ryansu

Soody

sick support car

Sir_Name 

Yeah, it's a beaut! Killer price on it. I got to chat with him on the ride last year, great guy with great skills.

A couple people from this installment asked if gugie modified "my" bike.

Seems we could have an autumn 2020 tour in the works. It'd be great to meet and ride with @northbend, @bikemig, @Andy_K, @TenGrainBread, ride again with @nlerner, @rhm, @rccardr, and add any others to the mix. I can help organize as needed.

Lets see where this could go. Plenty of great riding in the area for as many days as folks would like. Plenty of great food as well and a couple exceptional breweries. I'm certainly game.

This year's ride, no shortage of roads and trails to add:







A view of Gillette Castle from the Chester-Hadlyme ferry on the way home. Greg and I hit the ferry just as the autos finished boarding and the pedestrians were allowed to on board. Sweet.



edit: seems @ mentions are still wonky...

Vonruden

Great pics Greg! I was really bummed to be missing another, however my son had a basketball tourney and ended up breaking his nose in the 3rd game, glad I was there for him. Seeing these pics helps a little. I must go next year.

Sir_Name 

Hey, if you feel like building a ride into it... Though that would limit you to only one bike. Tough call.

gomango

Would love to meet everyone for this event.

I'm not so far out from retirement. Impossible to get away during the school year, but that issue will fade soon.

But which bike to bring?

I've fitted fenders on a few lately.

Sir_Name 

Just to add a bit of New England charm to the photos above...

Gillette Castle:

Gillette Castle State Park straddles the towns of East Haddam and Lyme, Connecticut in the United States, sitting high above the Connecticut River. The castle was originally a private residence commissioned and designed by William Gillette, an American actor who is most famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes on stage. Gillette lived at this estate from 1919–1937.

Atop the most southerly hill in a chain known as the Seven Sisters, William Hooker Gillette, noted actor, director, and playwright, built this one hundred and eighty-four acre estate, the Seventh Sister. The focal point of his effort was a twenty four room mansion reminiscent of a medieval castle. The woodwork within the castle is hand-hewn southern white oak. Of the forty-seven doors within the structure, there are no two exactly the same. And each door has a handsome external latch intricately carved of wood. Even the Castle's furnishings are indications of Gillette's inspirations. The built-in couches, a movable table on tracks, and light switches of carved wood all point to his creative genius.

The ferry:

The Chester - Hadlyme Ferry, which began service in 1769, was orginally operated by Jonathan Warner who owned the land on both sides of the Connecticut River. Warner's Ferry, as it was called back then, connected King's Highway in Fort Hill, Parish of Chester to Norwich Road in Lyme. The ferry was often used throughout the Revolutionary War to transport needed supplies across the river.

The Original ferry was pushed across the river using long poles. A steam-powered barge began to serve the ferry crossing in 1879. The ferry was named the Chester-Hadlyme Ferry in 1882 while it was operated by the Town of Chester.

In 1917, the ferry was turned over to Connecticut Department of Transportation. The present ferry, the Selden III,was built in 1949. It is an open, self-propelled craft, 65 feet long and 30 feet wide. The vessel can accommodate 8 to 9 cars and 49 passengers. The Selden III provides a convenient, direct link between Chester and Hadlyme at Route 148.

The 65-foot-long diesel-run ferry is a quaint wonder and a convenience for business and pleasure conducted across the river. For tourists, attractions include Gillette’s Castle in Hadlyme on the east side, and, on the west side of the river, the Essex Steam Train. The ferry ride is actually a continuation of scenic Route 148, from Chester to Hadlyme. Traveling east it’s a real distance-saver to take the ferry when driving from Chester to Lyme: it’s 20.3 miles overland via the East Haddam bridge, but only 8.3 miles via the ferry and then some.

nlerner

I was there last year on my Black Mountain road. I stashed it way in the back of Peter's yard so as not to draw anyone's ire (it was fendered, however).

gugie 

Having put together a few group tours the last few years, I can tell you that the key is to pimp it early and often. Giving it a funky name helps as well. Shotgun a PM to the usual suspects, add a few. Don't worry about specifics just yet, just know that FFD is the weekend before Columbus Day, so next year it's Oct. 10th. If a few days of touring were to be done, I'd do it the week before.

