March '22 Va Guzzi Riders lunch
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Ron
Mar 21, 2022, 1:43:37 PM3/21/22
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Va Guzzisti,
WOW, what a great day Saturday! The weatherguess was "all over the map" all week, at one point saying 42% chance of rain Saturday morning. So glad they were wrong-o. I rode my Maroon '03 V11 Sport Naked to show to a potential buyer. I arrived at Mimmo's about 11:40 & I was sitting on the bike enjoying the heat of the sun & a car pulled in. An older gentleman got out & came around saying "I just had to stop & check out your Guzzi, I ride the only BMW I know of in the area & out of the ordinary bikes always get my attention". As we talked, Joey Klingman pulled in on his Triumph. He was the person interested in my bike so the conversation shifted. Stuart Osteroff was next to arrive on his gorgeous new 850TT. Then I saw Allyn & Suzie Chappell coming across the lot, having caged it. Suzie said it looked really dark & threatening at their house. Been there, done that. Nothing I hate worse that having to pull a motorcycle from a warm dry garage into a steady rain. LOL, the older I get, the stronger the reason has to be to make me start a ride in the rain, or if the guess percentage is so high it's likely I'll get soaked down the road.
After checking out the TT, the older gentleman left & we 5 headed into the restaurant. There was no table marked as being reserved, I don't think the waitress understood me when I asked which table was reserved for the Guzzi group. She just looked at me blankly, There was a round table set for 8 and a double table set for 12, I chose the round (seemed like a good idea at the time). As we got seated, the young lady was on the spot to make sure the table was set right & get drink orders. I believe she is a Spanish language first speaker, still working on her English. Checking out the menu, it appeared to be unchanged for the pandemic (I've been in restaurants where it was obvious they had cut back recently). The prices, however, were definitely up. We were getting ready to order when Bob Corfield rolled in on his California 1400. With in minutes another bike come into the lot. It turned out to be David Phillips on his classic SP. After the new arrivals got settled we ordered, and then heard the rumble of two more bikes pulling in. They were Mike Swain on a V85 and Scott Sheffield on a V7III Stone. The guys had to take a small table close by, a shame because it was difficult to include all in the various conversations. They got their orders in, & the food started coming out quickly. Our waitress was trying hard, but still needs some training on how to serve a group (reaching in front of folks eating). You had to be sure she got your request right, as when I asked for cheese & got a refill on my tea. Word around the tables was that the food was very good, My dish was Italian sausage/green peppers/mushrooms in a sweet marinara sauce over linguini. Allyn had a mixed seafood in red sauce over linguini, I can't eat shrimp anymore, but his dish was covered with them & they sure looked good! Yes the priced were up, but the portions served were huge. Allyn took a box home for another meal, I have no saddle bags on the Sport the small soft bag on the luggage rack was filled w/my rain suit, gloves etc. So, I had to stuff myself to clear my plate, it was too good to waste!
After lunch we had a nice tire-kicking session out in the warm sunshine. We had 9 folks at the lunch, w/7 bikes lined up outside, 6 of them Guzzis.
Joey kept looking longingly at the Sport, but even w/the forward mounted footpegs, there was too sharp an angle on his knees. He said he'd not be able to ride many miles before aching legs would make him stop for a break. I know the feeling well, having to sell a beautiful LeMans 1000 I'd resurrected a few years back. I found that, w/the clip-on bars & semi rearset pegs, I was only good for about 20 miles before I lost feeling in my arms & hands. The Sport had already been changed over to a more standard handlebar, & I mounted the parts to relocate the pegs & foot controls, so that the bike is much more rideable for me.....but I just don't have room to work on a customers bike w/3 bikes of my own in the garage. The ride home was wonderful, I rode some local 2 laners. Traffic was very light, & there were many spots of color from spring flowers blooming in the woods & fields I was riding through. I hope all y'all who weren't able to make the lunch at least got your bikes out for a spring ride over the weekend.
See ya next month,
Ron
PS, I know of several Guzzi's besides mine for sale around the state. If The owners will send me the details, I'll send out a post to the group listing them all.
