Topic: RIDERS......**-POST LOGS HERE-**....Rider Logs Only - PLEASE DON'T POST COMMENTS

[BobbyR]

Scott and I did compare notes as we watched the live Doppler Radar. We had no choice but to make the ride, next week was not an option.
I ran over to Kmart and grabbed the last two rain suits they had in stock, not great quality but they looked water proof. I forgot to tell Scott you have to hitch up your pants before you mount the bike. Oh well.

The weather broke enough so we did not need them. After a coffee stop and a fill up we headed up Route 9D which hugs the Hudson River. If it was a nice day there is a lot of great stuff to stop and see including a ruined Castle on a Island a few hundred yards offshore. It is also part of the Appalachian Trail

One of the high lights of the road is a tunnel cut through edge of a mountain:




Once we reached Rhinebeck I took Godzilla out of my backpack, he complained like hell, bit he did not want to ride #$%* on the seat so I stuffed him in my pack with his head sticking out.

He wanted a Pretzel from this one particular stand, I wonder why:



The way home was just as miserable as Scott described, I chose Route 9 to return since there were more places to hole up in the event of a real downpour.

I would not have met Scott and Doug if I had not taken this ride. While at Rhinebeck we met some SOHC riders from Canada, who were aware the Rally was taking place. Several people took down the web address from the banner.

What this Rally has done is taken a solely virtual Club and morphing it into a real club where members now know each other and can organize local rides. That is a real success and we should build on that.   

 

[andy750]

Saturday 11th June  - my birthday and what a day it was....

I had rode all week to work in the rain and so looked forward to the weekend where the forecast had said early on it would be sunshine all weekend....it was not to be and I woke to the sound of raindrops. The K2 was ready to roll and I headed off to meet AlanF at services on the Mass Pike - by the time I pulled in to meet him it was pouring.



We headed towards Rhinebeck and the rain got progressively worse...rained 90% of the way until the Taconic Parkway, NY which was a great road to come down to Rhinebeck Vintage Motorcycle Show. By the  time we arrived we were cold (58 -62F) and wet so we warmed up with lunch while we waited for Bobby R and Scott (Nortstudio) to turn up.

And then they finally arrived:

Bobby R:



and the assembled crowd who had been waiting patiently were eager to see Godzilla:



Scott signed over the banner to me



and photos were taken

Scott and Bobby mission accomplished!! WELL DONE!!



It was a real pleasure to meet Scott and I know we will be riding again this summer. And as always it was a pleasure meeting the incomparable Bobby R! Thanks also to Doug and his wife who waited with us to see the handoff.

The handover...



NY team (Bobby R, Scott, Doug)  meet New England team (Andy750, AlanF)




Godzilla got right on my K2 and was raring to go...



The NY team then contemplated leaving



But not before one final group pic with a fellow SOHCer from Quebec who just happened to hear about the Relay..



And then donning their club colours - since they call themselves the Yellow Trouser Club

Bobby R was so happy to be riding in the rain in his Yellow Trousers



and so was Scott




and he is off



With the NY guys gone Godzilla went wild, tearing the place up...

Joy-riding on a Dresda





Stealing t-shirts



Trampling over tents





Then meeting the Quebec CB750 guys we had met earlier....the Dodge van is original from the early 70s and the owner showed me the receipt for it - $6000!



The next day (Sunday) AlanF and myself packed up and hit the road which was thankfully dry and empty of traffic. This meant riding fast through twisty country roads, hilly roads and finally a high speed blast on the Mass Pike to get to Oxford MA to meet Kevin (CB550cafe) and Alan who were going to take charge of Godzilla for the CT leg. Once again it was really great to meet two very  cool guys and hear about their bikes etc. We really need to do a ride together in CT!! Thanks guys!





inside the cafe - recommended!



and Godzilla charmed the staff (these two were sisters)



And then it was time to say goodbye but not before taking some pics of Kevins very nice CB550 (610 kit)





Finally big thanks to Alan F who joined me on this 345 mile ride from Boston to Rhinebeck and back. He never complained about the rain (that was me ) or the route we took and kept up with no complaints. Much appreciated Alan!

