Planning Part Two of My Trip!

Looks something like this. Cleveland the first day. Michigan's upper peninsula then Chicago. Then to Rapid City SD> Sturgis is around there and mount Rushmore along with some other national parks. Then Yellowstone to see Old Faithful.From there Salt Lake City. Then Bryce and Zion Nat. parks. Then home to Vegas. If anyone back home wants to meet me in Zion to check out those awesome rock formations then check out Bryce Canyon and ride home together That would be fun. Leave a comment if you are interested. I will be firming the trip tomorrow at AAA. Later Rich.

The Dent is Gone

Oh I forgot to mention, the other day we got the dent out of Al's bike from the sunglasses incident. Skulls and Flames has been restored to all her former glory.

Fernanda Gets a new Job

Al's wife Fern got a new job at this doggy day care place. Inside they have 'suites' for the dogs to sleep in. In each suite, there is a plasma tv, a speakerphone so the owners can call their dogs and speak to them, and a camera for the owners to watch over the internet how their dog is being treated. Talk about your pampered pet!

Al's Tattoo Guru

After Red Rock, we went to see this guy named Nehi. He does all of Al's ink work. They were discussing his next tatoo. I think the piece might have something to do with either skulls or flames or Harleys.

More fun at the bar

The girl in the back had on fishnets, a g-string and leather chaps. Only in NYC!

They dance on the bar "Coyote Ugly" style,

These are the bartenders at Red Rock kickin' it up

Red Rock Saloon Pig Roast!

This is the Red Rock Saloon 17th Street and 10th Ave, NYC. Today they had their annual pig roast. Free food and plenty of fun. I rode out and met Al and HOG buddies. There was probably 100 bikes there.

Sunday

I woke up late this morning and missed mass. Last night, after the ride to Conneticut, I went to a family party and card game in Middle Village, Queens. I couldn't do anything right in the card game so I left early, after losing $25. Al and his HOG buddies went for a ride this morning to Wortsborough. I don't know where it is but it's probably 110 miles away or so. They are meeting up a a bar called 'Red Rock' on the west side of Manhattan this afternoon. Al just called and I think I'm going to go meet them. Look for pics tonight. LaterRich

The Leader of The Pack, Tony De

Here is Tony De, an assistant principal from Queens. Colorful Tony told us of how he was a Honda 'Goldwing' rider for years. A few years ago, he decided to buy a Harley Softail as a second bike. As soon as he got the Harley, he never rode the Honda again. He admits that the Honda was a better bike, but he had no desire to ride it. After a couple of years of just sitting there gathering dust, Tony sold the Honda and bought this Harley ElectraGlide as his second bike. Just another Harley Davidson love story, that for some, is hard to comprehend.

HOG NYC Chapter

Here are just some of the guys Al rides with. H.O.G. Chapter NYC. (HOG stands for Harley Owners Group) After installing Al's new pipes, I slept at his place in Harlem. On Saturday morning, we met up with these guys for a nice ride up to Conneticut for a state HOG rally.

FRAN LOVES HARLEY'S

Here is a pic from the other day. Fran B checks out Bessie and the new Rineharts.

Friday night Harlem.

Went to Al's to help him change his pipes. "Skulls and Flames" got a new set of Vance and Hines 'Big Radius' exhaust. We changed the breather and also remapped the fuel injection. THE BIKE SOUNDS GOOD!

The Maestro and his lovely wife Fran

I've been to many parties at this oasis. As a matter of fact, that is why I am staying in NY for some extra few weeks. Their son," DR GIANNI B," who is my chiropractor and friend, as well as a licensed pyrotechnician, as well as many other things too numerous to mention, is having a Fourth Of July Bash that is not to be missed! The will be plenty of fireworks and the food, as well as the company,is always outstanding.

"The Maestro'

Here is my friend "The Maestro" at his waterfront oasis on the Great South Bay of Long Island

One Sausage, One Pepperoni

We finished both of these. I did give a couple of slices to some woman who was sitting at the bar with us. She said she loved Harley's.

