U.S. Relay to the Rally 2009

[wistah_sean]

From Tom, this morning...

Massachusetts MGNOC Breakfast / Ride

Sunday APRIL 19th

Time 9:00 AM (this will give you plenty of time to get there)

Where:
Hooya's Restaurant in the town center of Brimfield,MA, opposite the common.
Very easy to find.
The center of Brimfield is on route 20 about 7-8 miles from the RT 84 exit of the MA Pike.

There will be a ride after breakfast that will end up at the Monson Hill Climbs. We will be watching NH MGNOC Rep Randy Tefft break the world record for a Moto Guzzi LeMans in a hillclimb.

The Relay to the Rally Baton will also be at the Hill Climb. Randy Tefft will be carrying the baton on his historic record breaking hill climb.

See you there

Tom

 

[Chuck in Indiana]

I'm heading out to California (by jet) as we speak, so if it comes through the midwest before I return, 2GuzziDave will move it through Indiana.

 

[Eldonardo]

Yesterday, Pierre Desir and I took Signor Disc on a 70 mile loop through RI into CT to visit the world famous Vanilla Bean Cafe, a notorious hangout for all types of motorcycles particularly on the weekends. I'll be handing off to Scott Reichert today, so he can take it to the NE MGOC breakfast Sunday, with a trip to see Randy Teft, the NH state rep., run his modified LeMans up the "Monson Monster" hillclimb. Randy also volunteered to take Signor Disc up the hill on one of his runs. Every foot will be a new world record for the first <that we know of> Guzzi hillclimber. I believe Randy will then take Signor Disco on a trip through NH.

A couple of pics from yesterday of Pierre and I

 

[GTM®]

Nice job Mark!

I see Putnam, CT on the sign, and I've been to the Vanilla Bean many times... but give me a landmark location for the R.I. pic... and I'll update the Google Map.

 

[GTM®]

wistah_sean wrote:

From Tom, this morning...

Thanks Sean(!).

 

[jgood]

Hello All... I'm just curious... Are there any riders in Central New York or Western New York that are ready to pass the baton on? Syracuse area, Rochester , or Buffalo? How about Western PA? I'm ready and would like help out.

 

[Cal3Me]

:laugh: Yo, Gentlemen,

As of today there are only 69 days till the rally. It hasn't made it out west yet. You better get a move ...... :unsure:

 

[Eldonardo]

The RI sign was opposite the CT one... at the RI/CT line at Rt 44 in Putnam, CT. They didn't have a "welcome to RI" sign on Rt 146A coming out of MA.

 

[GTM®]

jgood wrote:

Hello All... I'm just curious... Are there any riders in Central New York or Western New York that are ready to pass the baton on? Syracuse area, Rochester , or Buffalo? How about Western PA? I'm ready and would like help out.

Perhaps arrange a ride to go get it from Randy T. in NH(?). If you make it to/through Syracuse, my younger brother is part owner in a brew pub/restaurant there... love to have it go by.

Click for info:

 

[GTM®]

Great words from Bill H:

The baton had "visited" us when Wayne Orwig and Russ Huffman stopped off to dry out on the way from the Scooter Super Store Moto Guzzi open house on 28 March. Wayne and Russ had gone on to Helen, Georgia, for the night, then took the baton to (cold and snowy) Brasstown Ball's summit, the highest point in Georgia, before handing it off to the South Carolina team. Then, on Saturday, 4 April, Kathi and I left Inman Park in downtown Atlanta to meet Tony Milligan and George Westbury in Cashiers, N.C. Unlike the weather of the past few days and what was forecast for the following week, the weekend was to be one of those "you can see forever" cloudless and warm (but not too) riding delights. We were taking the Norge (or, more accurately, the Norge was taking us) to northern Virginia for our spring "gandbaby run," and, as no Tarhill Guzzisti had stepped up to help move the baton, we were going to take it and hand it off to Nick Croce, a New Jersey Guzzista, somewhere in Virginia or Maryland. But, as is often the case in motorcycle trips, it did not quite turn out that way.

