Hunter, NY is a beautiful location in both the winter and summer. In the winter it is packed with skiers looking to have fun on the slopes and in the summer there are those who are enjoying the sheer beauty of the area. A Long Island BMW Riders Club member, Jacques, owns the Gardner Inn and he graciously opens it every year for many years for the LIBMWRC members to enjoy. It is a beautiful place and a great Inn and the fact that he offers this opportunity to the group is fantastic.
The outing was scheduled for the July 4th weekend and on July 5th we headed North as a group to visit the Inn. The ride North was along many twisty roads and included several stops. Jim and myself (James) went up separately to make sure the Inn was ready for the main group to arrive. Thanks goes out to Eric and Jill for bringing the truck and trailer up with all the food and coolers that we would need, and his bike in tow. Once Eric and Jill arrived we unloaded everything and were quite ready when the main group arrived. We love to eat at LIBMWRC events and the amount of food was overwhelming. The executive committee does a great job of planning and seriously outdid themselves for this event.
The main group took their time coming up and enjoyed the day. Since it’s so nice to be behind the traffic, the ride to Jacques left Roslyn around 10:00 am. Riders included Mike C and Rikke, John C and Dana, Achim and John Z who all met at Roslyn. On their way to the Whitestone Bridge they stopped by the Little Bay Park parking lot, just off Bell Blvd, to pick up Roman K and Joe N.
With a group of only six bikes and knowing they had decent weather looked to be a pleasurable ride up.
After the usual “get off the Island route”, the Whitestone Bridge to the Hutch to the Cross County to the Sprain Brook turning into the Taconic Pkwy, they took the Bear Mountain State Parkway. This led them through the roundabout and onto Route 202 which snakes its way up through Hudson Highlands State Park and then down to the Bear Mountain Bridge. It’s a very nice route.
After crossing the Bear Mountain Bridge they headed north on route 9W for a few miles until they reached what is clearly the best chunk of road between Long Island and Jacques. Route 218. It may be only a few miles long but it is an extremely fun few miles. So fun that when we got to the end and parked for lunch, and when we did John C was “forced” to back down and do it again.
The lunch stop was at Painters restaurant in Cornwall. A pleasant little place introduced to the club by Mike C a few years ago. This little hideaway boasts a very decent menu and even better beer choices, should you choose to partake.
After lunch they jumped back on 9W north until they passed over 84. From there they took route 32 northwest to route 44 west. This allowed them to bypass the busy town of New Paltz. Although the first portion of route 44 is fairly straight the second portion twists and turns itself up into and through Minnewaska State Park.
The next portion of the ride was a nice relaxing scenic stretch, on route 55, along the Rondout Reservoir. A quick ride on route 17 north, to make up a little time, then onto Beaver Kill and Barkaboom Roads which took them thru the western edge of Catskill Park up to route 28.
At this point it’s just a short ride along the Pepacton Reservoir and they popped out onto route 28. Heading east on route 28, along the northern edge of Catskill Park, to route 42, a nice little winding stretch of road. Route 42 took them to their last road, route 23A. Minutes later, around 5:00 pm, they were pulling up to Jacques and the welcoming committee.
We all settled in for a relaxing first night at the Inn and we had great fun and enjoyable moments. We were able to fully relax and enjoy our time away from our hectic lives for a few days. The LIBMWRC are a group of very friendly individuals that believe heavily in having fun and forming. a community.
The next day the group went for rides throughout the upstate region and visited several very interesting sites.
That night we had another great dinner and some fun as well! 
Eric parked his “flying brick” out front and several members decided it would be extremely funny to take vegetable oil and put it under his motorcycle as well as spread some on the underside of the engine. See pictures (as evidence of whom was involved) below. Eric came out and we all made a big deal about it. We didn’t let him fret for too long and we all had a great laugh about the prank. Eric is a great sport about these things and laughed out loud with us as well as being happy that there was nothing wrong with his beautiful historic motorcycle.
The next morning it as time to head home and we all went together as a group. Riding as a group is important and our training for group riding came in handy this day. The LIBMWRC takes proper riding in a group very seriously and we follow strict group riding rules. The traffic was a bit slow but we were able to make good time and got home in the early afternoon.
As a first time attendee at the yearly event I must thank Jacques and everyone on the LIBMWRC board for making the weekend a wonderful one. The fact that a member would offer their whole Inn to the club membership is just fantastic and shows the camaraderie and closeness that the whole club has created. The bonds and friendships are the thing that stands out to myself each and every time I am with the group.
Thank you Jacques and the LIBMWRC for a great weekend! See you soon…