Ramapo 500 JULY 18 & 19 2009

[Bigben]

33rd Annual Running Of The RAMAPO 500 500 Mile Weekend Covered Bridge Motorcycle Tour JULY 18 & 19 2009 Come ride with US on the ORIGINAL and still the best! Who: Only motorcyclists who love to tour and see the sights on the roads less traveled. What: We provide 500 miles of gorgeous scenery, dozens of covered bridges, free camping with swimming pool, fantastic Saturday night dinner and entertainment at the campground, awards, prizes, Sunday breakfast, starter pins and finishers patch. ..you supply the rest Where: Start from Ireland's 32s Pub, Route 59, Suffern, NY. (Optional buffet breakfast available). Sign-in from 7

 

[COG-528]

When I was a member of Ramapo M.C. I laid out a number of the 500 routes and check rode most of the others. If you like to ride the truly roads less traveled then you owe it to yourself to do the Ramapo 500. This is not a group ride! All entrants are provided with a detailed route sheet so you can ride at your own pace. In fact one of the few mistakes you can make on the 500 is to just follow the rider in front of you who may lead you off course. Many is the time I got behind some riders and watched them go right past where they were supposed to turn. So do yourself a favor and save the date and ride the Ramapo 500. Mike Aldea, COG-528 Charter Life AMA Hawthorne, NJ

 

[Orbit]

Elinore and I are pre-registered for the Ramapo 500. I've ridden this event almost every year since 1993. Ben, we'll see you at the check-in!

 

[Bigben]

Only 12 days left to Ramapo 500. My wife and I just finished doing the return route check over the 4th of July weekend. We rode down to south-central Pennsylvania on Saturday, spend the night and rode the route back to Ireland's 32 Pub (starting point) in Sloatsburg, NY. A couple of adjustments will be made, otherwise the route is a delight to ride; all 230.7 miles. As always, you won't be disappointed. Lots of Covered Bridges sweepers, rolling hills and a few twisties and plenty shaded roadways for those hot July days. We also took a few minutes to tour the beautiful campground which offers lots of Amenities and most importantly, a separate kiddies' Pool. Hope to see you there. COG Member#8594 Ride often, Ride Safe.

 

[COG-528]

We rode down to south-central Pennsylvania on Saturday, spend the night and rode the route back to Ireland's 32 Pub (starting point) in Sloatsburg, NY.

You spent the night... :8o: A real motorcyclist goes out and does it all in one day. One year when I was a member of Ramapo, I had no plans to ride the 500 but I went up to the start at the Red Apple to help out. It was such a beautiful day I decided after sign-in closed to ride along with Bob Warfield & another member for awhile at the start. Well I was having such a good time that I finally stopped when we got to the campground outside Coopertown, NY. I couldn't partake of the BBQ because I hadn't paid :blush: and I had a commitment that meant I had to ride home that evening. But the next morning I got up early and rode back up to Cooperstown and rode the return route with Bob. So I did the unofficial Ramapo 900 without a route sheet. Mike Aldea, COG-528 Hawthorne, NJ

 

[Orbit]

Mike, that sounds like the first year I rode the Ramapo 500 (1993). I remember having breakfast in Cooperstown Sunday morning, and then watching an inning of a beer-league game at Doubleday Field, before hitting the road for the return trip. It was my first overnight bike trip. I had a great time, and have returned almost every year since. Elinore and I are pre-registered for this year's 500, looking forward to seeing Ben and any other COG members who'll be there. I do miss the Red Apple Rest. I used to ride there every month to pick up my copy of "Backroads" magazine. Now that the Red Apple is gone, I had to get a subscription

 

[Cap'n Bob]

Well Bruce technically it's not gone. Just closed. It was another victim of progress. Once the Thruway opened a long time ago, the Red Apple rest slowly started loosing business. And you know how that goes. After a while there's not enough business (profit) to be able to continue to keep up the facility. It got to the point that it couldn't pass safety inspections. So that was it. But back in it's hay day it was probably something else. Anyway I hope y'all have a great time. I would probably try it out except for two things. I'm making a trip up towards Erie/Buffalo the following weekend. So I try not to abandon the family over multiple weekends if I can. And I gave up camping on the bikes. That's just me, but I've seen the light. It must be the one that Motel 6 leaves on for me. P.S. they should make it so you can download the route on to your GPS when you check in. That's a lot safer than trying to read those route sheets while trying to ride. Bionic Bob COG & AMA member First C14 CDA member #0220 2008 C14 & 2003 Mean Streak

 

[Orbit]

Bob, I agree about the safety aspects of downloading the route to GPS rather than reading a route sheet. But Ben assured me that not even Ramapo MC members get the GPS route; everyone including members must use the old-fashioned route sheet. I've only had my GPS since May of this year. I suppose I can re-learn how to use a route sheet for 2 days Sorry you can't make this one Bob, maybe I'll get to ride with you in August, though I can't make your Howe Caverns ride on 8/15 (shameless plug).

 

[COG-528]

GPS route... get real. The only reason the route sheet is not mimeographed is the machine finally broke. You should have been at the meetings when everyone sat down to make 350 hand written copies of the route sheet. And you think reading a printed route sheet is hard. :8o: I gave up camping on the 500 back in the 1980s when some Life Saver starting his motor at 0500 just to make sure it would run that day. And then some Wingnut cranking up his stereo at 0530 because he was done sleeping! After that I only camped when on tour and always moteled it for the 500. Besides, I always found the campground part of the 500 boring. Mike Aldea, COG-528 Former Asst Road Captain, Ramapo MC Hawthorne, NJ

 

[Orbit]

I too stay at a motel on all my trips now. The last time I camped was the 2005 Ramapo 500. After that, I told Eli it would actually BE the LAST time I camped. She didn't argue. We have reservations at the Microtel in Hamburg PA for this event. I miss evenings at the campgrounds, but only a little. I don't miss mornings at the campgrounds at all.

 

[COG-528]

Once the Thruway opened a long time ago, the Red Apple rest slowly started loosing business. And you know how that goes. After a while there's not enough business (profit) to be able to continue to keep up the facility. It got to the point that it couldn't pass safety inspections. So that was it. But back in it's hay day it was probably something else.

I thought back in the 1980s a good restauranteur could have made the Red Apple a success in the modern era. Upgrade the food and restore the building and I bet people would have flocked to eat in a road side cafeteria. The old would come for nostalgia and the young because it was unique and different from every place else. The problem with buying the Red Apple now is all that land (it is a big parcel) is probably worth more than anyone would want to invest in that sort of project. I'd still love to see it happen. Mike Aldea, COG-528 Hawthorne, NJ