Return-Path: From: east@big.att.com Date: Mon, 24 Jun 1996 17:28:18 -0400 (EDT) Reply-To: east@big.att.com Sender: east@big.att.com Original-From: david_sutter@merck.com (David Sutter) To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: RCR V Trip Report X-Comment: East Coast Motorcyclists Mailing List Sorry if you get this twice... I'm sending it to both the nj-cycles and the east list. The quick summary... it was a blast! We got very little sleep, but had a great time. The long summary... Debbie and I left Westfield, NJ at about 7:45. We took (more or less), 527 to 202 to 12, out of NJ, backroads to 611 to 113 to 30 to 10 to 372, across the river, 74 out of PA, then 165 to 23 to 138 to 137 to 30 to 27 to 140 to 194 to 77 to Camp WestMar! Ok, it's fun, but not the quickest route, and, well, that showed. We were the ones who arrived 3am (sorry to all, especially the folks in the tents next to us). Up at 8:15ish to get ready (big thanks to the KotG for the coffee!) for the "Covered Bridge Ride". We were locked into the "slower" ride because Debbie just got her red Suzuki Bandit 600S recently, and couldn't rev it high, but that was ok with us. As those who attended know, the beginning of that ride was very frustrating, because it got all screwed up almost immediately. Ah well, we made it to lunch, and split up into the "fast" group, and the "casual" group. We stayed with the "casual" group (11 bikes in all)... and the rest of the ride was absolutely fabulous. A very big thanks to Bill McLoone (sp?) for leading a great ride with zero notice and a bastardized version of somebody else's route sheet. We went slowly and stopped often, but that was part of what made the ride so great. We got to really meet the people that we were riding with, and everyone was friendly, and everyone was having fun. Thanks to Sandy for bringing the group home. We ended up going about 190 miles, and got back around 7:45, but at least there was food left! It was a long ride (time-wise), and we only saw two covered bridges, but it definitely had character. I was chosen to lead the last parts of that ride for various reasons (I had a tankbag with a map case), and I missed two turns... but I must defend my navigation skills. The road on the route marked "Beartown Rd", isn't. It's Mentzer Gap Road. There's a road-sign-like sign that says "Beartown ->", which everyone assumed meant that Beartown Road was thataway, but it was really pointing you to the town of Beartown. When reversing the route, you don't have the advantage of that sign, and I drove right past Mentzer Gap Rd. According to MapQuest (URL: http://www.mapquest.com/ ) MD Rt. 550 and MD Rt. 16 do not cross. I don't know how we got from 550 to 16 on the way out (I wasn't paying enough attention), but 550 definitely isn't marked from Rt. 16. Ah, well, Sandy knew enough to get us back to WestMar the long (but sure) way. Of course, the drinking and socializing of Saturday night was great fun as well. Thanks to whomever brought the Peachtree Schnapps. No thanks to whomever brought the gin without tonic. Shots of gin, never again. Bleh! Eww! Yuck! Thanks to Irish Paul (who was awarded the "prize" as Keeper of the Hangover, for those who left early Sunday morning) for explaining the political situation in Ireland for all us ignorant 'mericans. And contrary to rumors started by Jim Bessette, Debbie (my girlfriend) is *not* starting the nj-cycles.talk.sex mailing list! ;-) Thanks to everyone for making it such an entertaining evening. Awake at 7:17 Sunday morning, as a few loud bikes were leaving. Ug. Tired, but not hungover. A little breakfast (thanks to whomever brought the donuts and bagels!), pack up the tent and stuff, and gone before 11am. The ride back was nice. We took pretty much the reverse of our route to WestMar. The philly-cycles contingent blew by us on MD Rt. 138 at Mach 3, but when we arrived at the first turn on 138, their fearless leader, Howard Carson, was waiting for them... "But, Howard, they all blew by us a while back. They must've taken that right turn even though 138 goes straight at the stop sign." We hung out with Howard for a few, but decided to get going after 10 or 15 minutes. Howard, did you ever find them (or, more correctly, did they ever find you)? At lunch on Rt. 113 in Pheonixville, we also met up with "the three Harley guys" that were on the slow ride on Saturday. Sorry I don't recall your names. Good seeing you though, and I hope you had a good ride back through Dingman's Ferry. All in all, a great weekend. Big thanks to Mr. Bill and everyone who put in the effort to make it a fun-filled weekend to remember. Everyone's probably back by now, so it should be safe to say it... "The weather was beautiful. It only rained on us for a few minutes, and even then only lightly!" I guess now it's time to plan a ride so that I can see some of you (at least those in the NJ area) again sometime. Hope everyone got home safely, Dave Sutter (sutter@merck.com) white/blue/red 1986 Honda Nighthawk-S CB700SC