Easton PA

A few weeks ago I did a short trip with the usual gang, my brother and four friends from the RAT pack, three Triumphs Sprint and a Triple. It was a short trip of about 200 miles on an unusually warm winter day, with only three of us going all the way to Easton, Pennsylvania.  It was a ride to keep the fuel flowing, the injectors clean, the batteries topped off and stress of daily life behind.

The RAT group arrives at meeting place

We rode our usual route west towards Frenchtown where we would make our first stop for coffee.  I have mentioned Frenchtown various times in the past, it's a cute little town.  We have our cup of coffee while discussing motorcycles and trips, the typical talking points when we get together.

Beautiful Indian

We leave town and head to another usual place, the Van Sant Airport.  We arrive to see an empty airport, very unusual on a Saturday, in the summer there's always a long line of bikes.

After a while three bikers come up the road, a yellow Buell and two cruisers.

I waited for the ranger to leave and then had my brother video me while I rode the Super Tenere up and down the road a few times.

We leave the airport and head north along the Delaware river with three of the Triumph riders heading home.  My friend Wayne wanted to visit a small brewery in Easton, PA but we couldn't find it and ended up parking in the historic downtown area.  The town square is home to the Soldiers' & Sailors' Monument, a memorial for Easton area veterans killed during the American Civil War.

The downtown area has lots of pubs and restaurants.  We walk around until we settled on one that had Portuguese Chouriço on the menu.

The restaurant wasn't cheap but once in a while you just have to splurge a little. I had a nice sandwich but Wayne went for the Portuguese Chouriço, he had never had it before but after we told him how good it was he couldn't resist.  The popular way is to serve chouriço flame-cooked over alcohol at the table or simmered in strong alcoholic beverage such as aguardiente. Special glazed earthenware dishes with a lattice top are used for this purpose.   The plate arrived in typical fashion, in flames. I think he enjoyed it, the plate was nice and clean when he was done.

Once outside we walked around admiring the old buildings, I love how they used to decorate buildings by putting gargoyles and eagles along the top and corners of the buildings, today's modern buildings are very square and plain.

We leave Easton and head home along the New Jersey side of the Delaware River.

I have always been a fan of science fiction movies and a really big fan of the Star Wars saga.  I had told my daughter I needed a mascot for my bike and for Christmas she found a small Darth Vader that is a perfect match for my all black Tenere.  When you press the belly it makes the deep breathing sound of Darth Vader.  I have it hanging from the back of my bike.

The sun was about to set as I got near my house, I stopped on the side of the road and waited for the sunset.  You may recall this picture I posted a few weeks ago.  It's an HDR made of three pictures.

To quote that post, "hanging out with friends, riding twisty roads and enjoying the sounds of a high revving engine is better than a psychiatrist chair".  It was the perfect ending for a short ride with friends.