Fall Foliage - Covered Bridges - Trebuchet Ride

[malber]

I went on a group ride on October 14th with a bunch of folks from the sport-touring.net region 6 forums. It was hosted by Seacost Sport Cycle in Derry, NH. They're a Ducati dealership so there were naturally a few Ducatis. This was a make-up ride for an FJR group so there were several of those. There were also people representing CBRs, a KTM, FZRs, Triumphs, BWM RS1200, BMW GS1150, Hayabusa, even a Motto Guzi cruiser! Overall a good representation of sport-touring bikes, 23 riders in all. And my XS1100, probably the oldest bike there. Knowing there'd be some shiny pieces of hardware there, I did my best the day before to make her presentable.

Didn't have time to take pictures of the start. I was to busy amping up with Dunkin' Donuts coffee and munchkins provided by Seacoast. I didn't get to start taking pictures until the first gas up after the rendevous with some other riders in Hancock, NH.

Hanging with the FJRs, keeping to our own kind.


Another FJR, a Suzuki, and an FZR.


Moar bikes. I really appreciated the riders in the fluorescent yellow riding suits. It made it really easy to keep track of the group. This one is Batman Dave, the group organizer and leader.


After crossing five covered bridges, we stopped for a group photo at The Ashuelot bridge in Winchester, NH. That's me in the zipped up black leather jacket 9th from the left.




The sign at the top reads, "$5 fine for anyone driving or riding across this bridge at a pace faster than walking."










It was hard at times to get all the bikes in one shot. It really was something though to ride at the back of the pack and see the line of our group stretch from one rise to the next rise on the horizon on the straight roads. Someday I'll get that pod mount for my camera.






A GS 1150 I think.

[malber]

Hit the submit button too soon. Here's some pics from the rest of the ride.



We hit a couple more covered bridges, and more twisty roads and then it was time for lunch, and an opportunity to get few more pics of all the bikes.


Mid-ride chain adjustment. Glad we don't have to deal with this!


The guy riding this KTM was about 7 feet tall. He was riding just in front of me before we got to the lunch location. We came to some train tracks that crossed diagonally. Along the side of the road they made a bit of a rise and this guy took them for a jump. While stunt riding was discouraged on this ride, I think an exception could be made for this bike.


After lunch we went out Route 123 to Gilsum Rd. It's one of those out of the way twisty riverside roads that are really amazing. Here we are at the start of the road waiting for the back of the pack to catch up.


While we're waiting, I thought I'd take a few shots of the trees.




After that bit of riding and at least one more covered bridge we got to the trebuchet. Here it is cocked and locked.


The wait allowed for more shots of trees...


Cows...


And some more bike pron.


Supposedly, the trebuchet can huck a pumkin 1500 feet. However it takes 30 minutes to reload. On the one shot that I saw the pumpkin fell out of the sling, so I didn't get to see it fire one off. The guys who stuck around said it worked on the next try a half hour later. No matter, the purpose was the ride and what a great ride it was. Had a great solo ride home.

[malber]

Ack, I pasted the wrong group photo url. Here's the correct pic.



Forgot to mention: one of the FJR riders came all the way from Rochester, NY with his 13 year old son for the weekend. That was dedication.

[skippy344]

Nice Pics

That XS sure looks good in the midst of all those other bikes. You don't really see the motor on the newer bikes anymore.

Glad to see folks are out there on the road.

greg

[malber]

Side note I forgot to mention in my original post.

At the first stop one of the FJR riders came over and said, "Classic Yamaha!" and praised the condition of my bike.

At the end of the ride the R1 rider came over and complimented me on my lean angles and "pushing that old bike hard."

I rode with a similar crowd back in April and struggled to keep up and had to park it in some of the corners. This time I was able to keep up with the lead pack and even opened it up full throttle while passing some leaf-peeping cagers on route 9

[manshack_one]

Looked like a great ride. I'm looking forward to getting together with some guys (or gals) and hit the road.

Tell me about the windshield on your bike. I'm in the market and could use some advice.

[malber]

Not a clue what the windshield is. The previous owner gave it to me for free. Doesn't exactly improve the looks of the bike but sure does cut the wind on the body.

[STEPPENWOLF]

Malber,
Thanks for sharing. Looked like a fun ride. Going to covered bridges is a fun way to give you a destination when needing a"Where do ya wanna ride to" We have several around my area here in OH and IN, always worth while rides. Enjoyed the pics.
I always thought that if my bike is dirty... it means I have been some where. Know what ya mean about ya wanting your ride to look its best.

Bill