3rd ANNUAL NEVROC FALL FOLIAGE RIDE
October 14 – 15, 2000
Ride Summary by Ol’Phart Joe, ~V~ 655
Once again, the New England VROC members gathered for
their annual foliage ride through the forests and back roads of New Hampshire
and Vermont. The colors were
absolutely spectacular and the weather was above and beyond belief for
mid-October. While temperatures are
typically in the 50’s to low 60’s this time of year, Saturday’s high was 82
degrees at the base of Mt. Washington!
It was short-sleeve riding weather in mid-October! While Sunday’s weather started out
cloudy and much cooler, the sun shone through as the day progressed and we all
finally parted to head home. Once
again… the sun shined brightly on another NEVROC ride. That’s five planned rides over the past
couple of years with perfect weather!
Although this year’s turnout was smaller
than usual (17 bikes and 20+ folks), we had riders join us from as far away as
New Jersey (George & Judy Ross) and New York (Jim Sully, his brother and a
friend on a HD). The states of
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Rhode Island were also
represented (hmmm… were there any CT riders there?) Many thanks to Bob “Bobcat” Pease for
all his work in planning this trip.
Due to knee surgery only days before, Bob was unable to ride, but both he
and Jewel, his wife, followed in their cage and joined in the camaraderie.
After a casual sit-down breakfast in Epsom, NH, the ride
started out at a leisurely pace along the winding roads of Rt. 4 and 118 in
NH. Unfortunately, there were few
places where we could stop as a group to take photos of the colorful scenery, so
the pictures included here don’t even begin to show the splendor we
enjoyed. Also, as we rode north, it
was obvious that the foliage had peaked the week before and many trees were
partially barren.
Our first stop did give us a spectacular view that we
share with all to enjoy. Looks like
George Ross had to help his wife, Judy, get out of that rut. Would have helped if Judy let go of the
brake! Lot’s of folks just standing
around listening to George (EMT Joe) grunt ‘n groan as he pushed and pushed!
Here, many of the riders pose for a shot. A few missing souls are off in the
bushes getting acquainted with Mother Nature and reducing the danger of forest
fires!
In the background to the left you can see some gold colors as
well as naked treetops. The sun was
so warm; the air was fresh and filled with smell of hot pine needles and balsam…
until we passed a dairy farm!
This shot is of yours truly, Ol’Phart Joe, and Karen,
my wife of 31 years. Karen loves
riding as much as I do and we always look forward to the NEVROC group
rides. We have so much fun getting
together with old (and young) friends and meeting new acquaintances.
After checking in to the motel, we took a leisurely 80+ mile
through the notches and over to Mt. Washington. Only last week, the ground was covered
with over 2” of snow and more than 12” atop the mountain. Good thing we didn’t plan the trip for
LAST week!
Here, in the parking lot at the base of Mt. Washington, is a
pretty stand of birch trees with many of their leaves now on the ground.
Another gorgeous view of the mountains… with
Karen pondering … next year’s rides, perhaps?
And below is Mt. Washington, NH’s tallest peak and where the
worlds highest wind speed of 231 mph was recorded here in April of 1934.
After a long day of riding, we rode some more to the
Whitefield Inn for dinner.
Whitefield also lays claim to the lowest recorded temperature in NH…
minus 54 deg. F.!! And that’s NOT
with wind-chill!
Dinner was superb although it took nearly 2 hours to get
through it. But it gave us all time
to kick back, relax and enjoy listening to stories, laugh a lot and get to know
each other.
Hank and Judy.
Judy looks all cheery and lit up!
Umm… how many glasses of wine, Judy?
From the back left, Sully, Cardo, Judy and EMT Joe, and? BTW… Sully just completed a 10,000 mile,
25 day tour of 32 states that included a stop at the VROC 2000 Rally at the
4-corners… SOLO! Atta boy,
Sully! Can’t wait to read your trip
report.
From the left,Bobcat on the left & Jewel (hidden),
Karen and Ol’Phart Joe, Keith, fondly known as “Huggie,” Marty, Charlie and
Nancy (GoldieLocks!).
Well, unfortunately this will soon bring to an end
another great year of riding. Many
thanks to Bobcat, Huggie and all the others who pitched in to help with Laconia
Bike Week and the Kaw pasture as well as our recent group rides. I look forward to seeing you all next
year during Laconia Bike Week and our group rides. We shared some great times together… had
a lot of great laughs… cruised lots of great roads… but most importantly…we’ve
become a GREAT FAMILY!
Ride safe.
Ol’Phart Joe
~V~ 655