Day 4 (Ramapo Romp & Rumble)

Sunday arrived and we were well rested after a good night in the comfortable beds of the Sheraton in Mahwah, NJ. This is not the normal Phat Pac accomodation, being much more on the ostentatious side of spectrum of motels we ususlly pick. It was however, close to Ramapo college and it did have a pool and hot tub. These are two requirements we usually try to find on our trips. There is nothing like an hour or two of relaxation in a hot tub after a day on the bikes. Hot tubs have a way of sparking "Joe Badecki stories" and we all enjoy listening to them even though we know most of them are probably embelished, but it does not matter, they are always funny! This particular night the hotel was hosting 2 weddings. One was what seemed to be a traditional Indian wedding. The clothing of the participants seemed to exude money. It probably would have been a good evening to be "Wedding Crashers" but we dedided against it. At most motels we stay at, we are allowed to park our bikes under the portico right at the front door. That did not apply here as, it would interfere with the "Valet" service. NONE of us opted to have our bikes parked by the valet! We had to park in a covered garage behind the hotel. That always makes me nervous, as I wonder if they will be there in the morning. They were however so all was good.

We traveled the short few miles to Ramapo College and registered for the ride. They had a nice tent set up with coffee and goodies to start the day. This was a "poker run" with each rider drawing a playing card from a deck and recording it on their entry form. We then rode a 92 mile loop that included 4 more check points where you drew 4 more cards to make a poker hand. When we arrived back at Ramapo the best hand would win a prize. Joe had the best hand among the Phat Pac with two pair, but with a large number of riders, it usually takes four of a kind to win top prize. We then were treated to a picnic lunch complete with music. I told Gerry that next year a few Patsy Cline numbers would be more appreciated than the "head banging hard rock" band of the day. :-) I believe they had about 175 riders and Gerry said the event raised about $20,000 dollars for scholarships.

All-in-all, it was a nice ride through the lake and mountain regeions of southern New York state and North Central and Western NJ. When I think of agrculture in New Jersey I always think of the south, but we passed through an area called the "Black Dirt Region". I have never been here before and didn't even know it existed. The soil in this area is extremely black and very fertile. It is unlike anything I have ever seen except for regions in the plains states. As it turns out, it is ideal for agriculture and we passed miles of onion fields. Of course I had to immediately go to Google and learn about what I had just seen. The soil is left over from the last ice age and is only found in this very limited region. Here is a good link to learn more about it if you have an inquisitive mind like mine. Unfortunately, I am having a hard time trying to figure out how to include a link in my blog, so you may have to cut and paste this your browser to see it. Sorry! ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Dirt_Region ) After a group hug with Rich Berman in the middle like mayonaise in a ham sandwich, we each headed home. Gerry was joining Dawn to visit family. Joe headed for the shore and Rich and I headed south. I peeled off at I-78 and headed for PA and he headed for Haddonfield. Another Phat Pac trip had come to an end. We only traveled about 1,100 miles on this trip, but they were all very safe miles with no traffic mishaps or agressive drivers to deal with. Gerry is getting the feel of his new bike. Joe worked on his tan wearing his 1/2 helmet like he enjoys, and Rich and I had our normal great conversations while riding with our new Cardo G4 bluetooth helmet communicators. I am sure we will have a few short summer rides, but I can't wait for our next adventure in California, Oregon and Washington in September. The route is all planned. My GPS is all loaded with the route and the reservations are made. I will be blogging that trip as well and hopefully, I will be able to figure this link thing out in the mean time and will be able to link the blog to some nice video clips in Youtube taken while riding. Thanks for following our adventures. We hope you enjoy them.

Day 3 Rutland, VT to Mahwah, NJ

Day three dawned clear and much warmer than yesterday. We loaded up the bikes and headed out to explore the back roads of Vermont on our way back to NY. As you may know if you have traveled in Vermont, most all roads follow a stream or river with numerous bridges and beautiful scenery at every turn. These same streams that were beautiful today must have been raging deamons last September when Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee passed through this area within a few days of each other. Evidence of the damage was everywhere with homes washed off their foundations and hundreds of yards of roads rebuilt where they obviously had been washed out. Rebuilding is still going on almost a year after the storms and from what we could see, will be going on for some time to come. We originally had planned to visit West Point, but after a little research on the internet we decided to avoid the traffic. Gradutation week is set to begin this weekend and if it is anything like the Naval Academy the week before graduation brings hoards of proud families and extended familes to the facility. We decided instead to divert to the small town of East Nassau, NY so Rich could try to find the small farm where his father had been born. This diversion took us into the wild and up a few miles up a dirt road. Yes, we revere in getting Gerry and Joe's Goldwings dirty. Rich had not been to the site since he was 9 years old, so he was not sure he could find. it. After almost turning around we came over a hill and I could hear him in the helmet communicators confirm that indeed we had found it. When you think about it for a minute it is really kind of cool to actually visit the place where your father was born. Roberta Buff and her husband came out to visit us as we were taking some pictures. She actually remembered Rich's last visit when he was 9 years old. They were very nice people and filled us in on some of the history of the house since the Berman's live there back in the 1920's. Here is a picture of Rich in front of the home.

