure your helmet using an optional 16” or 42” cable to also safely lock your gear for any off-bike exploration. Although I love the idea of easily locking my helmet up when I get off and will be away from the motorcycle for a bit, I also appreciate that the MirrorLok added more width to the view of my mirrors.
Too many of today’s machines have their mirrors as almost an after thought and they hardly do the job they were originally given. Situational awareness is crucial and MirrorLok raise your mirrors one inch up and two inches out, repositioning the mirrors to give a far better view of what is around and behind you. Most excellent. Installation was smooth and fairly easy – (reading the instructions is always a plus, right?). One thing I would caution is to make sure your mirrors are exactly where you want them and then securely tighten the MirrorLok in place or you will be making adjustments on the road, which is not ideal. Also on the BMW, the right Mirrorlok needed to be moved a bit forward to allow for the kill switch – that nobody uses anyhow. An added bonus is that MirrorLok is built with a series of cushioning polyurethane O-rings and did a great job of lessening normal road vibration that almost every motorcycle mirror experiences. The MirrorLok is an excellent and easy addition to today’s traveling rider’s machine offering a little peace of mind when off and away from your bike. MirrorLok cost just $125 and comes with mounting hardware, instructions and key. Cables are a bit extra, or you can use your own if you have them, and these can all be found at motomanufacturing.com.
BACKROADS • FeBRUARY 2019
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The Law Office of Paul G. Gargiulo Presents
Welcome to the Jungle - The Art of Learning to Ride Skillfully A column dedicated to your riding survival a game oF inches Baseball has been called “a game of inches.” For those who have read Backroads for any amount of time you know that, unlike many motor heads, we are huge fans of baseball. We bleed blue and orange. Let’s go Mets. We wish all the others local teams well – except when they play the Mets. Actually, this quote was in regards to football. “Football is a game of inches, not yards,” was cited in print in November 1941, credited to University of Illinois college football coach Robert Zuppke. Whatever the application, it applies to life - the expression “game of inches” means that there is a very close line between winning and losing. So this brings me around, in a very circuitous way, to a morning breakfast meeting in which Shira took part of at last year’s Americade. Our friend and MSF-Maven Diane Ortiz runs a women’s coffee gathering every year up in Lake George. Shira, being a part of the industry (in her own special way), and a woman (sure of this), went over that morning to partake. I came to park the bikes, get her coffee and basically fade into the background. I know my place. Still, as Shira stated in her August Whatchathinkin’ article, the talk with ‘women’s groups and gatherings’ invariably rolls into the issue that many manufacturers seem to forget that not everyone has a 34-inch inseam. For those of us who do not have this problem, or simply go around it, this will scoot off our heads and not penetrate. But, if you see and deal with someone who struggles with this – it is an issue - one that can make or break a great day’s ride. So let us say that a rider (gal or guy) is the average American women’s height - that is to say is 5 feet 4 inches tall or 63.7 inches or 161.8 centimeters and around a 30-inch inseam – but their new bike has a 32.5 seat height – there is going to be a bit of a problem. Game of Inches. So, how is the game going to be played? Well, the first thing we are not going to do is lower the bike’s suspension. This is a recipe for disaster. Ground clearance is key. Shira’s new machine, a Suzuki V-Strom 650 XT, is everything she wants, almost. Sexy, great power and very versatile. Like her. But, it almost touches 33-inches of seat height. Not like her. We bought the bike with a factory-lowered saddle, which brought it down a tad, but no winner of the chicken dinner as the stock seat, like most, did not allow for any movement and after a few hours made for an uncomfortable ride. Corbin came in and added a custom saddle, which was a bit lower but allowed for plenty of movement and shifting while riding. It also added day-long comfort and was snazzy as well.
So, we were slowing edging towards the goal - that being “balls of the feet” on the pavement. Game of Inches. Still, I watched with trepidation at each off-cambered stop, deep gravel drive and patch of obscure pavement for the inevitable ‘gravity storm’ to come. If Shira had some stress – you might consider how her partner felt. It is scary when someone is so smooth, so quick, so clean at speed, but gets yips because of less than an inch. As Jimmy Buffett sang…. “Close. So close.” There was one last option; one we could use, but not exaggerate or go overboard with. ‘If the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain.’ Back in the day there were shoe shops everywhere. Not so much today, in our disposable culture. Still, in Sparta, New Jersey there is one awesome cobbler. He took a look at Shira’s boots and said he could add about a half an inch safely. $65 American – one week. What the hell – we went for it. Game of Inches, right? His work was beyond excellent. The boots looked like they came from the factory. And, most importantly, she was easy and comfortable with them. Excellent in every way. And, now with a seat height effectively about 29.7 inches and a ½ inch more reach with the boots? Winner, winner, chicken dinner. Baseball, football? Motorcycling can be a game of inches too.