Contact me off forum, would be glad to help plan it!

TenGrainBread 

I'm down!!!

velofinds

Moi aussi

Spaghetti Legs 

Great pics, thanks for posting!

I want to hear the story on the car. I love it!

scarlson 

I believe that's Peter Weigle's car. It's a Volvo Amazon in the style of a team car, although the roof rack is more modern than the rest of the car. He loves his Volvos, for sure, his normal car is a 2000s-era V70.

due ruote 

Here is an old thread with tons of good fender mounting info.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...se-things.html

scarlson 

Somebody on instagram took this quite flattering picture of me on the FFD ride.



Reminds me, I kept getting the same comment about my Ron Cooper: people kept coming up to me and telling me that it was the only one they'd ever seen. Funny enough, it's also the only one I've ever seen!

merziac

That SP makes a very brave lad IMO.

scarlson 

HA! Cool that you spotted that! I've been riding on that seat post for more than half my life, including six months of loaded touring overseas, give or take. The drilling was done back in the late '70s, when my dad was going through a phase... I think you're the first person in all those years to even notice it. Kinda pointless to have drillium on a camping bike, eh?

You can't see it from here but the holes aren't all the way through. It's a Nuovo Record post that's just been touched with the drill and then the spots filled in with paint, they go no deeper than the flutes on later Campy posts. I'll have to tell the old codger that his work made people fear for my safety - he'll get a kick out of that for sure! I use it because it's something of a family heirloom at this point along with the Cooper frame it's been with since original, and because it's the only decent seat post I have that's 27.0 - I think the small size is because Ron used thicker-walled seat tubes on his touring frames.

merziac

No worries, as stout as they are they could probably do fine with the holes all the way through especially small ones, seems like many have so.........

Citoyen du Monde

There was actually one fellow who drove out from Wisconsin. I can't remember if he said Madison or Milwaukee. He told me he had driven out for each of the last 8 years. I'm certain Peter would know his name.

merziac

Yep, pretty common, two of my Merz's have 27.0 but no drillium.

scarlson 

It's never too late! Send a post my way and I'll throw it in the Bridgeport! I'll be sharpening my drills while I refresh the package tracking

I'm only just now noticing my terrible posture in that photo. I spent too many months of my teenage years touring with bar-ends, so I constantly fall into that position, left hand on the front brake hood right hand on the drops near the rear shifter. In fact, my right shoulder slopes down farther than my left. I think I am just built that way now.

palincss

Absolutely correct. Pulling aluminum fenders into line with the fender stays is a short, straight road to cracked fenders.

merziac

That's ok, not a weight weenie bone in my body. I do value an example that is svelte by nature without mechanical enhancement, they are the most impressive when all the strength is preserved with no compromise and still give the scale less of a workout.

And don't get me wrong, I am just as mesmerized as the next by drillium done right, just not going there on any riders anytime soon.

pcb 

FFD was, indeed, a great day. It's a really cool blend of other events, with a loose steel/fender theme, low key and laid back, with lots of seriously great people and bikes. You've got builders, industry types and shops like at NAHBS/Philly (Peter hisself, natch, Brian Chapman, Johnny Coast, Crust Bikes, Velo Orange, Wayne Bingham/Velo Classique), CR Cirque-like period-correct steeds and stalwarts, restomod builds, and maybe more Raleigh International 650b conversions than I've ever seen in one single location. You could spit in any direction and hit a 650b Int'l.

I don't wish a multi-day event on Peter and crew, but there was no way you could really see everything, and catch up socially, in just one day. I haven't been to an event for a while, so I wound up spending a lot more time socializing than photographing. That's not at all a bad thing, but there was so much to see and drink in, I feel like I barely scratched the surface of what was on display for all of us.

Here's my flickr album:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/263834...57711372822378
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmHKxrPq

After the fact I'm realizing that I brushed shoulders with lots of folks I "know" from various forums, but had no idea who they were. If we're lucky enough that Peter does this again next year, I'll try to coordinate/facilitate that. I've seen pix from previous years where folks had name tags, not sure if that'd be too medium-key for Peter, but something...

Here's a few snaps...

bwilli88 

Here is a nice video of the event from youtube
I think I saw our esteemed @gugie around 5:40 or so.