This was the last ride of the year for the Merrimack Valley Southern Cruisers, and the day dawned bright and sunny, but downright cold at 23degrees when I departed Haverhill, MA at 8AM. This ride took us out into western portions of Mass, and then up into Vermont where we had lunch at the Putney Diner, Putney VT. I don't ride too much in Mass, but the selection of roads in the western part of the state were pretty impressive. I'll need to get out that way abit more next year!

I believe I overheard that this was the MV-SCRCs biggest ride turnout of the year, with 12 bikes ridden by some hearty souls braving near freezing temperatures. Equally impressive was that I didn't notice any brave souls wearing any of that heated electric clothing! That, my friends, is one dedicated bunch of riding fools! :-)

For myself, I logged 278miles for the 8 hours I was gone....and still managed to make it back home by 5:15pm (the promise was 5PM) to help my daughter pass out candy to the trick-or-treaters! To make up some time once I left the MV-SCRC group in Keene NH, I made the RTE101 trip across the lower part of NH state rather 'spirited', with only one pit stop, one peg-scrape, and to the best of my knowledge...never entering triple digits! My VTX is a dream to ride and I've never been so happy with any bike I've ever owned. Powerful, responsive and extremely stable through anything I throw at it. The only complaint the VTX throws at me (if ya can call it a 'complaint') is when I'm twisting the wrist too much....the gas mileage plummets through the floor! For me, the horsepower vs. MPG trade-off is priceless. In any gear, at any speed, there is more power and torque then I'll ever know what to do with....it is such a 'rush' to be able to tap into it at will. The VTX just speaks to me...."OK, we can do that. Do you need more?!"

It was wonderful to meet everybody on this ride, and I look forward to many more miles with you next year!