More updates from the New England team to follow...

cheers
Andy



 

[cb550fcafe]

June 12, 2011

Met Andy750 in Oxford, Ma for the handoff. Rode the 76 CB550, big bore kit, JMR cylinder head, CR29 carbs, I was worried about fuel milage to say the least. Layered up in rain gear since it was almost raining around every turn. Bike ran great! Mileage turned out to be 48.12. So we ate lunch, got to know eachother a bit, Andy signed the banner, took a few photos and off we went.

Godzilla was a little cold from the ride in, being cold blooded we gave him a warm cup of joe.


So we depart and ride to Haddam CT where we find Godzilla crossing the CT river, I'm thinking he's planning to stomp Gillette's Castle.


As we expected, the lizard decided not to use the front door.


Instead, he scaled the walls and detroyed the castle.


More to come as we heard Godzilla will be attending the 100' motorcycle drags on Friday at the Wterford Speedbowl, the longest consecutively run short track in America(actually tied with Bowman Gray) then he is rumored to be attending Mods vs Rockers.

[scottly]

Guys, PLEASE identify riders from left to right in the pics, including given names as well as forum names (unless they are obvious like BobbyR ) I recognized Bobby right away; after all, he had posed in a hospital gown and had the cajones to post the pic, and I figured out who Scott (nortstudio) is, but I'm not sure about AlanF (the tall guy?) or Andy or Doug (pinhead??)

[andy750]

From left to right:

AlanF, Doug, Bobby R, Andy750 (tall guy), Nortstudio (Scott).

Sorry for the omission!

cheers
Andy

[cb550fcafe]

June 18th

Well, the 100' drags were rained out last night. Big time bummer. Left this morning on a solo ride to Mods vs Rockers. Got there with little time to spare before a 100 mile ride. Off went 65 bikes in all, scooters, cafe bikes, cruisers. There was a few Hondas, a CB200, CB125, a 160, not sure of the model, a Dream and one CB750 1969. We rode to an ice cream shop where GZ had his fill.



GZ sneaking a ride on that Dream

GZ found his sandcast a 69 CB750

I won the slow race, I hope my GO PRO worked, I'll upoad the vids later. I took a great pic with my new friend Rob who owned this CB750, I convinced him to join SOHC4 and I'm sure he will.

My time with GZ is quickly running out. I'll be meeting BigKO tomorrow if all goes well. Total miles today with GZ 180.

[cb550fcafe]

June 19

Rode with GZ to Pomfret CT and The Vanilla Bean Cafe to meet BigKO. The ride was great lots of sun and nice clean roads. GO PRO failed miserably, I'm about to smash it into several unrecognizable pieces! Met Ken for lunch and handed off GZ to the R.I. team. I'll miss that little guy. Traveled 71 miles today. My total with GZ was 334. Here is the handoff, me(cb550fcafe) on the left and Ken(BigKO) on the right, GZ in the middle.

Here is Ken's 71 CB750.


Good luck to all who carry GZ on this epic journey, I'm happy that I was part of this.

[andy750]

Newport, RI to Athol, MA to Brattelboro, VT to Oxford, ME:

Left Roslindale in the rain on Saturday morning but rain got progressively  less as went west on Rt 2. By Athol, MA where I was was meeting AlanF and BigKO (Ken) from Newport, RI it had dried up and we wouldnt see rain again until 8pm that night.

Met Alan at 9.55am in Athol and waited for Ken from Newport. When Ken did arrive at 11.05am he was a bit frazzled from the ride from Newport decided he had enough riding for that day and opted to return home rather than go North as the forecast was for thunderstorms  in VT (which actually never materialized until the end of the day).

Ken saying goodbye to Godzilla



With Godzilla once again in our hands we set off for Brattelboro found a great set of roads - Tully Road to Athol Road to Rt 78N - amazing combination! Empty twisties and for the most part well paved. The bikes loved it! Got to Brattelboro at 12pm and 5 riders (Scott (Cupcake); Adam (Dragon), John (Tree), Anders (Anders), Bethanie (riding a Shadow) were waiting for us.

