Sport-Touring.Net - Northeast ST.N Meet & Greet, 5/2/09, Great Barrington, Mass.

It's that time of year again to see if we can organize another Meet & Greet for riders in Southern New England. We did it for the first time in 2005 and had about 50 riders. We repeated in 2006 but the rain kept the numbers low. In 2007 the temperature was down in the 30's and 40's, but we still had a lot of people show up. In 2008 we had the biggest event yet, about 60 riders showed up. Let's keep it going this year. It's a great way to re-connect with your friends, meet new ones and show off your new rides/farkles.

The ride is organized in two parts. In the morning people meet up in their respective regions (NY, Conn., VT & NH) and ride to Great Barrington for lunch. After lunch everyone meets at a central spot in town. We all socialize for awhile and then form groups to ride home.

In the last three years we’ve had two morning meeting spots that worked well. The southern people met in Windsor, Conn. at Mototown USA. The northern people met with Leebo (the co-organizer) in Rindge, NH. We're inclined to do the same thing this year.

This ride is more for socializing and is not going to be a balls-to-the-wall sportbike ride. There is some group riding, but we encourage you to ride at your own pace. I would empathize to bring a map and be responsible for finding your own way to Great Barrington just in case. That way you won't get sucked into keeping a pace you are uncomfortable with. There is no formal plan for how people get to Great Barrington or where you have lunch.

Here are the details (subject to change):

Date: Saturday, May 2 (this is the weekend after the Meet & Eat)

Start Location in Connecticut: Mototown USA, 1001 Dayhill Road, Windsor, CT 06095 (860-688-5110) (Interstate 91, north of Hartford, exit 38, right off ramp, take your first left onto Dayhill Rd [after passing under 91] and 2.5 miles down Dayhill Road. edit (4/21/09): It appears that Mototown has gone out of business (again). Make sure you've filled your gas tank before arriving. Looks like we're SOL for coffee.
Time: arrive at 9am, Rider's Meeting about 10, leave about 10:30am.

Start Location in New Hampshire: I’ll defer to Leebo, but this is what he did last year:
3a) Meet at the Citco station at the junction of Rtes. 202 and 119 in Rindge NH,
Leave Time: 8:30AM
3b) Rindge group then proceeding to where Rte. 202 splits off of Rte. 2 at the Shell gas station/Dunkin Donuts/Honey Farms (This is in Orange, Mass., exit 16 off Rte. 2)
Leave Time: 9:30 am sharp.

Destination: Great Barrington, Mass. for lunch. There is no set restaurant, everyone is on their own for lunch. If you just cruise Route 7 in Great Barrington you will find no shortage of places to eat. In the past, favorites have been Four Brothers Pizza, Manhattan Pizza, McDonalds and Friendly's.

After lunch, both the CT & NH groups will meet at the parking lots of the Price Chopper Plaza and McDonalds, (300 and 302 Stockbridge Streets for GPS). Vincent (viverid on ADV-Rider) has graciously allowed us to use the back corner of the McDonalds lot again this year. We’ll start meeting there about 1pm. After socializing for a while we'll split into small groups and ride back home around 2pm or so. Great Barrington has easy access to Interstate 90 and eastern NY.

Here's last year's check-in thread (scroll down for pictures) for information and pictures on the 2008 ride.

Feel free to ask questions, organize groups, express interest and talk over potential routes.

Topic: Northeast ST.N Meet & Greet, 5/2/09, Great Barrington, Mass. (Read 6741 times)