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FeBRUARY 2019 • BACKROADS
B
ackroads, as it says on the cover, is about motorcycles, travel and adventure - and the motorsports industry is big and varied with many companies not only building motorcycles, but so many other machines and vehicles that are a huge part of the trade. Along the next couple of days, for me, the travel and adventure part would be as important as the motorcycles - as Kawasaki was holding its first JAMS Event and I was kindly invited to spend a few days with Team Green and the State of Utah’s Tourism folk in and around the southwestern parts of Utah and the famed Zion National Park. JAMS stands for Jet Skis, ATVs, Motorcycles and Side-by-Sides - which would allow a select group of moto-media, from different parts of the spectrum, to come to this part of the Beehive State and spend a couple of days riding some of the various powersport products that Kawasaki offers, includ-
ing the Teryx4 LE, various watercraft (Supercharged baby!) and the complete Kawasaki Versys line-up – 1000, 650 and the new 300x. Side by sides and ATVs make up nearly 50% of powersport sales these days and the watercraft business is constantly growing and evolving. For me Kawasaki will always be high-performance motorcycles. Utah would be the perfect ‘playground’ to experience a bit of all these.
Utah Utah is stunning! So maybe there is a reason humans have been in the region for tens of thousands of years, way before the Ute tribe showed up and the Mormons came this way west. When you say Utah to easterners it is almost always answered with “I heard it’s beautiful out there.” Indeed it is.
Kawasaki JAMS Southwestern Utah America’s Playground Words by Brian Rathjen • Images by Doug Henry and Kevin Wing
BACKROADS • FeBRUARY 2019
Flying into the small city of St. George you cannot help but be in awe of the rich reds, browns and russet shades that dominate the land - so far different from our verdant greens and even our flashy, yet quick lived, autumn colors of the northeast. Not far from the airport is Sand Hollow State Park and a resort with the same name where we’d be for the duration of the event. Over the next two days we’d break into groups of three – with one group going off road on the Teryx4s and then onto the water with the watercraft and the others on a 250-mile loop around the fantastic mountains, canyons and parks that have made Utah famous around the world for its natural beauty. The following day we’d switch, giving everyone a chance to experience it all.
Sand & Water Morning found me walking in the pre-dawn light as the restaurant was about a half a mile away. Somewhere in the dark I could hear the hoot of large owl and was stunned to find it on a lamppost – a Great Horned beauty keeping large and watchful eyes on me. While I stopped to look, its mate flew up. Two Great Horned Owls in the semi-dark with stars all around – a first for me – and I have a Field Guide to Birds sitting on my desk. Utah was breathtaking before, now it was magical. A quick breakfast and then it was off-road time into Sand Hollow State Park with the Teryx4 LE. This park is a favorite destination for local off-highway vehicle enthusiasts as the region around Sand Hollow provides 15,000 acres of perfectly sculpted dunes, great rocks and unrivaled vistas. The Teryx4 LE, with its 783c liquid-cooled, SOHC, 4-valve-per-cylinder fuel-injected V-Twin, offered both plenty of get-going power and torque and plenty of engine braking too; a plus for me. My side-by-side experience was virtual nil – so I took to the back with the idea of following the others’ lines and a firm realization that “if they can do it – I can do it” which worked out for almost all the morning.
Page 25 The park was stunning and I found the Teryx4 LE to be more than a little fun and very ‘capable’ in every way – whether it be on the dunes, the hills or the slick rocks that surround the trails. There was one point where our friends at Kawasaki – Jon Rall and Tom McGovern – pointed out a steep rock hill for us to climb. One far more experienced rider gave it a successful whirl. They turned to me… “Brian, you going to go for it?” Before the Spock side of me could beg off with a logical reason why I could not - I heard the Kirk side of me say “Sure, I can do this.” What did I just say?! Truth is the Teryx4 ate that hill up easily. Okay, I did get lost trying to come back around, but that was all part of the Utah adventure and I took a bit of ribbing at dinner that night for the 20 minutes of lost time. We broke for lunch and then traded in the sandstone for the reservoir with
Page 26 its warm, blue waters and red sandstone landscape - it is Utah’s newest state park. Waiting for us were some of Kawasaki’s Jet Skis and I was ushered by Jon onto “this one.” “Hey, is this the supercharged, 240 horsepower, faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive Jet Ski?” “Yup, get on,” was Jon’s reply, “Head out past the ‘no wake’ markers and then hit it!”
FeBRUARY 2019 • BACKROADS first tried one of these, I had not improved at all, and the hard slam onto the water took the wind out of this sail. Our representative from Utah’s Tourism, Emily, seemed to take to it easily and Kawasaki practically had to wrangle her back to shore. If you have never ridden one of the Kawasaki watercraft they are so much fun - maybe too much fun if that is possible. After a long day I called it and made my way back to the room for a hot shower and dinner.
