Thursday, September 20, 2012

Day 8 - Sep 20 Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON Home

This will be my last day on the road, it has been a fun and exciting week especially with the Rolling Through America - Finger Lakes Motorcycle Tour.  I can now say that I have visited and motorcycled around 6 of the Finger Lakes in New York State, saw some interesting small towns and these have made an impression on me - "I want to go back", and I will on Thanksgiving weekend (Oct 5-8).

Leaving Auburn at 9am sharp I am off to the Best Buy store in Rochester, what I need is a 2 port USB charger to charge the GoPro Camera, there are three components and they all need charging at once it seams.  Anyway a quick hop onto I-90 and an hour later I am there, and they have what I want too.


The Lake Ontario State Parkway is a 35.05-mile (56.41 km) parkway along the southern shore of Lake Ontario in western New York in the United States. The western end of the highway is at a partial interchange within Lakeside Beach State Park in Carlton, Orleans County. Its eastern terminus is at an intersection with Lake Avenue in the Charlotte neighborhood of the Monroe County city of Rochester. 

The parkway mainline and the connector to NY 18 are both part of the Seaway Trail, a National Scenic Byway that extends along the shores of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario from northwestern Pennsylvania to the North Country of New York. The Lake Ontario State Parkway passes through mostly open and rural areas, except near Greece and Rochester, where the land surrounding the highway is more developed. It serves mostly as a connector between Rochester and several lakeside state parks and communities. From its western terminus to the Rochester suburbs, the parkway is the closest continuous roadway to the Lake Ontario shore.

The highway was one of several parkways built as part of a 145-mile (233 km) expansion to the state's parkway system in 1944. Construction of the Lake Ontario State Parkway began in the late 1940s, and the first section of the route—linking Hamlin Beach State Park to NY 261—opened in the early 1950s. The remainder of the highway through Greece and Rochester was built in stages during the 1950s and early 1960s, while the section between Lakeside Beach and Hamlin Beach State Parks was constructed in the early 1970s. The original plans for the highway called for it to extend as far west as Niagara Falls; later proposals moved the terminus to the north end of the Robert Moses State Parkway near Fort Niagara.  This section has not been built and I doubt if it ever will.

Oak Orchard Harbour, NY - Lighthouse
My brief stop would be at the Lighthouse at Oak Orchard Harbour on Lake Ontario.

After a brief stop in Lewiston, NY it was time to cross back into Canada and home at 2:30pm in time for a late lunch.

Just a super trip!
Sunny, +10c to 20c
Day: 294km

Trip total: 1,926km

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Day 7 - Sep 19 Auburn, NY

What a difference a day makes, this morning the rain and winds are a thing of the past so it is time to head for home.  It is still cool at 10c but the sun is out and it is time to RIDE! (9:20am)

About 5km North of Kent is Kent Falls, this state park has an excellent waterfall and based on the past 24 hours of rain it is roaring!  I am the only vehicle in the lot and the only person in the park at 9:30am, what a difrence a non weekend makes.  You see Kent Falls is on US#7 which is one of the most popular motorcycle routes in the East, and back on August 12 the news reported "KENT -- Kent Falls State Park has been closed today as of 1:23 p.m. because it is filled to capacity, state officials have reported. The closure is in effect until 7 p.m."
Kent Falls

After Kent Falls I am off reversing my route to some extent, until I am passed Millerton, NY then I will wing-it using the GPS to take me to the Hundson River and the Rip Van Winkle Bridge.
The Rip Van Winkle Bridge is a cantilever bridge spanning the Hudson River between Hudson, New York and Catskill, New York. The structure carries NY 23 across the river, connecting on the west side, US 9W and NY 385 with NY 9G on the east side. The bridge was built by the newly created New York State Bridge Authority, opening on July 2, 1935, at a cost of $2.4 million. Upon its opening, the toll was USD $0.80 per passenger car and USD $0.10 per passenger up to $1. The current toll for autos is $1.50 for eastbound traffic only. It extends 5,040 feet (1536 m) across the river, with a ship clearance of 145 feet (44 m).
The bridge is named after the short story of the same name by Washington Irving.


File:Rip Van Winkle Bridge.JPG

After a brief lunch stop at Preston Hollow, NY I need to move on if I want to reach the Finger Lakes before dark.  I will be following US#20 West from Sharon Springs, NY to Auburn, NY which is about 200km.
New York State has designated US#20 a Scenic Byway, #20 is a cross US highway constructed long before the advent of the Interstate Highway, in fact is was the forerunner of the New York State Through-way which is just the the North.  Nice thing, little traffic and an excellent motorcycle road.  I reach Auburn by 5:30pm and so far I have had an excellent day on the road.

For dinner I would recommend http://www.bambinosbistro.com/ Bambino’s Bistro Auburn, 105 Genesse St., Auburn, NY 13021 Tel 315 255 3385. An excellent restaurant offering a tradition  Italian cousine.

414km
Sunny, +10c to +20c by end of day.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Day 6 - Sep 18 Kent, CT

HOLDING IN KENT - WEATHER DELAY

This will be a none motorcycle day, due to high winds and lots of rain.  As well there is a tornado watch for the area as well.

I was planning to head out today and reach Lake Placid for the evening, but I will spend another day in Kent warm and dry.

Rain, High Winds, +22c
Tornado Watch Issued

Monday, September 17, 2012

Day 5 - Sep 17 Kent, CT

This will be a none motorcycle day, as I will be spending time with my Brother (Robert) and my Sister-in-Law (Marilyn) in Kent, CT.  This is not to say we will do nothing, in the afternoon we are visiting Thomaston, CT, home of the world famous Seth Thomas Clock maker, I have a Seth Thomas Canadian Pacific Ry Clock in my office, it is over 90 years old and still keeps good time.

