Thank you for making the Columbus Weekend ride a blast

[Oss]

Like HarryC said in the other thread I had a great time

The folks that put in the effort and the miles to come is what makes the ride so great
Next pic I took while we were waiting on Gman to arrive. He was on time and after Bonnie took a few photos we 8 riders were off


from left to right HarryC, Jim from Philly, Craig-NewValker, Bob- Baldo, Mark-3fan and his friend Larry aka George on a vtx1800

Today we headed up the goat trail in some pretty fair fog and upon crossing Bear Mountain Bridge and looking up I made the call to head to Fort Montgomery, (below the fog line) which was the site of a bloody battle 240 years ago today for control of the Hudson River.

Luck was with us as today was a re enactment and there were camps set up on site of the fort grounds including a Scottish - British group and of course our Colonials with tools and things they used at the time. Very cool stuff.  After walking over to the cannon emplacements with the commanding view of the turn in the river I walked over to the re enactors in a few areas.

I got a lesson on the 75 caliber musket long gun (cant wait to see the pics) from what was supposed to be Scottish (but the reenactors were Irish lol)  and I think we all had so much fun that the ride became well behind schedule asap.  But who cares
(except for Stan and xman waiting on the route lol)

Climbing over route 6 the fog broke the sun became bright and the view of the valley beckoned us onward to route 208 where
we saw Stan waiting for us next to his magnificent Valkyrie Interstate (one of my favorite valks I have ever seen) and we headed north on 208 to 52 around Walden NY

next stop was at the top of the Shawangunk mountain where the fog had also burned off and the view was stunning from the overlook

About half an hour later we found xman at the turn for Claryville Rd and headed for the covered bridge which eluded me for a spell, No fear after a change in direction we made it there and it was definitely a covered bridge

Claryville Road into Frost Valley Road from 55 to 28 is about 25 miles long and was epic as Harry said, just yellows burnt oranges and reds and riding mile after mile no traffic no other vehicles just us and the road in the woods This is now my favorite road for its solitude, incredibly long length free of any stop sign or road crossing, diversity and sheer quantity of twists and turns one can take at whatever speed feels best to the rider.

Same with heading up 42 from the 28 turn off climbing mile after mile with stunning reds and yellow on mountains and hills.

It rained during the lunch stop and Stan and Tom split off from there as they live well west of the Hudson. The road was slick descending into the canyon by Catskill NY east of Tannerville but the Taconic was dry the whole way  No speed appreciation awards but the cops were out.

Ice cream after a stop at Croton Dam (upper and lower) where we got pics of a B24 flying overhead !

and then I got some help putting LED's into my fog lites then dinner at the Portugese restaurant

Now the crew has gone and all are heading home at 1st light

Thank you Jim, Bob, Craig, Mark, Larry aka George, Harry, Stan, Tom and of course my wingman G-Man for helping make this ride weekend   It truly was epic and it felt great finally getting to show off this 250 + mile  route to southerners and new englanders

Next year I hope to do this again   Cant wait to see the pics which I hope Jim and the others will post once they get home.

[msb]

Thank you for posting this report. It appears that you all had a great couple of days... looking forward to seeing more photos. Sounds like you did a lot of planning, so it's nice to see everything worked out.  

[NewValker]

Great weekend Oss, thanks for setting it all up!
Met some new VRCC guys, Oss, G-man, Harry, Jim, Harry, & X-man. Shared the wind again with Stan, Mark, & Bob, and of course Bobby or George, er, I mean Larry on the X.   Hope that's everyone...

Got up at 6am today, checked the radar and it wasn't looking good...Bob was going to NYC with Mark & Larry so I packed up, loaded up and screwed!  Roads were wet, then turned dry after I was on I-684.
Needed gas & caffeine, stopped at x-10 on I-84 in CT, gas & a diner there, perfect! Fueled up & checked the radar...ot-oh  no caffeine this stop, rain was just behind me.  
Rode hard staying ahead of it, till 10 miles before Hartford... Now understand, I HATE riding thru Hartford, it sucks in good weather...anyhow moderate rain thru the city, then stop & rain again till about 20 miles past the city, thought I was home free. Skies brightened and I was hankering for that coffee...
Then the heavens opened up...why is there no bridge in sight when this happens???
Finally found a safe one to hide under for a bit. Drank my water makin believe it was coffee...
Then the rain just shut off. I hopped on & made for home. Stopped at the rest area just over the MA line, got rid of my make believe coffee, & texted the wife, asked her to open the garage door & make a pot of coffee!
Rolled right into the garage, and didn't have my rain gear off yet & it was pouring! Good timing, but the fat chick needs a real good bath now...

thanks again all that rode, and G-man for the ride in the wife's new wheels,
Craig

[The emperor has no clothes]

Glad to hear you guys had a good time. I had no doubts .  Thanks for reporting in. 