Mountains, Valleys & Zion
The Jet Ski Ultra 310LX is powered by a digital Fuel Injection-fed 1,498cc inline four-cylinder engine and is the reigning king of horsepower, and its crown is the high-tech Eaton Twin Vortices Series Supercharger. This Eaton TVS Supercharger is designed to deliver large quantities of boost at all RPMs from idle to redline. It even has a sound system so you can play Kenny Loggins ‘Danger Zone’ while you ride into it. Unlike side-by-sides I have some experience with Jet Skis, but never had been on anything like this. Crazy fast – it reaches 50+ mph in a flash - and I had it up to 70 before… well, before I remembered the words of that great philosopher Han Solo when he said … “Don’t get cocky kid!” and I slowly let off the gas. It had a bunch more to go. In truth just tooling along the Sand Hollow Reservoir was a treat in itself as the red sandstone backdrop and the mighty Pine Mountains made for the perfect setting. I gave the stand-up Jet Ski a try, but with some 30 years since I had
Once again, as I made my morning stroll to breakfast, I ran across another Great Horned Owl – this one perched right outside my door. I watched quietly as it took flight and dove into the brush of the desert, which was followed by a short and sharp squeal of something that was now breakfast. My meal was far more sedate. Today we’d be riding the newest versions of Kawasaki’s Versys series. Warmed up and waiting for us were three machines – two 1000 SEs and one 650. We have had a bit of experience with the 1000 and, in truth, I really wanted to ride the 650, so we split up the bikes that way. We’d switch around a bit on the road as the morning progressed. Along and leading the ride was Kawasaki Press Maven Brad Puetz and Neal Storz, both on the now sadly cut from the lineup KLR 650s. We all geared up and in minutes were riding towards the canyons and mountains that ring the valley that hides Hurricane, Utah. Our ride scooted up Snow Canyon and it was here that the scenery went from pleasant and different to amazing and slightly out of this world. The road snaked its way through giant sharp cliffs of bright red sandstone rock, mixed with milky white stone and black lava beds coagulated in a striking manner. I thought this was why the canyon bore the Snow name, but was told by Eugene, one of the representatives from the state of Utah, that it was named after early Mormon settlers Lorenzo and Erastus Snow. Along the side we could seen the ‘Petrified Dunes’, loose Navajo sand that had compacted, com-
BACKROADS • FeBRUARY 2019
pressed and became giant rolling dunes of harden sand stony material over thousand of years. From a distance they looked impressive, but that was made more so by seeing that the tiny specks crawling across them were climbers and hikers. They were huge – some 2,000 feet deep in places! Kawasaki had brought in two great lensmen for this event, with Doug Henry shooting the off-road and watercraft shots the previous day and Kevin Wing handling the motorcycle-side of things. Kevin was the recipient of Backroads’ LAME Award last year and I know when he is shooting everybody looks far better than we actually are. We spent some time in Snow Canyon, mixing up the bikes and making multiple passes under Kevin’s expert guidance. Although this part of Utah is famed for the sandstone and wonderful cliffs and formations, there are also miles of twisty mountain roads that the Kawasaki Versys gleefully ate up. I spent some time aboard the 1000; powered by a 1043cc, liquid-cooled, DOHC, 4 valve per cylinder, in-line 4-cylinder, along with Kawasaki’s traction control and dual power-modes, I was quickly reminded just how powerful, smooth and effortlessly this bike accelerates, brakes and handles. More street machine than adventure bike in my mind, it still could be one of the best sport-touring machines I have ever ridden – especially for the price.
Page 27 The machine comes with saddlebags and hand guards as standard equipment and is ready to tour right off the showroom floor. As nice as the 1000 was I took an opportunity to reclaim the Versys 650 once again. This bike has plenty of pep and power for me and is, at 475 lbs., very light and very maneuverable. In the right hands this 650 can easily surpass its larger sibling when things get tight and twisty. The middle-sibling Versys is driven by a 649cc liquid-cooled, DOHC, 4 valve per cylinder, parallel twin that offers plenty of pulling power and a very smooth response through its powerband. The LT version has saddlebags as well – but ours was not so equipped. Kawasaki also offers a number of great accessories for the 650 including heated grips, top case, LED lights and frame sliders – all of which add to the Versys 650’s mid-sized, yet formidable, sport-touring gravitas. For me the Versys 650 was simply a blast to ride, especially when the roads got tighter as we rode up towards the Pine Mountains. Here the brightly colored cliffs gave way to a fall-like scene with trees and small forests bright with yellow Aspens and large pastures of cattle meandered in the, now warm, afternoon sun. Although I thought Utah stunning and different, I could not see myself living here. But, that changed as we rode into Pine Valley. This very tiny town, population of just 180, is nestled in the Pine Mountains at the head of the Santa Clara River, and was founded back in 1859. Its historic claim to fame was that it was home to the largest and most powerful steam sawmill in this part of the west… with a then unheard of 40 horsepower!
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These days the town and valley are popular with hikers and there is even the Southern Utah Insect Museum… that we blew by as I looked longingly at the passing sign and small building. Sniff. We followed along some more tightly wound, paved roads and, eventually, to Cedar City by way of Route 58 that skirted the Paiute Tribal Lands. In town we took lunch at Centro Wood Fired Pizza and then some excellent espresso right next door at The French Spot – a small shack owned by a Michelin Star rated French pastry chef. Who knew? After lunch we swapped out the three larger Kawasakis for three of the allnew Versys-X 300s.