We made it to Clayton, Georgia, about two hours north of Atlanta, before deciding that we needed a Chick-fil-A breakfast biscuit fix. When we got out of our gear, I saw that I had several v/m messages on my cell phone. Oh oh. Yup. Seems that Tony Milligan's EV had mysteriously quit in Pelser, S.C., and the outlook was not good. We agreed to modify our route to meet his S.C. bud and baton helper, George Westbury, in Pickens, S.C., in an hour. That occurred without a hitch, tho we wondered and worried about Tony. A Guzzi just looks bad on a trailer. George's EV has John Zibell's tank "enhancement," which makes it look as if it has been on steroids. Beautiful work. We took pix and parted, George to check on Tony, and Kathi and me to a back-road romp into N.C. and Virginia, with Abingdon, Va., our first overnight goal, and Great Falls, Va., near D.C., as our destination. We did a total of 796 miles for that route, with about 670 being with the baton. Nick Croce and I were to do the hand-off somewhere on Tuesday.

Now, bear in mind that Kathi knew in a general, almost vague, sense that we were going to take the baton north. She really did not know what that meant, especially as it was to mean, in reality, that SHE was going to carry the baton the whole way. You need to understand that Kathi is almost a saint, which is a bit of a burden for me, as I am decidedly not one! She is incredibly indulgent of my sins -- well, the motorcycle ones, at least -- but there is some payback, with the most relevant of that here being that, on m/c trips, we have travel "unlight," i.e., with lots of her feminine toiletry "essentials," redundant clothing for all occasions, and too many other accoutrements to mention. That takes up pretty much of the Norge's otherwise generous luggage capacity. In other words, there was no storage room for the baton, which, aside from being heavy, was also larger than she had expected. OTOH, the tankbag/backpack it came in made it capable of being worn as said backpack, which is how it went for the first 50 miles. After that, Kathi found it easier to "bjorn" it like a baby by wearing the pack on her front, or simply resting it between us. I am ... erm ... a larger size but she is, thankfully, a slip of a thing, so it all worked. But, I cannot praise her enough for her cheerful attitude about something others would have made painful.

Anyway, we left Pickens, and headed to Brevard, N.C., via Pumpkintown, to get to US 276 for the grand run up the mountain to Caesars Head and to Brevard. As I mentioned on the forum about this, I came upon two HD's and some sort of trike a few turns short of the top at Caesars Head. They would not move over or wave me by. That aroused my competitive instincts, so I inserted myself in their slow-moving convoy. As I passed the leader -- a woman on an ape-hangered HD, I actually did an unintentional (and not-especially-appreciated-by-Kathi) wheelie. The trio was VERY unhappy, and Kathi thought the woman in the front said "hi" as we passed. Uhm ... no. Many expletives. In downtown Brevard, saw a gray-silver Cali of some sort heading south, and Kathi was happy I did not do a U-turn and give chase, but I was concerned about getting to Abington. I try never to set a particular night-time destination as I hate rushing on a motorcycle; takes the fun out of a trip by adding stress ... and escaping that sort of thing is why I and many others ride, anyway.

So, for the rest of Saturday, we rode briskly to make up for lost time and even took the slab for a bit from just southwest of Asheville to Abingdon. On the bright side, I-26 from Asheville to the junction of I-81 near Bristol, is uncrowded and gorgeous. But, as I was riding quickly, I managed to get lighted up by an LEO. Now, not that I would ever intentionally evade an officer of the law who I knew was after me, I will say that, through the miracle of convenient topography and a timely exit before the officer did his U-turn, I managed to leave the 4-lane and ... well, wait for an appropriate period of time before surfacing again. ;-)

I was a good boy for the remainder of the hour or so into Abingdon, where we had a fine meal and a pleasant evening. Nice town, btw; recommend it highly if you are nearby. Tens of thousands pass it on the slab of I-81 every day and have no clue about the tranquil charm only yards from them. See top photo.

