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.
