Sunday ride in Rhode Island

cb400four_imp

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Sunday, 14 September was a crisp blue sky day in Rhode Island and some buddies in the neighborhood decided to go for a ride.

The CB1100 was up early in the sunrise

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This map approximates our ride, starting in the middle of RI at point [A] and then heading making two loops, the first to the south eastern corner of the state at point [C] and the second in the north western corner (and going into Connecticut and Massachusetts as well) at points [D], [E], and [F].

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We started in our neighborhood, point [A] on the map. The first stop, marked as point on the map, was breakfast at The Hope Diner, which is famous for its French Toast made from Portuguese Sweet Bread, definitely worth a try.

My CB1100 and Peter's Honda Shadow in front of the Hope Diner in Bristol. The big metric cruiser to the left belongs to another customer at the Diner; we didn't get a chance to meet him.



After breakfast, Peter and I rode to the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Hope_Bridge]Mount Hope Bridge and a scenic overlook at the base of the bridge.



Peter and I headed to scenic Newport, RI, and to the southernmost point along the east bay, Brenton Point Park, marked [C] on the map. The air was chilly, but these hard-core divers were getting ready to kayak to the RV point and go diving.





A poorly framed selfie



The next leg of our trip had Peter and I retracing our steps back to point [A] and picking up another neighbor, Jeff, to join us for the second half of the day. (The map doesn't reflect this because the route markings get confusing.) Jeff has a couple bikes, today he was riding his Ducati Diavel.



After picking up Jeff, the three of us headed northward as far as Harrisville and then ending up at a Dunkin Donuts, marked as point [D] on the map. It was still a bit cold, and a few other riders had stopped here as well.



Peter decided to head back home, as he had previously planned to host guests for dinner. Jeff and I headed west, crossing into Connecticut, then heading north to the [url=http://www.thevanillabeancafe.com/]Vanilla Bean Cafe, marked as point [E] on the map. The Bean is a great biker café, and the parking lot is usually filled with sportbikes, BMW tourers, Harley baggers; however, on this day the lot had an abundance of Moto Guzzis and Ducatis because it was the [url=http://www.imocusa.com/rally2014.htm]Italian Motorcycle Owners Club 2014 Rally, held in nearby Sturbridge, Massachusetts.







After consuming an excellent burger at the Bean, Jeff and I headed further north, crossing over into Massachusetts, and then finally meeting up Route 146 at point [F] on the map. 146 is a divided highway which heads south east into Providence and then Jeff and I made it back to our starting point. By this time the sun was setting, but it wasn't quite the end of our ride, as we were joined by another friend, Jim, who had to work Saturday and Sunday but had completed his tasks and he was up for a last coffee of the day, so we rode the bikes back into Providence and had a cup of java at a coffee shop near Brown University as it became dark.
 
Great pics. i've read about the Vanilla Bean. Cool you get to go there. never seen a Diavel in the wild, have you ridden it?

Hey Rboe....look..Moto Guzzi's!

One state I don't think I've ridden in, Rhode Island...maybe not Connecticut either. I have ridden in Massachusetts., across RT 2? In a terrible all day rain.

Cool report, thanks for posting.
 
Nice report, CT has some of the best paved roads in the northeast. I always head into New England because the roads are so much better than NY. I've made many trips to Mystic Ct and Newport RI usually during off peak times in the fall.
 
When I was living in Upstate NY I often went to Marcus Dairy in the early nineties with the CBX Club, had great times.
I think that they are no longer in business ?
 
Houtman_imp said:
When I was living in Upstate NY I often went to Marcus Dairy in the early nineties with the CBX Club, had great times.
I think that they are no longer in business ?
Its been a few years since Marcus Dairy closed in Danbury Ct.
 
Vanilla Bean Cafe
I worked with Scott Jessurun for 14 years, his parents own it. I never believed him how popular that place is, I haven't seen him in years. Guess I was wrong? I'll have to give him a call, he has an 82 CX500 he loves.

Nice loop, great pictures.
 
Great write up. I like that you included links to get more of the backstory. The Diavel is the other bike I drooled over at the 2013 bike show where I first fell in love with the CB. Very cool bike.

Thanks for sharing your day.
 
Great pics and story. Looks like a nice kind of place. The contrast between the Duck and the CB couldn't be greater. Tells us something about ourselves I guess.

Cheers, and thanks for sharing.
 
There's some nice riding in New England and you found it. Good write up.

A riding buddy has a Diavel and absolutely loves it. Another bike that looks better in person than in pictures.
 
Great write up CB400four. Thanks.

I saw a very black Diavel one day at Ginger's Creek Café on one of Australia's best riding roads, the Oxley Highway. It was one mean looking machine.
 
I have sat on one, and as strange as they look Diavel's are very comfortable to sit on. Never ridden one though (would like to someday)
 
Thread starter
Thanks everyone for the comments!

CIP57_imp said:
Nice report, CT has some of the best paved roads in the northeast. I always head into New England because the roads are so much better than NY. I've made many trips to Mystic Ct and Newport RI usually during off peak times in the fall.
I'd agree; RI has some beautiful places but the road quality is beyond horrible (much to my dismay).

Ack-CB11_imp said:
Vanilla Bean Cafe
I worked with Scott Jessurun for 14 years, his parents own it. I never believed him how popular that place is, I haven't seen him in years. Guess I was wrong? I'll have to give him a call, he has an 82 CX500 he loves.

Nice loop, great pictures.
The Bean is very popular and for a couple good reasons: it is midway up Route 169 which is just a dream of a road, and they make a great burger as well!

Pterodactyl_imp said:
Great pics and story. Looks like a nice kind of place. The contrast between the Duck and the CB couldn't be greater. Tells us something about ourselves I guess.

Cheers, and thanks for sharing.
Ptery, agreed the Diavel is really a beast compared to the understated CB1100! The Diavel is unbelievably quick, with twice the horses of the CB1100, and it has great handling, and it has a much more standard and comfortable seating position than the swoopy bodywork would suggest. However, in a sense, the bikes are similar in that both Ducati and Honda produce other sportbikes with more radical seating positions etc and the Diavel and CB1100 are great bikes for guys who feel better sitting upright as opposed to hunched over; the Diavel is more of a hooligan for sure.
 
I went to buy a Monster, they tried to talk me into the Diavel. I then looked at Bonnie, CB1100 and FZ09. Bought the CB 2013 1100, bought another CB1100 2014 DLX, I feel the need for something else next year if still employed and have a decent bonus. Still got the itch for a Duc. Just got to do it before I can't ride one anymore. So many bikes so little time. In Peru now for work, be home 4 days then off to Surinam.


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