Click images to view larger

What a hunk, er... I mean DORK! I look like some kind of bratwurst chomping, pilsner guzzling architect, or something. It's the new glasses, I think. Or maybe the leather pants and jaunty pose...

I went for a ride in the Catskills and Adirondacks this Easter weekend, not that Easter had anything to do with it. My friends Matt & Lisa were going up to their cabin on Great Sacandaga Lake, in the Adirondacks, and I figured I'd work in a ride and stop in on them for a night.

The weather forecast said clear Saturday, cloudy Sunday, and rain late on Monday. I figured I'd be ok getting back to Westchester Monday afternoon before the storm. Boy, was I wrong. It rained like a mofo on Monday, all day long.

The first two days were as forecast, and were fun. It was cold (around 42 to 45 degrees) but not unbearable.

Non motorcycle-enthusiasts can skip this next bit.

I had some new riding gear to test out so it was actually good that it rained. I picked up a Kilimanjaro Jacket by FirstGear. I'd been looking for a non-leather riding jacket, that had shoulder and elbow padding, and was fairly versatile, temperature- and weather-wise. The price was right, and the features satisfied what I was looking for. It performed very well and was mostly waterproof, with just a little dampness on the tops of my arms.

I also had picked up a pair of cold-weather riding gloves by TourMaster. Cold-Tex. The product description said "waterproof," which, much to my dismay, they weren't. They were actually completely water-soaked within the first hour of riding in the rain. I admit, it was absolutely pouring, but if you advertise something as waterproof, no water should get it. This was the biggest drag, since it was around 40 degrees out, and traveling at around 70 miles per hour for five hours made for some painfully cold fingers. Their Winter Elite gloves look much better, with the additional retractable nylon shell. My boots weren't waterproof either, but I had bags inside to cover my socks. There was definitely some sloshing when I walked. I'll have to get these boot raincovers by Aerostich.

I also had a FirstGear two-piece rain suit that was great. It completely kept the water out.

I would have taken more pictures on this ride, but it was such a pain in the ass to get the gear on and off, and it was cold.

Route Map
Small | Medium | Large (very big file)

This is somewhere along the Taconic Parkway. I pulled over to put a pair of liners in my gloves. On my return trip, I unintentionally stopped at the same exit and pulled under the overpass to warm my hands on the engine's cylinders.

I turned to the right and snapped this. Still a lot of the snow on the ground.

Just a nice looking road and farm in the Catskills.

This is the restaurant I stopped at for dinner the first night. It's in a town called Hunter, which is a big skiing destination in the area. I was going to stop in a different little town that had a very cheap Ukrainian hotel, but when I pulled into that town, it looked totally deserted, and the hotel was most definitely closed. It looked as if there had been a fire.

The nice people at this restaurant called around and found a room for me at a bed and breakfast just down the road. After a few glasses of wine and some soup and salad, I was ready for bed.

The Washington Irving.
More expensive than the Ukrainian hotel, but comfortable and nice. It is run by two German women who were very nice and helpful. They also didn't freak out when Bratwurst Boy showed up on the scene in his leather pants. I was definitely a little frazzled by the time I got there. They served a great breakfast in the morning and I was well rested and prepared for a great day of riding.

My room at The Washington Irving.

Grrrrrroowwwlll. Wouldn't you just like to climb right in with this savage?!

After a hot shower I was ready to pass out... at 10pm. Riding in the cold definitely saps your energy.

I felt very comfortable because this is pretty much how my bedroom at home is decorated. Not.

Ukrainian church.
Bad photo. I think I took this one with my heavy gloves on. Anyhow... This church was built without the use of nails. Just perogies, I think.

Here's the Ukrainian hotel, in the town of Lexington. Note the burn marks on the side. It's a cool old dilapitated building. Too bad it wasn't open. I'm sure it was chock full of ghosts.

Bridge that leads into Lexington. There are tons of the old steel bridges in the Catskills.

In the town of North Blenheim (I think) is the biggest covered bridge in the universe... or maybe just New York state. It's not in use anymore, since they built one of those cool new steel bridges next to it. The sign above the entrance to the bridge says "$5.00 FINE TO RIDE OR DRIVE THIS BRIDGE FASTER THAN A WALK." Yes sir!

I just thought this was a cool shot of the GS. Pretty savage, huh?

This is after crossing the bridge over the still-frozen Great Sacandaga Lake at Northville. Frozen. Got that?!

Just wanted to catch the official temperature. 42 degrees. This was at 1pm.

The driveway up to Matt & Lisa's cabin. You can see my tracks from when I first tried to get up this skating rink of a driveway. I made it to almost where Matt and Victrola are standing, then slid back down backwards. This photo was taken just before I tried to go up the second time. Made it to about the same place, then slid backwards, slipped, and dropped the bike and myself on the ground, then slid another four or so feet. My hip is still a little sore.

Matt inspecting the dock.

This is a view of just a tiny part of the lake. It's huge.

Matt's a great cook. He whipped up some tuna and vegetable shish kabobs that Victrola was very interested in.

View of the cabin as I'm getting ready to leave.

My ugly mug after riding in the rain and cold for 7 hours. I wasn't riding the entire time. I probably spent about 2 hours trying to deal with the glove situation, and warming up. Look at that blank expression. It comes from concentrating on a road you are having a hard time seeing because semi's are blasting past you doing 90 mph. Fun!

< Back for more FUN