FeBRUARY 2019 • BACKROADS
Although the bigger bikes were fun I was very interested in seeing what the new 300 would be like. As with most machines of this size first gear is almost non-existent and rolling away from a light in Cedar City one of the KLR 650s quickly pulled away from the 300 and it dawned on me that Kawasaki might have released the Versys-X 300 to simply allow the KLR at least one drag race victory as is closes out its historic production run. But, once rolling along and understanding that this bike needs to be revved, it became more and more rider-friendly; as well as more capable than any other 300 I have ever ridden. It weighs just 385 pounds with ABS and its peppy 296cc parallel twin engine offers more power when higher in the rev
BACKROADS • FeBRUARY 2019
zone than you would think. This tiny machine’s versatility came instantly into play as we rode up along Dixie National Forest and along the Ashdown Gorge region on an unpaved mountain road that wound up and over the multi-colored peaks and along the 1,000 year-old Bristle Cone Pine Trees found here. Brad had mentioned the road and said easy peasy. I think his exact words were –“You could drive a Porshe over this.” Not my 911 – well, if I had one. Just sayin’. But, the Versys-X 300 easily handled the ruts, bumps and loose gravel – at speed. Crossing onto paved roads it really showed its versatility as it charged down some super winding roads and then back towards Cedar City in a surefooted and confidence-inspiring manner where we picked up our loop and headed toward what is probably one of the most famous parks in the United States – Zion! We did a stint on the Interstate and I was pleasantly surprised that the bike would cruise effortlessly at the posted 80 miles per hour limit.
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It was capable of 20 mph more. Don’t ask. We rode the back way into Zion along roads that offered it all, great twists, super pavement and, well, outstanding views in every direction. It’s Zion, for goodness sakes! By this time it was later in the afternoon and we found our way back to the Sand Hollow Resort and sadly parked and turned off the bikes. Kawasaki’s first JAMS was coming to an end. Dinner was had in the shadow of Zion National Park and early the next morning found all heading back home – wherever that may be. Kawasaki created this event to showcase its varied and impressive line-up of powersports machines and Utah was the prefect place to do just that. I was impressed with everything I rode, with the Versys series Kawasaki offers a machine for every taste, style and size of rider. Their Teryx4 Sideby-Side and Jet Ski line up offered me a great chance to explore the other side of the industry and were way too much fun. Utah is Utah. Friendly, beautiful and majestic in every manner and I know we will be back some time soon.
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FeBRUARY 2019 • BACKROADS
UPCOMING EVENTS AND TRAVEL IDEAS
Take a walk back in time - 50 years - as The Modern Classics celebrates the year 1969! In addition to the usual collection of legendary motorcycles from the 1960s through the 1990s, for 2019, The Modern Classics will transport you 50 years back in time to a typical motorcycle dealership from the seminal year of 1969. Part motorcycle show, part social event and part museum for a day makes The Modern Classics a must see moto event. From the bikes you grew
up with to the rare and exotic, there is something for everyone. Still just $10 at the door. The 9th Annual Modern Classics Motorcycle Show starts with the very popular vintage bikes-after-dark event - Modern Classics Kickstart Party On Friday evening March 1st, from 7:00 until 10:00 pm, the unique Kickstart Party offers the opportunity to experience the 100 motorcycles of The Modern Classics with a distinctly different vibe. Enjoy hors d’oeuvres prepared by Skippack’s Italian Market. Beer, wine and other refreshments will be offered as well along with classic rock while you browse the incredible collection and watch master artist Makoto Endo create a new masterpiece. All this is available for one low price of $15 per guest (which is good for both days). Tickets are now available, through online purchase only, to just the first 250 guests. Bring a date! • www.martinmoto.com • 610-369-3120 tickets • events.r20.constantcontact.com
SHEADV WOMEN’S TRAINING AND TOUR In the heart of the Green Mountain National Forest. September 14 & 1518, 2019 The SheADV Women’s Tour aims to provide female riders with an opportunity to ride, learn, and celebrate adventure motorcycling in a comfortable and supportive environment. Riders will build confidence and take their skills to the next level as we explore the meandering forest roads and long-forgotten greenways within the Green Mountain National Forest of Vermont. Stephanie Terrien, Instructor for the Bill Dragoo Adventure Training
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School and co-founder of SheADV, will act as head instructor and tour guide. New skills will be learned and practiced on a closed skills course. Steph will then lead riders on unique trail and dirt road rides, all while continuing to develop and hone skills. If you are new to riding off road or looking to further your off road prowess, this may be the tour for you! Steph will show you a side of Vermont that many Vermonters will never see; centuries old covered bridges, quaint general stores and scenery that will make you feel like you are riding through a Norman Rockwell painting. Two packages are available for the SheADV Women’s Tour: a 1-day Training only and a 4-day intensive Training and Tour that includes 3 evenings in lovely cabins, catered meals, off-road training and 3 unique group dual-sport rides. Training only (1-day) $275: September 14, 2019 Training and Tour (4-day) $1600 (includes meals and lodging): September 15-18, 2019 Contact: Eric Milano or Steph Terrien - MotoVermont, LLC. 802-860-6686 • info@motovermont.com 2019 tours from Hear the Road Motorcycle Tours Italy range from 8-12 riding days in an effort to suit everyone’s wish to ride the best scenic Italian roads, visit destinations like Amalfi Coast, Alps, Dolomites, Tuscany, Chianti, Sardinia, Corsica, or watch the MotoGP Race at Mugello and Misano circuits. So, whether you crave twisting country roads, historical destinations, spectacular views of the mountains and the Mediterranean or 4 Star Hospitality, there is a tour for you. You will be lead by Enrico, the owner and founder of the company, a life-long Italian motorcyclist, excited to share his passion and knowledge of the country he loves and knows so well. And after the sun has set, there’s plenty of opportunities to experience the culture, the food and wine, the night-life and the passion of this amazing country. Hear The Road Motorcycle Tours Italy provides motorcycle rental, accommodations in 3 or 4 star hotels with local flavor, luggage transportation and transfer from and to the airport. Tours are on BMW, Ducati, Moto Guzzi and Harley-Davidson. Tours run from April to October. Hear the Road Tours also caters to those riding enthusiasts that long for a riding tour in Italy but can’t meet the calendared tour dates. Self-Guided, Customized and/or Private Tours are a popular option for individuals or groups of any size.