Lou The Best Pizzaman I know

This is Teddy's son,Lou, who takes care of us when we're jonesing for some pie

Teddy's Our Favorite Pizza 'Hole In The Wall'

Here is our favorite pizza joint in Elmont Long Island

New Rinehart Exhaust

After about eight hours work, Bessie got new pipes, new breather, new fuel injection mapping, new grips and some extra chrome

Bessie's undressed and ready for new pipes

Tuesday Back at Mom's House

Monday I went out to Long Island and visited some friends. I got to see the water and all the boats around where I used to live.
Spent the better part of last night and this morning trying to get the blog going. Finally Success. Whew!
On a happy note, today I ordered new Rinehart Exhaust Pipes for Bessy, along with some new chrome and Kuryakyn ISO grips. Parts will be here Thursday. I'm figuring about 8 to 10 hours to install it all. That should be fun. I'll keep you posted. Later Rich

Uncle Joe B. Everyone calls him by both his first AND last name. Even his wife, Aunt Fanny, refers to him this way. She'll say something like "Joe B, did you throw out the garbage?"

Al and Fernanda wave goodby after our ride back to NY. They went to Harlem. I went to a bbq in Queens to spend Father's Day with my dad 

Group photo on our last day at Laconia 

Fernanda, this is not the best way to store your helmet in the rain! There was about a pint of water in there when we got back to the bike 

The sky looks ominous in this shot. It started to rain each day at about five pm. 

Weirs Beach is where it all goes down in Laconia. There were people and Harleys everywhere. 

Well, it rained every day but we made the best of the dry times. Here are some of the 300,000 bikes that went to Laconia this week. 

Another shot of our hovel. Check out the huge TV 

We turned the stove on FULL BLAST to heat up the cabin. There were no stores open, so we went in the rain to a restaurant that was about to close and practically begged for any food they could sell us. They gave us these three bowls of clam chowder. You had to see us trying to rig these giant tupperwares to the bike so they wouldn't spill(in the rain). Such is life on the road. 

The morning after Carmine's, we rode about eight hours to Laconia NH, for bike week. We arrived at our cabin after dark and it was cold. 

Followed by about three pounds of Chicken Contadina. We brought most of this home. Carmine's is known for their big portions. We still ordered way too much. 

Next course 2 pounds of eggplant parm. 

OK, I finally got the thing to work. That laptop is still on the fritz. With much help from brother Greg,I downloaded the pics to my mom's pc and we're in business. Here is about a pound of calamari we ordered as an appetizer at the famous Carmine's in Mahattan  

Here's Al at his Harlem Mansion. We just got home from Memphis 

There And Back Again

We went to Bike Week in Laconia, New Hampshire. It was a complete rainout. It rained every day. We made the best of it though. Bought plenty of shirts, pins, patches and gadgets for the bike. We had a good time despite the rain.There was no high speed internet in the cabin we were staying in, so I could not post for the last couple of days:-( As a matter of fact, the cabin was a bit of a shitehole. We were lucky to have heat! But on a good note, there were plenty of ants and various bugs and other creatures to keep us company. I'll send pics soon.
Anyway, it's Father's Day and I'm back in New York with the family for a BBQ at Uncle Joe B's in Howard Beach, Queens. All of a sudden a poker game broke out and I won about $15. All in all, a good day!

New York City!

We rode from Virginia to New York on Wednesday. We're staying over at Al's beautiful townhouse in Harlem, NYC. We ate last night in Manhattan, at one of my favorite Italian eateries called Carmine's. They serve "family style," which means you order dishes for the whole table to share. And the portions are HUGE! Of course we ordered too much and ended up taking home about three days worth of food.
This morning we will head north to Laconia, New Hampshire for bike week.
Al's lovely wife Fernanda will be joining us for the next few days.
We are planning to switch bikes again so Fernanda can enjoy Bessie's Mustang seat.
The ride is about six hours.
In Laconia, we have rented a cabin about twenty miles outside of town. I don't know if they have high speed internet up there so I don't know when I'll be able to post pics. We'll be back on Sunday though. Look for pics of 100,000 bikes jammed in to the tiny town of Laconia and the ensuing madness. Later Rich

I finally found out why Al is so Crabby

For the last two hundred miles today, we switched bikes. Al rode Bessy, I rode "Skulls and Flames" Let me tell you something... THAT IS THE MOST UNCOMFORTABLE SEAT I EVER SAT ON!
It was like sitting on a board, WITH A NAIL IN IT! Right on my tailbone. My butt was screaming for a break. No wonder he's always in a bad mood. Hey Al, do us all a favor and spring for the three hundred bucks for a Mustang Seat. Later Rich

Here's a tiny part of the manicured grounds. 

Billiard Room. Nice! 

Here's a poor shot of the library with 25,000 books. The woodwork in the place is incredible. This pic does not do it justice.