April 2021 Va Guzzi Riders lunch meet report
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Ron
Apr 20, 2021, 11:10:25 AM4/20/21
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Guzzisti,
I watched the weatherguess change wildly day by day as Saturday approached. The "word" on the phone-device Saturday morning predicted a ride down to Bedford in the high 40's w/the temp reaching into the mid 60's by afternoon. The ride to Buena Vista last month in the mid 40's had made my ss/plastic right knee stiff/achey. My "draggin' jeans" have heavy padding over the knees, but that wasn't enough, so I put on the long-johns as a first layer. I opened up the garage door & rolled the Sport out into the bright sunshine. I'd pulled the electric vest out & checked the battery, but a few minutes out in the sun getting ready to go convinced me I wouldn't need it. The Sport fired on the first couple cranks & settled into a fast idle.....gawd I love the music from those Mistral mufflers! As I headed out the road shifting gears I felt fairly happy w/all the adjusting I'd done on the shift linkage. It still takes a "deliberate" 2-3 shift to avoid a missed shift-grind, but talking to other riders w/ the early 2000's 6 speeds it seems to be a common issue. The "Formotion" clock I have mounted on the Sport had stopped (again) & so when I arrived at Bell Italia & checked my watch I saw it was only 11:30, I did a little ride around Bedford. Back at the restaurant, I found that the one large table in the outside dining area was occupied by a large family group. There were several other tables for 4, but the long, narrow lay out of the sheltered area was a problem. When a waitress came out I told her I'd called in a reservation for a table for 10 in the outdoor area the proceeding Monday. She was apologetic & said I should ask for the manager when calling in, (nice to know after the fact). Allyn Chappell was next to arrive on his V7III, followed by Gary Templeton on a Norge, Nate Jones on a 750 Breva, and finally Mike & Laura Jones two-up on the mighty Convert. A young man came out, & we moved two tables together at the front end of the sheltered area. It gave us seating for 6 with the 3' of social distancing being recommended these days. Service was decent, portions large, & everyone seemed happy w/ their lunch. It was nice being at a restaurant again, after 13 months living w/this pandemic. The 5 Guzzi's made a nice line in the lot, it was another step toward whatever the "new normal" ends up being.
Notes: Gary's beautiful Norge is for sale, I'll be sending out details in a separate email. Also, for anyone interested, the battery powered ANSAI electric vest is a very nice addition to cold weather riding/general use gear, it can keep your core warm for 8 hours from a small rechargeable battery in the pocket.
Stay healthy, ride safe & we'll see what May brings us,
Ron
I watched the weatherguess change wildly day by day as Saturday approached. The "word" on the phone-device Saturday morning predicted a ride down to Bedford in the high 40's w/the temp reaching into the mid 60's by afternoon. The ride to Buena Vista last month in the mid 40's had made my ss/plastic right knee stiff/achey. My "draggin' jeans" have heavy padding over the knees, but that wasn't enough, so I put on the long-johns as a first layer. I opened up the garage door & rolled the Sport out into the bright sunshine. I'd pulled the electric vest out & checked the battery, but a few minutes out in the sun getting ready to go convinced me I wouldn't need it. The Sport fired on the first couple cranks & settled into a fast idle.....gawd I love the music from those Mistral mufflers! As I headed out the road shifting gears I felt fairly happy w/all the adjusting I'd done on the shift linkage. It still takes a "deliberate" 2-3 shift to avoid a missed shift-grind, but talking to other riders w/ the early 2000's 6 speeds it seems to be a common issue. The "Formotion" clock I have mounted on the Sport had stopped (again) & so when I arrived at Bell Italia & checked my watch I saw it was only 11:30, I did a little ride around Bedford. Back at the restaurant, I found that the one large table in the outside dining area was occupied by a large family group. There were several other tables for 4, but the long, narrow lay out of the sheltered area was a problem. When a waitress came out I told her I'd called in a reservation for a table for 10 in the outdoor area the proceeding Monday. She was apologetic & said I should ask for the manager when calling in, (nice to know after the fact). Allyn Chappell was next to arrive on his V7III, followed by Gary Templeton on a Norge, Nate Jones on a 750 Breva, and finally Mike & Laura Jones two-up on the mighty Convert. A young man came out, & we moved two tables together at the front end of the sheltered area. It gave us seating for 6 with the 3' of social distancing being recommended these days. Service was decent, portions large, & everyone seemed happy w/ their lunch. It was nice being at a restaurant again, after 13 months living w/this pandemic. The 5 Guzzi's made a nice line in the lot, it was another step toward whatever the "new normal" ends up being.
Notes: Gary's beautiful Norge is for sale, I'll be sending out details in a separate email. Also, for anyone interested, the battery powered ANSAI electric vest is a very nice addition to cold weather riding/general use gear, it can keep your core warm for 8 hours from a small rechargeable battery in the pocket.
Stay healthy, ride safe & we'll see what May brings us,
Ron
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