WOW, what a great day Saturday! The weatherguess was "all over the map" all week, at one point saying 42% chance of rain Saturday morning. So glad they were wrong-o. I rode my Maroon '03 V11 Sport Naked to show to a potential buyer. I arrived at Mimmo's about 11:40 & I was sitting on the bike enjoying the heat of the sun & a car pulled in. An older gentleman got out & came around saying "I just had to stop & check out your Guzzi, I ride the only BMW I know of in the area & out of the ordinary bikes always get my attention". As we talked, Joey Klingman pulled in on his Triumph. He was the person interested in my bike so the conversation shifted. Stuart Osteroff was next to arrive on his gorgeous new 850TT. Then I saw Allyn & Suzie Chappell coming across the lot, having caged it. Suzie said it looked really dark & threatening at their house. Been there, done that. Nothing I hate worse that having to pull a motorcycle from a warm dry garage into a steady rain. LOL, the older I get, the stronger the reason has to be to make me start a ride in the rain, or if the guess percentage is so high it's likely I'll get soaked down the road.
After checking out the TT, the older gentleman left & we 5 headed into the restaurant. There was no table marked as being reserved, I don't think the waitress understood me when I asked which table was reserved for the Guzzi group. She just looked at me blankly, There was a round table set for 8 and a double table set for 12, I chose the round (seemed like a good idea at the time). As we got seated, the young lady was on the spot to make sure the table was set right & get drink orders. I believe she is a Spanish language first speaker, still working on her English. Checking out the menu, it appeared to be unchanged for the pandemic (I've been in restaurants where it was obvious they had cut back recently). The prices, however, were definitely up. We were getting ready to order when Bob Corfield rolled in on his California 1400. With in minutes another bike come into the lot. It turned out to be David Phillips on his classic SP. After the new arrivals got settled we ordered, and then heard the rumble of two more bikes pulling in. They were Mike Swain on a V85 and Scott Sheffield on a V7III Stone. The guys had to take a small table close by, a shame because it was difficult to include all in the various conversations. They got their orders in, & the food started coming out quickly. Our waitress was trying hard, but still needs some training on how to serve a group (reaching in front of folks eating). You had to be sure she got your request right, as when I asked for cheese & got a refill on my tea. Word around the tables was that the food was very good, My dish was Italian sausage/green peppers/mushrooms in a sweet marinara sauce over linguini. Allyn had a mixed seafood in red sauce over linguini, I can't eat shrimp anymore, but his dish was covered with them & they sure looked good! Yes the priced were up, but the portions served were huge. Allyn took a box home for another meal, I have no saddle bags on the Sport the small soft bag on the luggage rack was filled w/my rain suit, gloves etc. So, I had to stuff myself to clear my plate, it was too good to waste!
After lunch we had a nice tire-kicking session out in the warm sunshine. We had 9 folks at the lunch, w/7 bikes lined up outside, 6 of them Guzzis.
Joey kept looking longingly at the Sport, but even w/the forward mounted footpegs, there was too sharp an angle on his knees. He said he'd not be able to ride many miles before aching legs would make him stop for a break. I know the feeling well, having to sell a beautiful LeMans 1000 I'd resurrected a few years back. I found that, w/the clip-on bars & semi rearset pegs, I was only good for about 20 miles before I lost feeling in my arms & hands. The Sport had already been changed over to a more standard handlebar, & I mounted the parts to relocate the pegs & foot controls, so that the bike is much more rideable for me.....but I just don't have room to work on a customers bike w/3 bikes of my own in the garage. The ride home was wonderful, I rode some local 2 laners. Traffic was very light, & there were many spots of color from spring flowers blooming in the woods & fields I was riding through. I hope all y'all who weren't able to make the lunch at least got your bikes out for a spring ride over the weekend.
See ya next month,
Ron
PS, I know of several Guzzi's besides mine for sale around the state. If The owners will send me the details, I'll send out a post to the group listing them all.
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