Saturday, June 7, 2014

There and back again...

On a road in Pennsylvania there was a crazy man on a scooter. Not your run of the mill crazy man, but a truly insane soul who embarked on a journey of over 1300 miles over eight days on a six year old, small displacement scooter. 

And what a journey it was. Up and down hills, around many bends,  and through lovely countryside. 

As reported in prior posts, the journey started in Lancaster Pennsylvania,  then wandered through the mountains to Western New York, over the top of the finger lakes, up through the adirondacks, through Lake George and a motorcycle rally, then down through the Berkshires to my sister's home.

Thursday dawned soggy and cold, but a friend in Connecticut wanted a visit, and I'd not seen my high school in years so popped in for a visit, said hello to a few of he faculty,  then headed out to visit my friend Guy. He's an Iraq war vet and quite the motorhead. I wish I'd thought to take some photos of his old Triumph.

After a nice meal of steaks on the grill,  well seasoned potatoes and corn, we chatted for a while,  then I headed off again. Later I went to see a movie (the new X-men film, which I enjoyed despite some glaring continuity issues), and finally went back to my sister's house and eventually ended up in my tent.

Friday I took my mother out for breakfast,  did a little work around her house, put a roast in the crock pot,  then went to Stanley Park for a walk. After supper, I returned to my sister's place and had some good conversation with my brother-in-law,  sister, and nephews, then retired to my tent for the night. 

This morning dawned bright and sunny. After some breakfast and a farewell for my family, it was time to depart again. After a marathon ride of over 300 miles with only a few brief stops, I made it back home. It took less than 10 hours, which is an improvement over the last time I went from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania on the scoot.

I'll be compiling a list of the great scootering roads I found in my travels, but that will wait for another day.
Pre-trip odometer reading
 
Odometer reading after the trip 

A country store in New York

One of the great scootering roads I found in PA.
 
Flowers by a stream at Stanley Park in Westfield, MA 

  Azaleas and rhododendrons in Stanley Park 

3 comments:

Deb said...

Sounds like a wonderful time!

I look forward to seeing more posts about your adventure!

Those areas are beautiful to ride in, especially around The Finger Lakes.

kz1000st said...

20169.2 in American miles. Not too shabby. It will be six years old in September if I recall. Nice ride.

Joe said...

Welcome back, Paul! To home here in PA and to the blog. I've enjoyed your accounts and pictures of the trip very much and look forward to seeing more of what you saw along the way!

-Joe