As always, the ride was a blast and it was a complete success. I believe they were had a goal of pulling in 300 bikes this year. If they didn't hit that, they sure were close!
The ride took us through Westfield, Huntington, Chester, and many other beautiful little towns. We got to ride on some great roads like Route 20 (a little bumpy between Huntington and Chester), Route 8, and Route 10 among others.
Though the ride was well mapped out, Chris and I took the scenic route after the second stop. We jumped out on our own and ended up missing a turn. Aw shucks, we ended up adding about 40 miles of riding to the trip including a solid 20 miles on Route 8 near Pittsfield. We then ran 116 back down and met up with the rest of the group back on Route 9 in Northampton. You're never really lost on a bike are you? You're just extending the adventure...
The trip ended up back at the Legion in Southwick where we shared some good music and conversation with some old and new friends.
One of the best things you'll experience on these rides is meeting some of the other bikers. The vast majority of these folks are fantastic people and offer you some great company. If you're lucky, you might even run into someone you knew in a past life. This leads me to a story that happened on this year's ride.
We arrived at our first stop in Chester, MA and had just dismounted the bikes. Chris and I had started chatting with a couple who were also on the ride. The fellow was a tall, rough looking blonde fellow who was very pleasant. The name Hebert had come up in conversation which prompted my wife to mention we went to school with someone of the same name. The fellow inquired which one we'd gone to school with. When Chris mentioned Ron was his name, this tall blonde fellow indicated that Ron was his brother.
Ron and I had been very good friends in middle school. In fact, we began lifting weights together in the summer between the eigth and ninth grades. During our freshment year of high school, I'd gone up to Ron's place to watch a fight. Two guys were supposed to settle their differences up by the old pine tree behind Ron's house. As it turned out, Ron and I ended up being the entertainment for the afternoon. Though we'd been friends for a long time, testosterone took over and we ended up in a fight. After a few mintues of fighting I sttod up and was immediately bitten by his great dane. I bear that scar on my right shoulder to this day.
That said, I looked at this really big guy and said; "Andy???"
His reaction told me I had it right but the confusion on his face was apparent. I simply said "Ian" to which he lit up!
He gave me a big hug and then introduced us to his girl (wife I think but can't recall). He then says, "You've got to show her your scar!"
I relucantly did when he then told her "For years, this @#$@@@# told people he'd been shot!" and laughed like hell. Well, he's right, I did. It's a terrible scar that really looked like a bullet wound. Sounded better than being bit by a dog...
Go out of your way to introduce yourself to folks on these trips. God knows who you may meet along the way. In fact, maybe you'll find someone from your past who'll shock the heck out of you like Andy did for me on this ride.