MMR Blessing and ride to Mashnee in Bourne

.On June 8th, MMR held it’s previously postponed Blessing of the Bikes. On a beautiful day, approximately 50 MMR members and other interested riders gathered at Gellar’s for a short ride by the seashore and then on to Saint Bonaventures.

After the blessing, which involves a short prayer ceremony and then sprinkling of Holy Water, many of the participants expressed their sympathy and solidarity for club member Lisa Lunedei by following Lisa down to Mashnee Island in Bourne for a benefit for her nephew.

At Mashnee, to which location this writer had never been, there was a beautiful restaurant with a tent out back, right next to a lovely beach and bay. Lisa was overwhelmed by the support and the benefit looked to be a huge success. Many people, including MMRs contributed money for transportation costs to get the little guy back and forth to Boston for weekly treatments. All in all, a great day.

MMR ride to Provincetown on Memorial Day weekend
Bill Ferguson, E-Board member, frequent leader of rides and one of the founders of MMR, sponsored a ride to Provincetown on the Sunday of the long Memorial Day weekend. Once again we were blessed with perfect riding weather. The usual route, for those who have never participated, is route 3A (State Road) south from Manomet to Cedarville. At Cedarville we got on Route 3, crossed the Sagamore Bridge and then took the first exit off route 6 to get on 6A. We followed 6A most of the way to Province town (One has to get back on 6 for part of the way) with occasional stops. The group stayed together well all the way down with no safety incidents and everyone paying strict attention to their driving while enjoying the scenery and the weather. In P-Town we all split up into smaller groups for shopping and lunch. People drove home in smaller groups depending on their time schedules.

Lyle Tibbetts-Skeets MANOMET MYSTERY RIDER IN MEMORIAM April 27, 2004

Lyle Tibbetts-we knew him only as Skeets
We thought he would be around for awhile
With his ever present smile
But suddenly he was gone
Without warning
None of us knows when our last day will be
But we need to smile every day like Skeets
Always friendly, low-key, unassuming
No hidden agendas Just a down-to-earth regular guy
There was nothing flamboyant about Lyle
He just had that big smile
Hopping on the bike
Getting ready to run
That was what he liked
A little trouble with the kickstand and parking
Once in a while But when he lifted her back up
Ear to ear There was that smile
No more riding down here for Skeets
But I’m sure he’s riding somewhere
And all the time He’s just smiling
Because, while he was with us
He did what made him happy
With the people he loved
Let’s remember him that way
Revving up the Goldwing
And smiling his way down the highway
Lyle with the smile.

Brian's Ride (submitted by Paula McCallum) As motorcycle enthusiasts, we realize the importance of getting behind this worthwhile cause which will come to the aide of families of fallen bikers on the South Shore through the support of the Massachusetts Motorcyclists Survivor's Fund.

Many thanks to the Manomet Mystery Riders and individual members for their generous donations for Brian's Ride at the May meeting. I'd also like to thank all the members who volunteered their time and energy to help out on the ride

I'm the Volunteer Coordinator for Brian's Ride this year and we're still looking for more Road Captains (41 total), t-shirt, ticket and auction sellers, parking lot attendees, set up & clean up crews, etc. to make this ride a success, we need your support! So if you can lend a hand on August 3, please contact me as soon as you can. I'm hoping that all the Manomet Mystery Riders will join us this day for our Sunday Ride on August 3, meeting at 8:45 am at Gellar's to head to the Jockey Club in Raynham for the staging at 9:30. 50 mile scenic ride leaves at noon sharp and will return back at the Jockey Club for lunch, entertainment by our very own Cindy Daley Band, prizes, games, vendors, auctions and great family fun.

Brian's Ride - August 3, 2008 Jockey Club Rt 44 in Raynham. $15 in advance, $20 at the gate. Pre-register online or to get more information on the ride at: www.Briansridefriends.org or contact me at paulamactootster@ yahoo.com Thanks again, Paula McCallum Manomet Mystery Riders.

New Hampshire 2008 (booking the wrong week) submitted by Bill Barry
Mary Ann has a time share in Lincoln NH where last year we spent bike week. When we checked out we booked the week before father's day in 2008 because that is always bike week.…wrong. As everyone knows now this year bike week was the week after father's day . Anyway we did Bike Week a week early. Saturday June 7th around noon we arrived at the Village at Loon Mountain in Lincoln. We were staying about 45 miles north of Weirs Beach 3 miles east of I 93 right on the Kancamangus Highway (or as the locals call it the Kanc ) . To me the best part of being in New Hampshire for bike week or any other time is being in the mountains.

