Yearly trip to Pennsylvania

[dorkburger]

The next two days were spent doing family stuff.
Sunday we rode. It ended up just my cousin and me.

The ride started out very similarly to last time. We headed out of the valley and up to Rt 15 heading up to Watkins Glen NY again, but with a slightly different route to avoid a few stretches of lumped up road. On Rt 15 there was a Bald Eagle circling, gliding, overhead. Not that rare of a sight anymore, but still rare enough to take note and appreciate. We moved pretty quickly. Frank, who didn't make the trip this year has a CDL license to consider. We don't. We got off at Elmira, rode thru town, passed the Corning Glass museum, and continued on. NY rt 414 if I recall....

The few times I've been to Watkins Glen, it has always struck me as a busy tourist town, albeit a cool one. For our ride's purpose, it was just a jumping off point.
We stopped for gas and snacks, and shot the breeze for a while taking in the lovely view of Seneca Lake.

Gassing up. I always enjoy photographing the GS next to the Duc. Different machines from different eras...
http://996 & 1150 by Glen Brenner, on Flickr

Seneca Lake and two cool bikes....
http://996 & 1150 by Glen Brenner, on Flickr

After our break we picked up 414 again which travels up the right side of the lake heading north. Absolutely beautiful views of the lake and many vineyards. The roads were wide open, and not necessarily technical. Great for just relaxing and taking in views. We ended up heading toward Cayuga Lake and the sights continued.
We took another brief pause at Taughannock Falls Park and oooh aaahed at the falls along with 50 or so others.

The falls. There are likely 10 million pics that look the same on Google. Still pretty cool though.
http://Untitled by Glen Brenner, on Flickr

By now the day was moving on and I needed to be back for family dinner. We made our way to Ithaca, fueled up, had coffee and a snack, then hit the road with intent.
We retraced some of the route we took on our way out, but also a few different roads. Things were more entertaining on the way back. Bent up, smooth roads, no traffic, and good times. There were indications of the recent flooding all around, and at nearly every creek but the roads were ok. The last Stretch down Pa 414 from Liberty to Morris was a blast. We pushed it a bit. Last winters fork mods were put to good use and appreciated.
It was a good day of riding and the best weather day of the trip. Didn't get many pictures of the day though.

 

[Eli69]

so many cool places in the finger lakes area. a lot of people think of new york as just a city. they're wrong. glad you had a good trip.

 

[dorkburger]

Thanks Eli.
NYS is definitely a beautiful area. Years ago, I made several trips to Rochester, usually avoiding the interstates. I always loved the drive / ride thru the country and small towns.
I don't think I would want to be there in the Winter though. I dislike the cold more and more these days.

 

[Charlie G]

I pulled up a map and followed you on your journeys. Looks like a wonderful time. I went through this area many years ago when I was in my teens on my way to a wedding in Rochester, NY. It was at night and I missed so much. Thanks for taking the time to post up.

 

[dorkburger]

Thanks Chrlie. I generally enjoy writing these. I've been crazy busy since getting home this time....

 

[dorkburger]

Besides the main event, I also got in a few quick rides and grabbed some pics of the Cedar Run and Slate Run (the next town south) areas.

This was taken the same time and nearly the same location as the earlier fog shot.
http://Gs1150 by Glen Brenner, on Flickr

The green bridge. Up until several years ago, it was green. I've called it that all of my life and will continue to do so. I remember as a kid looking at the builders plaque on top and marveling at the fact that if it stood until 1990 it would be 100 years old. 28 years beyond that and its still there. I love these old steel bridges.
http://Green bridge by Glen Brenner, on Flickr

Tomb Flats south of Slate Run. The creek was unusually high, especially for the summer. This is an interesting spot - the creek bed here is one huge relatively smooth bed of rock. Years ago we took pictures of our much younger kids on the rock. This was a campground until about ten years ago, when floods floated several campers (trailers, not people) down the creek to their doom. Now its an access / boat launch area. I was thinking of Dave (Redman) when I took this.....

http://Tomb flats by Glen Brenner, on Flickr

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

The green bridge. Up until several years ago, it was green. I've called it that all of my life and will continue to do so. I remember as a kid looking at the builders plaque on top and marveling at the fact that if it stood until 1990 it would be 100 years old. 28 years beyond that and its still there. I love these old steel bridges.
http://Green bridge by Glen Brenner, on Flickr

Those bridges are beautiful, but they sure are no fun to drive across on a motorcycle.