Once we gingerly retraced our steps back to firm pavement, we headed to Orange County Choppers for a visit. This facility has been made famous by the Teutel family and their antics on the TV show "American Chopper". Their bikes are artistic creations of every theme and color imaginable. Here is a picture of Joe Badecki with the New York Fire Department 911 bike.

Since we had stumbled in on a day when they were having an open house and bike show, the place was mobbed. I think Rich and I were the only two BMW's in attendance and Joe and Gerry were the only two Goldwings. We were definitely in a minority. Predominantly, there were loads of sport bikes revving their engines up to the rev-limiters and plenty of Harleys with straight pipes. It was a sea of testosterone with a few young ladies in tight leathers thrown in just to spice things up. If you ever want to come to a place to watch people this was it. Rich slipped away and got his picture taken with Paul Teutel Sr. who was in the house for the event. He has a poster to prove it for his new garage.

After touring the facility and watching all the bikers trying to impress each other, we fired up our motors and left without anyone even knowing our bikes were running. Two Beemers and two Winds pulling out and none of us could even hear our motors running. From there we decided to head down I-87 to Mahwah, NJ and our hotel for the evening. This short stretch of interstate was the first major highway we had transited since leaving Trenton on Thursday morning. My goal was to plan a trip to explore back roads and we definitely had done that. Tomorrow, we are going to ride in a charity event for Ramapo College and then work our way back home. Tomorrow night I will wrap up the trip after we have arrived home. I hope you are enjoying following along so far.

Day 2 (Cooperstown, NY to Rutland, VT

Day 2 dawned clear and cool. The first order of business each day is loading the bikes. Most hotels are becoming very motorcycle friendly and the Best Western in Cooperstown was no exception. They allowed us to park the bikes under their portico. It is nice not to have to deal with the heavy dew in the mornings when it is so cold, plus it is an added security feature. Thanks BW we appreciated the hospitaly.

After a quick breakfast we headed to the Baseball Hall of Fame to visit the museum. The displays are extensive, but from my perspective it could use a lot more interactive materials. You almost have to READ your way through the museum. The video at the beginning was OK, but a full IMAX film would have been far better. How cool would it be to experience seeing what a real major league bast ball looks like, or actually seeing how much a professional curve ball curves. There is so much action and sights and sounds that could be presented in a format like this that would bring the place alive. I have been in a number of museums that charge far less with much more interesting displays. Any young children I saw there today, quickly had tired of reading any of the materials shown. Some of the mock lockers were interesting if you knew something about the player. Here is the display for Honus Wagner.

Of course the jersey of Babe Ruth was displayed in a room dedicated to his memorabilia.

My favorite was that of Roberto Clemente. As a kid growing up in the Pittsburgh area, he was my hero. I used to wait hours on the door step of the shoe store next to my dad's office to wait for him to bring his spikes in to be shined and sharpened. He barely spoke English, but he would sign anything we handed him. I wish I had one of those autographs today, but those were different times and we actually played in the back yards with those balls and gloves that he had signed. "Too soon old, too late smart".

They even had a couple of Phillies in the hall. Imagine that! Here is the locker of Mike Schmidtt.

After leaving Cooperstown, we headed out across the back roads of the Amish farm country of NY state. Then into the pristine forests and lakes of the Adirondacks. This is a beautiful area and seems to be a throw back to simpler times. We crossed the bridge over Lake Champlain over into Vermont. Here is a picture of the Phat Pac ahead of me as we crossed the bridge. WOW.... what a beautiful day.

Once in Vermont, we quickly headed for route 125 which is has lots of twisties through the mountains surrounding the Killington and Pico Peak ski resorts. Riding these roads with almost no traffic was lots of fun.

We arrived in Rutlant VT later than we had expected even though we only traveled about 275 miles today. Most of these miles were at moderate speeds on small and winding roads. We did not use any major highways and no interstates. It was just a tranquil day of enjoying perfect temperatures, no traffic, and pristine scenery. We can only hope that tomorrow is as nice.

