Great Rides

So many roads, such little time. Great Rides tips you some of the best in New England and eastern New York:

CONNECTICUT

Lower Connecticut River Valley

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com

Route 154 is a winding state road that runs along the west side of the Connecticut River from Old Saybrook through Esssex and Deep River and north to Haddam and Higganum. “This is a nice cruising road,” said Janet Gessner, whose husband, Tim, rides a 2000 Harley-Davidson Sportster. Together, they own the Deep River Toy Company and from inside the converted house at 202 Main Street can often hear the sound of motorcycle exhausts on the wind.

What was RIDE-CT doing inside their specialty toy store on a weekday afternoon in early last August? A combination of an itch to put some miles on a just-acquired 2008 Suzuki V-Strom 650, a desire to sample the food at the Whistle Stop Café just up the road, and curiosity about the roads in the area prompted the spontaneous road trip.

A fast ride down Route 9 from Middletown to Essex and some backtracking on Route 154 had me ready for lunch – until I noticed the toy store and doubled back. Its inviting appearance of blue (lower) and white (upper) clapboards and reddish-pink Adirondack chairs out front suggested something magical.

The inside of the store is so colorful and so packed with toys that it resembles a movie set or Santa’s workshop in early December. Gessner said the store stocks “definitely things you can’t find elsewhere. If you’ve been looking for it, we carry it.” The store even has old favorites, such as Silly Putty, pogo sticks, hula hoops and jump ropes. “We carry a lot of ‘Made in America,’ a lot of things that don’t need batteries,” she said.

While Silly Putty stills comes in a plastic egg container, the maker of an alternative, Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty, uses a metal tin. Gessner demonstrated how the magnetic putty that can devour a small magnet that comes with the putty.

After a few minutes of browsing, the road beckoned. Unfortunately, by the time I rolled up to the Whistle Stop Café, it was closed for the day. It’s only open for breakfast and lunch and I was too late. The chairs on the small outdoor patio and had been turned atop the tables. On a previous ride by, though, motorcycles were parked in front, so the place is motorcycle-friendly.

Heading north again on Route 154 on what was a warm, sunny day, I soon came upon a sign touting the Chester-Hadlyme Ferry. So much for the game plan of staying on the west side of the Connecticut River. I made a right on to Ferry Road/Route 148 and rolled up behind an S.U.V. already parked at gate in front of the ramp. The ferry was mid-river, heading east.

Within seconds, the S.U.V.’s owner, Art Dufresne, and I got to chatting motorcycles, with Dufresne telling of adventures riding in Costa Rica. The bike talk continued as the ferry transported us across the river, so I never got to admire Gillette Castle, which looks down on the river, or clock how long the ferry ride actually takes. It’s certainly much quicker than Dover to Calais. The cost for car or motorcycle is only $3, making it a bargain.

Upon disembarking, it was a short ride east on Route 148 to a general store in Hadlyme to grab and guzzle a couple of sport drinks. It wasn’t until after that I noticed a handwritten sign posted outside that stated the store does not have a public rest room. Prior to leaving, I glanced over at a car that was parked next to my bike. The driver was chatting in an animated fashion on a car phone. Remember car phones? The kind with a cord attached? Hadn’t seen one in … decades.

Heading northwest on Route 82 out of Hadlyme, I wound up back in East Haddam, rode by the always impressive Goodspeed Opera House, over the bridge and back across the Connecticut River and reconnected with Route 154. While there were several spots I would have liked to have reconnoitered as I sped north through Haddam and Higganum, I was by now due in Middletown to meet a friend.

Aside from not getting a morsel of lunch, the ride was exceedingly fun, filled with rolling and twisting roads. This Route 154 ride is close enough to be easily accessible but far enough away to make it seem like an adventure.  Next time I’ll go earlier and make sure the Whistle Stop Café is open.

MASSACHUSSETTS

The Berkshires

Leland Kent was at his home in Housatonic, Mass. when his peaceful Sunday afternoon in mid-April was interrupted by the loud rumble of motorcycle exhausts. It was a group of riders heading south on Route 183 through the village of roughly 1,200 residents. After they acknowledged the stop sign at the intersection where Front Street runs into the state highway, the riders turned left, went under the railroad trestle, and took an immediate right into the parking lot of The Brick House Pub.

