If You Had Asked Me…

Summer’s here, those days of soda and ice cream and chip-sealing. Before getting to two of those three items, a quick reminder that this monthly “If You Had Asked Me, I Would Have Told You…” column is a catch-all for news items, rumors, odd stuff that I’ve stumbled across as well as opinion. A bum back (muscle spasms, unfortunately) have kept me off of two wheels recently and limited my time for reportage.

Nonetheless, “If You Had Asked Me, I Would Have Told you…”

– That there are many irritants when it comes to riding. Distracted drivers who text and chat on their phones, torrid days and flying insects all qualify, but my biggest summertime gripe involves the chip-sealing of roads by towns. The loose stones make the back tire unstable and the “chips” can fly up and damage painted parts. Getting tar splatters off isn’t fun, either.

Shortly after I took up riding in 2004, I came upon a newly chip-sealed road. The back tire slid out from under the bike and I got tossed onto the ground on the side of the road. No damage to either the bike or myself, but it made me hate chip-sealing ever since. I mention this because – as the pictures show – my town chip-sealed the one mile stretch from my house to the state highway on Tuesday. Damn.

“If you had asked me, I would have told you…”

– That some years are better others, but the Rhinebeck Grand National Meet at the Duchess County Fairgrounds in New York is always worth visiting. This year was no exception.

Seeing an old Panther was a treat, but so was seeing a pair of vintage Hendersons that had run in the Motorcycle Cannonball. It’s also the one place where it’s possible to see a lot of familiar faces, and Route 199 to get there is fun to ride.

– That Indian isn’t talking, no surprise. The company’s Robert Pandya shut me down recently when we chatted at the Springfield Museums in Massachusetts and I asked him if the company’s new Scout FTR 750 engine to be used in flat track racer will also go into a street model.

Pandya gave me the company line about Indian never talking about what’s in the pipeline and said the FTR 750 is specifically designed for the race model. He added that he didn’t want to jeopardize his mortgage by saying any more. I understand, but have to believe that a 750cc street model – let’s say a Sport Scout with mid-pegs for riders who like to ride more aggressively – would be popular.

“If you had asked me, I would have told you…”

– That it has been almost two years since since Harley-Davidson introduced its Street models (in 500cc and 750cc sizes), but I’ve still yet to see one out on the, well, street. Have I mentioned this before?

– That Toymakers Cafe in Falls Village – yes, another plug for RIDE-CT & RIDE-NewEngland’s favorite haunt – has a new feature. It’s a planter next to the stairs going up to owners Annie and Greg Bidou’s living quarters on the second floor. Cafe regular Brian O’Neil dropped if off on Wednesday evening after I got them out of the house and down to the Falls Village Inn for dinner. The planter’s hard to miss. It’s an old pink toilet.

– That while I’m looking forward to Discovery Channel’s upcoming “Harley and The Davidsons” miniseries about the founding of Harley-Davidson, I’m already concerned that the dialogue will be too contemporary and will detract from should be a period piece. One line in the trailer stands. It says that riding “is like an explosion between your legs.” Would anybody say that, especially to a girl, in the early 1900s? Puh-leeze. The trailer is posted here.

– That the long ride to Bethel, CT to get my Moto Guzzis serviced at Hamlin Cycles has one tasty benefit – stopping at Ferris Acres Creamery on Route 302 in nearby Newtown.

– That RIDE-CT & RIDE-NewEngland will be busy this weekend. On Saturday, it’s the revived vintage show at Hilltop Farm in Suffield, CT. On Sunday, it’s Indian Day at the Springfield Museums in Springfield, MA. Hope to see you there.

Until next month…