For information, contact Enrico Grassi: enrico@motorcycletoursitaly.com or visit website at www.motorcycletoursitaly.com
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Exploring The Old Dominion State
And for some of them it was only the moment that mattered And on the brave and crazy wings of youth They went flying around in the rain Before the deluge. Jackson Browne
FEBRUARY 2019 • BACKROADS
One time? Okay. Twice… Hmmm. Third time? Dag Nabbit… But a fourth? C’MON! The Road South… This is how we felt as we lay in bed listening to the winds and rains batter the trees around Backroads Central just hours before we were scheduled to leave for one last blast south in mid-October. Hurricane Michael had just battered the Florida Gulf coast and had moved north, stomping its way through the Carolinas and Virginia and tossing winds as far north as New York. By daybreak the rains had passed and the winds were heading east quickly. We would be, thankfully, moving quickly west and after getting pushed sideways while crossing the Delaware River, the winds abated and the day gradually became more rider-friendly. As we headed down south we vectored back east a bit and into Maryland. It was here that we began to take notice of some of the odder names towns and such have south of the Mason-Dixon Line.
BACKROADS • FeBRUARY 2019 The first was a ride through Cockeyville. Boy, are they full of themselves there. Actually the name came from Thomas Cockey, an Englishman who brought his family and settled there in the early 1700s. His decendants helped develop the region and bring in the first railroad. The region also saw a bit of serious action during the Civil War. But, we were on a bit of a mission this day and soon after Cockeyville, we rode into Clarksville, Maryland. I searched for, but could not find, a Clarksville train station. Sad, isn’t it? But, what we did find was the fabulous collection of Jim Hopkins. He and wife Tess have a stunning home and even more splendid ‘private’ collection of the most interesting and eclectic BMW memorabilia we have ever seen. Anywhere. Shira had contacted Jim and asked if we could come by and if he could make some time to show us his collection. We had heard and expected it to be very, very nice… But, it was far beyond anything we imagined!
Truly amazing in everyway and if you are a lover of BMW motorcycles, and their deep history, then we hope you can someday visit the Hopkins Collection. Thank you Jim and Tess for the hospitality, ice cream selections and soap. We continued south, making as good a time as anyone can around D.C. and into Virginia. We wondered if they made the roads so confusing in and around our nation’s capital to foil and flummox the British if they ever wanted to pick-up the War of 1812 again. “We’re heading north? Blimey! Turn the troops around! Bloody interstates.” Later that evening we pulled into Fredericksburg and the Inn at the Old Silk Factory. This hotel was built in the 1930s, and has that style and feel to it. Picture yourself entering and, suddenly, all turns black & white… you get our drift? But the grounds also contain part of a silk mill from well over 100 years back. Mix it all together and you have something far more interesting than the other ‘mill made’ hotels found off the interstate.
Page 33 Into the Old Dominion State… We were up and out early heading into the downtown section of Fredericksburg to see two things. First was a very neat and old soda counter. In fact, Goolrick’s has the oldest soda counter in the United States and, even at a little after nine in the morning, we bellied up for egg creams and cream cheese and olive sandwiches. Breakfast of champions, I tell ya!
Right across the street we found Picker’s Supply Guitar Shop. Yes, they had all sorts of things that grabbed my eye, but it was their superb collection of classic and famous guitars from the past that really made the music play in this town. Like Jim Hopkins’ BMW memorabilia, here was a small guitar version in the same vein.
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FeBRUARY 2019 • BACKROADS
Amazing how some people can find and preserve the great past for the rest of us. Thank the gods for them. Curiosity sated (for now) we headed over to our friends at Morton’s BMW and their annual Oktoberfest. It is always nice to stop by and say hi, see what is new, and to mingle and chat with large gatherings of BMW riders who came to the event - many of whom we would be seeing in a few days - as the real reason for this journey was our yearly trek to Virginia International Raceway and time with Reg and Gigi Pridmore, their cadre’ of excellent coaches and CLASS. But first we would have to get there, and with two days
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to do so, we plotted out 400 + miles of nothing but twisty Virginia backroads. For the most part things went swimmingly, and we were making a point to try to pass through oddly named regions and towns – the town of Bumpass stood out but then so did one simply called Cuckoo. In fact it is named for a wonderful old mansion that dominates the side of the road and has a history all its own. But, Cuckoo also has a deeper bit of note. Deep in the ground, that is. At precisely 1:51:04 p.m., on August 23, 2011, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck at Cuckoo, Virginia, but was felt as far away as Canada. The U.S. Geological Survey says it was the most widely felt earthquake in US history! We felt it in New Jersey.