[xman]

Thanks Oss!!!! for all the work you put into this ride. That road through the Catskill Park is one of my favorites as well. There is a sugar house we passed. It's just down the road from the Frost Valley YMCA camp area. In March we went to a open house as they boiled off the sap. There are 1200 sugar maple trees on the mountain above the house. They are tapped and hoses connect them together, gravity flowing down to tanks in the house.

[Harryc]

Thanks Oss. I am in awe of the Catskill wilderness and the Claryville Rd scenery. Most veteran riders know this, when you find 'that' riding spot it's like a religious experience. It was that good. Autumn colors, leaves flying, twisty roads with nothing but forest, riding in and out of the shady canopy, on and on. Fun ride and I am looking forward to next year.

Getting ready to take off ...


Ft Montgomery - Colonel Oss at the Cannon


Snuck a pic of Jim ...


Bob- Baldo and Larry (Nice VTX my friend)


Craig-NewValker, Bob- Baldo, and Jim ... getting ready to open fire on the English ships in the Hudson.


What the soldiers manning the cannons saw from Ft Montgomery.


Ft Montgomery Re-enactment Camp


Craig-NewValker looking for a way across the river ...




Covered bridge off of Claryville Rd.


Great shot of Gary and the crew at top of the Shawangunk mountain.

[3fan4life]

Thank you and Gary for being such wonderful hosts.
Larry and I had a great time and both of us enjoyed the ride. Almost as much as we enjoyed the company.

We got rained on pretty good in lower Manhattan and I found a monsoon about 10mi from my house.
The middle part of the ride home was rain free.

I'll post pics when I get a chance.  Some of us had to work today. ☺

[jim@98valkyrie.com]

Great ride Oss, and the scenary was spectacular! Great to meet some new friends and renew old ones. I didn't have time to download the pics from my "good camera", so they will have to wait until this weekend when I get home.

[baldo]

I'm a ditto for what others have said, Oss.

I had a great time, that was some beautiful scenery. There is some excellent riding out there, who knew?... lol

It was nice to put faces to names, especially Bros. 3fan and G-man. ...

Thank you for all the effort, I suspect you had some help from Gary....

And Gary, thanks for the impressive feedbag...I would have had more, but I'm trying to achieve some sort of shape...(and not round)

[jim@98valkyrie.com]

In the interest  of redundancy of the other fine pictures that have been posted, I am posting a link to the pics and videos that I took this past weekend.

https://98valkyrie.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Rides/Hudson-River-Ride-2017/n-GbQ7gj

Password is VRCC

[baldo]

Excellent pictures, Jim.....

Man, I'm fat!

[Harryc]

Great job Jim...it was good to see you again.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Excellent pictures, Jim.....

Man, I'm fat!

Not fat, just jolly. 

[baldo]

Excellent pictures, Jim.....

Man, I'm fat!

Not fat, just jolly. 

Well, sometimes......maybe.....possibly....ah, screw it.....

[Oss]

Hey Jim, how can I save the 50 second movie from Frost Valley Rd-Claryville Rd

Those were really nice pics and movies (especially with sound off)   and you are the master of the selfie !

I know Stan also had his go pro on blast pics so wondering if he will post as well.

Thinking already about scouting rides for next year

[The emperor has no clothes]

Hey Jim, how can I save the 50 second movie from Frost Valley Rd-Claryville Rd

Those were really nice pics and movies (especially with sound off)   and you are the master of the selfie !

I know Stan also had his go pro on blast pics so wondering if he will post as well.

Thinking already about scouting rides for next year

I completely overlooked the videos the first time. Good job Jim 

[jim@98valkyrie.com]

Hey Jim, how can I save the 50 second movie from Frost Valley Rd-Claryville Rd

Try this...
Go to the video you want on Smugmug. Double click on it, but don't start the video. In the lower right hand corner you can click the download icon and it should download to your computer.


Let me know that this works.

[3fan4life]

I finally got a chance to upload the pics that I took:


FULL ALBUM:
https://ibb.co/album/jfsq8v


Getting ready to leave Oss' house


Oss gets shooting lessons from some Redcoats at Fort Montgomery:





Then we found an excellent view:














Afterwards we stopped to check out a covered bridge:






Finally, we stopped for a much anticipated lunch:







Then a stop at Croton Dam:













Some of the local wildlife:



Some of the scenery along the ride:

[Oss]

Great stuff thanks  it was good to see you again and share part of my world with all of you.

Clint makes a great gas cap cover that would eliminate the gas cap glare in a bunch of the pics.  I use a fanny pack that has magnets on the ends to cover the gas cap myself.

Thanks again for coming and for the wrench session help.