Cat's & Dak's Ride Report 6/13-14

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Nice Rumble

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I will post a full report tomorrow but for now a teaser of the epic ride through the Catskill's and the Adirondacks put on by Jim and Iris.

Firstly, a hugh thanks to Jim and Iris for taking us on a tour of the best roads and scenery in their "neck of the woods".

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We found some spectacular roads with smooth pavement and stunningly beautiful views.

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A rest stop overlooking Great Sacandaga lake.

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More later...

 
The start for both days was The Circle Diner. Waiting for riders to show up for our 7:30 departure. Our goal today was a tour south into The Catskills State Park led by Iris with a stop at the site of The Woodstock Festival held waaay back on August 15, 16, and 17 1969.

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After a nice ride through the twisties it was time for breakfast at Sweet Sue's Cafe in Phoenicia.

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After a gourmet breakfast of french toast, pancakes and omelets it was off for more riding through the park on some nice sweepers.

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Ray and Tim and Cheryl (behind Tim) were there.

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And the legendary Geezer on his fully farkled FJR. I asked him if he had room for just one more mod and he said he does not have communication, yet.

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We rode into the town of Bethel to visit the site of the original Woodstock concert site. The site is now the location of Bethel Woods, a center for the arts. They have a star studded summer of acts coming to perform in their outdoor amphitheater. Ringo Star, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Chicago, The Doobie Brothers, and The Steely Dan summer tour.

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Most of the riders just hung out in the shade. This is a better shot of Cheryl.

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Here is the plaque dedicated to the original festival.

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The plaque says this is the original site but the guides inside the center said it is really across the street.

Cheryl brought along her mascot.

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It was now the middle of the afternoon and we had not stopped for lunch so it was back into Phoenicia to the local sandwich shop.

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From here we rode back to Latham to meet at Ruby Tuesday's for dinner. Didn't we just have lunch? Most riders had cake and ice cream or a cold beer to cool off while bench racing with fellow riders.

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Jim from NYC rode up to be a part of the 2-day ride.

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Marty and his wife Sally made the trek from PA. They are off to Nova Scotia and Cape Breton in a few weeks.

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Ed, also from PA met us for dinner at Ruby Tuesdays as he was taking the Lee Parks "Total Control ARC" school the next morning.

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Saturday morning started an hour later again at The Circle Diner. Overcast skies made for cooler riding but with the thread of some rain.

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The pull off at Great Sacandaga Lake made for a great photo op.

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At a gas stop.

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Lunch was on time today and held at The Adirondack Hotel on Long Lake.

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Outdoor dining at it's best in the summer.

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The view across the street from our dining area.

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Then it was back on the road headed to Tupper lake, Saranac Lake, and Lake Placid.

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The village of Lake Placid where a stop at the Local Starbucks had riders cooling off with iced coffee's.

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We were treated to the infamous Tracy Road after lake Placid. We had been following some dark grey clouds for a while now which meant Tracy Road was wet and slippery so caution was needed through this section.

I peeled off in Crown Point and took The Champlain Bridge into Vermont and headed home riding though periods of rain and increasing darkness. Ironically, after riding for three days and putting on 916 miles, I had a baby doe jump out of the woods in front of me on a dark lonely wooded road only a mile from my house. Only panic stop in those three days. Larry Grodsky was right when he said, "deer are the only threat I have no control over" RIP Larry. My confidence is battered. :(

 
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Hi All:

Thanks to Iris and Jim for putting this ride together. Great roads and great folks. And thanks for Marty for letting me borrow his gmrs radio.

I headed back after lunch at about 2-ish to try to get home before my son’s bedtime and did actually make it (yay!). However, I passed through 5 separate bands of thunder and lighting storms each with a major deluge of rain on the way and got totally, thoroughly drenched. My gloves felt like they weighed about 8 pounds each! I stopped under an overpass at the first band of showers to put on my rain gear and kept it on the whole way down to NYC. As if to say "I'm not done with you yet," the heavens opened up another time just as I got on the West Side Highway for a last quick soaking. Between the morning and early afternon ride with the group and the puddle jumping afternoon, Saturday was a total of 477 miles.

This was my first overnight trip with the FJR and I'm liking it lots, though I have a few nits. I’m pretty sure I need a different windscreen (lots of buffeting at any angle at high speed). Also, I get a lot of vibes up there at 80 and above. Perhaps imbalanced or otherwise wonky tires?

I also DEFINITELY need a different seat. Premature monkey butt. And a Givi topcase instead of bungeeing soft luggage to the pillion seat.

