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The RA rally Location 2010

Semi-Tropical Thoughts

... the Mustang is tucked away for the night and we are spending our 6th anniversary here in Cocoa Beach, Florida..... and yes we have discussed the RA and look forward to being there. We have flown in a 1942 Vultee BT-13, spent time chasing Hemmingway in Key West, languished by the pool in Miami Beach and now head home to cooler temps. Next stop: The RA in Vermont. See you there! - Bob (.... got to go.... uh, more wine dear?.....)
 
Key West:

Do the cats still wander around in huge numbers?
Is the sunset still celebrated every evening?

Hope you are coming early to Pownal! Expect royal treatment!
 
The Godfather respectfully wants ...

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OK gimoke lets hear it and NOW!

Da Godfather is going to the RA rally and out of respect will ride a Beemer instead of a Ducati but Godfather wants
  • Boston North End flavor
  • friendly service
  • a touch of wise guy service
  • roasted peppers
  • fresh made mozzarella
  • checkered table cloths
Capish?

(to be continued)


The best riding in New England awaits you!

COME EARLY - STAY LATE - No charge for camping before the rally starts. Vermont wants you to come and have a great time.
  • Sunday Camping - FREE
  • Monday Camping - FREE
  • Tuesday Camping - FREE
  • Wednesday Camping -FREE
Rally Registration is now open. For registration click here.

And, hang around for the Yankee Beemer Rally in Heath Mass. For more information about the YB Rally click here.
 
Key West:

Do the cats still wander around in huge numbers?
Is the sunset still celebrated every evening?

Hope you are coming early to Pownal! Expect royal treatment!

... now in now in the beautiful Peach State of Georgia. Those unique cats still roam freely around Hemingway's ghostly presence and yes the sunsets remain a celebration of diversity and color..... and that's just the peiople. May my favorite drinking establishment, The Green Parrot, go on forever! And roosters roam all over town freely. What a hoot! See you at the RA and thank you for the 'royal' reference..... never had a royal treatment before. -Bob
 
... now in now in the beautiful Peach State of Georgia. Those unique cats still roam freely around Hemingway's ghostly presence and yes the sunsets remain a celebration of diversity and color..... and that's just the peiople. May my favorite drinking establishment, The Green Parrot, go on forever! And roosters roam all over town freely. What a hoot! See you at the RA and thank you for the 'royal' reference..... never had a royal treatment before. -Bob

When you travel with a Queen you get the best! Queen Mary that is!
 
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When Da Godfather Speaks We Listen

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Author: By Sheryl Julian, Boston Globe
Date: 10/10/2001

MANCHESTER, VT - Al Scheps came here 13 years ago from Fair Lawn in North Jersey. He had worked in his Italian father's mozzarella and ricotta factory there for years, and he arrived in town looking around for a business. He opened a food shop in this southwest corner of Vermont, and called it Al Ducci, a play on Il Duce ("the Duke").

Nancy Diaferio, from Corona, in Queens, N. Y. - with an accent to match - was living a few miles away in New York State and wandered into Al Ducci's looking for a job. She had years of cooking experience and had once owned a food shop in Mount Kisco, N. Y. with her mother and sister.
He was married and she was married. But not to each other.

As Diaferio tells the story, one day she "leaned into the cheese case," and when she straightened up, she noticed Scheps staring at her. He is more discreet: "Nancy came here to work in '92," he says. "About a year later, we found each other. Unfortunately, neither of us was single at the time."
They are a likely match, not so much in style - "we're good cop, bad cop," he says, because she'll say anything to the customers and he spends a lot of time unruffling feathers - but in work ethic. Scheps, 61, and Diaferio, 41, are perfectionists.

Sixteen-hour days mean nothing to either one. She roasts peppers individually on the gas burners because she wants that charred taste. He is up at 4 a.m. six days a week to make fresh bread. The rare times that he has a fever or flu and isn't up to doing it, he comes in anyway. "Then I go back to bed," he says. Luckily, they practically live over the shop.

