What's that!!!! Oh it's the alarm going off at 6 AM! We have to get up, have breakfast, walk the dog, bundle up, & have the bikes in town by 7:30. No problem except since it rained all day yesterday & we didn't take the bikes out we did not fill up the tanks for today's ride. Now we have to find a gas station & fill up also. Once all was said & done we arrived at 7:45, in time for the second wave of bikes to leave. We were all bundled up because of the 55 deg temp & the motorcycle wind chill. The second wave consisted of 40 bikes plus 3 tour guides, one to lead, one to follow, & one in the middle for emergencies. At our first rest stop I was melting & had to peal off a couple of layers. It was still overcast & damp from the overnight rain but I was hot as hell!
The next stretch of roads took us into Vermont where the mountains seemed greener than we had ever seen. We rode across 6 different covered bridges & stopped at a couple where the tour guides gave us a little history about the bridges & the area around them. The roads wound around the hills & into the valleys, past small town after small town. Some of these towns look like they haven't change in 100 years. This portion of the ride ended at a local country club where they had a scrumptious buffet lunch. This ain't biker bar food.
At this point we had covered about 100 miles & had 80 more to go. The weather had been steadily improving with temperatures in the low 70's & the sun peeking out between the clouds. The day was turning out to be a good one with the rain gods smiling down on us. After gassing up we left the country club for the ride home. The clouds started to darken & look a bit ominous. At the next rest stop I looked up at the clouds & suggested to Mary that we don our rain gear. She wasn't happy about the prospect of wrestling into another layer of clothing but agreed. Other riders told me to be positive about the rain & I told them that I was positive it was going to rain. Some laughed while others also got suited up for rain. No sooner than my last zipper was pulled the sky opened. The gods decided that we had enough good weather & would have to earn our ride home. My fellow riders thought that I was either psychic or a SOB for bringing the rain. A small group of us got separated in the rain but got ourselves turned around & caught up with the main group. In & out of pouring rain all the way back, Mary & I found ourselves near our campground & decided to leave the group & head for drier pastures. Once we made it through a muddy & slippery construction zone we were home. The rain suits worked great! The only things wet were our gloves.
We are exhausted & have to get up early tomorrow for a 6-8 hour riding class. What is with this 8 o'clock in the morning crap! Do I look like a rooster? I have to get things ready for the morning & get to bed early AGAIN, so goodnight from our home in soggy Lake George because....
Home is where we park it,
Frank & Mary
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