After a photo op and some chit chat we set off up Rt 30 towards Ludlow.



 It wasnt long before we had a mechanical failure...Cupcakes CB750Fs centerstand had fallen off....easy repair!





Scott (Cupcake) holds up the centerstand trophy while Anders looks on



Anders from NH K8 with superb sunrise orange paint



Johns suprisingly fast 550k



Lunch in Ludlow and then a ride up Mt Okemo (left to right: John (Tree), AlanF, Anders, Adam, Scott (Cupcake), Bethanie



Coming down Mt Okemo -AlanF on Nighthawk







Not often you see a bike and ski lifts together...



John on his 550 very happy after a mountain gap run over Rt 17



Adam looking very happy as well on his speedy 550K....



and Anders the dark horse who beat us all on the corners on his K8...turns out he is a racer! And it showed as he carved up the corners. Impressive stuff.



and of course girls cant resits the K2



The bits in between the mountain gap runs were fast sweeping roads that were devoid of traffic or if there were cars they were soon "terrorized" by this unruly band of New England SOHCs and were quickly overtaken.

Coming down Rt 12 from Montpelier, rain came in the last 10 min of the ride into Randolph VT. Another SOHC mechanical issue came up... Anders K8 ignition switch plastic connector melted...causing his power to fail intermittenly. No fun on a dark wet road in VT! However we limped to the local hangout in Rasndolph, a Cumberland Farm gas station.....which caused great excitement with the locals....

.....this woman on her way out for the night all dressed up had just popped into the gas station for a bottle of wine.....she heard Anders plight and so popped her car hood and offered him some fuses!!



And then more locals got involved..



And here is Cupcake finally connecting the circuit and Anders had power again...the day was saved!



The plan had been to camp but given the rain and the fact that some of the group had not brought camping gear, Cupcake (Scott) had a friend (Steve) in Randolph and after a quick phone call he very generously offered to take in 7 bedraggled bikers he had never met, fed us and generally took great care of us! Thank you Steve! We dined on venison, chicken, pasta and salad cooked up by Steves partner Regina. Thank you very much!!

After a night of rain the sun came out....and here we are in the morning getting ready to leave:



a very dirty K2



The rest of the group went onwards with Godzilla to North Conway but myself and Bethanie had to get back and for me it was to sort out the K4 in time for a run to the border (although John may be relieving me of that responsibility). Here we are at Silver Lake, VT on the way back Sunday



We passed through historic Chester, VT

Chester Train station



Yosemite Engine house, Chester, VT



Rail museum, Bellow Falls, VT



Hanging out and playing with trains..all aboard!



More of Bellow Falls, VT



Great weekend and thanks to Cupcake (Scott) for organizing the VT section and making it such a memorable ride. It was a real pleasure meeting all the other riders (Adam, John, Anders, Bethanie) and thanks to AlanF again for riding up with me.

Distance traveled from Boston -510 miles.

Cheers
Andy







 

[BigKO]

Ok...well this post is a little behind and out of order...but I am still going to share what Godzilla was up to during his six day stay here in sunny Newport, RI.  As has been mentioned before, I picked up the lizard from cb550fcafe (aka) Kevin at the Vanilla Bean in Pomfret, Conn (6/19/11).  A very cool place to visit and a way point for bikers I dare say.  By the way...cb550fcafe's bike is one nice whip and Kevin is one nice guy and so is your friend too!  This was one outstanding day to ride and it was fitting to get a shot of the lizard once I had traversed the Newport Bridge. 





Well the 19th was Fathers Day so I had to do what I had to do.  Yes, that is my little girl with the sacred beast.  Godzilla, however, wanted to play with girls a little closer to his own age down at the Atlantic Beach Club.   



A little volleyball anyone???





After nearly a week of fun and sun and was time to head north...but not before another forum member, gearheadgreg, was able to see the well traveled and elusive beast himself, with his own sohc project on hand for the occasion.
 


