Tri-State group ride

Second Summer Nighthawk Group Ride, Sunday, July 30, 2000

We had ten bikes and eleven riders for our Tri-State ride today, including an assemblage of seven 90s Nighthawks. Participants were:

Marty on a 95 red Nighthawk and wife Sharon on a 96 Vulcan
Ron Spicer on his 99 black Nighthawk
Ron's co-worker Joe on a new Suzuki GS500
Adam and Kim riding two-up on a 95 black Nighthawk
Kristina on a 98 black Nighthawk
Bob on a 92 black Nighthawk
Ray on a 79 BMW R65
Yours truly on the 91 red Nighthawk and
Matthew on a 95 red Nighthawk (he joined the group about thirty minutes into the ride on the Maryland side.)

"Shall we gather at the river?" From left to right: Kristina, Bob, Sharon, Ray, Joe, Ron and Marty. That's Marty's bike with the nifty fairing in the foreground.

Crossing on White's Ferry. Left to Right: Kristina (back to camera), Bob, Sharon, Ray. Right to left at railing: Joe, Ron's head, and Adam.

After passing by Sugarloaf Mountain and meeting up with Matthew we spent a couple of hours to reach our lunch destination at Thurmont. The route included a pair of covered bridges, several picturesque small towns, smooth roads and little traffic. We also made a pit stop at the world's cleanest Seven-Eleven bathroom from what I understand.

The Mountain Gate Family Restaurant in Thurmont came highly recommended and did not disappoint. They easily accommodated our group and we were able to get our food quickly in the buffet style setting. There's something about motorcycling that charges up my appetite! We had the sort of good conversations that happen when you've been on the road for a few hours. We shared riding stories, maintenance techniques, raves about bikes we'd seen, etc. Outside the restaurant we parked next to the entourage of the Maryland Women on Wheels Chapter who were on a club ride. They wanted to know is our group was an official club. We said, no, we had met through an internet site. One of their riders wanted to know if we got a group rate on purchasing the Nighthawks.

Lots of helmets in this picture. That's me in the SEG, second from right.

After lunch we headed through some twisties through the Catoctin Mountain area and crossed over South Mountain. The route I chose doubled back up South Mountain and then I made a wrong turn on our way to Boonsboro. After stopping and fiddling with the maps, I noticed that a sheriff's deputy had pulled up behind our group. Here's one time that there's a cop when you need one. I got directions and the group turned around and we proceeded to Sharpsburg, where we stopped for ice cream.

Nine out of eleven isn't bad. Suiting up after ice cream in Sharpsburg. Left to right: Bob, Sharon, Marty, Ron, Kim, Matthew, Adam, Ray and Kristina

Adam and Kim headed back to Baltimore at this point and the rest of the group, except Joe who needed to get home, continued on to Shepherdstown and Rt. 9 back into Virginia.

Overall this was a good route with some fairly challenging roads, nice scenery and good places to stop. There was also no rain, a blessing with the soggy weather we've had lately. And to top it off, I rode back into Washington under rainbow. That was a sign that it had truly been a good day. Ride sheet follows