Up To Speed

Editor’s Note: To help inform riders in New England and beyond of the changing situation leading up to and during Laconia Motorcycle Week (Aug. 22-30) in New Hampshire, “The Laconia Daily Sun” newspaper today graciously agreed to share its coverage with RIDE-CT & RIDE-New England. Stories today report that despite …

LACONIA, NH – Even as countless images from the ongoing Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota show most motorcyclists stubbornly failing to social distance or wear masks, plans are proceeding in New Hampshire for Laconia Motorcycle Week in less than two weeks. The event is expected to draw thousands of …

SPRINGFIELD, MA – The images of classic and modern motorcycles and cars are so vivid, so colorful and so detailed that it’s possible to imagine the roar of their engines and the smell of exhaust fumes inside an upstairs gallery at the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts …

Readers of RIDE-CT & RIDE-New England are nearly equally split on their interest in motorcycle magazines, according to the results of the website’s latest poll. Slightly more than half of those voting said they subscribe to a motorcycle magazine with slightly less than half saying they don’t. Because the poll …

FALLS VILLAGE, CT – Faced with a 40 percent drop in revenue this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the annual winter slowdown only months away, Toymakers Cafe owners Ann and Greg Bidou today announced they will serve their last waffles and banger platters on Labor Day. The closure …

LAGRANGEVILLE, NY – The Hudson Valley is filled with great riding, and great ice cream. Zoe’s Ice Cream Barn in LaGrangeville, NY is both a creamery and eatery, and it playfully promotes its ice cream by crowing “From Cow to Cone in Just 3 Days.” The premium ice cream is …

MILWAUKEE – Harley-Davidson shoppers will have far fewer model choices in the months and years to come; a message that got muddled earlier this week when the company announced its earnings for the second quarter of 2020. While most news outlets played up the company’s 27 percent drop in sales …

SANTA MONICA, CA – Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Progressive International Motorcycle Shows tour will be staged this fall and winter with eight stops on the itinerary. It includes a Dec. 4 through 6 visit to New York, presumably at the Jacob K. Javits Center, although venues for the tour …

MILWAUKEE – Motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson is slashing its planned models by “approximately 30 percent” under its new rewire initiative, while reducing its worldwide reach and “significantly reducing discounting and price promotions” on its products. The announcement of the retrenchment came this morning when Harley-Davidson revealed second quarter earnings that showed …

WALLINGFORD, CT – It’s looks like something from a movie set in the old West, but with a modern twist. It’s a new (albeit used) hearse just acquired by B.C. Bailey Funeral Home and parked at the end of a driveway at its 273 South Elm St. location.   “Every …

NEW FAIRFIELD, CT – Today is not just any day – it’s National Ice Cream Day.  So, we’re celebrating with our next installment of the Great Northeast Ice Cream Run with Candlewood Creamery.   Just like ice cream, Candlewood Lake is synonymous with summer fun here in Connecticut, which makes …

It’s time again for TWIR – The Week in Review … for the week of July 5 through 17. TWIR is a compilation of national and regional news that didn’t receive a full post during the week but warrants sharing. Here goes: Plug Pulled On Rice-O-Rama The word came Friday …

GEORGIA, VT – A popular Vermont radio personality has died in a motorcycle crash on Route 7 here. Amy McGovern, who went by the air name “Amy Lynn,” died Wednesday evening when the motorcycle she was riding reportedly went off the road and hit a street sign. Amy McGovern – …

NEW YORK – Normally by mid-July the city stops and dates for the Progressive International Motorcycle Shows tour for the upcoming winter have been known for weeks, but this isn’t a normal year. Life has been in upheaval since March when the COVID-19 pandemic began flexing its muscles in the …

STURBRIDGE, MA – He’s had an amazing life. Set jump records as a motorcycle daredevil and survived Stage IV cancer. Now, Doug Danger’s story is being shared in a just-released “as told to” biography titled “Doug Danger – Dare to Dream.” Life-long friend Steve Hall was the man at the …