Then it was off to Athol, Mass and...so it goes...

[Frankencake]

I'll stock up on Advil before I take a 500 mile trip on my 750F.  My hands hurt.  My butt hurts and my back and neck are aching but I wouldn't trade this trip for the world.  It was a blast and I met some great people and covered many great miles.  I even got to lighten my bike by removing my center stand.  I was nervous about my bike's integrity since I had about 100 (+ or -) miles since I put it together but, it made it, I made it, and we all made this a trip to remember.  Thanks to all who joined us and all who helped out along the way.  Here's some pics and commentary:

I have no idea how a this gentle giant of a man curls himself up and fits in the cockpit of his cafe racer.  He's right though about girls and the K2.  That girl in the window ran up to see it.



I had the honor of riding with Godzilla on my bike.  He was my bike's figurehead until I set him loose in the great state of Maine.  I think he made my bike faster.


Alan F. and Andy before breakfast at our savior Steve's checking the bikes before the trip to Maine.


This, in Andy's words, is a wonderful morning picture and payback for the center stand shame pictures.  I was just documenting the proper procedure for checking air pressure prior to a long journey.


The two in the near field on the left are Steve and Regina.  Steve is the guy who fed us and gave us a place to stay on our first night.  He offered us the place a few weeks ago when I asked him to ride along.  He rides a Harley now but he used to have a Honda G-wing and a CB350 so he's not all bad 


This is a view of the a typical country road in Vermont.  That's my father-in-law on his high-tech HD leading us to meet Bruce (Polecat) in North Haverhill, Nh on Sunday.


Everywhere I went this weekend, these guys followed me.  The kept mumbling about some plastic lizard.


This is my father in law Andy on his brand spanking new HD Lounge glide.  Soon after he got it, he posted a pic of himself sitting on it with the Green Lanterns head superimposed on his.  I had been wearing a heavy backpack all day and he was nice enough to let me to stow it in his top box.  There's enough storage room in that bike to raise chickens.



I took the opportunity to race ahead up the Kancamangus and stopped at the top to take this pics.  I missed Anders because he was too fast and wasn't going to let anyone get too far ahead.  I caught these guys just in time.  Dragon79, Tree, and Alan F.  With a big green HD behind.


Me, Ryan (73Nancy) and Bruce (Polecat)  Looking over all of the names on the banner.  I am proud to be a part of this relay.


Handing Godzilla over to Ryan. I didn't know it at the time, but my mother-in-law photo bombed the picture.    I am absolutely dog tired here.  I had 200 miles to go before I get home.  It was all worth it.



That's it.  I wish I had more interesting pics for you all but I am not that guy.  All in all it was a blast and I'm glad to have met all who rode along. Thanks and lets ride again!   

[Operator]

Sorry about the lag time on my post, my leg of the Relay came during my holidays, so I am avoiding the computer as much as possible. I will say that I don't want to be the guy that screws up the order completely. First off I will say this.......GODZILLA IS IN CANADA!!!!

It seems there is an extremely low amount of members on the East Coast and any who were interested were simply too far away to make the planned route. Take a look at the members map and what my route is and you get the idea.

The initial leg of the trip was to head to St Stephen NB for the hand off with Cupcake, Tree and Anders. All is good, I made good time........then two and a half hours waiting at the border for them to show! No hard feelings, I found out after the fact they had been plagued by mechanical issues all the way from Bangor to the border.  Either way, it was great to put a face to some of the names and finally be a part of the relay. By the way Scott, I am now considering a Vermont trip...Handover completed, photos taken for proof....note to self, Anders is not a photographer, just kidding, thanks for trying!

After a short walk back across the bridge, car lines were waaaaay too long, The beast was welcomed into Canada. At least I welcomed him. The border guys.......not so much.

This was funny, I kept being told a passport is required!!!! To cross from Canada to the US, I walked over to the US Customs office, had a chat with them about why I was there, gave them my birth certificate and military ID card, and headed across into Calais, Maine

Coming back to Canada I was asked about what I was doing on the US side. They were friendly enough, but I imagine they were suspicious about me walking across the bridge to pick up a "package" from some cross border "friends" of whom I could not provide first and last names of.......because I don't know. In hindsight It probably looked a little fishy......

