I woke up early Thursday morning to fog. Fog isn’t rain, but it isn’t much fun to ride in either.

So I did what any sensible motorcycle adventurer would do. I rolled over and went back to sleep. An hour later, the fog had lifted, leaving an overcast and gray day.

I set my sights on more back roads, and possibly another Passport stamp or two. The closest stamp was programmed in, and I roared off into the hills of the Empire State.

During my wanderings, I stopped to take some pictures of Stormbringer near some cool stuff.

The skies darkened, and a few raindrops spattered me. Before the real heavy rain fell, I made it to the Women’s Rights National Historical Park. Needless to say, I wasn’t all that interested in suffering through a Suffrage Lecture, so I just asked for the stamp. Bonus! They had TWO stamps (yeah I know, it sounds corny and dorky, but collecting these stamps is as a good reason as any to go way out of the way on a motorcycle.)

There was one more stamp nearby, and with a smattering of rain falling on me, I left, determined to get that last stamp. I dodged the drops as best I could, and an hour later, I was at the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse.

I walked inside, and asked the older fellow behind the desk for the stamp.”Oh, that. No, I’m sorry, we don’t have one of those. But I can give you a stamp of a donkey instead if you want.”

What the fuck? Well, why not!

And with that donkey stamp, I walked back outside, to suddenly angry looking skies.Without too much thought, I decided that while back roads were fun, getting home without getting drenched again would be more fun. It was only 266 miles home, so I jumped on the highway, nailed the throttle, and outran the storm.

Thirteen hours and 450 miles after leaving Bradford, I was home, tired, happy and most importantly – dry.

Good thing too, the next day it poured all day, and the temperature never got over 60 degrees.

Another cross country trip is shaping up for October… this time NOT on Stormbringer!

Author: frenchy