We got settled into the condo and then headed for Jackson NH and the Shannon Door Pub on Route 16, we have a thing for Irish pubs. They claim to have the best pizza in New Hampshire, we had a pizza with linguica . It was very good but not as good as the pizza at Mary Ann's brother's place in Middleboro the Central Café. On the way into Jackson we stayed on the Kanc right into Conway then through North Conway on 16 into Jackson. Being the weekend there was a lot of traffic so on the way back to avoid North Conway I took route 302 into Bartlett and a short cut, Bear Notch Road back to the Kanc and west into Lincoln. Sunday we decided we would have brunch at the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods.

We dallied a bit before getting on the road about 9:30 and rode up I 93 and route 3 to 302 and on to the hotel. I figured I could park the bike in the valet parking area and no one would notice but security swooped down on us and told us to park in the riffraff parking lot. We park the scoot and walk up to the hotel. . Now it is 10:30 and we are starving and anticipating a big breakfast buffet to stuff ourselves…wrong. We are told by the waiters the brunch was over a 10:00, unbelievable .

So, we wandered around the lobby a bit taking in the splendor of the building and the view of the Whites (White Mountains, another local term) before hitting the road again. I checked the GPS for a restaurant close by and came up with a winner, the Water Wheel in Jefferson on route 2 about 20 miles away. I had a great breakfast , Mary Ann had a Philly cheese steak sandwich Connecticut river to Lunenburg (you need your helmets) Vermont. Now we are on 102 heading north riding along the Connecticut river valley. After a nice ride through farmland, enjoying the sights and smell of fresh plowed earth and cow manure we crossed back into New Hampshire in North Stratford and headed back to Lincoln via route 3.

In Lincoln we stopped at Gordi's Restaurant for a drink and chatted with the bartender Chad and a couple of the regulars at the bar. Mary Ann tried a new drink Almond Joy martini and I went for a Black and Tan. Monday was hot, humid and 60% chance of thunderstorms so we stayed close to base camp. We made a trip into Meredith for lunch at Hart's Turkey Farm next door to the Harley dealer. With temps in the 90's we booked back to the condo and hung out at the pool for the rest of the afternoon. That evening we were back to Gordi's for more Almond Joy and Black and Tan. The next day was extremely hot and humid again with thunderstorms predicted but I wanted to ride the Lake Region so we head east on the Kanc to Conway. Took route 16 south to 28 into Wolfeboro on the southeastern end of Lake Winnipesaukee. There we found a restaurant called The Wolftrap a nice place on a small cove and with good food. Leaving Wolfeboro I took route 109 which is a great ride along the lake through several little villages into Meredith.

There we made a visit to the Harley dealer. The place was very busy for a Tuesday but nothing like it will be the next week. That evening we ate at the Woodstock Inn in the next town over from Lincoln. Great food, ambience , and service. With the check to our surprise our waitress brought us each a chocolate thimble filled with peppermint schnapps. When she came back I told her the same dog that use to eat my homework must of drank the schnapps….she brought us another round. We made it back to the condo before the skies opened up and the thunderstorm came through. We had quite an impressive lightning show with Loon Mountain to the south lighting up as we watched from our condo balcony. Wednesday we headed toward Mount Washington via the Kanc, taking the Bear Notch Road into Bartlett then east to route 16 north to the visitor center across from the Mount Washington Auto Road.

As we are coming up 16 out of Jackson the skies turn black and the mountain tops were covered with clouds. We rode up the mountain last year during bike week when it was bikes only but decided to pass this year due to the conditions. We had lunch at the visitors center and then spent the afternoon taking a leisurely ride through the White Thursday morning I headed west out of Lincoln then a destination. We made a pit stop along the way and met a biker from the area who gave us a great little side trip to take. He told us about an area called Sculptured Rock Falls, a deep gorge formed during the last ice age with a series of small falls running through it. It is off the beaten path, no one else was there so we lingered awhile enjoying the beauty and sound of the falls.

From there we went down West Shore Road riding south along Newfound Lake and ended up on route 3A coming out to "Cu Na Mara"..…surprise…..an Irish pub. We went in and had a fantastic rueben and a Smithwick red ale. After a ride into Weirs Beach we headed back to Lincoln and Gordi's for dinner. We are now considered regulars there. Friday is our last full day of week before bike week so we head for Weirs Beach again where Lake Side Ave is starting to look like it is bike week.

Most of the vendors are set up though they can't make any sales until Saturday, and there are many bikes parked on the street. Still it is not the same of course. Mary Ann and I like the mingling with the crowds checking out all the vendors, and then moseying across the street to the big beer tent to listen to the bands and take in the sights…but, we are a week early.

Gary Gibbons Ride, Saturday June 28th
Over 200 bikes participated in the Gary Gibbons Memorial Ride on Sunday. Gary is a Verizon worker who was electrocuted last year while working on a boom truck near high voltage lines. For those of you who attended last month’s MMR meeting, you will remember that Gary’s wife Nancy spoke and asked for support. We are happy to report that we had at least 30 MMR members in attendance.