terham
BeemerBoy
I was headed to Hunter Mtn so I could ride NY 214 to Phoenicia.
I rode this road many times when I attended Color in the Catskills a couple of years ago and wanted to ride it again. I was not disappointed.
In Phoenicia, I turned west on NY with Arkville my destination. I had heard about Cha Cha Hut BBQ, and this being my last day on the road, was looking forward to treating myself to a proper lunch that required lots of napkins. They’re only open Thursday through Sunday, so wasn’t able to stop on my way through on Monday, but today was the day.
I arrived at 1:45 anticipating a great lunch and a bit of a rest only to find they don’t open until 3 on Thursdays. I settled for eating my last two Clif Bars in the parking lot and discussing BMWs with an RT rider trapped in a cage. I’ll have to return…
I headed west and picked up NY 30 south, one of my favorite roads.
This was one of, if not the best, routes on this trip, with a sunny day, no traffic and a curvy road.
I turned off past Pepacton Reservoir and headed south and had my only “moment” of the trip. The road from the reservoir rises and I saw a view I wanted to take a photo of. Thinking the bike might move backward on the side stand due to the slope of the hill and the shoulder, I thought I’d back the bike into the guardrail to hold it. I put the bike in neutral and backed up on an angle slowly, but when the right saddleback contacted the guardrail, the bike tilted to the left, downhill side. I was holding the bike on a downhill, left-leaning angle with my left leg and couldn’t straighten the bike up because I was against the guardrail. I couldn’t lift my foot to put the bike in gear or try to lower the side stand and I couldn’t move the bike forward. I couldn’t reach the guardrail to hold myself so I could lift my left foot to put the bike in gear and couldn’t get off the bike without it coming over on me. In retrospect, I might’ve been able to pull the clutch with my right hand and reach down with my left hand and put it in gear. I practice yoga but have never tried the downward facing SOL man, so balancing precariously and out of options, I flagged down a passing motorist. I had him hold me and the bike up, put the bike in gear with his foot and help me get away from the guardrail so I could be on my way. If it wasn’t for that help, I think I’d still be there.
It went from a bad day to a good day, and there was color everywhere.
I started to retrace my route from Monday and ended up back on home soil.
PA 402 was the last fun ride of the trip.
I ended up at home around 7 after a 400 mile day and a 1260 mile trip. Three out of four days were dry and four out of four days were a blast.
I rode this road many times when I attended Color in the Catskills a couple of years ago and wanted to ride it again. I was not disappointed.
In Phoenicia, I turned west on NY with Arkville my destination. I had heard about Cha Cha Hut BBQ, and this being my last day on the road, was looking forward to treating myself to a proper lunch that required lots of napkins. They’re only open Thursday through Sunday, so wasn’t able to stop on my way through on Monday, but today was the day.
I arrived at 1:45 anticipating a great lunch and a bit of a rest only to find they don’t open until 3 on Thursdays. I settled for eating my last two Clif Bars in the parking lot and discussing BMWs with an RT rider trapped in a cage. I’ll have to return…
I headed west and picked up NY 30 south, one of my favorite roads.
This was one of, if not the best, routes on this trip, with a sunny day, no traffic and a curvy road.
I turned off past Pepacton Reservoir and headed south and had my only “moment” of the trip. The road from the reservoir rises and I saw a view I wanted to take a photo of. Thinking the bike might move backward on the side stand due to the slope of the hill and the shoulder, I thought I’d back the bike into the guardrail to hold it. I put the bike in neutral and backed up on an angle slowly, but when the right saddleback contacted the guardrail, the bike tilted to the left, downhill side. I was holding the bike on a downhill, left-leaning angle with my left leg and couldn’t straighten the bike up because I was against the guardrail. I couldn’t lift my foot to put the bike in gear or try to lower the side stand and I couldn’t move the bike forward. I couldn’t reach the guardrail to hold myself so I could lift my left foot to put the bike in gear and couldn’t get off the bike without it coming over on me. In retrospect, I might’ve been able to pull the clutch with my right hand and reach down with my left hand and put it in gear. I practice yoga but have never tried the downward facing SOL man, so balancing precariously and out of options, I flagged down a passing motorist. I had him hold me and the bike up, put the bike in gear with his foot and help me get away from the guardrail so I could be on my way. If it wasn’t for that help, I think I’d still be there.
It went from a bad day to a good day, and there was color everywhere.
I started to retrace my route from Monday and ended up back on home soil.
PA 402 was the last fun ride of the trip.
I ended up at home around 7 after a 400 mile day and a 1260 mile trip. Three out of four days were dry and four out of four days were a blast.
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