We're back on the road after a week in Vermont visiting friends and family, attending a wedding celebration where the bride and groom were dressed as Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne and the guests in 1980's era clothing, hiking up Bromley Mountain, running the Bennington Battle Day 5k, and spending time with Mike's parents and our son Nate.
The weather forecast came true today: rain, clouds, light rain, heavy rain, and intermittent fleeting moments of filtered sunlight.
The good news is that our new raingear worked great! Mike thoughtfully purchased rubber gloves for me to wear since my motorcycle gloves are quickly soaked through and make my hands cold when we have to ride in the rain. Today my hands were dry and happy wearing bright lime-green gloves that although are designed for washing dishes and other household chores, make fantastic waterproof gloves during rainy motorcycle rides.
Our route took us west through Arlington Vermont and into New York state, riding through Saratoga Springs and then winding our way on narrow county roads until we turned onto U.S. 20 west for much of the day.
This part of New York state is filled with rolling hills either covered with trees or dotted with farmland, rivers, streams, and small towns at the bottom of valleys. It was like riding a roller coaster: we curved our way up the hills, then wound down 9-10% grades into the valley, rode a few flattish blocks through a small town, then started back up a steep hill.
The wind buffeted us when we were at the tops of the hills or riding along the ridge lines so we weren't surprised to see large windmills taking advantage of the blustery conditions.
Our route took us through the Finger Lakes region, a group of 11 long, narrow lakes formed by glaciers 2 million years ago before we turned southwest and stopped for the night in Springville, NY in western New York. We rode just over 300 miles in about 9 hours today, rolling up over 5000 total miles on our cross-country trip. Tomorrow the weather promises to be cool and sunny, perfect conditions to continue west into Ohio. Here is today's route
No comments:
Post a Comment