I'm a little late posting this, but the weekend before last I went out with a few friends up to Connecticut.  New York City was having the annual "Five Borough Bike Tour," so I decided it was a good idea to get out of the city early.
 I met my friends Gerry and a couple of Johns on the West Side at the Sunoco station on 47th and 11th Ave.
 After getting gassed up and ready to go we were ready to meet up with another Ducatisti in the Bronx, and passing the Henry Hudson bridge, we passed two different Panigale 899s.
 One of them was a fellow DOCNYC buddy, who joined us for a ride up route 22 into Connecticut. 
All together, we were riding (from right to left above), a red 899 Panigale, a white 899 Panigale, a classic late 90's 900SS, an 848 EVO, my 996, a tricked out Monster 1200s, and a BMW S1000RR (not pictured).
  The day was beautiful, our bikes were fast and we aimed for a little town called Ridgefield, where we stumbled on a BBQ / County Fair, with live music, a Ferris Wheel and a bunch of food.
 I wanted to ride the mechanical bull, but even a tough biker like myself couldn't bully my way to the front of the line past 10 nine year-old girls waiting their turn.
 We had some barbeque and rested a bit, then rode a bit more...finally back to the city.
 Ultimately, we ended up hanging out on the rooftop, smoking cigars and watching the beautiful expanse of the city illuminated by the late spring sun.
I'm a little late on © 2015 Tigh Loughhead

The Somber Space between The Road and Home

Jay and I slept in late this morning.  The last few days have been filled with tension about our chains, tires and the inevitable deflation of realizing we're nearly home after to two weeks on the road (closer to three weeks for me, as I spent the previous week in Sea Isle City, NJ before we left).

We were on the road by noon, and stopped off to wash our bikes in Seabrook, New Hampshire one last time. Pushing on, I think Jay and I were both a little bleary, riding simultaneously ready to complete this epic trip, but not quite ready to get back to our respective lives.
The trip home took far longer than our four and a half hour zip up to Maine.  We eventually got back to the New York metropolis after 8pm, just in time to see the last bit of sun saunter below the horizon.
Jay was familiar with a beautiful beachfront club in Inwood called La Marina picturesquely overlooking the Hudson river and the island of Manhattan to the south.  Contemplating the sum experiences of our fantastic journey, dwelling in that weird space between traveling and returning home, Jay and I sat on the water drinking whiskey as the dying light illuminated dusky formations of geese and NYC socialites, all puttering up to the restaurant on their yachts and jetskis, only to ultimately fade into the shadow and quiet night of the city.

 © 2014 Tigh Loughhead

Maine is less than an afternoon away (from NYC)

With plenty of daylight left, we found the cheapest motel we could find and went looking for dinner.  Jay wanted anything but Mexican, as he and my buddy Cam, who recently went cross country on an Aprilia Tuono and a Ducati 899 Panigale, had eaten nothing but from Kansas to SoCal.  We got a drink at a place called the Maine Table, only to be informed that the Kitchen had closed since we sat down, and that he only place open was the Mexican joint across the street.

Next Day: Nova Scotia: Mile 651

© 2013 Tigh Loughhead

Out in the woods in Western Mass - Somewhere South of Hartford

 I tried my best to find a scenic route from New York City to Boston, but not only did I forget my winter gloves in 50 degree weather, I didn't realize that much of Connecticut and Eastern Massachusetts are a rather boring drive. I started up 684 to Danbury, then up 202 to New Milford to Nepaug State Forest.


From there I took route 10 to Chicopee, and then had lunch in a delightful Polish neighborhood in Worcester at Tom's International Deli (actually quite good).  From there I tried to find more scenic routes into Cambridge, MA, but was unsuccessful, and I ended up just taking Mass pike (90) most of the way there.

© 2013 Tigh Loughhead