I spent some time looking through some of the rides we already have mapped out but decided it was time to do some exploring. After scouring through one of my riding maps, I settled on a great one that took us up into the Berkshires and down into northwestern Connecticut. I'd been on most of the roads, or at least some portion of them, but hadn't been on others. Needless to say, this would be an adventure for me as well!!! If you'd like to see the map and directions for the ride,
click here.
I arrived at Popoli around 9:30 to coffee and doughnuts. There were several people mulling around the shop looking at bikes and others prepping to hit the road with me. I wasn't sure how many would be tagging along but the few I'd met seemed like really nice folks!
Eric addressed the crowd a few minutes after 10:00. He introduce me and explained how the day was going to proceed. Unfortunately, Eric wouldn't be able to join us as his sales manager was on vacation and he'd have to man the shop! A few minutes later, we were on our way.
We headed out on Route 20 and ran up to Route 23. We stopped in Otis to let a couple of folks get some gas and to sit around and chat. To our great surprise a small group of riders pulled in on old Indian motorcycles. I pulled out
the camera and took a couple of shots (see the slideshow). One of them was a beautiful 1948 in amazing condition!
After swaping some riding stories with folks we were off again. We continued on Route 23 through Otis and followed it out to Great Barrington. I'd never been on 23 beyond Otis but I've heard it's a beautiful place to ride. I have to agree, the road was in great shape and runs through some beautiful country.
Once we arrived in Great Barrington, we turned south on to Route 7. As we moved through downtown Great Barrington, we really started to cook. The temprature had reached the mid 90's and the humidity was pretty high. Being in downtown, there wasn't much of a breeze and the roads were really throwing off the heat.
Once the road opened up a bit, the heat seemed to fade away again. We followed 7 down to Route 44 in New Canaan, CT. This was probably my favorite road of the day. It's wide, in great shape and runs out at 50-55 MPH most of the way. The heat wasn't so bad at 50...
Our second stop was on 44. We found a small bakery/flower shop on the right hand side. There was a bit of shade to park in and they had plenty of cold drinks and sweets! After a short stay we decided to continue on.
We followed 44 into Winsted, CT which is a really quaint little town. I plan to take the wife back up there soon to explore some of the shops. It's here we picked up Route 8 headed back up towards Massachusetts. This is one of my favorite roads!
We wound our way
up route 8 to our final stop of the ride. We pulled into the boat launch on Colebrook River Lake in Colebrook. This too is one of my favorite stops. The view is absolutely incredible and if you're lucky, the access road that runs along the inlet will be open.
As luck would hold out the access road was open today! Unfortunately there was water across the low section of the road and a couple of the riders weren't interested in getting their bikes wet.
After a little break we hit the road again and followed 8 in to New Boston, MA. It's here we turned up on to Route 57 and cruised on back down to Southwick to 10/202. We took 10/202 back into Westfield and headed back to the shop.
What a beautiful ride this was! The people were wonderful and it seemed that 90% of the time the lights and traffic were with us. If you're looking for a half day ride some time be sure to print off the map for this one. I promise you'll love it!