"It was a Ride Down Not to Forget!"

 

The Middle of Nowhere Scooter Club’s Whiskey Dick Rally IV

Stroudsburg, Pa, 4/24/26/2015

 

By Bob Addis

 

Can you say cold?  Can you look and feel cold?

 

Brian Pease rode his Burgman 400 down from north of Burlington, VT, to Bob’s in Cohoes on Thursday to travel with the Rumblers on Friday morning. He encountered a storm on the way which deposited a quarter of an inch of snow and ice on his windshield.  Brian decided to ride on through since it was wasn't sticking to the pavement at that time.  He was a bit chilly when he got to Cohoes!

 

Friday AM seven brave Rumblers, Dan Dwyer, Chuck Price, Scott Brodie, John Connors, Howard Ferrin, Brian Pease, and Bob Addis, met at Johnny B's Diner in Glenmont for breakfast and mutual encouragement. They left the diner to face a cloudy  30's and low 40 degree 6.5 hour ride, testing man and beast.  

 

By the time we stopped for gas in Saugerties, Howard's electric gloves had killed the battery of his 150cc Blackjack! A friendly guy in a pickup gave him a jump start but wouldn't follow us to Stroudsburg!  So Howard, without the use his electric gloves, was guaranteed cold hands.

 

We shivered our way down Rt. 209 with Bob on the P200E in the lead - "Eat My 2-

Stroke!" - and all others riding 4-cycle machines.  A few commented on a more pleasant scent since Bob had recently switched oils; others commented differently.

 

We arrived at the hotel in Stroudsburg - thanks for the scenic gps neighborhood tour, John - with lots of time to kick scooter tires as arrivals poured in.  Chuck Price, Sr., our Syracuse member, rolled in trailering his Honda Rebel within 5 minutes of our arrival, the same time as last year!  How does he do it?  Is he telepathically connected?   :-)

 

Friday night’s dinner was a repeat of the previous year, a short ride to a tavern on a hill, only on this return ride it wasn't raining and pitch black!

 

We got up early for the “long” ride which would launch at 9:30 a.m. (Rumblers missed it last year due to faulty notification and sleeping a bit later). The weather had improved (sunny) and the ride was great.  For lunch, the rally took over a tavern and  grilled hamburgers and hot dogs with salad sides for $5. That's the way to do it!  Simple, cheap and the bar got some trade.

 

After the Gymkhana and a brief rest, we sauntered down to the pool in our Hawaiian shirts. A taco party led to a pool party, with Brian, Howard, Dan, and John jumping in and wrestling with squirters, swim tubes, and generally being goofy. 

 

At 9 pm or so, the announcement was sounded to retire to the bar for music, awards and raffle drawings:

 

  Longest Distance on a Modern - our Brian Pease, 318 miles - Whiskey & a 25 lb. boat anchor!

 

  Longest on a Vintage - our Bob “cannonball” Addis, 165 miles - Whiskey and a huge overstuffed teddy bear!

 

Our host, the Middle of Nowhere Scooter Club, has a great sense of humor for scooterist awards, but the Rumblers are not without a payback!  Be certain to attend our rally in July to see how it plays out!   :-)

 

Sunday's ride home was a little warmer, straightforward, and tolerable.  The sun was out until Catskill and we made slightly better time. John and Dan split from the group to take to the highway. A good time was had by all.