Winter Rides

With winter upon us long trips have stopped but that doesn't mean I stop riding.  I have continued to ride, mostly short trips to local hangouts and usually when the temperature is above 40.
One of the places my friends and I like to ride to is New Hope, a quaint little town just over the Delaware river in Pennsylvania.  It's about one hour from my house using the highway but there are various ways to get there and we always end up using back roads.  In the summer the town is full of bikers, most of the time it's impossible to find a spot to park the bike.

On one of the trips in late November we ended up passing Lambertville and stopping for a drink at the River Horse Brewery. Lambertville is just opposite New Hope on the New Jersey side.  The local brewery has sample day from Friday to Sunday where you can buy 4 little samples, about half a glass, for $2.  The beer is really good and you can continue to have the $.50 glasses for as long as you want, not bad.  They also offer tours of the facility.
River Horse Brewery

One of the rides was to the Hillbilly Hall Tavern & Restaurant for a Polar Bear meeting. This was back in November and the weather was reasonably warm.  A large group showed up as you can see.  I would like to ride one of the three wheeler Piaggio's, I've been told it handles really well around turns because you have 2 wheels steering the bike. These photos were all taken with my phone.
Hillbilly Hall

In December we rode to another Polar Bear meeting at the Cabin, a local restaurant that looks like a mountain cabin.  It has a nice bar and is usually packed on weekends.  The Polar Bear group has a meetup at this place every year and it's less than 10 miles from my house. The weather was reasonably warm and as you can see a large group showed up.  One guy showed up with an old Triumph turned Cafe Racer that sounded really sweet.
The Cabin Restaurant

A week before Christmas on a nice afternoon I decided to get out of the house and clear my head by going for a ride around Jackson.  My town is known in New Jersey as the place of Six Flags Great Adventure and the famous Kingda Ka, a ride that shoots you straight up 45 stories high at 128 mph and then you turn around and drop vertically with a twist along the way.  I have never been on the ride but my daughter has and told me it's really scary.  I didn't take pictures of the park but instead stopped by a lake and waited for the sun to go down and was rewarded with a beautiful sunset.  These pictures were again taken with my phone, not the best quality but you get the picture.
Kingda Ka

A short ride can sometimes be the best thing for the mind, it allows you to forget about problems and for a while just enjoy the scenery and the sounds of the motorcycle.  I went back home much more relaxed and ready for another day and ride.  I had one more ride on the last day of the year but I will leave that to another post.