After a detailed search of all the relay paraphernalia, I was sent on my way...

Part 2

Headed out early to meet up with Raynald and Denis at the New Brunswick / Quebec border. After a beautiful ride north, I spotted two SOHC's on the side of the highway right at the border. The boys had prepositioned the bikes so we could take photos in both directions with both provincial signs in the background. After an introduction, we took some photos and completed the official handover. We had some time so we went for a coffee before parting ways. I really enjoy being a part of this community in that we share bikes in common, and when given the opportunity, share how we feel about these old machines we ride. Raynald's 350 was amazing, and Denis' 650? I have nothing to say, it impressed me, and I don't normally favour the late model bikes at all. Maybe it was because he carries a picture of him sitting on it when it was brand new, in '79. That was great to see.

Anyway, thanks to all who linked up with me, and especially thanks to my wife, she was supposed to accompany me on this trip, and even though I ended up going solo, she supported me in completing it.
Thanks beautiful!

Having some tech issues....pictures to follow

[larecords]

meet with RickRR at the Casino where the Godzilla gambled away all my coin didn't win a thing and said l was bad luck!

[larecords]

On up to Parliament hill GZ complaining all the way that he needed a Tim Hortons coffee!!! Double double ...was pissed when he heard Roll up the Rim to Win was over...

[larecords]

GZ asked  if we could stop at the War Memorial to HONOUR our fallen soldiers. How could we refuse... Rickerr and partner left to see friends on the Gatineau QC side

[larecords]

GZ says he heard the Ottawa Cisco  Bluesfest was goin' on and wanted to check out Blue Rodeo... Not impressed when l told him we were too early, however reluctantly took a pic with the banner.. Stopped for a few pics with our local CHEZ 106 Classic Rock radio station girls; hell he even got me a  t shirt ... Smooth talker.... thought he'd take on Keith but figured the dude had been through enough...

[larecords]

Headed to check out local bike shops...SHOUT OUTS to GEARHEAD and KANATA HONDA.

[larecords]

Continued on home when GZ says he wants a pic with my brand new Granddaughter...where he finds Makayla so dang cute he tries to bite her toe!!!

[larecords]

On homewards to driink ALL my Great Canadian Steamwhistle Beer, smoke the last of my  Cuban Cohiba's and chase the Raccoons outta my backyard! Whata night, Godzilla! party animal!! Said it was all you good ole SOHC 4 boys south a the 49th  that   showed him how to enjoy the "local" culture, which he says is a huge part of this amazing, crazy, over the top, outta this world, fantastic journey... Tomorrows adventures ...tbc...

[charlevoix418]

I am sorry, I left for holidays just the day after the NB Border-Quebec City leg which I rode on my CB350F with my friend Denis (dvalcourt) on his CB650F and just came back today. 

Travel Blog, from Quebec City to the NB/QC Border then back to Quebec City

Monday july 4th:

We left Quebec City at 1100, crossed the "Fleuve Saint-Laurent" (Saint-Lawrence River) using the "Pierre Laporte Bridge" then took Hyway 20 East to avoid the city of Lévis traffic.  We then took an exit to take Route 132 East to ride through beautiful villages along the Saint Laurent River, stopped at Montmagny for lunch then rode up to Rivière du Loup were we stopped to take a break.  From there, we took Route 185 towards Dégelis, which is the closest town from the QC/NB Border.  It was a warm and sunny day, so we stopped at Cabano along beautiful Lake Témiscouata for a good beer!  We finally arrived at Dégelis at 1630 and stopped at a nice Bed & Breakfast for the night.  In the evening, we finally established Internet contact we Jason (Operator):  handoff at the NB/QC Border tomorrow at 1100!


