Walker's Ol' Fall Classic Mystery Ride in Memory of Bobby Walker Jr.
A ride with Walker thru the Magical Mystery Time Machine
I enjoy participating in Walkers’ rides. They remind me of the late 70s and early 80s when I rode with some of my closest friends. We would always ride hard and with a passion and that is exactly how Walker runs his rides. If you are new to riding and have not ridden in a group before at speed, I would suggest that you gain some more experience before participating in one of Walker’s rides.
On Sunday September 5, 2010, I went to CB’s Spirits and Restaurant to participate in Walkers Ol’ Fall Classic Downed Biker Run in Memory of Bobby Walker Jr. Mystery Ride. As I was waiting for the ride to begin I had a chance to chat with Chuck B. Chuck and I went to school together and rode together for a while in the 70s and 80s. Chuck now runs CB’s Spirits and Restaurant in Warrensburg, NY and his establishment was the starting point for Walkers Mystery Ride.
As the crowd gathered the first mystery that needed to be answered was “Where is Walker ?”. The good thing about Walker is that if you wait long enough, he will show up and he did. While killing time at CB’s, I bumped into my old friend Jim. Jim is the President of Boozefighters Chapter 80 and he and some of the chapter were going to be on the ride. Cool, I have not ridden with Jim in years. Jim and I go way back. Jim actually was the one who took me to my road test for my bike license. We have been in touch (kind of hard not to, we are neighbors) but just have not had the opportunity to ride together. Jim had Shirley with him and that was cool as well since I had not seen Shirley in over 10 years. It was nice to see her once again. Jim has a brother named Rick but most of us know him as Hairy. Ten minutes had not gone by when Hairy arrived with his better half Binn. Now this is really starting to bring back some memories. Jim and Shirl and Hairy and Binn were there for me during some of the darkest days of my younger life and helped me immensely during that time. I will be forever grateful for the help and assistance that those four friends bestowed upon me back then. I was about to do something that I had not done for thirty some odd years, I was going on a ride with the old gang.
The route of the ride was rather simple to understand. We would leave Warrensburg and head up Route 28 to North Creek where we would stop at a new establishment named the Barking Spider. The Barking Spider is right on the Main Street of North Creek. The interior is all new and done in a rustic décor. The service was fast and friendly and the beverages were cold and varied. I would suggest that if you are passing through or around North Creek that you stop in and say hi.
There is a rule; no really it is a law. You cannot take a ride in the vicinity of Indian Lake without stopping at The Bear Trap and that was the next stop on our mystery tour. When we arrived, there were hot dogs waiting for us to snack on and we all grabbed a dog and something to drink and sat around and shot the bull.
We left Indian Lake and headed west on Route 30 to Speculator but the rain god finally caught up with us and we rode through some pretty solid rain. Apparently Walker has a philosophy that if you do not slow down for the rain you will get out of it faster. All I know is that I forgot my face mask and the rain would have liked to have torn my face off. Now somewhere someone is reading this and saying “Get a full face helmet dummy” and all I can say to that person is “Sorry, not my style”.
We arrived at Logan’s Pub and Grill in Speculator and we grabbed whatever liquid refreshment amused us at the time. We talked and gabbed and sat on the front porch until Walker gave the 5 or 10 minute warning. That is when the time machine kicked into high gear. We were just about ready to mount up when Andy Taylor in the form of a Hamilton County Sherriff Officer arrived with three Barney Fife’s in the form of three DEC Officers. The Sherriff was extremely professional. He explained that he was looking for a black bike with a broken foot peg and needed to look at the bikes. The DEC Officer’s however were in FULL Barney Fife mode to the point that it was almost laughable. One jumped out of his truck and yelled “I will look in the back” as he ran down the drive way to the back of Logan’s. Once the Sheriff had performed his duties he thanked us and left the scene. The Barney Fife’s decided that it was the 80s and they needed to stick around and protect the general populace. Our little GANG decided to get the hell out of Dodge and with the Barney Fifes watching left Logan’s in groups of three or four and then the ride formed up outside of town. Talk about a trip in the Way Back Machine, I thought it was the 80s all over again. At least they did not go through the hassle of examining paper work and pipes. Note to self: If canoeing in the Speculator area and you hear banjos, paddle faster.
After disembarking from the Way Back Machine in Speculator, the ride proceeded to J & J’s Foxx Lair Tavern in Baker Mills. The ride from Logan’s to the Foxx Lair was another trip back in time for me. I looked ahead and there was Hairy and Binn just ahead of me and in my mirror was Jim and Shirl. Images and memories of the old days flashed through my mind as the scenery flashed by my view.
When we arrived at the Foxx Lair, Ricki and Joe had a buffet laid out in the bar and Joe was busy at the grill preparing burgers and dogs. As usual, the food and service at the Fox Lair was excellent and it is always nice to meet Ricki and Joe again.
To some this was just another ride. To me it was a trip back in time with cherished friends and fond memories recalled of rides in the past. To my old gang I would like to say, “Thanks for the Memories”.