 

[RichDesmond]

Great write-ups, thanks for sharing.

 

[dorkburger]

Thanks Rich. Your springs and the cartridge emulators definitely made for a better ride.

As far as crossing steel grate bridges, it stopped bothering me once I realized that the wiggling of the bike wasn't a sign of impending doom. Oddly, different grate patterns seem to affect the bike differently. This particular bridge has rectangular openings that have little effect. The diamond shape ones do. I like how the bike suddenly gets quiet when theres no road below to bounce the noise off of.

 

[dorkburger]

More pics....
http://Spook Hollow looking north by Glen Brenner, on Flickr

http://Spook Hollow looking south by Glen Brenner, on Flickr

http://Slate Run by Glen Brenner, on Flickr

"Downtown" Cedar Run.
http://Cedar Run by Glen Brenner, on Flickr

http://GS1150 by Glen Brenner, on Flickr

 

[dorkburger]

The long running sack gag. I've yet to ride home with it. I only found it hidden there by chance though, and my wife played along with my cousin....
I put it on his truck.... I don't think he has found it yet......
http://Untitled by Glen Brenner, on Flickr

http://Untitled by Glen Brenner, on Flickr

 

[gordinho80]

Awesome pics, Glen. Looks like you had a great time!

 

[dorkburger]

Thanks.
Definitely a different vibe playing tag with the family there and back - a more puropseful direct ride, but I still had fun on the highway - despite the rain.... More on that later.
It was a good getaway for the whole family.

 

[GSXR7ED]

I like the pics Glen...minus the ballsack! Lol

Bringing this to the top!


Ed

 

[Charlie G]

Forgot about you're sack gag. Good fun!

 

[dorkburger]

A week later it was time to go home. It rained Wednesday night, and Thursday morning I woke to clouds, but no rain. A weather check showed that it wasn't a matter of if we would hit rain, but when. We had breakfast, said our goodbyes, then headed south on 414 - not my preferred route. South literally follows the valley to the end at Rt 220. North 414 to 220 goes thru some narrow roads, then to 287, which picks up 220 further east. Its a more entertaining road that has some nice curves and climbs to go over the mountain. Still, its not remotely close to a lesser of two evils scenario. Both are nice. Sort of like picking a favorite motorcycle.

We headed south on wet roads, but no rain. Near the town of Cammal there are some pipeline / fracking operations in progress up on the mountain and trucks are constantly up and down the hill. The road where they enter 414 is a dirty mess, and riding thru it in the wet left my bike a filty mess in just a 1/4 mile. Not much of a concern, but if I had a nice bike, I'd be a bit peeved. The ride out of the valley was picturesque with overcast skies and the typical morning clouds lifting- the morning clouds are ever present, even on nice days. We stopped in Jersey Shore PA again for gas - those who are smart and or cheap only buy enough gas in the valley to get out due to its higher price. The family stopped at the diner in town for the third time of the trip for their breadsticks and cheese sauce - for the road this time, while I headed out.

Grunge picked up near Cammal....
http://Untitled by Glen Brenner, on Flickr

Dirty can...
http://Untitled by Glen Brenner, on Flickr

 

[dorkburger]

After fuel, I hit 220 east. As I approached Williamsport, I could see rain in the distance, then approaching cars with headlights and wipers on, then... rain. It started slow, then picked up. After I passed town, it became clear that it would be here for a while. I pulled off near Lycoming Mall and put on my rain gear. After a couple of goofs and illegal turns I was back on 220. It rained for the duration of the ride down 220, which turned into 180, then I hit Rt 80 east. It was warm, and the rain didn't bother me a bit. Shortly after going east on 80, the rain stopped and the roads were dry. Our next meet up was at Bloomsburg where my wife wanted to stop at a store to pick something up for a friend's infant daughter.