BACKROADS • FeBRUARY 2019
Page 35 The Gilboa Church and the historic Cuckoo House were among the buildings that experienced some of the worst damage in the 5.8 magnitude quake. Both collapsed. Neither were covered by earthquake insurance. Four years later, thanks to some very good people, they are both standing again. Our ride meandered south and west but, as we got more and more into Michael’s path, we began to run into… well, what we always run into. Flooded bridges, road closed signs, turn-arounds, Plan B, C & Ds. And, of course, a few miles of gravel roadway - or what we call Saturday. Back on the route, which specifically stayed away from larger towns, it soon was way past lunch and, with that, the realization that staying away from larger towns also meant giving up the little things like – fuel and food. Gratefully we found both at George’s Crossing. During the Revolutionary War this famed tavern saw many important names from our side passing through. Lafayette, Rochambeau and Von Steuben. Today we happily bought some really excellent fried chicken and bread from the small gas station and package store and took a seat on the steel guardrail along the road where such notables and people of real importance passed centuries back. Best meal of the trip by far – maybe the entire season. By early evening we followed our plan to let the GPS find us the nearest hotel. Which it did – 20 miles north and out of our way, but we didn’t worry as we had time and weather on our side. In Alta Vista we quickly learned that all the hotels were full for a “Home Coming” event. Even though we were a day early, we opted to ride all the way to Danville, where the track was, to grab a room. But, once we entered the town, we were met by detours, work crews, power outages and serious flooding of the Dan River from the passing of Michael. We were beginning to think we’d run out of plan letters and would have to switch to numbers – but Shira came through and found a hotel room in Collinsville, 30 miles thataway. We arrived way after dark and with the electric gear powered up. See, it worked out just like I knew it would. Whew.
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The great sun of the previous day was not around the next morning as we had a cup of coffee in hand, made somewhat better (or worse) by the great chemical companies of this land, while watching the rain pelt down with a bit of earnest. Still, we needed to get going and were sure the rain would pass soon enough. But, while here, there was one place we needed to visit. We were right outside of Martinsville and wanted to make a quick stop at the speedway. At 0.526 miles in length, it is the shortest track in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series; and as we had seen some fine collections in the last couple of days, we knew this track was known to collect its share of crashes and wrecks in its history. Packed during race day – we were the only ones here this dark and soggy morning. Our plan had a good 160-mile loop west and then back east to Virginia International Raceway, but the promise of lightening skies and maybe some sun was fading quicker by the mile; as did our enthusiasm for riding for the sake of riding in the pouring rain. Running back into Route 58 we opted to just get to the track and take our chances on seeing if CLASS was still on and if we’d be allowed early entry to our paddock hotel room we had reserved for the next three nights. There was also the need for a bit of food, as it was now heading towards noon, and the hurricane had left many places closed. VIR is the only track I know of that has a state’s name in it, yet has access from a neighboring state. In this case North Carolina. We stopped for fuel (Non-ethanol real 100% gasoline) and were told of a little place in the town of Milton – just south, over the border. We were familiar with Milton and needed to go that way anyhew, so we made a stop at Milton Tire & Grill – now simply called Samantha’s Cafe. What looked like a slightly abused old car garage is now open for business as a local eatery with great home cooking and a very family-style feel.
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BACKROADS • FeBRUARY 2019
We meandered past one older fellow on his lawn. We waved, and he looked up dour as can be. If there is an opposite of a wave he gave it. I pictured him rushing into the house and saying to his wife… “Mother, I don’t like their kind riding round here.” He’d then call the sheriff. “Sheriff, this is Bobby Goodolboy – two of them ‘crotchrockets’ just wizzed past my house. They past me like I was standing still!” The Sheriff, exasperated by the fourth Mr. Goodolboy call this week, explained, “Bobby – you were standing still” and hangs up. We rode through the town of Ivy; its great claim to fame is a big one. The Birthplace of Meriwether Lewis, the great American explorer. Many years back we had ridden past where Lewis died on the Natchez Trace, a mystery in itself, but here was where he was born. It was an odd circle of things for us. We did have a visit by a young trooper when we were stripping off layers as the day warmed. He was mostly interested in where two New Jerseyans were coming from and heading to, and that we did not get hit by a passing car. Far more friendly than our last encounter with Virginia law enforcement, I tell ya. Lunch was found at a neat brew pub along the way called Wild Wolf, in Nellyford, and soon we were heading up into the Blue Ridge. Most of this incredible route had run along the eastern side of the Blue Ridge before we crossed over on the twistalicious Route 33, and then north along the western edge of the mountains. Outside of Luray we stopped at Cooter’s - part diner, part museum of The Dukes of Hazzard. It was a great place to grab a coffee and a quick bite and take in the TV show memorabilia including a couple of ‘real’ General Lee’s, arguably one of the most famous American cars (‘69 Dodge Charger baby!),
Route 739 • Dingmans Ferry, PA • 570.828.1920
