Along The Road

(EDITOR’S NOTE – Great Cape Baking Company is no longer open as of early November 2023.) AMENIA, NY – Show me a motorcycle rider who isn’t always on lookout for a good place to eat and I’ll show you a rider whose bike is parked more than it’s ridden. Frequent …

BARKHAMSTED, CT – It’s a place that’s easy to overlook; a nondescript gray, one-story building alongside a busy state highway, highlighted only by a bright yellow sign saying “The Brass Horse Cafe.” It’s on Route 44 just northwest of New Hartford if you’re headed toward Winsted. It’s a roadhouse and …

WINDSOR, CT – To be in the “limelight” means to be the center of attention. Despite being 32 years old, the non-profit Vintage Radio and Communications Museum of Connecticut isn’t in a highly visible location and doesn’t have a high profile. It’s down a side road off of Route 159 …

BREWSTER, NY – It’s a valid gripe of riders who live on Long Island or in one of New York’s five boroughs that they must fight a lot of traffic, traverse bridges and pay tolls to get to a locale where the riding is actually fun and unimpeded. Places like …

WINSTED, CT – Pictures posted by “friends” on social media have been teasing the Railway Cafe for several months, but it wasn’t until last week that the opportunity for a breakfast visit presented itself. The eatery opened back in April in a centuries-old brick building at 580 Main St. following …

WATERBURY, CT – Most BBQ runs involve a fair bit of long-distance riding before chowing down. Visiting places like B.T.’s Smokehouse in Sturbridge, MA or J&J Smokehouse in Catskill, NY require the patient building of an appetite as the scenery whizzes by. They’re two spots that RIDE-CT & RIDE-New England …

CATSKILL, NY – We live in a world where packaging/portion sizes seem to be shrinking while prices keep rising. Have you checked out a box of pasta, carton of crackers or a can of shaving cream at the grocery store lately? The containers are smaller than they once were, yet …

ATHENS, NY – It’s often the case when a gallery or museum chooses to spotlight motorcycle culture that the emphasis is more on the machines than on the trailblazing men and women who have made riding popular over the decades. The current “Head Out on the Highway: A Love Embrace” …

WASHINGTON, CT – It’s only been open since October, but The PO café on the green in this elegant Litchfield Hills town is already getting regional attention. Owner Maggie Colangelo enthusiastically pulled out a copy of the current issue of “Yankee” magazine when RIDE-CT & RIDE-New England visited to show …

TORRINGTON, CT – A 30-year-old Harley-Davidson police motorcycle that once patrolled the streets of this Northwestern Connecticut city is back in use. Sort of. After sitting ignored for years in the Torrington Police Department’s sally port, the 1991 Harley-Davidson FXRP is now on prominent display having been loaned to the …

FALLS VILLAGE, CT – Toymakers Cafe, the colorful eatery that catered to motorcyclists for nearly two decades before closing in early September, is planning a comeback. It will no longer be a full-scale restaurant open for breakfast and lunch, rather a spot to enjoy a cup of coffee and shop …

WINGDALE, NY – The smoker is being shut down at a longtime favorite barbecue haunt of riders. “No tears, please,” says a message on the website of Big W’s Roadside Bar-B-Q announcing that the the place will be closed forever as of 7 tonight. “It’s been such as amazing adventure, …

REINHOLDS, PA – The first step once the decision was made a few weeks ago to attend this past weekend’s antique motorcycle show in Oley, PA was to book lodging. While a friend suggested a chain motel near the show grounds, I instead went online and found a much more …

ORDER NOW: “Recipes for a Good Ride – The Toymakers Cafe Cookery Book” is now on sale for $19.75 and may be ordered by emailing annbidou@yahoo.com. FALLS VILLAGE, CT – The long-planned, motorcycle-themed cookbook from Toymakers Cafe owners Annie and Greg Bidou is now at the printer and should be …

PUTNEY, VT – Curtis Tuff first came to this small Vermont town in 1961. He was 23 years old and working as a migrant fruit picker. He never left, operating his Curtis’ AllAmerican BarBQ stand just off of I-91 since 1971. Tuff died this morning. He was in his early …