The name Thomaston derives from Seth Thomas, the early clockmaker, who established a factory in town in 1812. The Seth Thomas clock factory building still exists; however, the clock making industry has long since left the state and eventually the country.


Thomaston is also headquarters of the Naugatuck Railroad, a heritage railway and short line freight operator that operates 21 miles (34 km) of former New Haven trackage between Waterbury and Torrington. Interchange is with Pan Am Railways at Highland Jct.  There is a small outdoor collection of old railraod equipment, so we are going to spend about 45minutes exploring this collection.
Robert Gansel, pushing old baggage cart, Thomaston, CT

After the RR Museum we head for home.

Sunny, +22c

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Day 4 - Sep 16 Kent, CT


This is Sunday and the last official event of the Americade - Rolling Through America Finger Lakes Tour, and after Breakfast Ben and I will be off heading East on US#20, passing through Seneca Falls, NY.


Seneca Falls, NY
Ben is going to Lake Placid, NY and I will be turning South to visit my Brother in Kent, CT, we ride together until the town of Morrisville, NY where we part company.

The rest of my trip will be through the picturesque region of New York State called the Catskill and I will ride on Route 28 through the Catskill Park.  There is a lot of railroad history in this part of the state.  The Catskill Branch of the New York Central went from Kingston to Oneonta (106 miles long) and there were two other lines, New York, Ontario and Western (abdn 1958) and the Delaware and Northern Railroad line to Arkville from East Branch (abdn 1946).  http://www.udrrhs.org/html/delawareandnorthern.htm
All long abandoned - except there are 3 short lines still running on the old NYC line.
Delaware and Ulster RR - Arkville, NY
After a brief stop in Arkville to see the Delaware and Ulster RR, which runs a few passenger excursions during the summer it is off on #28 to Kingston, NY.  This area is cottage country and there are still a number of Catskill resorts and one ski hill.

At Kingston is the bridge over the Hudson River called the George Clinton Memorial Bridge, between Kingston and Rhinecliff, there is a noticeable increase in traffic as one approaches the bridge and once on the East side of the Hudson as well.  It is homeward traffic from the "mountains" back to New York City after a weekend of fun and sun in the Catskills.


From Kingston I will be taking some interesting back roads that lead to Millerton, NY and on to Cornwall Bridge in CT and Kent, CT.  I will arrive at 17:30 as planned.

We are going to have dinner at the Fife 'n Drum Restaurant in Kent. http://www.fifendrum.com/

457km for the day.
Sunny - cool +9c to start an about +18c at the end of the day.  

Ben will arrive in Lake Placid by 4:30pm

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Day 3 - Sep 15 Geneva, NY


Americade - Rolling Through America Finger Lakes Tour

This our second day with the group for the 2 day Rolling Through America Motorcycle Tour.


Today we are going to motorcycle more lakes to the East of Geneva, NY, including Lake Skaneateles, Lake Otisco and Owasco.  Lunch will be in the Town of Skaneateles which is the prettiest town I have been in on this trip at the Sherwood Inn, built in 1807. http://www.thesherwoodinn.com/



This town is worth a return visit for sure.  This place has mansion on the lake, as it just south of Syracuse and the wealthy vacationed here and that mid 19th century style is ever present here. After lunch we will head south-east to Otisco Lake.

This will be the last day of the Finger Lakes Tour, and it was well organized and the locations chosen were excellent.  We will have ridden around 6 of the Finger Lakes: Seneca, Keuka, Cayuga, Owasco, Skaneateles and Otisco.

Another fine day of motorcycling.
Covered 273km
Warm Sunny (cool) +12c, did get up to 20c by afternoon


- Posted on the road, from my iPad2
Location:Geneva, NY

Friday, September 14, 2012

Day 2 - Sep 14 Geneva, NY

Americade - Rolling Through America Finger Lakes Tour

This our first day with the group for the 2 day Rolling Through America Motorcycle Tour, there are 80 Motorcycle in the tour and we will be split into two groups of about 40 bikes each, which is large (extreme) by my standards. Anyway this groups gets up early at 6am for breakfast and we meet in the parking lot at 7:30, with a departure of 8am, you would think that was enough time to set up the CD Radio, cameras, spot, and GPS (not).

Anyway this will be lessons learned for the next day, after a briefing, it is time to mount up and head off, we are in Group 2. There are lots of Harley's, Gold Wings and Trikes, again due to demographics (ie older), all makes sense. Remember it is not what you ride it is that you ride (still).

First stop is Taughannock Falls, outside of Ithaca, NY, after riding for about 1 1/2 hours, this is also the morning bathroom break as well. Again this is all very well organized and I give credit to the Americade folks for doing an excellent job of moving 80 motorcycles over the road.
Taughannock Falls, NY
Next stop will be Montour Falls, NY and on to lunch at an Historic Inn in Branchport, NY overlooking Keuka Lake, out of this world view from the old mansion on the hill, and a must stop for any motorcycle trip or tour through the area. The place is called the UNION BLOCK Restaurant.
Link : http://www.unionblockesperanza.com/

After lunch it was off to Hamondsport and the Glenn H. Curtis Aviation Museum in
Hamondsport, NY. http://www.glennhcurtissmuseum.org/
Curtis invented things, planes and motorcycles etc.. All of his vast collection is in the museum and well worth exploring, we had about an hour but I could have used 2 hours, anyway by 4pm we were heading for the hotel back in Geneva, about 30minutes away.

Another fine day of motorcycling.
Covered 263km
Warm Sunny +27, humid

- Posted on the road, from my iPad2
Location:Geneva, NY