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Ian's Top Box
Missing NS, ON and QC. Decided to buy stickers once we got to NFLD! No pictures today, will try to keep you interested with prose. Ian has just walked up to Wally World to get oranges, grapefruit, anything green and a wrench to fix a loose metal piece on, how did you guess, my bike frame that hides something underneath that is wrattling like crazy. Hmmm, a new Harley is sounding more and more appealing. Writer's block is rearing its ugly head at this moment. Picture me in a Super 8 motel, sitting in a bed whose springs can be felt underneath the sheets, Kleenex box by my side, the glare of a burgundy and blue flowered quilted bedspread staring at me from below (these things are out to haunt us), AND a bright PINK painted wall failing miserably to cheer me up, all this plus listening to rowdy trains go by on the train tracks 100 feet away from my window. That's what you get for a free night, thanks to a Wyndham rewards redemption. Stay 3 nights if you dare and the 4th is complimentary. I can't complain too loudly. I am, afterall, in NEW YORK STATE! Somebody pinch me!
Despite still feeling terribly sick and slightly off balance, we put 300
kms on the tires today parking for the night in Cobleskill, New York. The ride was another piece of heaven, following The Adirondack Trail, route 30, 2-laned route also marked a cyclist route from Lake Placid. A light mist at our start draped our tree lined and canopied road, enhancing the forest's vibrant shades of green and creating a wonderfully fresh aroma - not quite like Tide, but close. My dad, Dimitri Dembizky, used to call tree canopies "paradise". I don't know why I remember that, since he died when I was 7, I just do. Much as I remember him giving me a swat across my bottom when I fell off my older brother's 10 speed bike into a parked car on our street when I was not much younger than that. I wonder if he watched us, smiling, as we rode through many miles of paradise today.
Adirondack Mountain Country is a land full of lakes, trees, skidoo trails, bears, deer, wolves, foxes, and country cabins. We haven't seen any wildlife other than a gorgeous silver fox with black legs and black ridgeback which ran across the road in front of us. Some sort of mole that
I thought was dead on the side of the road surprised me with movement at the last minute, choosing wisely to wait for Ian to also pass before making a beeline to the other side. All those "watch for moose" signs have been replaced with "watch for deer" signs. We drank our first coffee on a short break at "A Convenience Store With A Little Bit More", sitting at the sole table inside surrounded by shelves chockablock full of bear knicknacks, bear cushions, moose throws, deer aprons and oven mitts, mosquito nets, camping supplies, homemade jams, candles, and maple syrup, oh and two crockpots of soup and chili on the counter next to the till. Add this to the hundreds of images etched in my mind during this trip.
I think the biggest thing that will stay with me from this trip is the people we have met along the way, in particular now that we are in more populated areas on bike popular roads, other motorbikers. Bikers are interested in other bikers. While we all have our own story, we share the love and freedom of riding a bike. We want to know about each other, where we're from, where we're going, what kind of bike we have. We tend to ask what they recommend doing and seeing in the area, and on continues the conversation. During our late lunch break today in Long Lake, NY, in a near empty little family diner, we chose to sit at a table a mere foot away from one occupied by three other bikers - not something we would have done in the past if travelling in the car. These guys rode Harleys and a Honda Shadow and were out on a day ride from Americade at Lake George. We learned from them that Americade draws an older, more serene crowd and is nothing like the wild, testosterone-driven scene at the Sturgis, South Dakota bike rally. This little tidbit increases the odds of Americade being added to our bucket list. The guys advised us, emphatically, that it would be remiss to bypass the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Appalachian Mountain Range, home to the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Smoky Mountains. It's named America's Favourite Drive. The good news is it's in a westerly direction from here. However, it also means heading considerably further south. Oh dear, we really won't be home, on the bikes anyway, by July 5.
We remained dry for most of our ride today, below overcast, thunderstorm-threatening heavy skies, humid temperatures hovering between 18 and 21. Riding through countless consecutive eclectic communities never got old, with each boasting a hodgepodge of houses, some cape cod, some colonial, some cottage rancher, some just square, some immaculate, some thirsty for a coat of paint, some sagging in the middle. Our lush forest opened up to farmland and dairy pastures once we reached Amsterdam, NY and many a cow raised its head as we passed. It is gorgeous green country.
I'm stoked about tomorrow and hopefully reaching the Steel Steeds campground where we have the option of breaking out the never used on this trip camping gear, or opting for luxury in one of the campsite's deluxe RVs on the river. Until then ......
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JOAN MUMBY
non-member comment
New York State
I am sorry to hear that you are both sick! You must have super strong bodies that are keeping you moving before you have fully recovered. I would be sidelined for at least a week... I am not going to write much in Comment, so read your emails every now and again .As I have said before, your blogs are fantastic and I shall miss them when you get back into your overtime work grind. Love you, Mum xxx