And in that way, Al Ducci is the sort of old-fashioned delicatessen found in urban areas a century ago. Housed in a former food market, it has a tile ceiling and a 100-year-old, creaky, uneven wooden floor. The proprietors themselves are certainly part of the reason the locals frequent Al Ducci. It's more than an Italian delicatessen with the finest prepared foods in the area. It's a hangout for the townspeople, the spot where news flows, and the place where natives go to say hello to one another and to the shopkeepers.

Al Ducci is a few blocks from the shopping activity in town, just far enough away so that you wouldn't go there unless you knew about it. The delicatessen does a brisk lunch business, serving sandwiches like Diaferio's popular grilled vegetables made with Scheps's mozzarella - which he makes on the premises with New York State milk - and bread. Bostonians who own country houses in the area have to call ahead to have cheese and bread set aside for them. By early afternoon on a Friday or Saturday, the cases are emptying quickly.

Besides plump red peppers, overlapped carefully and drizzled with olive oil, Diaferio makes caponata with minuscule diced eggplant, green and yellow squash, onions, and celery roasted with capers, olives, balsamic vinegar, and tomato paste. It's an intensely sweet and salty relish. Scheps makes chewy multi-grain bread, focaccia, Italian white bread, ciabetta made with a sourdough starter), and a semolina bread he can't keep on the shelf. The odd days any loaves are left over, they become semolina crisps, which he then hides for the regulars. He grinds lean pork with fennel, cheese, and parsley for hot and sweet sausages.

Chicken salad begins with Bell & Evans birds and contains only tomatoes, olives, capers, basil, garlic, olive oil, and parsley. "No vinegar," Diaferio says, "because it breaks down the food. If you can handle the garlic, it's dynamite." When she pulls the meat off the chicken bones, she only uses the big, moist chunks. "You know the meat that you bite into and get cartilage?" she asks. She won't use it. Instead, she wraps it up and sends it home with the customers who own her favorite dogs. They also offer his mother's rice pudding, made with risotto rice, whole milk, and heavy cream. Her precision comes with an edge. She describes herself as "a neurotic neat freak. But you have to have one of those in this business." Diaferio is also tough on her staff. "I like to see the tomatoes diced in a uniform way, because it adds to the look," she says. "And I don't like someone to go in and take a scoop of salad. I like them to stir it first." She has a long list of these particulars.

The couple works with two helpers, though they'd like more. Trained cooks who are interested in living in Vermont don't want to work in a delicatessen, she says. "When we run out, we run out."
As for the customers, well, they'd better wait their turn and have some respect for the place. She tells a story about watching a teenager head for the cold drinks. "He's got those big pants, and he's wearing a seat belt to hold them up," she says. He opened the door to the refrigerator case and while holding it open, surveyed the array. "Hey, dude!" she yelled out from a spot behind the counter where she sees and hears everything. "You know why they put glass doors on refrigerators?" And without waiting for an answer, she barked: "So you can see in!" The kid inched back and let the door swing shut.

Scheps says that some customers don't understand her. The region where she was raised in Queens, he says, "is known as Spaghetti Park." All the guys who went there were Italians who wore sleeveless undershirts. "You learn how to be tough on those streets." She says that keeping the cases in the shop filled is such hard work, that if she lets out a shriek, it's because something went wrong. "There's so much labor in everything we do. People on the other side of the counter don't understand that if I burned the frigging eggplant for a dish I was working on, I'm upset." It's quick and then it's over, she says. "I don't like things festering."

Diaferio learned to cook from her grandmother. She had two: Skinny Nanny, who was her Apulian mother's mother, and Fat Nanny, her Apulian father's mother. "Skinny Nanny was a terrible cook. Fat Nanny made lentil soup, frittata, and pepper and egg sandwiches to take to school." The olive oil dripped onto the bread so the sandwich was a mess by the time Diaferio ate lunch. "The kids made fun of me." Except for the oil-soaked sandwiches, this immigrant cooking is what Dieferio and Scheps offer, with modest concessions to modern tastes. Both claim their stamina comes from their families as well. The only way they've distanced themselves from their heritage is by moving so far away from the places where they were raised.

