US9 Y’s off to US28 right after Warrensburg. Marge (the name for the Garmin Quest GPS) told me to jump onto 28, so I followed her directions. 28 began to snake as I could see some relatively large mountains ahead. I made a pitstop in Holcombville for fuel. I really did not need a refill so soon, I had probably 30-40 more miles left in the tank but I was not sure what the Adirondack State Park offered for fuel and had I not topped the blue tank off, I would have worried on the ride instead of enjoying it. On this stop I was not so interested in meeting others; as I was filling the tank, two guys were shooting to bull about 30 feet away from the tank. A truck pulled up and a guy jumped out.
“Hey Steve”, said the guy that just showed up as he was obviously in a hurry, the truck had not completed it’s stop.
“Jim!”
“Hey Jim. Tell your dad to start buying my fuel again!”, Steve exclaimed.
“Steve, we’ve already talked to you about this”
“Yea, well that’s bullshit!”
OK Rob, time to fire her up and move on. And that I did.
I passed many other motorcycles that were headed for the Lake George. We did the common courteous ‘wave’ to each other. If you ever (or ever have) notice two passing motorcyclists wave to each other as they pass one another, it is not because they are neighbors, it’s because they both have something in common; the desire to balance on two wheels down the road. {Sarcasm ahead} You cannot just frantically start waving like an idiot though… it has to be a cool, Fonzy like wave (and I’m really not a Marshall Productions fan, it’s just what came to mind!). Some people give the old peace sign wave and to be cool. Now the wave has to be down low, almost just extending your arm downward. Now, it’s not really a wave per say, just an acknowledgment of your motorcycle brotherhood. I like to give the “hang loose” sign, which I personally rarely see. Some people will only wave to you if you ride their motorcycle manufacturer choice, ie. Harley Davidson, but not I. I don’t care if you are riding a Harley, crotch rocket, bicycle, big wheel or a skateboard. I am on my motorcycle and that makes me feel good, so therefore… I wave. This trip, I even waved to an older lady as she was struggling to stand up. You could tell that she was planting some flowers in her flower bed as she had dirt all over herself and one of those small hand held shovels for planting. Had I been a florist, she may have waved back. Instead, she just looked at me as if she was trying to figure out who I was. Hey, I have been blessed! I am an American, have a job, have a family that loves me, I have good health, and I was riding for the whole weekend and exploring a different part of the state in which I have never been!
The road curved as it follows a branch of the Hudson River. At this point, I really noticed the peace of not having tunes in my ears but my left ear is still feeling irritated. I began learning how to lean back on the GranTour bag as I weaved around the turns. I enjoyed this for a number of miles. I noticed a sign for the Durant NY State Campgrounds to on my left seconds before I passed it. That was one of the campgrounds I had considered staying if the one’s of my choice were full. I marked that in my memory bank.
I came to a T in the road at 28N and Marge said to make a left, so I followed her guidance. I came up on a lake to my right. Marge displayed that it was the Blue Mountain Lake. Here’s a snapshot.
Marge said that I was only minutes away from the Golden Beach campground (http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/do/camping/campgrounds/golden.html) so I was quite excited to get there and set camp. I still needed to head to Lake Placid to meet with my friend/colleague Brian McGovern and his fiancé Danielle so I had to keep moving. I leaned into the campground at 1:17p, 2 hours and 65 miles from the A&W root beer drive in. That time shows how much longer you are in the saddle on curvy roads compared to the highway.