Surely a work in progress, the food was great and the kids playing and running around even made me smile – and I am not the greatest with tikes. Okay, the one three year old evidentially was a huge Spider-Man fan (well, huge for a three year old) and flipped when I pulled out my Spidey compression shirt. Fed, gassed and ready for bad news, we rode down through a mud-soaked road leading to VIR and were happily surprised when the track was not only open, but they handed us the keys to our room. Oh, happy day! With all the water, destruction and problems in and around VIR after Hurricane Michael, they were going to try to accommodate us. With an afternoon to kill we learned their Karting track was open so we rode over and spent a good long session doing laps in their high-powered karts. While waiting for our session to begin, we were entertained and enlightened by the father and son team of Phillip and Nathan Gouker doing their own practice laps on Nathan’s (age 7) Cobra CX50jr. He is quite talented and is racing in mini motard and mini asphalt and was crowned 2018 SMEC Supermoto Youth Champion. This is the new blood motorcycling is looking for and we wish him and his dad good luck. This was an excellent way to fill the afternoon before meeting up with columnist Mark Byers and his friend Dan Bishop – both of whom were also scheduled to spend the next two days with Reg and Company. CLASS was everything it always is; two intense days of classroom and track sessions and, as always, we came away with a lot. It is always well worth the effort and expense. As Byers once said, it is like ‘farkling’ your riding skills. Back North… Along the backroads of Virginia We had a 580 mile ride created all along tiny byways from the track to our doorstep – and VIR had let us know that we had to be gone by 8am as there was to be ‘secret’ auto testing. With blue skies above, we packed up early and BSed around the bikes waiting for the truck to open up so we could see what would be rolling out. Let’s just say if this were forty years ago they might have been Datsuns coming off the carrier. Security rolled up and basically gave us the bum’s rush out of the lot. The nerve. We happily headed north in the cool morning sunshine. This part of Virginia is an easy ride of farmlands, the famed Appomattox Court House and then we vectored westward towards the mountains where things got more interesting. We had a breakfast of muffins and bananas, taken from our room, as we have learned that our routes on this journey tended to stay away from any semblance of civilization. The farmer who came out to ‘get the mail’ (and see who was picnicking on his land) was friendly enough as he saw we were just breaking fast. Not all the folk’s were that friendly.
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Daisy’s Jeep and Boss Hoss’ Caddy. We then vectored towards the George Washington Forest along Fort Valley and it was certainly one of the best roads of the day! Great forests leading into open and winding roads – plenty of sight and little, if any, traffic. After two days of Reg Pridmore’s CLASS we were eating up the miles with renewed confidence and zeal. We rolled into Front Royal and a small hotel we favor at 5 on the dot. After a quick shower and a short stroll to a great Italian restaurant we know - Osteria 510 - we had an Italian dinner that was hard to beat. The owner, Vincenzo, an ex-rider himself, always takes cares of us. Across the Mason / Dixon Line and Home This summer seemed to be a wet and hot one – mostly wet, but the last few days were about as nice as they get. This would change overnight as a cold front from pesky Canada rolled in and we awoke to very chilly temperatures, but still under a bright and sunny sky.
FeBRUARY 2019 • BACKROADS We continued north along the backroads, into West Virginia and past Summit Point Motorsports Park - the third track on this trip – our own collection as it were. We then rode though Charlestown and crossed over the Potomac near Antietam before meandering in a confident manner (two-days of CLASS will do that to a rider) eventually crossing back and forth over the MasonDixon Line and the border with Pennsylvania a few times before finally vectoring north and east through familiar Amish lands. By late afternoon we crossed the Delaware on the same bridge we left New Jersey a week earlier. We had covered over 1,500 miles – including over 200+ miles on the track at VIR and CLASS - a great trip to begin to wind down the season. We had gone to work on being better riders, but ended up become collectors in our own way. Great roads, superb mentoring, and a deeper appreciation of the great Commonwealth called Virginia. They say it is for lovers. Indeed…lovers of great riding that is!
BACKROADS • FeBRUARY 2019
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2018 Progressive Insurance International Motorcycle Show at NYC Here we go again. There was a time when we loved everything about this show – but that was then. This is now. There are a lot of new motorcycles out there; and that was great to see. But fewer and fewer quality vendors – not impressive. It looks like Scramblers are the new hip thing. But, how many young people are going to head that way. We think more mature riders, looking to reach back in time, are jumping on board with this. Could there be too many new machines? It almost seems to us that a number of European manufacturers are just copying each other. They are all impressive looking bikes, but really how big is the United States market? Every manufacturer has reached out to the public hoping to lure them in. Some stand out more than others… Is electric the way we’re going? Maybe. That is a market that seems to be growing. There were a few of rows of vendors, but not anything like it was years back; some seemed busy, others seemed bored. Progressive had their Chop Shop set up for massages, hair cuts and airbrush tattoos. The Adventure Out! section catered to those looking to learn, explore and share the adventures of life on two wheels, with some tour companies on hand (great to see our friends Court and Sylvain from Ecuador as well as Liam from Celtic Riders.) BDR was on hand with seminars throughout the weekend. One stand out section was Discover the Ride set-up to lure non-licensed attendees into the
fold, offering short course rides on Zero electric bikes and Yamaha powerassist bicycles with the assistance of instructors from Total Control Trainng. They did hundreds of demos over the weekend. A great thing, as the industry needs new riders. Robert Pandya and crew of Discover the Ride and Give a Shift are working incredibly hard to make this so and we applaud their efforts. Still, if you are in the market for something fresh ride-wise the manufacturers offered a great deal of new and updated machines and just about every manufacturer was there – with just a few notable exceptions. There still is that one real big problem. We have said it before - the New York show is getting early every year – and this is not good. Better to be done with the big holidays and the Super Bowl before the New York event. There was a time that the show was held in February – and riders were getting ready for Daytona and the start of a new riding season – just weeks away. Now we walk out of the Javits Center right after Thanksgiving and go into Christmas mode while getting ready to hunker down for the winter. From a Big Apple point of view this needs to change if they want the IMS’ largest show to grow and flourish. Let us see what next year brings.