Regards,

NYC Jim; RLB

 
We had a TERRIFIC time - great hosts, great company, great roads, great scenery - did I mention the GREAT hosts??! Who knew the Adirondaks would be so great? Thank you thank you thank you Jim and Iris for organizing this. Sally sez her best rally yet! (She keeps saying wonderful.) I agree! If you missed this shame on you for 6 weeks!

Very glad to have met a lot of new friends.

Same time same place next year??? (And Tracy Road dry this time!)

1.476 miles round trip. Roadsmarts performed well but are showing significant wear already. Probably going to need new ones before the Canada trip next week.

 
I had a great time this weekend also! I ended up pretty busy yest. w/ family, so I'll sit down and get pics out tonight. It's always nice seeing friends again and maybe even better making new ones.

After adding one hundred something miles yesterday, I ended up with almost exactly 1000 miles for the weekend.

Currently, my ass remembers every one of them.

Thanks Jim & Iris! When and where is the next one?

 
Great photos!

I really enjoyed meeting folks Friday night at Ruby Tuesday's. Thanks again for letting me crash the party. I'll post up about the Lee Parks course somewhere else.

I saw Harlan Sun. morning at the Microtel and he said the Saturday ride was great -- the roads amazing.

 
If you missed this shame on you for 6 weeks!
:(

Same time same place next year??? (And Tracy Road dry this time!)
What about "Same time next *month*!"? :)

Luckily, I was smart enough to grab the graphics of your route from postings here - I'll have to ride it solo and just pretend y'all are with me. :(

Shawn,

There was a stretch after Lake Placid - Keene Valley I think Jim said, I absolutely must get back there to just take a crapload of pictures. It was absolutely breathtaking. It was also very close to Tracy Road. We should get together to go there, then we can ride AND geek out over camera stuff.

- John

PS - funny story. Got home and noticed I had the VR (vibration reduction) turned off the whole weekend on the lens. DUH!

 
There was a stretch after Lake Placid - Keene Valley I think Jim said, I absolutely must get back there to just take a crapload of pictures. It was absolutely breathtaking. It was also very close to Tracy Road. We should get together to go there, then we can ride AND geek out over camera stuff.
LOL Sounds like a plan!

PS - funny story. Got home and noticed I had the VR (vibration reduction) turned off the whole weekend on the lens. DUH!
Gah! Don't you *hate* when that happens? I was on a private harbor cruise in NYC at sunset and got some *amazing* shots of the Statue of Liberty. Got home and found I had my ISO cranked to 3200. Grain as big as your head and *every* shot ruined. :(

 
A big thank you to all of our FJR family that came to our Cats and Daks adventure. We were blessed with good weather (well until dinner time on Saturday night). Thank you to all for your nice words. It was great seeing some old freinds and meeting some new ones. Thanks to Skip (Nice Rumble) for his nice ride report (well done). Speaking for myself, it was a great two days. I know Iris is working on a video and I just want to add a couple of pics.

Group photo at Bethel Woods.

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Breakfast at Sweet Sue's. L to R, Tim, Cheryl, Geezer, Heidi and FJRJon.

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MartyA and wife Sally

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Dinner in Bolton Landing, Lake George.

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Iris being attacked by black bear in the Adirondack Hotel at lunch.

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JMarran being pet by black bear in Adirondack Hotel.

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Your hosts, Iris and Jim.

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Thanks again to everyone for a successful outing. :clapping:

Jim

 
Thanks for posting such a nice Ride Report, Skip!

I had sooooo much fun and I am glad to see all the positive responses. Yeah, maybe this should be a yearly event.

It was really nice seeing the folks who I haven't seen for a while and making friends with new faces too.

I have made a short video, but youtube is having issues. Or maybe it's me! I'll try to post the link tomorrow......

Thanks again everyone for helping to make this ride a success. :yahoo:

 
Great Pics!! I'm really sorry that I wasn't able to make it. I hate it when work gets in the way.

-Greg-

 
My first group ride.

The ride was great.

The scenery was great.

The people are great.

I'd say I had a great time, and made new friends. Lets do it again. :)

A big thanks to Jim and Iris for all there hard work putting it together.

Art

 
Excellent ride report, THANK YOU!

I love to read and see pix of the USA I've not seen before.

I need to retire before it's too late and see the mid/east coast and ride with great FJR pilots I've never met.

In other words, Thank You for the ride-along. :clapping:

 
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