Kate and I usually travel two-up on one bike. We rarely tour with others because it's tough to find another couple, let alone a group, who are in sync with what we want to do any given day. A long trip becomes a series of annoying compromises with a group. We also miss a lot of opportunities to meet locals along the way. We don't have to compromise when it is just the two of us.
Occasionally, though, we'll meet another couple along the way. If we seem compatible we invite them to ride along for awhile. That was the case with Brett and Ellie, a young couple from Virginia on their much delayed honeymoon. We met them at a gas stop in the town of Mystic, Connecticut. He was 34, the same age as me. She was 19; definitely a child bride. Kate was 26. Brett and Ellie had been married for a year, but were too poor to go on a honeymoon right away. They were only a little better off when we met them, but by watching their pennies, they had saved enough to go from Virginia, up into the Canadian Maritimes then return home.
Our tour was more ambitious. Because we were both teachers, we had entire summers free with a reasonable amount of disposable income to enjoy ourselves. We were on another cross country tour from our home in California with plans to visit Kate's many relatives in New England, then head up to Canada. We planned to return the West Coast via the Trans Canada Highway.
We were touring on our BMW R100RT "airhead" which had already taken us well over 100,000 miles throughout the U.S. and Canada over the last several years. Brett and Ellie were touring on a well-worn Triumph Bonneville that Brett's uncle had donated. Ours was made for long distance high-speed trips on the German autobahn. Theirs was made for short distance sport riding. Ours was customized for comfort. Theirs was lashed together to get them where they wanted to go on the cheap. We decided to share the adventure for awhile.
Brett and Ellie planned to stay in a motel that night as they had been camping the last six nights. We were doing the same, though three camping nights was our limit without clean sheets and showers. We found a relatively inexpensive place that was acceptable to all of us. We met for dinner that night to enjoy one another's company. After dinner we headed back to our respective rooms.
Not too early the next morning, we road together to Mystic Seaport. Kate and I are sailors. We get out on our Cal 20 on weekends when we aren't touring. Brett and Ellie weren't as interested in sailing as we were, so we often split up during the visit, then met up again to compare notes, have lunch or just have a beer together.
After several hours, we all had our fill of the place. The plan was to ride north together for the day. We'd camp somewhere in Rhode Island. The ride was uneventful, but pleasant. About an hour before sundown, we started looking for a campground. We weren't having much luck. They were either full or because of noisy Harley riders they had banned bikes altogether. We were about to consider a motel when we took several wrong turns, got hopelessly lost. We stumbled onto a small family farm on a beautiful hillside that rented a few campsites mostly to locals. The owner was out front mowing the lawn when we rolled up. He said everything was full, but offered to let us camp together in the grassy backyard of the main house as long as we didn't light a fire or mind sharing it with a really big Rhodesian Ridgeback mix. We accepted.
The owner's wife, Alice, came out to greet us. She took us to the back. Alice was amazed that the girls had ridden on the back of a bike all this way. She almost clucked over them like a mother hen. Since we couldn't have a fire, Alice offered us leftovers from their own dinner on the picnic table in the backyard. We accepted immediately. Home cooking, leftovers besides, and new friends! A fucking Lowenbrau moment.
After dinner, the girls went in the house with Alice to help wash dishes, put everything away and engage in some girl talk. Kate and Ellie were bonding rapidly as women often seem to do. Brett and I used the time to get the tents set up. Once done, we did a little PM on the bikes. On the BMW, that usually means checking the oil and standing back to say, "Ain't she pretty?" On the Triumph, it meant adjusting and oiling the chain, tightening all the bolts and deciding if anything needs to be done about the ones that fell off. Still, Triumphs are wonderful bikes to ride. By the time the girls were done, it was time to turn in.
Kate and I were in our big double sleeping bag talking softly about nothing as couples often do just before dozing off. Nothing important, just enjoying being together. As we both started to doze, we kept hearing a swish-swish-swish sound.
"What are you doing," Kate finally asked, a little annoyed.
"Nothing. I thought it was you." Swish-swish-swish. "Maybe it's the dog. I'll check."
Before I could get up to check, we heard swish-swish-swish "uhhh, uhhh" swish-swish-swish "Ohhh...ohhh" It was Brett and Ellie going at it in the tent right next to us. We laughed quietly once we recognized it. Shortly, it was obvious they were both cumming, then blissful silence...no swishing.
Kate turned over on her side, spooning against me, but I knew the only sex for the night had already occurred in the tent next to us. Kate refused to consider sex when camping. The girl had her standards. She would only put out if I got her a nice clean motel room with a shower. Another reason we settled on that 3 day camping limit.
Next morning nothing was said. There was no indication from Brett and Ellie that they realized they might have been heard. Maybe they didn't even care if they had.
We rode at a leisurely pace throughout the day with Brett and Ellie, stopping for whatever interesting sights we saw along the way. Even gas stops are a welcome break on the road. Around 1 pm we stopped for lunch in a small roadside cafe. We could see clouds forming east of us. We figured we'd be in rain gear before the day was done.
The waitress took our orders, leaving us to talked about the prospect of rain. I suggested to Brett and Ellie that we stop at a motel with a pool instead of camping with the threat of rain.
"Can't do it, Rick. We're already over-budget from the motel in Mystic. We really have to camp tonight.
"Come on, Brett. How about we treat you to a motel stay if you don't mind sharing a room with us." Kate gave me a look that I interpreted loosely as "WTF?"
"We can't ask you to do that," Brett complained.
"You aren't asking. We're doing it as a sort of anniversary gift to you guys. We can enjoy a few hours in the pool. Maybe a nice dinner afterward. Our treat."
Ellie looked at Brett expectantly. "OK, if you're sure," said Brett to a little happy yelp from Ellie.
"Of course, I'm sure. We'll look for something around 4 o'clock."