Once a year, they return to New York, he says, "to ride the subway and go to the museums. And see why we're in Vermont.

Al Ducci is located at:
133 Elm Street
Manchester, Vermont
Phone ~802*362*4449

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Destination: Manchester, Vermont
Distance from Pownal: 36 Miles
Duration: 45 Minutes

For more information about the Al Ducci, click here.

The best riding in the East awaits you!

COME EARLY - STAY LATE - No charge for camping before the rally starts. Vermont wants you to come and have a great time.
  • Sunday Camping - FREE
  • Monday Camping - FREE
  • Tuesday Camping - FREE
  • Wednesday Camping -FREE

Rally Registration is now open. For registration click here.

And, stick around for the Yankee Beemer Rally in Heath Mass. For more information about the YB Rally click here.
 
Al Ducci's the Best (that side of the Pond)

I'm in Fiuggi (50 mi. E. of Rome) for my granddaughter's christening and currently focused on the pasta alla pomodoro with the grana parmesan and, oh yes, the rosso. But, when I get home to Manchester, Al Ducci's is the first stop for lunch and supplies. Maybe a scamorza sandwich with fresh arugula on homemade focaccia with a caprese salad of Al's fresh bufala mozzarella... Ciao!
PS: Waiting for my son-in-law to install the battery into his Honda 900cc 4-cyl. Hornet, so I can rip it up a little here in the southern Appenines.
 
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I'm in Fiuggi (50 mi. E. of Rome) for my granddaughter's christening and currently focused on the pasta alla pomodoro with the grana parmesan and, oh yes, the rosso. But, when I get home to Manchester, Al Ducci's is the first stop for lunch and supplies. Maybe a scamorza sandwich with fresh arugula on homemade focaccia with a caprese salad of Al's fresh bufala mozzarella... Ciao!
PS: Waiting for my son-in-law to install the battery into his Honda 900cc 4-cyl. Hornet, so I can rip it up a little here in the southern Appenines.

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Everyone, especially attendees from the rally in Pownal are welcome at Al Ducci's.

Enjoy Italy! A special burial detail awaits when you return from Italia.
 
Don't Miss Antique Motorcycles

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This will be another exciting year for anyone attending the 2010 Event.
We will have many Featured Shows at this yearÔÇÖs event, The now world renowned Motorcycle Timeline, back by popular demand

The California Hell Riders Wall of Death, and Saturday June 12th for the first time on the east coast, the Famous MidAmerica Auctions will auction 125 quality antique and special interest motorcycles. Take a moment to look through the site and see some of what you may have missed from past meets or perhaps you have been to this unique event and you may find yourself in our pictures and video links. This Event is brought to you by the Northeast Coalition of Chapters.

  • Hudson Valley
  • Yankee
  • Big Sandbar
  • Seaboard
  • Empire & Colonial Chapters of the AMCA
.
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If you live on the East Coast don't miss this show. Pownal, site of the RA rally is 80 miles from Rhinebeck. Come to see the antique motorcycles and then take a scenic ride to Pownal.

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Destination: Rhinebeck, NY
Distance: 80 Miles
Duration: 1 Hour 45 Minutes

For more information about the Antique Motorcycles Association event, click here.
 
A Toot on the Scoot

PS: Waiting for my son-in-law to install the battery into his Honda 900cc 4-cyl. Hornet, so I can rip it up a little here in the southern Appenines.

