Killington classic

[dominatr37]

Killington Classic

Thursday I left the house at about 12:30, running a half-hour later then I 
wanted to. Down the LIE I went towards the city. Exiting on the Cross Island 
and over to the Whitestone Bridge. I stooped on the Hutch at the Citgo to 
call Joel and Randy to make sure they were running on time. All I got was 
voicemail. I took off and headed towards exit 13 on the hitch and swept 
towards and onto the Cross County. Sat this point I wasn't sure where I 
should go, either on to the Sprain and subsequently the Taconic or up 87 
itself. I had told Joel and Randy to meet me at the first rest area after 84 
on 87, but decided to hit the rest stops on 87 and see if they were there 
yet. I breezed through two rest areas on my way up and didn't find them.

I Passed 84 and headed to the next rest stop. I pulled in and didn't find 
the guys waiting so I began to remove my helmet and gear. I hung out about 
10 minutes and sure enough the guys rolled in. We went inside and grabbed a 
few drinks to re-hydrate as it was hot as hell out there Thursday.

After about 20 minutes we hit the road and continued on without any 
problems. We ended up going up through Glens Falls where we had dinner in a 
Chinese Buffet Paul and I hit a few times during Americade. We rolled out of 
there and it was getting dark. By the time we got on 149 it was pitch black. 
We rolled through the country, watching for stray animals, as we went, 
cautiously looking to avoid a head on collision with something big and 
heavy.

149 went to 4 and 4 took us into Vermont as the miles rolled on. After about 
an hour the rural two laner became a four-lane highway with moose and deer 
crossing signs every few miles.

We finally made Rutland about 9:30ish and decided to hit the Taco Bell in 
our hotel's parking lot. We called it a night early on Thursday and passed 
out.

Friday Morning we headed into Killington after a breakfast in the Hampton 
inn. Up the mountain on Rte 4 we went to sign in at the Chamber of Commerce. 
Once there it was explained to me that the Chamber itself was now running 
the show instead of the Kev-Marv production people who used to and they 
basically had no idea what they were doing, or what they had.

So the three of us headed out with one of their routes in hand and 
immediately discovered they had the route printed wrong. From there we 
decided to make our own route and headed up 100 to 125 which was marked as 
'Scenic' but should have been marked as 'Under construction'. Sand and at 
points only half the road surface were what greeted us through most of the 
twenty or so miles of 125. We stopped for a drink at a country store, and 
were told by a local about a swimming hole that was up on route 17 at the 
end of the town of Bristol. So off we went. This was actually very cool. 
There were a bunch of college age kids jumping in off of jutting rocks about 
twenty feet or so above the water. Nearby a waterfall was adding constant 
water to the deluge happening below. It was an interesting scene to say the 
least, and made me think about what life growing up in a town like this 
would be like. Simple and nice were two things that came to mind. Almost 
idyllic was a third.

We headed back through Bristol again and started back towards Rutland. 
Friday night the State Fair was in full swing, with free admission for a 
motorcycle so off we went after a dinner at the 99 steak house, which 
happened to be in the same parking lot as our hotel, which we didn't know. 
This was funny because we took off out of the lot looking for the 99 and 
ended up blowing right past it, then having to turn around quickly to go 
back to it.

After a pretty good dinner, we headed back to the State fair and walked in 
as a country singer named Trent Tomlinson was performing. His show was 
actually pretty good and definitely worth seeing.

After Tomlinson had finished we walked around the fair grounds and checked 
out the sights, then around 11 we headed back to the hotel.

Saturday we awoke to rain, rain and more rain. Around 10ish Robert, Cindy 
and Kenny and Fuzzy showed up with Doug in tow. They were heading north so 
we told them about the swimming hole. Up near Bristol. We were heading that 
way ourselves, and left shortly after they did. The rain really started when 
we got out of Rutland, we all pulled over and changed gear to stay dry. I 
put in my jacket lining and waterproof gloves, then continued up to Bristol 
where we stopped for lunch at a pizzeria. When lunch was over we saw Rob and 
everyone else again at the other end of town. We said ore hellos then headed 
up to the swimming hole, where Joel and Randy jumped in. There were a 
handful of kids there swimming again in the rain. Hey, they were wet 
already, right? After this we headed back to Rutland again, where we found 
Robert and crew hanging out in our hotels lobby area. We let them know we 
were heading over to Taco Bell for a cheap dinner, then we walked across the 
lot and sat down after ordering. When we went back we saw everyone again. We 
sat and talked a few minutes then went back to the room and watched "Wanted" 
with Angelina Jolie.

The next morning saw the three of us rolling out of there at 8:15. The 
street had dried up and while it was overcast there was no rain falling. At 
least for now... We gassed up and hit rte 103 and no soone3r did we get a 
few miles down the road then the rain started in earnest. We pulled over in 
another gas station and added all our waterproof linings back to our jackets 
and pants. The rain was steady and heavy at this point as we headed east 
towards I-91. Once we arrived at I-91 the sun began to peak out and as we 
headed south the clouds cleared completely. We covered a total of 120 miles 
before putting in a stop to remove rain linings and go back to regular 
gloves. The sky was clear and the air was warm now as we moved through 
Massachusetts and into Connecticut. As we turned onto 95 from 91 I began to 
notice a clunking in the GPZ as I shifted. It was hard enough for me to 
decide to cut off from Joel and Randy and take the ferry home, as it would 
save me 90 miles. About this time my speedometer stopped working too. I 
pulled into the Bridgeport ferry yard expecting to see my speedometer cable 
broken and that being the cause of my clunking somehow. It wasn't. The cable 
was bad, but my drive chain was sagging so badly it was actually lying on 
the frame and swing arm. I was very glad I took the ferry back.

When I arrived in Port Jefferson I decided to limp the bike home slowly 
instead of taking all the luggage off and trying to adjust the chain with 
the small set of tools that are included on the bike. It turned out to be a 
good decision as I made it the ten miles home without incident.

Little problems aside it turned out to be a great trip and weekend. Well 
worth all the riding in the rain. My Motoport gear as usual kept me dry, and 
comfortable.

It was great seeing everyone and I'm looking forward to next time already.



Ralph L. Angelo Jr.
Author of "Help! they're all out to get me!
The motorcyclists guide to surviving the everyday world."
ISBN# 1-4137-6187-9
http://helptheyreallouttogetme.com
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