I Went Naked Today.....

....which for a Brit means no more than riding without a helmet! I wanted to try it and I had the perfect opportunity – a very slow ride on wide safe roads in a residential area. It was so hot again and going without a helmet was really good, but not so good that I would do it regularly. It did give me a feeling of freedom though....

As I was riding today sans helmet, I was thinking about the different names we bikers use for helmet. Here are a few I thought of.... please let me know of any others and I will add them to this list.....

Bash Hat
Bone Dome
Brain bucket
Bumper Cap
Crash Helmet
Der Sturzhelm (German)
Lid
Skid lid

Thanks to Axel for these....

Deutsch: der Sturzhelm
French: Casque de moto
Suomi: Moottoripyöräkypärä
Bahasa lain: Topi keledar
Norsk: Motorsykkelhjelm
Portugese: Capacete motociclístico
Русский: Мотоциклетный шлем
中文: 機車安全帽
SvenskaMotorcykelhjälm


Today, I was in Newport, Rhode Island and I rode around Ocean Drive which must be one of the most opulent areas in the US. Some of the houses here are magnificent and some steeped in history. Here are a few photos of the biggest....

The gates to Belcourt Castle....




























Belcourt Castle ( a very French influence at work here)....






















A very traditional mansion....




















The Marble House (front).... I went for a tour around this one, but they didn’t allow photos to be taken inside....




















The Marble House (rear)....




















Not sure of its name, but a French Chateau style house....




















One of the bridges I went over today in Rhode Island....




















Today I reached the 2000 mile point of the tour and to follow what I started at 1000 miles, here is the view of what was exactly at the 2000 miles point. This was near Charlestown, Rhode Island and the lady that owns the little shop came out to see why a biker was taking photos of the road outside her shop!




















To continue with the opulent theme for today, this is the Ocean House Hotel, in Watch Hill which is almost the most westerly point in Rhode Island.... I did like the look of this hotel.....




















My journey continued into Connecticut and I sheltered from the rain and met Rick, on his Harley. We rode together to the local Harley dealer – Mike’s Famous of Groton, CT, where I bought a couple of long sleeved shirts to help protect me from the sun. Thanks Rick for introducing me to the Mikes – the timing and hospitality was just perfect!

Tonight I am staying in Rocky Hills, CT.