Tuesday july 5th:

We woke up at 0700 and took breakfast chatting with the B&B ownwers, we told them that we were meeting a biker at the Border at 1100, so we had plenty of time! They then told us that there was an hour time difference between QC and NB and that NB biker must had used NB Time to schedule the handoff!  Hopefully, it was an half hour ride to go to the border, so we arrived at 1030 (NB Time).  A bit later, I received an SMS on my cel phone from Jason notifying us that he was at Edmundston NB and should be at the border within a few minutes.

Jason arrived as scheduled with his CB750F, we then took photos in front of the NB and QC big Welcome Signs.  Jason completed his part of the World Tour Logbook and put his signature at the back of the World Tour banner then transferred GZ from his bike to my CB350F, secured with a strong tierap.  By the way, I was impressed by how complete was the handoff kit:  banner, logbook, permanent markers, pens, tieraps;  all of them enclosed in a waterproof Ziploc bag!  We all of us headed for a nearby restaurant were we took a coffee, talking about our old bikes and the fun we were having riding them!  We really appreciated meeting Jason, a real nice person!

GZ officially entered the Province of Québec around 1200, although it was a warm and sunny day, we had to ride back with strong upwind:  my little Baby Four had to work hard to face wind and hills! Half way to Rivière-du-loup, we had to make emergency slalom to avoid a big piece of plastic, lost by a car in front of us:  we decided to take a break after that and have lunch.  We took back Route 132 West towards Quebec City still having to fight that strong upwind, it was tough for the arms and hands!  Instead of taking the bridge to Quebec City, we decided to take the ferry:  we took the opportunity to take photos of GZ and our CB's on the Saint Laurent River, in front of the most well known building of the City:  Château Frontenac!

GZ entered Quebec City at 1900, we stopped at Denis's home for a well deserved beer.  We completed the World Tour logbook then put our signatures at the back of the World Tour Banner.  GZ was then transferred from my CB350F to Denis's CB650F: he will be in charge of the Quebec City-Montréal leg.


Jason (operator), Denis (dvalcourt) and Raynald (charlevoix418) at the NB Border.

[charlevoix418]

GZ waiting while Jason is writing in the World Tour logbook.

[charlevoix418]

Jason signing the back of the World Tour banner.

[charlevoix418]

Jason officially transferring GZ to Raynald

GZ ready to enter the Province de Québec!

[charlevoix418]

GZ on the ferry, in front of Quebec City.

GZ in front of the most well known Quebec City building:  Le Château Frontenac.

GZ now on Denis's CB650F, ready for the following Quebec City-Montréal leg!

[HondanutRider]

On July 16, at about 8:00PM Gondzilla showed up at my place, somewhere south of Sunderland, Ontario.  Although I didn't get to take him very far for a ride, I hope he liked the 8 mile jaunt in the Ontario country on my 1974 CB350-F.  (It only has less than 7,000 miles on it.)  It was just starting to turn dark, there were lots of mosquitoes buzzing about, and it was hot - but we had good ride to finish my day!

My thanks to Bruce (Brooze72) and his friend Rob for stopping by on their way home to Pickering.  That's Bruce standing in the middle - the short guy is the lizard I guess.  

[RickRR]

I posted in the eastern forum but I'll post it here too, here are the pics of the hand-off between Larecords and Me.

The rode on friday ,15th. Boswell was suppose to be there but called in sick and was very disappointed. I had amazing weather , hot all along from Montreal to Ottawa.
I took the 50 and 148 and was cop free all the way. Met Larry at the Lac-Leamy Casino and took pics. I was happy to give him the burden of the book and banner but sad to see Godzilla go. Wrote my last few words and km in the book and of we were to take some great pics in our capital.
At the Lake-Leamy Casino


Strapping him down and Larry's nice patches.


At the National gallery of Ottawa.


At the Parliament.



Met some friends !



At the National war memorial ,with 2 guard on duty in 30 degree heat.




Had an amazing day and met a great guy ! To bad Boswell couldn't be there but will do it again next year !
Thanks to all who made this possible !

Here's all the album.
http://s29.photobucket.com/albums/c269/RickRR/Godzilla%20ride%2009-07-2011/?start=all