After two years in storage the bike fired instantly on the first sniff of fuel. Maybe they don't have all the gummy additives we have....in all events, the bike never even choked. Angelo hadn't ridden at all in that period, so I was a tad apprehensive to be his pillion. I probably out weigh him by 60 lbs., and the suspension is soft to begin with. But we managed an absolutely spectacular ride in the Appenines from Fiuggi to Filettino and back, under bluebird conditions on roads where the switchbacks turn back on themselves. He drove out, I drove back. Only dicey moment was when two busses passed each other on a hairpin as we were bearing down at a brisk clip. We threaded the needle with room to spare...but not much. Hey, it's Italy...how much room do you need? Anyway, riding in Italy is thrilling but then, so is riding in Vermont. Can't wait for the Rally. Ciao.
 
Vermonters Are A Crafty Lot

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Folks in Vermont are a crafty lot. With six seasons
  • Foliage
  • Winter
  • Mud
  • Spring
  • Road Repair
  • Summer
it just doesn't make sense to have a swimming pool in the back yard unless you build it large enough to double as a hockey rink in the Winter season. What to do?

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Use the swimming holes that nature has provided in abundance. There are a lot in Vermont and always well used. See the above Map. Want more information about those swimming holes? Click Here.

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For example:
ARLINGTON GREEN [ARLI]: Follow RT 7A north from Bennington, turn left onto RT 313 headed west in Arlington, towards NY state. Approximately five to seven miles down the road will be Covered Bridge Road on the left. Cross the covered bridge and park in the small parking area on the right. Very Confident. Verified Lat/Lon Lat:43.10406 Lon:-73.22041

Cost of using a swimming hole - FREE. Cost of building a pool, landscaping it, maintaining it, skimming out dead chipmunks, buying chemicals, putting up a fence and then putting on the pool cover is just overwhelming And then the swimming pool season is about as long as a New York minute.

The RA is very concerned that you get the true Vermont experience so a river full of swimming possibilities borders that camping area. So ...

  1. Ride the Roads
  2. Take a dip in the River
  3. Eat Hardy
  4. Have a Brewski
  5. Go back to step one.

The best riding in the East awaits you!

COME EARLY - STAY LATE - No charge for camping before the rally starts. Vermont wants you to come and have a great time.
  • Sunday Camping - FREE
  • Monday Camping - FREE
  • Tuesday Camping - FREE
  • Wednesday Camping -FREE

Rally Registration is now open. For registration click here.

And, stick around for the Yankee Beemer Rally in Heath Mass. For more information about the YB Rally click here.
 
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I'm wondering if I can ship our camping gear to the Vendor shipping area? I understand that there will be someone there to ship stuff out on Sunday? I'm just trying to figure a way to ship our camping gear up there and be able to just ship it out on Sunday (instead of loading the 2-up bike down, or staying at a motel).
 
Paul, are there any plans to try and bring together this loose affiliation of forum dwellers at the RA? I think someone or two owe me a beer (can't remember why though) and I owe a couple of beer and one soda. So, any idea how this might happen beyond to world of coincidence? Thanks! - Bob
 
Bob, thats a great idea. it will probably be left up to us to decide where and when to meet. Soooooo maybe Paul can find us a good place to meet and we can take it from there. Kenny......
 
I'm wondering if I can ship our camping gear to the Vendor shipping area? I understand that there will be someone there to ship stuff out on Sunday? I'm just trying to figure a way to ship our camping gear up there and be able to just ship it out on Sunday (instead of loading the 2-up bike down, or staying at a motel).

There is another option...:bolt
 
Ted, let's have that cigar by the river eh? Maybe some others will join in. Mary and I are looking forward to being down there and meeting up with old and new friends. And Kenny, I think that we can make this gathering of the herd possible once we find out where Paul is! We like this possibility. - Bob
 
Ted, let's have that cigar by the river eh? Maybe some others will join in. Mary and I are looking forward to being down there and meeting up with old and new friends. And Kenny, I think that we can make this gathering of the herd possible once we find out where Paul is! We like this possibility. - Bob

Well, so far I only have two tents reserved. If this trend continues, I'll have plenty of time burning up cigars by the river.
 
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