Bikin' and Hikin'

[Eli69]

it'll be snowing any day now and i'll be forced to pack the scoots away for a few months so i started to wonder, "did i ride enough this year?". sure i rode to work whenever i could and that can make going to work less tedious but what about actual, fun destination type rides?

i went through my pictures to try to remember all the places i've gone this season. one of my favorites is picking a place and heading out for some wandering around on foot, usually in the woods but sometimes an event in town. this is what i call "bikin and hikin". the bikin part opens up so many possible places and the hikin part is really good for ya.

with your permission, i'd like to share some pictures of some really neat places i've rambled through this year. i hope you'll find them interesting and maybe get some ideas for your own trips.

i'll start at the beginning. early spring '10. i pushed the'82 gs550L out of the shed in the back of the picture, through about a foot of snow to the driveway and took off to Letchworth state park (NY). it's pretty close and i go there a lot.



If you happen to pass threw western new york you have to see Letchworth park. the genesee river flows through a deep gorge with cliff walls over 400' high and 3 major waterfalls. this picture is of the fountain near the middle falls and the
Glen Iris Inn (nice place, good food).



the fountain is gravity fed from a pond up on a nearby hill. it runs all the time.

here's the river and gorge just below the lower falls. the footbridge trail is a natural stairmaster, and worth every step.



next time: some geocaching and state forests.

[steve murdoch]

I have been to Letchworth twice, for the great waterfalls in the spring and for the spectacular colours in the fall. A terrific spot.
Ever been to Griffis Sculpture Park near Ellicottville? A beauty. http://www.dittwald.com/griffissculpture/
I will be watching for more of your travels.

[Allie]

Wow very nice pics thanks! I've done a bit of biking and hiking myself, I love it.

[Eli69]

this is where i do most of my riding:



the large body of water at the top is Lake Ontario. if you look at the ESA emblem with all the flags, and follow a line at about 45 degrees from that you'll see my house, then a very small, long lake. that's Silver Lake. next to that is a long, slightly greener strip. that's Letchworth State Park. continuing on at that angle you see the rest of the finger lakes. LOTS of great riding here.

still early in the season my rides weren't real long yet. here's a bit of geocaching with my kid in the Wyoming County forest.



you find the weirdest stuff out in the woods sometimes. i'd love to have a car like this. check out the tail fins.




the county forest trails are also snowmobile trails. night rides by the windmills are interesting.




not many leaves on the trees yet, my wife and i rode out to Ontario County Park which is west of Canandaigua Lake (that's the one left of the Y shaped lake). this spot is called "the jump off".



next time - it starts to warm up a bit...

[Allie]

you find the weirdest stuff out in the woods sometimes. i'd love to have a car like this. check out the tail fins.

You found Christine - NOOOOOOOOOOO!

[Rick65Cat]

Christine was a `58 Plymouth....thats a `57... Christine's older sibling.

[Eli69]

You found Christine - NOOOOOOOOOOO!

ya know, when i found that car, it was starting to get dark. i was about a mile from the bike and i remember thinking
that i didn't have time to look at it closer. i also remember a vague fear, maybe even goosebumps. i don't think
i got closer than ten feet to that car.

[Allie]

Christine was a `58 Plymouth....thats a `57... Christine's older sibling.

Like I'm gonna ask her how old she is in the middle of the darkening woods I don't blame you Eli!

[Eli69]

ya think that's scary, check this out:



this is Mt. Hope cemetery in Rochester, NY. huge place, very hilly and very old. the geography is totally ice age.
lotsa famous people buried here. here's Susan B. Anthony's grave:



here's another interesting marker i came across:



the problem with ATGATT is that it takes so long to get geared up when THE ZOMBIES ARE COMING!!!!



next: airplanes and flying motorcycles

[Allie]

I've stopped to snoop some pretty isolated places, I don't take any gear off and keep the bike pointed at the nearest means of egress, key in it.

[Eli69]

i'm pretty cheap so i don't like to spend money on "events" but i've always wanted to see an air show so this year i finally coughed up about $12 to see the show in Geneseo, NY. had to ride into town first to get the special discount tickets at the local superdy supermarket (wegman's). so here's my favorite plane:



just like tv it's got everything ya need - chicks AND guns:



IIRC this plane was a german WWI foekher. (sp? i didn't want to get that one wrong). anyway i noticed the landing gear right away:




and on to Dansville, NY for the Poags Hole Hillclimb. i had to save up returnable beer cans for weeks to afford this but it's worth it.



at least these guys get to ride up the hill, we had to walk it. but this is bikin' and hikin' and there's also a bit of beer drinkin. but it's still pretty family friendly.

i don't know why but i feel it's necessary to park my GS up on the hill above all the harley's and such.



i think i'll have a beer now in fact. next time - farther into the finger lakes region.

[Eli69]

i have a sister who lives near keuka lake, (one of the finger lakes, it's shaped like a Y). going to visit her is always a treat cuz she works at a really nice restaurant and sometimes i can mooch a meal and a couple beers. also, the riding on the southern end of the finger lakes is the best. on the way there is the Italy Hill state forest. it's on a hill over the town of, you guessed it, Italy Valley. which is near the town of Naples. maybe the area reminded someone of Italy so they named it that way. i like to think that when i ride there, kinda like touring europe. lot's of grape growing and wine making in the finger lakes by the way. i really like a nice, dry reisling myself.

i lent my 650 to my brother (he's between bikes) to do some bikin' and hikin' and sister visitin'.



we walked the trail down the hill and then climbed up this stream for the return part of the loop.



at the top we found this view and a great camping spot, marked on the gps so i can find it cuz i'm definitely going to camp there next year. i might even try to take the x/c skis and camp there this winter. that's italy valley below.



next time - the blue ridge and niagara falls.

[Eli69]

i've been quite impressed with our fellow gser allie's pictures of rides in her part of new jersey. totally changed my attitude toward that state. i always thought it was all a big dirty, corrupt city that i'd never want to see. check it out: http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...d.php?t=167499

so she goes out and finds a 100 year old, 200' high bridge, in an area where a major motion picture was filmed and what do i find? an old plymouth.

what does western new york have to compare with that? FYI: an episode of the soap General Hospital was filmed at the previously mentioned Letchworth State Park. somethin about a kidnapping, a rescue, somebody getting caught in the river and going over the falls. an evil twin and amnesia, infidelity and divorce.

wow. what else ya got?

this was my most recent bikin' and hikin' trip. hunting season has begun and i didn't want to run into some camouflage painted guy from the suburbs out in my regular wandering areas. that could be embarrassing. i actually had to sit down and think about where to go for a while and it came to me like an epiphany:



about 50 miles away is one of the most famous natural sites in the world. it's called Goat Island. i got on the 4 lane to make some time, i wanted to be able to walk the entire island before dark.

first i had to ride across these bridges. kinda scary and it costs a dollar each way.



then i wandered down this path a bit taking a few pics as i went.



that water is really gettin goin!



holy sheep ****!



and the american side big enchilada:



that's the rainbow bridge in the background. i got mixed up a bit in town and found myself headed for Canada on a one-way road. i might have gotten across but, without a passport, they wouldn't have let me come home. i did a u-turn and hoped the security forces would understand a dumb, countryboys' mistake.

this is a statue of Tesla. very popular with kids and picture takers. i actually have old snapshots of my wife and i sitting in that same spot at about 18 years old. cute.



thanks for taking the time to check out my little motorcycle explorations. although i'm keeping an open mind about it i'll probably not do anymore bikin and hikin til next year. later, eli69