After our stop, I looked around. The skies looked pretty foul all around, but gosh darn it, it was dry now, so the rain gear was stowed, and off I rode. Next stop, Lake Harmony exit.
I knew full well that forgoing the raingear was a foolhardy move, but I was ok with it, as motorcycling itself is a foolhardy love at times. I was ok with my choice.
On the road I was pushing it a bit, running around 85 mph plus at times. I wasn't passing everything in sight, just most of it. I hit a few showers lasting 10-15 minutes at most. I just tucked in behind the screen. It did a good job of keeping my chest dry, but did nothing for my arms. My jacket's clain of being waterproof gave up the ghost long ago. The last 10 minutes or so it got dark- really dark. I was fully expecting the skies to open up with rain, lightning, and thunder at any second, but then my exit arrived. We met at Subway for lunch. Within ten minutes of stopping the rain caught up. It poured so much that it was gray outside....

During the last stretch my signal broke. It broke a few years ago and was repaired.
http://Untitled by Glen Brenner, on Flickr

 

[dorkburger]

After lunch we split up for the last time until home. I contemplated removing my broken signal, but didn't want to lose my rear signal function or have to manually switch the switch on / off to make it blink, especially in bad weather. I let it dangle. I started my bike and it puttered to life missing a cylinder or two - just like after its yearly washes. I suspect it's due to the bad spark plug seals at the end of the caps. I rode next door and filled up. It was still raing, steadily, but not heavily. The wife called and said it was not raining down the pike where she was. I made the soon to be proved as foolish decision to forgo raingear again. I left the gas station and shortly later the bike's miss cleared up as the heat evaporated the water. I grabbed my toll ticket and got on the Northeast Extension. Within minutes the rain picked up..... There was no safe spot to pull over to put on rain gear so I concluded that wet was better then wet and dead. Then it picked up some more..... then some more.... then some more until it was a full on downpour plus. Things were a bit sketchy at this point. A lot of cars and trucks on a two lane interstate with minimal room for error and compromised vision due to the rain, road spray, and water beading off of my shield. Water eventually seeped into my underwear, the unpleasant tell tale sign that one is completely wet. My boots were water logged as well, complete with water squishing between my toes. I lost track of time at this point, but it must have been a good half hour to 45 minutes of this. At one point I was following a fellow fool riding a touring bike in the mess. There was about a 45 second reprieve as I rode thru the Lehigh Tunnel... Perhaps that mountain that the tunnel passes under forms a weather feature, because after exiting, the rain let up, the skies began to lighten, and shortly later the rain stopped. I stopped at the next rest stop for a breather, a drink and to get my wits back - I also poured water out of my boots.

I also noticed that the rain peeled more black from the stripe off. The part nearest to the headlight was already peeled off years ago and (poorly) touched up.
http://Untitled by Glen Brenner, on Flickr

The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful. The weather got hot and sunny as I approached the Philly area and got on the PA pike to NJ and hit traffic volume and a delay.

Then I had to pay my toll.... paying tolls on the bike sucks. I pulled over ahead of the gate and got a $20 and my ticket ready. I'm 99.99999999999999 % sure I handed the guy both together - he claimed otherwise. After a brief discussion, that was plainly evident that I was to be on the losing end of, I peeled more money out of my wallet, paid the guy, made a backhanded insinuation that he was on the take, then blasted off with all of the fury an old 1150 has, just short of breaking traction or bones. In my mind it was an awesome display.... reality may vary, but with no one to confirm or deny, I'm going with awesome. It really pi$$ed me off, and I stewed over it for a bit, but eventually decided that it was a great week, good riding, no breakdows / crashes, and $20 is small in the overall picture.

The last hour was a slow return to reaity as I drew closer to home, passed within a mile of work's office, saw a company truck on the highway, then pulled into Stupid Freehold Boro with a dirty bike and a cleaner outlook on things, yes vacations still work as designed.

Dirty bike with minor damage at the end of a successful trip.
http://Untitled by Glen Brenner, on Flickr

It's no surprise to anyone who reads my ramblings about how much I dig my bike, but I was especially impressed on this trip. While its certainly not even remotely close to a touring bike - its noisy, buzzy, turns a lot of RPM at highway speed, and not totally comfortable, but it did great without an issue. I ran it harder and longer then on any trip, averaing between 80- 85 for extended times. I love this bike......

Theres a new set of signals in the garage, ordered this week, that I need to put on.

 

[dorkburger]

Yeah..... I found this in my riding pants today......
Seems that out of force of habit I rode right thru the EZ-Pass lane and didn't pay when getting off of the NJ Turnpike.

http://Oops... by Glen Brenner, on Flickr

 

[Charlie G]

Will they send you a ticket/bill?