A rider himself and the owner of a 1972 BMW R75/5, Kent hurried over to the restaurant/pub and unlocked the front door so that the riders could come inside and quench their thirst. Being early spring, the pub hadn’t shifted to summer hours and wasn’t yet open for lunch business on weekends, but the owner wanted to accommodate fellow riders. Kent was behind the bar when RIDE-CT rolled into the lot a few minutes later after having first admired the artwork through the display windows at the closed Front St. Gallery.

“We are off the beaten path. You have to travel to get here, and we’re OK with that,” said Kent, who launched The Brick House Pub in June 2011. With a “Cheers”-style island bar and woody decor, The Brick House Pub has a cozy feel and a broad range of draft beer. There are 12 taps and Kent reported that he’s “always rotating” the selections. Dozens of beer tap handles are displayed on pegs on one wall of the pub and are ready for use when kegs get changed. “We’re always changing, always revolving, always evolving. I’m a beer geek,” he said.

Food-wise, the kitchen features pub fare with a flare as well as pizza and relies on locally grown products, including the beef. The Five Alarm Burger, for instance, uses hot jalapeno Monterey jack cheese, pickled jalapenos and sriracha mayo. “Nothing comes out of a can; nothing comes out of the box,” Kent said. The pizza dough comes from the Berkshire Mountain Bakery nearby, which was another satisfying discovery on a pleasant Sunday ride that proved that no matter how long you’ve lived in or traveled in an area, it’s always possible to find new roadside treasures.

For lack of a better starting point to mention, the ride with friends (one dropped off along the way due to a loose foot peg) began in Salisbury where we took a right off of Route 44 and headed north into Massachusetts on Route 41. It’s a hilly, curvy and picturesque road that is far less traveled than Route 7. While Route 41 eventually bends back and hooks up with Route 7 just south of downtown Great Barrington, it separates again on the north end of downtown and heads northwest, and that’s the direction we went.

We’d only gone a short ways when ride leader Brian O’Neil took an abrupt right on Division Street and a quick left on Van Deusenville Road, pulling over alongside what looked it be a church. The sign outside, though, said “The Gunthrie Center at the old Trinity Church.” Yes, it was the famous church “nearby the restaurant” that spawned “Alice’s Restaurant” by Arlo Guthrie, once owned by Alice and Ray Brock.

After posing for a few pictures to later post on Facebook, we headed north on Van Deusenville Road, which becomes Front Street upon entering Housatonic. Kent’s assessment that Housatonic is off the beaten path is accurate. There’s a Brigadoon-like feel to this hamlet that boasted textile and paper mills in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, but which now has a more artsy, artisan appearance.

Leaving Brian at the pub, I rode a half-mile or so south on Route 183 to the Berkshire Mountain Bakery to find the parking lot nearly filled with cars. Owner Richard Bourdan, who opened the European-style bakery in 1986, wasn’t around but a friendly casher allowed a peek inside the former warehouse where artisanal sourdough bread is baked.

Last year, “Bon Appétit” magazine declared the Berkshire Mountain Bakery to be one of the “The Top 10 Best Bread Bakeries in America” and called it a “national treasure” and “a must-visit for every bread lover.” I’m no foodie, but I will say the delicious ciabatta loaf that I bought and stowed in a saddlebag didn’t last long after I got home.

Brian soon caught up and we headed down Route 183, hooked up with Route 7 and made a final stop in downtown Great Barrington to briefly window shop before heading home. The stores were open. We gawked at the records and turntable in the Tune Street audio and video components store. I pondered whether to buy bandanas at Tasha Polizzi. And we enjoyed samples at Rubiner’s Cheesemongers & Grocers, with Brian opting to buy some “stinky” Hooligan cheese made by the Cato Corner Farm in Colchester.

It may be stereotyping name-wise, but “Hooligan” is a fitting treat for anyone who rides.