Day 1 (Robinsville, NJ to Cooperstown, NY)

Day 1 began with the Phat Pac meeting at the Dunkin Doughnuts near Gerry's home in Robbinsville, NJ. The weather was fantastic after the last several days of rain. Not a cloud in the sky and dry! YES!! The plan was to meet in time to have a cup of coffee then it would be "feet up" at 8:00 to head to Route 29 following the Delaware River north. I arrived at about 7:15 and Gerry was already there with his new Honda Goldwing. Rich and Joe arrived moments later and after oogling Gerry's new bike with only 1,964 miles on the odometer and ragging him about having to wear a mask for the deal he struck we were ready to head off on our new adventure. The route called for us to follow the Delaware River north all the way to Hancock, NY. We started up along the NJ side on Rte 29, crossed over into PA at Stroudsburgh on I-80 then up route 209 to Milford. This stretch of Rte 209 was called the Ho-Chi-Minh trail by truckers during the hey days of CB radio in the 1960"s. The name came from the steady stream of trucks hauling cargo along a twisty road through the woods of the Pocono's. At the time this was the major connection between I-84 servicing New England and the major E/W corridor of I-80. In time truck traffic was limited and today is is a nice leisurely drive along the river through land designated as a park. We had a little fun following a Porsche club through this heavily patroled slow speed section of highway. It is always nice to have some "flashy jail bait" running in front of us. At Hancock, we took Rte 10 to 28 and into Cooperstown, NY which is the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Since we were too late to get into the museum, we will do that in the morning. Cooperstown is a nice quaint little town and there are plenty of places to stay and dine. They host a lot of baseball tournaments here at a huge facility of well manicured ball parks south of town. We elected to have dinner at Coley's Tavern. The wings were great, we highly recommend them.

Here is our motley crew in front of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Tomorrow we will visit the museum and then head out on Day 2 and Rutland, VT.

Phat Pac Spring 2012 Romp & Rumble

You may ask what is the Phat Pac. Well...the name was coined by Joe Badecki, one of our members, referrring to Frank Papotto. Frank was one of those guys that when he walked into a room, all the women would gasp for air. You know the kind, James Bond, Tom Cruise, Tom Selleck. None of us can ever remember him having a wrinkle in his suit or a crease in anything! He always looked like he came off the cover of a men's fashion magazine. We accused him of ironing his boxers. The rest of us.... well we are just normal guys, or not so normal as the case may be, that just wish we looked like "Frankie", as he was known. I say "was known" as he died a few years back in a freak golf cart accident. The P-H-A-T Pac gots it name because he was so "Physically Hot And Tempting" to any female that ever met him. Yes, we do have a sense of humor and we have never forgotten those early motorcycle rides he went on with us. The Phat Pac name has stuck and we are all proud to have known Frankie and honor him with the name. Photo: Left to Right: Gerry Guidice, Joe Badecki, Frankie Papotto and Me.

Since the early days more than 7 years ago, we have traveled many thousands of miles together and seen more of the USA than most travel agents. We still eagerly await a new adventure and love to get together to plan where to go next. There is an expression that says "life is not a dress reherasal". We firmly believe that is true. Each of our trips has been structured to make memories to last a lifetime. This week we will be taking a short 4 day trip up through New England with stops at the Baseball Hall of Fame, The Adirondacks, Lake Champlain, Vermont, The U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the Ramapo College Poker Run on Sunday. It will be a tune up for our big trip of the year in September. That trip will be a "fly & ride" for all but me. I will be doing a cross country trip and meet the group out in San Francisco. We will explore Northern California, Oregon and Washington. The Phat Pac has 4 members now, with Rich Berman joining us during that first year. We all had the pleasure of working together at Commerce/TD bank and have a love for motorcycle touring. More importantly, we just love to get together, laugh and enjoy each others friendship. These are not friends in the normal sense of the word. These are those rare people you meet in life that you would trust your life to and consider as family. When you ride tens of thousands of miles in close proximity with the same 4 guys in all kinds of weather and all kinds of terrain from the blinding heat of Death Valley to the High altitudes of Pikes Peak and snowy mountain passes of the Rockies, you are doing just that. Each maneuver needs to be predictable, and you need to trust that those around you are alert and in tune with their motorcycles. It is truly poetry in motion when you have that trust and have had those experiences together. Just ask any of us about the time we got caught in a snow storm at 11,000 feet in Brian's Head Pass in Utah. Ummmmm.... I will take responsibility for that one. The group consists of Joe Badecki riding a yellow Goldwing, Gerry Guidice on his Harley Classic (or possibly his new Cobalt Blue Goldwing), Rich Berman on his black BMW R1200Gs and me on my trusty red BMW R1200GS. Here is a picture of the motley crew from a prior trip. I hope you will enjoy following our adventure and enjoy the blog. I will be carrying a SPOT Satellite locating device that will log our position on Google Earth every 10 minutes while we are riding. I hope the pictures we upload each day and the accoounts of the ride here will help share our experiences with you. The ride begins Thursday May 17, 2012. Enjoy! The Phat Pac Left to right: Gerry Guidice, Rich Berman, Joe Badecki, Bruce McKelvy (Colorado June 2006)

I will be carrying my satellite tranceiver on this trip. It will log our position on Google Early every 10 minutes while riding. Click on this link to access it. If it does not work you may need to cut and paste it into your browser. I am still working out the bugs of putting this in a blog page: http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0I8urWhOYax6u5yaUgA2qQ3ZzTbqRyZbT