The real reason I wanted to make it to Abingdon was to ensure we had enough time the next day to take a leisurely amble up Va. SR 42 and other similar roads from SW Virginia to vic. Front Royal, where I intended to jump I-66 for the fast run into Great Falls as, by late afternoon, I figured Kathi would be so eager to see grandbabies she might miss any other sights so matter how compelling. As it was, she insisted we keep riding back roads, even off course, 'til sunset.

For "map people" like me, our route from Abingdon was US 11 for a few miles to Glade Spring, where we picked up SR 91 north to Broadford and SR 42. I came closer to dropping the Norge that morning than I ever have, as the rear wheel lost traction on virtually invisible dust and sand on a curve. Yee ha. Happily, I did not panic, throttled through, and survived. I went back to look at the spot, and our slide route was very apparent. I was way more shaken than Kathi, who has more faith in my skills than I do!

SR 42 is a joy of a road. It rocks and rolls for almost 200 miles of fine, two-lane pavement a few miles and a mountain ridgeline or two west of that truck-clogged and smoggy concrete corridor that I-81 is. There are few mysterious places where it disappears, supplanted by CR 615 or other tricky lanes, but from and through Broadford, Bland, Poplar Hill, Eggleston, Newport, New Castle, Oriskany, Clifton Forge, Goshen, Buffalo Gap, Harrisonburg, Timberville, to where we left it at Columbia Furnace and beyond, it is a sport-tourer joy of miles of smiles. We then headed east to Edinburg, where we took Edinburg gap Road (SR 675) over to SR 675 for an almost-too-good-to-be-true ride up to Front Royal. The gorge near the end of that ride before reaching SR 55 is spectacular, with towering cliffs and usually a hawk or two floating above, all making more Guzzi memories.

After Front Royal, I essentially announced that the scenic portion of our ride was over, but Kathi surprised me by asking that we take our time and wander the back roads through the Hunt Country east of the mountains before reaching Great Falls. We took US 522 a few miles south to Hume Road (SR 635) and just ambled to Hume, Orlean, Middleburg, and more, all with the sun our backs, lighting up that incomparable countryside, eventually and still somewhat reluctantly ending that grand ride in Great Falls. I unsaddled the Norge and cleaned it; Kathi giggled with grandbabies.

After a day's rest, I headed to my rendezvous with Nick. After an inspiring stop at Arlington National Cemetery and a reflective few moments with the baton saluting the fallen, Nick and I met in Baltimore's Mount Washington area and in a tavern by that name, http://www.mtwashingtontavern.com/. My daughter, Jennifer, and her little 5-monther, Evangeline, joined us. I arrived late, and by that time, Nick had charmed my girls to where I felt almost irrelevant. But, after a great meal, it was time to get to rally-relay business, so I handed over the baton in its beautiful Italian-trimmed case and protective backpack. Nick carried it north and I kissed the girls and headed back to Virginia, via the long way of Frederick, Points of Rock, Leesburg, etc. Mission fun; mission successful; mission complete.

Kathi and I are grateful for the honor and pleasure of playing a role in this Moto Guzzi tradition. Thanks, especially, to Todd for all he does for Guzzidom.

Bill Hagan

 

[GTM®]

How about a pic today of the flywheel/baton hanging out? Make it fun.

Also, third request for notes on donations to the I.R.F. in the logbook. I'm really hoping that (as noted in the logbook) that everyone coming in contact with the baton, please make a small donation. Also, in preparation for your leg with the baton, perhaps take up a small collection at your monthly meet/hang-out or watering hole. I hope to minimally double the $2600+ we raised last year, and online donations have been at a standstill for nearly two weeks now... so I hope some are in the logbook. Who has it now?

Post below!

 

[wistah_sean]

Donation sent via chipin / paypal. Cheers from New Orleans.