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FeBRUARY 2019 • BACKROADS
P O L A R BEA R S CHEDULE • 2018- 2019 It is not necessary to be a member of the Polar Bear Grand Tour to do these rides. There is generally food at the destination and if you just want to go for a nice ride and join other folks feel free to attend. Polar Bear cancellations & updates will be posted on the website. Sign-in is from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. unless otherwise posted. Check the New Member page for general information about the Polar Bear Grand Tour.
FEBRUARY 2019 3 • THe FRANKLIN HOUSe TAVeRN, 101 North Market Street, Schaefferstown, PA 10 • HOOTeRS, 25 Rte 23 South, Wayne, NJ • 973-837-1876 17 • BAHRS LANDING, 2 Bay Ave., Highlands, NJ • 732-872-1247 24 • LIGHTHOUSe TAVeRN, 397 Route 9 Waretown, NJ • 609-693-3150
MARCH 2019 3 • LONG VALLeY PUB & BReWeRY, 1 Fairmount Rd., Long Valley, NJ • 908-876-1122 10 • Will be scheduled during the riding season 17 • BRIAN'S HARLeY-DAVIDSON, 600 S. Flowers Mill Rd., Langhorne PA 19047 24 • THe HICKORY BBQ SMOKeHOUSe, 743 Route 28, Kingston, NY • 845-338-2424 31 • PLUMSTeD GRILL, 457 Rte. 539, Cream Ridge, NJ • 609-758-5552
APRIL 2019 7 • CAPe MAY V.F.W. post #386, N.J. 419 Congress St., Cape May, NJ • 609-884-7961 13 • eND OF THe SeASON GeT-TOGeTHeR - Pic-a-Lilli Inn • 866 Route 206 Shamong NJ • 609-268-2066 • 11:30 AM. Cost to Members: $6/person. Salad, Wings, Beef, rolls, and lemonade, plus a cash bar. You must get an arm band from your flight leader.
UPC O M I N G E V EN T S 2 01 9 FEBRUARY 2019 8-10 • Progressive International Motorcycle Show - Washington, D.C. • Walter e. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mt. Vernon Place NW: Fri. 3-7pm, Sat. 10am-8pm, Sun. 10am-5pm • $17/adult, 11 and under free • www.motorcycleshows.com
MARCH 2019 1-2 • 9th Modern Classics. Friday Kickstart Party 7-10pm with hors d’oeuvres, refreshments, music and more. Tickets $15 (includes Friday and Saturday) to first 250 guests. enjoy music while browsing the 100 classic motorcycles. Saturday Modern Classics 9am5pm $10 at door. 567 Route 100N, Boyertown, PA • www.martinmoto.com 8-17 • 78th Daytona Bike Week • www.officialbikeweek.com
APRIL 2019 25-28 • Horizons Unlimited Travellers Meeting - Appomattox, VA. For everyone who dreams of adventure along the road less travelled. Informative technical workshops on everything from tires to GPS to border crossings. Inspirational, amazing and often hilarious tales from the road, exhibitors and time for discussions with other travellers. Camping on-site. For more info/registration: www.horizonsunlimited.com/virginia
MAY 2019 17-19 • Dover Moto Riding for a Cure. Charity event to raise funds towards Breast and Ovarian cancer research based in West Dover, Vermont. Proud supporters of the annual Mother’s for Daughter’s Charity Ride. Weekend of stunning Vermont rides, great food, and good music • Full details www.dovermoto.com 17-19 • Morton’s BMW Spring Fling Rally, Natural Bridge, VA. Full weekend of great riding, good food and terrific company. Rally fee includes vendors, door prizes, route sheets, scavenger hunt poker run, Fri. night Brats + Brew, Sat. catered buffet dinner and guest presentation. Full info and registration: www.mortonsbmw.com 16-20 • Backroads Spring Break. Lions and Coasters and Amish OH MY! We’ll travel to State College, PA for our first night, then two nights in McHenry, MD and our final night in Bird-in-Hand, PA. Full details: www.backroadsusa.com/rallies.html
JUNE 2019 3-8 • Americade, Lake George, NY. Largest motorcycle touring rally. Sign up begins February 2019 • www.americade.com • 518-7987888 8-16 • 96th Anniversary Laconia Motorcycle Week, Weirs Beach, NH. www.laconiamotorcycleweek.com 17 • Ride to Work Day • www.ridetowork.org
AUGUST 2019 15-18 • Touratech DirtDaze Rally, Suicide Six, Pomfret, VT. This will be THE ADV rally of the east Coast. Watch for details on their website: www.DirtDazeRally.com
What’s Happening SEPTEMBER 2019
9-12 • Rolling Thru America Virginia. Limited to 100 guests • 518-798-7888 • Sign up at www.rollingthruamerica.com 25-28 • Rolling Thru America Maine. Limited to 100 guests • 518-798-7888 • Sign up at www.rollingthruamerica.com 19-23 • SAVE THE DATE. Backroads Fall Fiesta. Always a great time, rain or shine. We know when and we kinda know where, just working out the details. Stay tuned.