Road Captain’s Log… Star Date 7:12:08
We traveled to a distant galaxy far far away… in the middle of no where… to a restaurant called the Red Roost in Whitehaven, Maryland. After riding 120 miles the crew was in need of a little R&R. We ate chicken, ribs and crab cake served with french fries and corn on the cob. It was a voyage to be remembered!
If you didn’t read the intro like Shatner, please go back and start over.
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Every year the Baltimore Metro Chapter of HOG organizes an event known as the Red Roost Ride. Members from the HOG chapters in Maryland and Delaware are invited. Last year I had just taken on the responsibility of Activities Officer before the event and was going to be on my honeymoon during the event. No one from First Sate HOG went (my fault, sorry). This year I was determined to participate. I was able to motivate a small crew of riders to join me.
Our crew of 7 riders (no passengers) met at 8:45 am at Pencader Plaze in Newark, DE. Diana and I gassed up at the Exxon where a member of the Pagens MC was also gassing up. Then two members of the BMW Owners Group of DE/MD pulled up also. We recognized them from our ERC class last week and said hello and shared a few jokes. I told them that class will cost me $11,000 and they knew exactly what I meant.
Interesting how my wife, Ed’s wife and the BMW dudes wife all ride their own bikes. Must be a sign of the times.
We left on time from Newark, DE at 9:00am and headed down the quickest route to our destination. One of our riders didn’t feel well and turned back at the Route 301 Welcome Area across the Maryland state line. It took over three hours and we covered 120 miles. Some of the roads we took like Route 301 and 50 were pretty busy, but all of a sudden we got off the beaten path pretty quickly. Next thing you know we are in the middle of no where typical of backroads around the Chesapeake region. As we rode single file down this little back woods road I went to point at some gravel with my foot. I was so focused on pointing out the danger that I didn’t realize that was the entrance to the restaurant. Yep, we had to travel down a gravel driveway several hundred feet to get to the Red Roost which was surrounded by wilderness. We arrived at 12:20. Just after we arrived Old Glory HOG pulled in like a parade. They may be a newly formed chapter but the six of us felt pretty tiny in comparison to their club participation.
Old Glory took a group photo in front of the restaurant and then we did too. Then we went inside. This place is really cool. I would never imagine having such a nice restarant in the middle of east bum f**k. The T-shirts in the gift shop are great. We all bought different shirts. We’ll have to try to get a group photo of us in our Red Roost shirts sometime soon. Check mine out.
We met a nice couple from Delmarva HOG (Seaford, DE) who are members of the CMA. Their names were Doug and Suzanne. They both rode Harley Trikes. Doug’s has a trailer that looks like a little Hummer. Taz keeps an eye on the Trikes and trailer when Doug’s not around.
Our sponsoring dealership, Mikes Famous Harley Davidson, was recently purchased by Harley Davidson of Annapolis. It was very fitting that we were seated next to the Annapolis Chapter. Annapolis took up several tables and our table was an extension of theirs; like we were their little sister chapter. I was fortunate to be seated next to their Director, Liz, who I met last month at our general meeting. Liz was way cool, it was great fun comparing notes and discussing club stuff with her.
The food and the service were great. Randy from Baltimore Metro HOG did a fantastic job organizing this event and I look forward to participating many more times. Four of us had the crab cakes with french fries and corn on the cob. There was butter in a squeeze bottle on the table that you squirt onto the corn cob. How neat is that? Kevin had fried chicken. Old School had the Bar-B-Q ribs. The rack of ribs made everything else look tiny. He looked like Fred Flinstone eating that gigantuan rack of ribs. The crab cakes rocked!
I didn’t feel like taking the same route home; that would be boring. I thought everyone would just split up after the event and Diana and I would head out on a route I had partially planned in my head. I didn’t really map out a route home.
Kevin was heading out to the Baltimore area and said goodbye. He ended up riding with some members from Old Glory. Thank you Old Glory for looking out for our friend.
Now we were 5. Karen and Ed Fortner, Old School Bob, and my faithful wife and riding companion Lady Di headed out toward Salisbury, MD with me. I screwed up the way I wanted to go but no one cared. We ended up back on Route 50 West instead of 50 East and I entirely missed Route 13. We explored Route 313 North suggested by my wife, Diana (several times before I finally listened). Route 313 was a great ride! I didn’t like leading a group and not having everything mapped out and structured. We were going to follow 313 further North but once I recognized some familiar roads from our Tilghman Island ride with the McMaster family I pulled off 313 and followed 311 toward Delaware. I kept following the signs to Smyrna, Delaware. Everytime I pulled up to a red light or stop sign my wing women would come up next to me and cluck like a Red Roost. She had the nerve to call me a chicken! My own wife!
After leading the three day trip to Mansfield, PA in a monsoon back in May I took a little break from leading rides. This was my first since then. The ride home was very enjoyable and we all had a great time at the Red Roost. The voyage was a success!
Click here to see more pictures.
Captains Notes:
1. remember to order the ribs next year!
2. Diana rode like a pro all day. She broke 7000 miles on the Sporty today. She is getting pretty comfy on it even though the wind is probably tossing her around like a leaf.
3. I broke 10,000 miles on my bike just a few weeks shy of owning it for a year (July 29th).
4. The Red Roost dress code “Comfortable” should be followed by all restaurants.
Tags: HOG, Trips & Places To Go by Jay Green
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