We had 20 bikes and 24 riders leaving the shop. The majority of riders were on scooters, but we had a few motorcycles as well.We had Genuine, Lance, SYM, Vespa, Kymco, Honda, and Suzuki along for the ride. The bikes ranged in size from a 110 Symba to a 1300 Shadow with 4 Genuine buddies ruling the day. The weather turned out GREAT for a fall ride. The fall leaves were changing for beautiful views in the mountains (we guessed right). The ride to the tunnel was a bit long without a gas stop (and pee break); so next time we will plan one a bit sooner.
Once we arrived at our parking spot to hike to the tunnels. We had a nice surprise of being joined by another friend who met us there in her car. The snacks came out, there was even banana bread and of course trail mix of various types. After a bit of refueling and a few trips into the treeline it was time for a nice hike up the abandoned turnpike.
Svend always adds a smile to any trip and was ready to go.
After a bit of an easy hike the empty tunnel came into view.
The scale of work becomes evident as you get closer. The tunnel is a straight line, but you cannot see light through it because it is pitched down from the center for drainage.
The hike through the tunnel is quite long at over a mile, but is an entertaining walk. We were prepared and brought our own lights and were entertained by the enormous amounts of graffiti on the inside (be aware much of it NSFW).
Here is part of our crew on the other side being stalked by a photogenic zombie as they pose for a picture.
Tunnel exploring finished we were ready to EAT. Everyone had worked up an appetite and was ready for our trip to Nuzzella's Pizza for a late lunch. Sadly, they were closed for the day due to an illness in the family. An easily adaptable group we quickly found another place to eat and chowed down at The Milky way instead. With bikes and bellies fueled it was time for the trip home as the sun was getting low on the colorful horizon. A few more layers were added and the ride home was made just as darkness began to fall. Of course we didn't take the straight road home. Where is the fun in that?
If you want to view more pics and read some more of the shenanigans check the event page. Thank you to Denny and Tim for the photo's and everyone who came along and enjoyed the ride. Also, we had the author for A Symba in the wild on the ride; check there for another blog on the event.
There WILL be small local rides through the winter, don't worry. Stay tuned here.
