Along The Road

MIDDLETOWN, CT – After three hours of pounding the pavement, admiring the thousands of motorcycles and chatting with friends amidst the din of exhaust pipes and loud live music at Middletown Motorcycle Mania on Wednesday evening, it was necessary to escape the roar and find a quiet spot to rehydrate, …

Of all the roads in southern New England, Route 57 in Massachusetts may be the most enjoyable and exhilarating for motorcycle riders. Running east-west and stretching nearly 40 miles from New Marlborough on the west to Agawam on the east, it’s serpentine and extremely hilly. It’s also sufficiently rural that …

Motorcycles are only a minor consideration in travel writer Michael Milne’s latest book, “Roadster Guide to America’s Classic Car Museums & Attractions,” but the fact he mentions the collection of old Indians at the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History in Massachusetts and the bikes on display at …

WOODSTOCK, NY – We were getting back on our bikes outside of a trendy coffee shop in New Paltz, NY when a man approached, got in my face and growled menacingly, “You guys on your (blanking) cool Italian bikes.” Before I could ascertain whether he posed a threat, the guy burst …

WILLIMANTIC, CT – There’s always a risk when visiting an eatery a second time that it won’t measure up to pleasant memories of an initial visit. A stop this week at the Willimantic Brewing Company/Main Street Cafe fortunately confirmed my positive first impression. The atmosphere was enjoyable, the service prompt …

PHOENICIA, NY – Just inside the front door of Brio’s Pizzeria & Restaurant is a wood-fired pizza oven. “Signature” and “Gourmet” pies are the eatery’s specialty, but

BRATTLEBORO, VT – It’s not often that you hear the word “whetstone” used in conversation; a whetstone being a sharpening stone for knives. Having grown up on Whetstone Road in Harwinton, CT, though, it’s a word that always perks my ears. Hearing of a craft brewery and restaurant here called …

EAST HAVEN, CT – Times change and so do the hazards faced by motorcycle riders. A big worry for us these days are inattentive drivers who text. While I haven’t inquired of any old-time riders, I’m guessing that decades ago trolley cars and the tracks embedded in the roadway were …

KENT, CT – After getting evicted from its longtime home at 8 N. Main St., Kent Coffee & Chocolate Co. has moved up the street to a new and larger location in the former Bank of America building at 45 N. Main St. Java-seeking motorcyclists, who have made the shop …

KENT, CT – Besides being machines, motorcycles may also be regarded as artwork. Now, Gary Halby’s exquisite pictures of motorcycles and their riders have gone from high-end coffee table book to illuminating gallery exhibit. “The Art of the Ride” opened Saturday at The Good Gallery here with

STONY BROOK, NY – It’s a bit of a journey, and time-consuming no matter whether you take the ferry from Bridgeport, CT to Port Jefferson, NY or drive the long way around to Long Island from New England, but the Ward Melville Heritage Organization is staging its

LITCHFIELD, CT – A facelift at Peaches ’N Cream, the ice cream shop near the Litchfield-Torrington town line on Route 202, means more seating options for ice cream-loving motorcyclists to enjoy their

MILLBROOK, NY – If Goldilocks owned a motorcycle and had only a few hours to ride through the forest, she might say that the Catskills or Adirondacks are too far and that the usual haunts in Litchfield County are too near, but that the Duchess County village of

SAXTONS RIVER, VT – Life is filled with little lessons, and a brief two-day, 400-mile motorcycle trip to southern Vermont this week provided a few reminders of forgotten lessons and clues on what to do in the future. In motorcycling, there’s a phrase

HOOSICK FALLS, NY – Occasionally, plans fall through. When that happens, it’s sometimes the spur-of-the-moment alternative that turns out to possibly be even more fun than the original scheme. Such was the case over the weekend. My friend Paul and I had decided to drive to