First Ride
Our first ride of the season and first ride with Low Expectations MC.
I belong to Low Expectations MC based in Albany, NY. Low Ex is for all intents and purposes a virtual club. They have a web site at www.Meetup.com/lowexmc and you can join the club by going to the site and registering. This setup allows the club to notify members of new events in a very short period of time via an RSS feed to the members e-mail address. It also allows the club to draw members from a larger geographic area than would normally be the case. The week leading up to March 20, 2010 was unseasonably warm and Low Expectations decided to have a ride and the RSS notification hit my inbox.
In ancient Greek mythology the Seirenes (Sirens) were three creatures (part woman and part bird) which existed on the isle of Anthemoessa .
It is said that their song was so bewitching that it would lure sailors to their deaths when they sailed their ships onto the rocks in an attempt to reach them. So it was with me and the week leading up to Saturday, March 20, 2010. The ride was scheduled to leave a Dunkin Donuts in Troy at 10:00 AM. The projected route was north through Rensselaer and Washington Counties to Granville. From Granville west on Route 149 to Route 9L and Route 9L along the east side of Lake George to the village of Lake George where we would stop for lunch. From Lake George Village we would take Route 9L through Luzerne and Corinth to Saratoga and then on to Latham where the ride would terminate.
The Seirenes of friendship, fellowship and the open road started singing and I could not resist the song. This would be a great trip for me. I live five miles north of Lake George, all I need to do is leave home and ride to Troy via Route 4 to Schuylerville, turn left onto Route 29, intersect with Route 40 and head south. If I was a little late, I should meet the ride coming north on Route 40. Instead of riding back to Latham from Saratoga I would leave the ride at Saratoga and head back home.
On Tuesday night I pulled the Fury out of storage and on Wednesday scheduled Friday off from work. By Friday, the Seirenes were singing loud and clear in my head. Friday was devoted to the usual pre-season maintenance. Check the oil and fluids, the air pressure in the tires and give the bike a good washing and waxing. I thoroughly expected the ride to Troy to be a little chilly (the key words here being a little) so the liner went back into the riding jacket, a new pair of chaps was procured and the ear covers on the Scorpion helmet went back on. I am ready to go and by now the song of the Seirenes was beginning to sound more like a chorus instead of just three melodic voices.
Saturday arrived and I was off and running. The sounds of the Seirenes were as loud as I have ever heard them. When I opened the garage door, the first dose of reality hit. Damn it felt really cold but the song was there, and I was determined to sail my ship onto the rocks. Common sense would have said, skip the trip to Troy, depart home at 9:30 AM (when it would be warmer) and intercept the ride at the first stop which was the McDonalds in Granville. But I was determined I was going to make the trip to Troy and start the ride from there. Even when the sign in front of the local bank stated that the ambient temperature was 33 degrees, I did not waver from my destiny.
I was riding with my open finger gloves and by the time I was ten minutes into the ride I decided I needed to put my full finger gloves on so I stopped to change gloves. Damn, with all that preparation I forgot to put the gloves into my coat pockets and now I have a decision to make. Do I return home and get the gloves? Do I push on and suffer for another ten minutes and buy some gloves in Queensbury? The song kept calling so the decision was made to push on, so on I went. In Queensbury I picked up a pair of gloves and proceeded with the trip, who would have guessed that Lowes carries riding gloves. It was cold and very uncomfortable riding until I reached Schuylerville by which time the sun was higher in the sky and you could start to feel the warmth in the air and with the song still ever present in my head, I pressed on to the Dunkin Donuts in, Troy.
There I had the privilege of meeting some of the nicest people that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. There were bikes of all makes and styles and riders of many and varied skill levels and I believe they were all hearing the song of the Seirenes as well. After a 50/50 raffle and the usual orientation from the Road Captain, we were off. The temperature had increased substantially and the weather was perfect. As scheduled, we rode through Rensselaer County and Washington County and arrived at the McDonalds in Granville where we stopped to take a breather.
We departed Granville and proceeded west via Route 149 through Hartford and on to Fort Ann. From Fort Ann we continued on Route 149 to Route 9L and continued on Route 9L. Route 9L took us along the east shore of Lake George and
it is a most pleasant ride with its sporadic views of the bays of Lake George and the myriad homes situated along the lake. Route 9L took us into the Village of Lake George where the ride stopped at the Adirondack Brew Pub on Canada Street for lunch.
Lunch was completed by 3:00 PM and the ride broke up. Some riders deciding to take the Northway back to Albany while others wanted to go shopping at the Leather Outlet located on Route 9 south of the Village of Lake George and then go home. I rode down to the Leather Outlet with the remaining ride members and then headed home.
As I drove back home through the Village of Lake George, I suddenly realized that the song that the Seirenes had been singing earlier in the morning was gone. In conflict with ancient Greek mythology I guess it is possible to hear the songs of the modern day Seirenes and be able to navigate your ship around the rocks, reach your goal and survive the trip.
I had a great time riding with the Low Expectations group. The ride was leisurely and well paced; I made some new friends and shared an adventure with them. I handed out some subscription cards for the magazine and even managed to recruit Lori Buono as an author for our Women's View section in the magazine. She will also be reporting on Low Ex activities as well. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Lori for offering to fill that important position on the magazine staff and you can look forward to her first submission in the May issue.
I would also like to thank Peter, JB and all of the other members of Low Ex that I rode with for making me feel welcome from the moment I arrived in Troy, to the moment that I departed the ride in Lake George. If you are looking for a low pressure, minimal commitment group with which to ride, I can think of no better group of people than those that make up Low Expectations MC - Albany NY.
Ride photos courtesy of Low Expectations MC - Albany NY.