It's the first Sunday of the month, and time for the BMW Motorcycle Owners of Vermont (MOV) breakfast at Tozier's Restaurant in Bethel. Mike's been to the monthly breakfast several times, but this was my first trip. There were 47 bikes and 50 people in attendance, almost 10% of the club membership. We welcomed five new members plus a couple of fellow BMW riders from Yankee Beemers.

Everyone was upbeat with a lot of laughter, talk about motorcycles and motorycle trips, and the upcoming rally. The club motto: "Live to ride, ride to eat" was upheld in fine fashion with plenty of eggs, bacon, potatoes and pancakes. When folks ride over 100 miles for breakfast, you know it has to combine good food and fun. Pamela, the treasurer, received a tiara with a BMW logo on it from one of the club directors, much to the amusement of everyone present.

After breakfast we continued our ride to Calais where Mike's parents own a summer camp on Curtis Pond. It was another partly sunny end of summer day, with fluffy white clouds scattered across the robin's egg blue sky. Mike knows the best motorcycle roads, and we zoomed along Route 12 into Montpelier.

Montpelier, the smallest state capitol at just under 8000 people, is a mixture of stately government buildings including the capitol with a gleaming gold dome, and off-beat, funky stores. We ate lunch at Bagitos, an eclectic cafe that serves bagels, burritos, and tacos along with live music, a shelf full of children's books, and local artwork on the walls. Locally-sourced ingredients included kale, eggs, bacon, tempeh and beef. The quirky atmosphere both inside and out added to the fun.

The road from Montpelier to Calais winds through farmland and forests and up and down hills until we turn off at Curtis Pond onto the narrow dirt road that leads to the Ryan's camp. The R1200 GS handles both bumpy pavement and dirt/gravel roads with ease.

dirt road into the Ryan's camp

Curtis Pond

A "truck" built out of rocks and filled with flowers near Curtis Pond

Sticking to our goal of traveling different roads whenever possible, we rode south toward home on Route 2 and then on Route 100B along the Mad River, continuing south on scenic Route 100. It wouldn't be a summer day on the motorcycle without a stop for ice cream, and the maple/black raspberry twist dipped in chocolate didn't disappoint.

Route 100 took us into Rochester where we turned west to go over the Brandon Gap. Gap roads in Vermont wind up and over mountain passes, and the Brandon Gap is a favorite for both human-powered bikes and motorcycles. With a 9% grade on the east and a 12% grade on the west, the views as the paved road crests the mountain are amazing.

Brandon Gap looking east

Brandon Gap looking west

Once in Brandon we turned south on Route 7, riding through the valley with the Green Mountains to the west and the Taconics to the east. Late afternoon shadows spilled over the road, reminding us that summer is almost over and the cooler temperatures of autumn are on their way.





If it's sunny and above 60 degrees, it's time for barbecue!

March teased us with hot temperatures and the promise of an early Spring, and then April roared back with cold, rainy, gray weather. The BMW sat in the garage, waiting for the sun to return.

It seems that many of our favorite rides involve food, and today was no different. We started with a plan to eat a late lunch at Curtis BBQ in Putney, home of the best barbecue we've found in the Northeast.

We headed north on Route 11/30 into Londonderry and through Chester before turning onto Route 103 on our way through Rockingham and Bellows Falls, ending up on Route 5 to Putney.  The damage caused by "Irene" - Tropical Storm Irene that lashed southern Vermont the end of August, is evident everywhere a stream or river travels near the road. People usually visualize mountain ranges covered with pine and hardwood forests when they think about Vermont, but they forget about the vast amount of water that is drained through these mountains. We didn't have much snow this winter, and Spring has been unusually dry, leaving the streams and rivers much lower than usual but showcasing the gravel, boulders, and huge trees that were hurled by Irene.

Usually when we pull into Curtis Barbecue we're greeted by a parking lot full of motorcycles, pick up trucks, and cars with license plates from Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Today we were only the second bike in the lot, parking next to a Harley owned by a friendly guy from Springfield.

This is only the third weekend Curtis has been open this season, but everything looks familiar:  the menu featuring pork and chicken, potato or cucumber salad, and lots of paper towels to soak up the BBQ sauce.

We listened to acoustic guitar music while we enjoyed lunch, and then went in search of ice cream for dessert. We took the circular, long way around route back home riding through busy and congested Brattleboro then along Route 30 along more open and rural countryside into Newfane. How a business called The Creamery can't have ice cream on the menu is beyond me, but they didn't so we rode on, still in search of dessert.

Since we ride along Route 30 from Brattleboro to home fairly often, Mike took a detour from Townshend into Grafton, a beautiful old Vermont town that gives meaning to the phrase "you can't get there from here". Grafton isn't on any direct road, and in fact we rode on over 10 miles of dirt roads that have been repaired since Irene cut Grafton off completely. We rode through wide stretches of forest and farmland before turning out onto - paved - Route 30. 

Still without ice cream to finish off lunch, we turned into Zoeys deli in Manchester, hoping to try their new gelato. One of the staff was hanging up the 'closed' sign as we pulled up to the door, so we kept going to our old stand-by:  Ben & Jerry's outdoor stand owned by our friend John. We joined the everpresent line of customers to order Chunky Monkey and Vanilla Heath Bar Crunch ice cream.

Lunch finally complete, we headed home a couple of hours ahead of the rain. 120 miles in a 3-hour ride on familiar roads to a favorite lunch stop was a great way to spend a sunny, warm April afternoon. Forsythia is blooming, the trees are starting to bud, and farmers are just starting to think about plowing their fields. The weather forecast for tomorrow is more warm, clear weather and Mike is planning to ride the BMW to a meeting in Massachusetts. I wonder if he'll find ice cream for lunch?

Southwestern Vermont Green Mountains to Mass' Mohawk Trail

We picked a hot and sunny day to plot a ride south from Manchester, VT to Bennington where we picked up Route 9, a scenic, mountainous, and fun ride east. We wanted to see the windmills on Searsburg Mountain,  just off Route 8. We've always loved windmills and find them awe-inspiring. Route 8 south is a little-traveled road that Mike loves to ride:  no cars, lots of steep grades, and smooth pavement.

Cross into Massachusetts and pick up Route 2, the Mohawk Trail http://www.mohawktrail.com/ heading east. This was our first time on the bike on Route 2, and we loved every mile. There are several places to pull over and gaze out over the mountains to the south. One advertised a 69-mile view! The Mohawk Trail opened in 1914, but it's a lot more fun riding it on a BMW than it must have been in a Ford Model-T.

We took the Mohawk Trail to Route 5 north, heading back into Vermont and winding our way through Brattleboro. There's lots to see and do in Brattleboro and it has one of our favorite downtown areas. Don't miss the Food Co-op for lunch or a snack.

Our only real destination today was Curtis' BBQ in Putney, VT. Curtis has been in the same outdoor location for over 39 years, perfecting his vinegary BBQ sauce that drenches ribs or chicken. You'll find lots of friendly motorcycle folks along with local families and visitors all sharing space at picnic tables. Licking your fingers is definitely encouraged!

After lunch, we kept heading north on Route 5 through Westminster, VT until we intersected with Route 103 and turned west toward home. One last stop for ice cream (Curtis doesn't make dessert) at the intersection of routes 11 and 30 just past Bromley Ski Area, and then we zoomed down the last mountain back to Manchester.

Check out the route here:  http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=200162054405125744601.0004a6a50293a45254723&msa=0&ll=42.872945,-72.994366&spn=0.050825,0.1684