EXCALIBUR POWERSPORTS

Written By Joe Lopez, Vice President

November 2005

Frank and Carol Tierney (Connecticut State Director) worked very hard to try and get the Memorial Day get together scheduled on time, but Excalibur Powersports Honda in Fairfield, Connecticut was not quite ready yet.  So, the Grand Opening was at the end of October.  I drove up on my trike without any mishaps.  It was a little cold that morning but my Gerbings did the job.  I was warm as toast.  I arrived on Friday and hung around the hotel, which was very nice with a pool and hot tub.  The rooms were very adequate and clean.  (Not bad for a Holiday Inn Express).  Frank and Carol arrived that afternoon and they took me on a short tour of what used to be the Honda Dealer facility.  VERY LARGE.  Three separate buildings, which I thought might have been overkill.  Still, very impressive.  They showed me an area where NASCAR is thinking of opening up a racetrack.  Wow, imagine that, Mohegan Sun, Foxwoods and a NASCAR race track all in the same area.  We had dinner at a local steak house and later decided to call it a night.  Next morning we had breakfast and then went to Excalibur to browse around.  I have to say this facility is probably the biggest Honda dealership in the Northeast and probably could compete with most Honda dealers throughout the US.  The opening was impressive with all sorts of things going on at the same time.  You walk in and right away they take your money away with 50/50’s, poker run and charities.  Of course they had door prizes, food and vendors.  On the floor they had every conceivable machine on wheels you could think of.  At least 20 Goldwings in all colors, sport bikes, terrain vehicles, boats, trikes (and they do conversions) and they were giving away a new Goldwing, whereas the ignition key was buried in the ground and you had one chance to find it.  I’m sure there were a lot of dirty hands.  They had hired theatrical people to greet everyone with very unique costumes with the theme of medieval times.  They were dressed as Kings, Knights, Peasants, Queens, Black Smith’s, Princesses, Princes and a whole lot of other costumes.  Why they even had a wedding.  That’s right folks, A WEDDING among all those motorcycles.  Of course they were dressed in the traditional costumes.

The owner Jim Evans was very friendly and couldn’t do enough to make you feel comfortable.  We took a picture together and his wife Loreen (who was the queen) gave me a very nice tee shirt.  Finally Drew & Jo, a new AGWA couple from New York came walking in frozen to the bone.  That morning was especially cold (30’s) and they didn’t have any heated gear.  It took Jo most of the day to thaw out.  And who else pops in but Bob Dombrowski (Massachusetts State Director) and Bill Boyer.  I wonder where the ladies were ……. Anyway, what a pleasant surprise.  They read about this Grand Opening in the WOTR and wanted to see what it was all about.  Due to some serious knee problems Bob decided to trike out his bike.  He must have read my article about BEING IN DENIAL….just kidding Bob.  The architecture of the building looked like a castle from the outside.  The landscape wasn’t quite finished but I’m sure by next spring this facility will be finished and totally spectacular.  It had two floors (with an elevator) - downstairs being nothing but bikes and upstairs mostly accessories and clothing.  A little later another couple Barbara and I met earlier this past summer, Sophie and Bill showed up.  They’re good friends with Carol and Frank and decided to join us for a couple of days.  After a full day we decided to go back to the hotel and rest for Foxwoods that night.  Late afternoon we set out for Foxwoods we all thought.  Frank is leading the way and it looked like we were going to Mohegan Sun.  Ahh……that’s what we thought.  Frank makes a U-turn and off we go again.  We’re all wondering “what the heck is Frank doing and where is he taking us”.  Obviously Frank was a little confused and lost his sense of direction.  Anyway, we wound up at Foxwoods.  There we all had the buffet, which was simply outstanding.  One of the few times I actually ate everything on my plate.  The food was outstanding.  After dinner some of us gambled.  I walked around and browsed through some shops.  There was a lot to see.  Can’t see it all in just a couple hours.  They had a nightclub with everyone dressed in some kind of costume.  They had this one guy who had a trench coat and was flashing all the women.  Every time he did this the women were mesmerized.  I was curious as hell so I took a peak and you wouldn’t believe what I saw.  This guy was naked but he was so covered with tattoo’s you couldn’t even make out “IT”.  The women couldn’t help but stare at him trying to find “IT”.  Pretty funny.  He went into the nightclub for a costume competition.  I’m sure he won.   We all hung out a little longer then went back to the hotel where we called it a night.  The next morning we all ate breakfast and said our goodbyes.  Drew, Jo and I were leaving a little early to catch the New London Ferry to Long Island.  Everyone else stayed one more day for Excalibur’s festivities.  We all made it back safely and I can’t wait for next years Memorial Day Get Together.  It should be a blast (if it’s at Excalibur).  Thanks Frank & Carol.  I know you were a little disappointed with the turnout but it was a good start and effort on your part.  And also thank you for GETTING INVOLVED.

And remember everyone; WATCH OUT FOR THOSE IDIOTS OUT THERE.

Joe.