August 21, 2011.
The final push home.
Our host has critters. Critters that are familiar to us. And they were pretty entertaining.
Forget this one’s name.
This one, too, but he was a dang MULE of a cat! He was, ah, “big boned.”
But they let us sleep in their room, which was nice of them.
They were making us ready to be home and back with our weirdo cats.
Not many more pictures today. When I pulled the bike outta the garage, it was just starting to rain. Not heavy, but just enough to piss you off, ya know?
Remember wayyyy back at the beginning of this RR, when we stopped in Buffalo for the nephew’s graduation / going-away-to-college party? The college he is going to is right in RAH-chest-ah. But since the weather was sucking, we decided to just hit the road rather than stopping in.
So hit the road we did.
It rained. Our gear is waterproof, but still…
We saw some NASTY-wicked lightning. You know – the type where you say, “WHOA! Holy crap!!”
As long as we were moving, we were OK. Of course, rolling into Pennsylvania – meaning we had to pay the great state of New York for the privilege of riding on the Thruway, and the traffic was backed up because I guess people are IDIOTS when it comes to paying the toll while on a toll road – the skies opened up. It f’n DUMPED rain. And the winds kicked up. I mean the winds REALLY kicked up.
Now, if you’ve never been through a toll booth in the wet, let me tell you BE CAREFUL. The spot right where you stop is COVERED in oil droppings, and when it’s wet it can be treacherous. So just be careful, mm-kay?
While waiting to pay our ransom to get outta New York, of course, my damn helmet visor got water on the inside and started fogging up. Greaaaaat…
After getting into Pennsylvania, there was a welcome center / rest area. I decided this would be a fine time to pull off and let this rain move through.
“Riding the storm ouuuuuuut…..”
After 20 or 30 minutes (and a quick wardrobe change for Sooze since her shirt had gotten wet), the skies cleared and we headed for the homestead.
The rest of the ride home was uneventful. You’ve already seen pictures of this stretch, so let’s just say we made it home safe and sound, and were greeted by a couple of our own critters.
Crazy Skully. She’s like the smart raptor from “Jurassic Park” – she figures things out.
And Ferrous The Iron Cat.
2,575 miles this trip. NERDS was an absolute blast for these 2 geeks.
Mega thanks to the NERDS organizers Fred (not Ed) and Ed (not Fred) and all the other folks who contributed to make NERDS a resounding success.
And to my buddy Bust – I gave ya a lot of crap in this thread, but you know it’s only because … yer a doofus.
Time to put this one to bed because – in less than 48 hours, we’re gonna be on the road again! This time to Cumberland Falls State Park in southern Kentucky for EOM ’11, and then to points beyond… Stay tuned for another action-packed, thrilling ride report!