Got over to the Days Inn at 8:30 to meet Frank, and the NY guys were hanging around again. Ed told the funniest tale of getting his R1 recovered from a theft. When the FBI told him he could come get his bike (after using it for a sting operation), he brought along his helmet so he could ride it home, and a friend with a pickup, just in case it needed some work. He had to pay $750 in storage fees to gain access to the container where his bike was, and was shocked to see hundreds of bikes stacked up in there. His "bike" turned out to be the motor and the frame, nothing more. When he expressed his shock to the storage employee with him ("It doesn't even have forks!") the guy looked around at several piles of other folk's R1 parts and grabbed him some forks. His cries of "There's no exhaust" netted him an expensive aftermarket can from some other poor sap's pile of parts. Having used up the employee's good will, he took his parts home and eventually rebuilt his entire bike. Excellent work!
Frank and I did a quick loop of downtown Clearfield due to Frank's Zumo and him not getting along, then headed out onto I-80 for a quick detour before heading north. 879, a nice run of Wyckoff Run Rd, and 872 took us north. I wasn't really in the groove this morning so I was taking it really easy. We passed the site of the Austin Flood, where a large dam had collapsed in 1911.
There's a dirt road leading down there, next time I'll be sure to check it out in more detail.
I used this brief stop to get a couple pictures of Frank on the WeeStrom
After a few minutes the bugs made us hit the road again. We got up to Coudersport (after passing by the guy frantically waving for us to get our bikes washed) and found the Fezz Diner with no problem. Well, one small problem - we were an hour early. We doubled back into the center of Coudersport for gas, and I was in search of some supplies (Advil and Windex mostly). Heading back to the Fezz we passed Dave at a gas station, honked and waved.
As soon as we pulled into the diner's lot we were surrounded by moms and their kids to check out the bikes. I encouraged the little ones to have a seat, and they were glad to do so. My bike was the most popular - good taste, kids! After the moms got plenty of cell-phone pics of their litle ones we grabbed a corner table inside and had a great breakfast.
Talked about Dave's upcoming BC trip (which sounds fabulous!), and suggested some places he might want to stay. They're already planning on the Many Glacier Lodge, which is where Deb and I stayed during RoadTrip 95. Couldn't recommend it highly enough. I also suggested Becker's Chalets in Jasper, and even had my wife on the phone with Dave to give it a rave review.
Dave and I synched up our Scala Rider Q2 bluetooth headsets, and we hit US6 E to Galeton. Headsets worked perfectly, it really adds to the enjoyment of a ride with friends to be able to chat a little along the way. Bunch of bikes and yokels at the Galeton gas station eyeing us up.
Took 144 south to Renovo, then over to Hyner View. Pulled up and took me a second to recognize ST2Sam and his new Kawi Concours 14. We talked for a bit, then Garry (who put together this whole Burger Run) rolled up on his fabulous sounding KTM 950 SM-R. We went up to the viewpoint and talked for a bit. Dave had never been up there before, and was not surprisingly quite impressed.
Sam, Frank and Dave at Hyner View parking lot
At warp factor 9, bugs don't stand a chance against ST2Sam
Hyner View
Our group for the day - Frank, Dave and myself
Burger Run founder Garry and bug-killer Sam
After coming down from Hyner we headed for Wyckoff Run, another new road for Dave. Wyckoff Run is probably the best little section of road in this part of the state, and I was looking forward to riding it for the second time today. We did a couple miles of the eastern end, then stopped for some pictures (thanks Frank!). Big group of Miatas drove by while we were stopped, and a nice Big Dog chopper pulled in with us.
Dave
Frank
Frank was nice enough to shoot some of me
Dave shot some video of me
The Big Dog. There's lots of reflections of Dave and I in the bike
Closer crop of the same pic - I'm everywhere!
It was getting pretty hot sitting there, so we doubled back to the last bit of civilization we saw. I thought I remembered where the coutry store was that we stopped at during my first Burger Run (on the Sunday morning ride with SWRiverstone), but turns out I was mistaken. The only business we could find was the Willows Bar. Fortunately they did have some cans of soda for sale :-).
After quenching our thirst we headed back for the full run of Wyckoff run, only to have a group of Harleys pull in ahead of us. We let them get ahead for a while, then started our ride. We caught up to them pretty quickly, but it wasn't too bad. They were actually moving at a pretty nice pace, not the usual rolling road block you find. I was feeling much more in the groove at this point, and was enjoying the ride much more. Plus it was nice to be riding (and chatting over the Q2) with Dave again.
By this time in the afternoon it was getting pretty hot - temps were around 90 degrees, which is near record for April. Once we got out of Wyckoff and out into the open for the run south to I-80 the wind got pretty strong as well. Really gusty, hot winds.
GPS tracklog for the run up to Coudersport and back
Got to the Super8, and immediately was drawn to the white Moto Guzzi Griso 8v in the parking lot. I remember one of the STNers posting about getting his new Griso, was hoping I'd be able to find him and compliment his choice of ride.
We got cleaned up and rode over to the Days Inn to hopefully catch up to a lot of other STN folks. The back lot has been the traditional gathering spot in the past. Bob from NY was there, topping off the oil in his GSA. He was a little short, but fortunately Dave carries a spare quart.
Soon lots of familiar faces started rolling in - RDoug on the SuperDuke, JETSET on the FJR, Rincewind on the Tiger, Scratch33, Garry, Sam, ZZR Rob...
It was about this time that the swingers started showing up. Let me just say this: the idea of a hotel full of swinging girls sounded great - until you saw them. Lots of themed outfits, with schoolgirl seeming to be the most popular. One was dressed as a nun, habit and all. OK....
Our group decided to head to....you guessed it...Denny's for dinner. We initially got split into 3 tables after about a 15 minute wait, but as other folks left we managed to all get grouped together. At one point a newcomer walked over to our table, and introduced himself as Eric. I heard someone say he has the Griso, and I told him how I was already taking pictures of it. He laughed and tossed me the keys - "go have some fun with it". Wow, what a generous guy! I declined.....for now.
We had the same waitress as the night before, I assured her we did not have Ed with us this time. Dinner conversation included tales of stoppies, locked rear brakes, DSLR white balance, swingers (of course).
Some of our group for Saturday's dinner
Trevor (JETSET) explaining the finer points of using the rear brake to his buddy
Frank in the parking lot after dinner
We headed back to the Super8, ditched the bikes and walked back to the Days Inn for the evening festivities. The swingers party was in full...swing...as well. As the night progressed we'd see more of them. JamminJere and Cablebandit showed up, and SLK50 and Jeets (Jeff), and Marty2. We hung out back for a while shooting bull, then headed over to the bar. Dave headed back to the hotel, where he was nice enough to split a room with Sam (who when we met at Hyner mentioned he was roomless).
Marty2, ??, SLK50, Jeets (Jeff) and Frank
Bob from NY, ST2Sam and Dave
Huron52, Jimmy, Shil and ATW (thanks to ATW for sending me the names)
The bar was insanely loud for these old ears. Jeets, RDoug, Eric and I watched the swingers on the dance floor for a while, and I managed to get some stealth video clips. We talked about riding in the morning before lunch, then decided enough was enough and headed outside.
Jeff and RDoug hanging at the bar
Some of the swingers dancing in the bar. Later they'd move to the poles...
Jeff and Eric were going to join Frank, Dave and I for our ride out to Punxatawny that Garry had laid out. We stood around outside the Super8 for a while checking out the East Coast Chaos bikes, then I hit the sack at 11:45. Good, long day.