During summer evenings, the parking lot at McNulty’s is packed with families out for ice cream. Sticky-faced children mill around the patio leaving trails of drips and drops in their wake.

When I passed by last week there was still snow on the ground and not a car in the lot. I’d never noticed it before but they have a great, big ice cream cone that hangs over the doorway. Given my love of quirky roadside stuff, I just had to grab a picture.

Just thinking about ice cream and summer has got my spring fever in overdrive. C’mon springtime!

Hot on the heels of some glorious weather last week, Long Island was hammered with driving rains and wind on Saturday night. Trees were downed, shingles were torn from roofs, anything that wasn’t secured down such as garbage cans went tumbling through the neighborhood.

With the strong winds came rough seas. On Sunday afternoon we went to Smith Point to watch the angry waves roll in. The dunes and the sandy beach were all but gone. The foamy tide relentless pounded the shore up to the retaining wall.

Now there’s something you don’t see everyday. A Honda Civic pulling a trailer with 2 dirtbikes on it. Who needs a gas sucking behemoth here on flat Long Island to shuttle their bikes around? Love it!

Today marked a new chapter in the book of my riding life. Under the patient tutelage of some of the guys at ADVrider, I went on my first dualsport ride.

Being a complete noob, I put myself firmly at the tail end of the group of bikes when we pulled away in the morning. As I focused on the line of bikes in front of me, I could see the tarmac fall away and puddles of water began to speckle the roadway.  Before I knew it, there I was in the sandy mud.

The moment my wheels crested into the mud the bike started to gently squirm around under me. I felt like a new rider again. I was filled with fear, excitement and adrenaline. The fast guys up at the front of the line disappeared out of my view. I went into hyper “concentrate on what you’re doing!” mode.

There seemed to be more and more water coming at me. I would be lying if I said I didn’t find that completely alarming. I tried to focus on the tracks that had gone through ahead of me and to follow them. I opted to skip a big puddle that swallowed one of the KTM 950s and went around the outside through the downed reeds. This was when things got really shaky for me.

With only street riding to compare to, all that squishing and wiggling going on below me was setting off all sorts of alarms in my head. I had one goal, one focus – keep moving forward! Somehow that is what I managed to keep doing. I wish it was skill, I wish it was confidence but I think it was just pure luck that carried me out to the other side.

When I finally putt-putted my way to the end of the road, 3 of the guys were waiting. It’s funny how experience changes your perception of these moments. To those 3 guys sitting there, this wet, sandy loop was just a walk in the park. On the other hand I felt like I accomplished something big. I felt like I climbed my own personal mental Everest.

These guys were all patient and knowledgeable and made my day really fun. I really appreciate that they were willing to take a baby bird on the first flight out of the nest. I hope they’ll have me along again.

Things I Need to Remember

• I won’t always be afraid everything.
• I will learn to accept the bike moving around underneath me without panicking
• Sometimes slowing down isn’t the answer
• I won’t always be afraid everything.
• Eyes up!
• Get up on those pegs!
• I won’t always be afraid everything.

Long Island is home to some unusual residents. In the town of Riverhead, sits the North Quarter Buffalo Farm. Though the island seems like an unlikely place for them to thrive, the herd is said to be about 300 strong. Each time we are out that way I love to stop by and watch them from the road. A few of them seemed as interested in us as we were in them.