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Today was a very relaxed day, apart from one incident (which I'll get to :)).
We had a lazy lie-in till 8 in Rochester, followed by some pretty ordinary breakfast (as we have become used to at Motels…coffee from a pump container, cereal in polystyrene bowls with plastic spoons, eggs from powder, bacon gone by the time we get there…the usual:))
From Rochester we headed east on a series of back-roads thanks to the GPS being programmed to take us along the 'shortest route' between the waypoints I had put in.But none of us were complaining as both the scenery and the roads were just so good; real 'New England' scenery. :)We were just putting along, we didn't have to cover a lot of miles (we still did 190), and we were just enjoying taking it easy as opposed to our usual 'mile making days'.
We stopped for lunch at "Mama Vics" for a Glutton Burger and a choccy milkshake…pure gold.The place had some beautiful green grass and the sun was shining and the temperature was cool so Dave and I just laid flat out on the grass while we waited for lunch….pure bliss to be so relaxed.
The problem with having a big lunch is that we all get very tired.Usually we just have to push through as we have miles to make, but today, we had the luxury of being able to take it easy, so when I spotted a beautifully maniucured lush green park down the side of Cayuga Lake I pulled over and Dave & I had forty winks in the sun while Ted went for a wander down to the lake.I didn't take anything off, I literally just collapsed onto the grass with helmet and gloves and intercom still on, laid on my back so my helmet supported my head, and went to sleep in the sun.Pure Bliss part two.:)))
After lunch & lunch-time siesta, we cruised through Ithaca which is home to Cornell University.This was going to be our overnight destination, but it was only 2pm so we decided to keep going.
As we were cruising eastward from Ithaca, we saw a sign pointing down a side road that said "ATV Rodeo".ATV = All Terrain Vehicle, or a 4-wheel motorbike to most of us, so the thought of seeing them on a big muddy course doing all sorts of jumps and stuff was something that appealed to all the males present. :)
When we got the next sign it was pointing to a green field, and there was exactly one ATV and exactly no sign of any competition of any kind, so we turned around and were heading back down the road where we came from when Dave saw a woman weaving at us to come back.So we did.
We ended up chatting with a very friendly bunch of locals in Speedville (I kid you not, that was the actual name of the town we were on the outskirts of).They gave us bottled of water and good questioning, complete with open-mouthed astonishment at what we had done.Photos were taken (they took some of us) and handshakes and best wishes exchanged and we were on our way again.Another very unexpected, and very pleasant experience.The 'locals' all over the US have been so exceedingly friendly.
And it was to continue for the rest of the day too.J We stopped for Gas (I'm so good at this US-speak now) and a guy on a Ural motorcycle pulled up next to us.This bike was amazing: a Russian-built, strong-enough-to-take-on-a-tank, off-road and on-road bike, complete with two-wheel drive, the other wheel being on the sidecar.Amazing bike.:)Those crazy Russians!;))
We of course chatted to the Ural-motorbike-guy (who looked like a cross between Jesus and Osama bin-Laden :)), and while we were chatting to him another guy came over to chat to us about Harleys and where we were from etc etc (we take it turn entertaining the locals now).When were out for dinner tonight, same deal, guy wants our story as we walked into the bar for dinner, and a different guy as we were getting on the bikes to leave dinner.
Anyway, chatting over we were on our way again, and we crusied alongside the Delaware River which of course meant lots of great curves.And you know how I like great curves.:)
Tonight finds us in the half-horse town of Deposit (again, I kid you not) which is literally the very north-east corner of Pennsylvania, but we on the New York side of the river.We were pretty worried as we drove into town as we had hoped to stay here, but it seemed too small to have any motels.We stopped at a servo and I aksed a couple of girls there where to go and they gavce us directions to the two motels in town.And thus we came to be at the Deposit Motel (wonder how long it took them to think up the name :))
And now to the 'incident' :)
After showering changing, we were heading out for dinner (to the only restaurant, which is also the only pub), and we decided not to wear helmets (even though NY state has a helmet law) as we are literally in the smallest town we have stayed in all trip, and we were just going 3 blocks.So we jumped on the bikes turned left out of the driveway onto the road, and promptly got pulled over by a policeman before we had made in 30 meters.Our first brush with the law in 3,900 miles!
He was quite a good cop, asked us our stories, took our licences, and decided that it was too much hassle and said that he would just give us a warning.:)))We're still kicking ourselves that we didn't get a photo with him!
So we returned the 30 meters to the motel, got our helmets, and re-departed for dinner, still laughing at the irony of it.
Tomorrow we continue our south-east trek towards NY, and will probably be staying somewhere in the Catskills overnight tomorrow night, which will be the last night of the trip before we hit New York city.Tomorrow will be the last day of country-riding!Its all coming to an end!But we're ready for it: we feel like we have made the most of our trip. :))
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