Change Of Plans

September 17, 2011

North Tonawanda NY

The night in Cannajoharie (pronounced Canjaharie) was a quiet one….never heard the trains rumbling by during my exhausted sleep.  Canajaharie was affected by Irene; the town’s main intersection was under reconstruction and entry onto the road leading to the Rodeway Inn was closed off except to residents.  The Rodeway Inn was actually a very old style motel well past its prime but perfect for parking the bike right at the front door.  The room smelled a little musty and there was only warm water so I didn’t bother taking a shower.  I unloaded the T-bag and backpack then headed back up the closed road to find a takeout dinner…lucky me, I stumbled upon a Chinese place.  They packed me a dinner of Kung Pao chicken that was enough to feed 4 of me, or 8 Chinese. I only ate a bit and decided to save the rest for tomorrow’s lunch when I stop on the road.

I awoke at 7 feeling kinda “tween”, i.e. in between needing more sleep and being fully rested.  Did some stretching then went to get some coffee at the front desk and to tell them about the lack of hot water.  No one was at the desk and I didn’t bother making noise to wake them from their adjacent sleeping quarters. I’m sure when they clean the room they’ll also discover the chirping smoke alarm.

Once again the morning was cold and I lost the fingertips within 5 minutes on the road. And it seemed to take a little longer for the day to warm up.  Traffic allowed me to do a steady 75 and 80 when passing a truck to avoid the turbulence an 18 wheeler generates.  It was a nice ride, especially once the air warmed up, and a few good visuals of the countryside surrounding the Finger Lakes…I think that’s when I found my fingertips. 

This ride brought back a high school memory when Doug Mooney and I hitch hiked to Watkins Glen in ’62 to watch the Grand Prix.  I think we had all of about $10 between us for meals and a room upstairs from a tavern….somehow we made it thru that weekend. 

Arrived at the NT H-D store 15 minutes before closing but the rain gear that I wanted to buy was not available in my size….I would have to go to the Buffalo store about 15 minutes away.  Fortunately they would be open until 6pm so that gave me time to go to Sis house and then we could drive over in her car.  A few minutes later I was at her place and getting a warm welcome hug.  Haven’t seen her since our father’s funeral 3 years ago so this is a good stop to make to see how she is doing as she is on her own. 

Later after getting the rain gear I reviewed my plan for completing the USA4CornersX and was not very happy with the state of things.  The schedule calls for around 480 miles/day in order to reach Key West on the last eligible day.  There is no room for another missed day.  And altho the temps are warming up as I head west, the low temps are dropping in WY, ID and CO, the 3 states that I will have to travel through early mornings and late evenings.  Added to that the next frontal activity to come out of the NW and the associated TS activity that would hit me, there is risk in losing travel time and missing the deadline.  A risk that if realized would result in additional wasted time and money.

It has been 3 years since I last saw my favorite sister (Ok, my only sisterJ) and she is deserving of having some family spend time with her since she is here by herself. So I’m gonna hang with her for a couple of weeks, then go through PA to Williamsport HD for a T-shirt, to York PA to visit the H-D assy plant, then down to MD to pick up Brother Joe and we’ll head south to NC to see how our brother Jim is doing with his therapy in trying to recover from the 2^nd stroke he just had.

I’ll entertain the 4Corner slab run for next year around the mid of May….the weather should be more accommodating and I’m sure I’ll be more receptive to that style of riding for 20 days or so.

For now I think it is time for me to pay a little attention to my Sis.

C ya mañana
Gonzo
twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com