 

[Chuck in Indiana]

Cal3Me wrote:

:laugh: Yo, Gentlemen,

As of today there are only 69 days till the rally. It hasn't made it out west yet. You better get a move ...... :unsure:

Yeah, Tim.. I was hoping it would go west from Florida, but it has a mind of it's own..:lol: I'll bet it doesn't make it to the northwest again..

 

[jgood]

Where oh where is the "Hot Potato"???? Lets get this thing moving.

 

[WitchCityBallabio]

Okay...here's a video of Randy bringing the baton up the Monson Hillclimb hill yesterday (note the backpack on his back). :laugh:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1l7sLEfgBg

Randy had two great runs while we were there! I think he had two more afterwards, but we had a fairly long ride and it was getting late, so we took off after his second run. His first was in the order of 292 feet. The second one was a bit shorter. I suspect it was the weight of the baton. :laugh: It was a fun day with a great turn out of Guzzi's to send the baton off in style.

Here's a picture of the bike up close....

This years donation to the IRF sent via PayPal.

 

[GTM®]

Now that one will be a hard one to top in the baton journey of '09. NICE!

Got the donation too, great guys!

I'll be anxiously awaiting pics... and can you update the Google map or give me the locations it traveled yesterday. Assume Randy has it today(?).

 

[WitchCityBallabio]

Here's a better video of the first attempt, courtesy of Tom Halchuk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXXERjjGnls

 

[wistah_sean]

Tom posted this to the NEMotoGuzzi yahoo group this morning. I'm bummed I missed it. Where is the baton going next after Randy?

Yesterday the MA Moto Guzzi group had their monthly breakfast in Brimfield,MA at Hooyas restaurant. Brimfield is your typical early 1700's New England town http://www.brimfieldma.org/Pages/index with a big common area and a white steeple church. Brimfield is also the home of the huge Brimfield Antique Fair. See the pic for an aerial view of the fair. http://www.necga.com/resources/PosterFull.jpg.

It was a gorgeous day, bright and sunny with 60 degree temperatures. 14 people showed up for 9AM breakfast ride on 12 separate bikes. (10 Guzzis)

The group took a meandering ride to the track and found NH MGNOC Rep Randy Tefft. Randy was putting the final touches on his 1980's LeMans hill climber. http://picasaweb.google.com/GuzziRelay09/MAToVTHandoff#


Here are some videos of that historic event.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXXERjjGnls
The first video if of Randy Tefft's world record hill climb, 290 ft, on a Moto Guzzi Lemans in Monson Ma. April 19, 2009
This is the first recorded hill climb for a Moto Guzzi Lemans.


The Moto Guzzi Relay to the Rally baton was passed to Randy at the bottom of the hill.
In true Guzzi style Randy proceeded 270 ft up the Monson hill climb with the baton on his back. Stuffing the front end into the dirt on the 3rd leg of the hill. The "baton" weighs about 12lbs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwkZf2SEufw


It looks like there maybe some slight modifications coming up on the LeMans hill climber. We are all looking forward to more upcoming motorcycle events in New England area.

Upcoming events
- Dirt / Trials bike museum in Chesire, MA
- Indian Exhibit museum Springfield,MA
- Jampot Rally ride
- Western NY Rally
- Damn Yankee Rally
- Western MA breakfast/ride


In case you were wondering here is a bit of info about the hill climb hosts. The Quagbog riders club has been around for over 40yrs. They offer AMA sanctioned hill climb events at their headquarters. For more info checkout their website. http://www.quaboagridersmc.com/home.asp


Rubber side down.
Tom

 

[GTM®]

Sean, thanks for the cross post here. So Tom posted that on the NE list and WG, but not here... :angry:

I just updated the Google Map and blog. Thanks to whomever posted the pics to the Picasa page.

Anyone here in touch with Randy? Love to see someone from NY swing over and grab it, and head West. Anyone?

I'll send Randy a note too, and post any reply.

 

[Chuck in Indiana]

nice sidestand..:laugh: