Olean!

This’ll be a quick summary for the day. We only rode about half the day before arriving where we were looking to be, and then spent the second half of the day catching up with great friends. So; from the beginning;

We got a good start on the day – maybe it had something to do with knowing that we were close to our resting point (Olean)? We rolled out the final miles of Pennsylvania and soon found ourselves at Jamestown HD, where Zig stocked up on fluids for his bike.

From there, we shot to the Olean VFW to meet up with some of the crew that would be riding with us out to Maine. Most-welcome hugs and handshakes were exchanged and laughs were shared throughout the afternoon. Over the passing hours, folks we hadn’t seen since last year (or longer) strolled in to see the two poor slobs from Boston, and more hugs ensued, etc. Many rounds were shared and good times were had by all. We even managed to suck in the folks who had no idea who we were – now they're our friends, too, and we’ll be sharing renewed laughter with them next year when we make it out again.

All good things must come to an end, even if only temporarily. Zig and I still had yet to make it up to King and Pat’s for our official welcome, so we bade farewell to the crew and headed out (stopping to pick up beer and subs).

Arriving at King & Pat’s Castle, we found the garage door open and beckoning for us. We rolled in and were dismounting when who should appear at the door, than the King, himself. More hugs and laughter, followed by some quick summaries of the past days, before heading in to see The Queen. And they had company! Their grand-daughter Alyssa was staying over, and she is a ticket and a half. She is smart beyond her years – which makes her entertaining as heck to talk to - if you notice, there aren’t any bad words in this post – that’s because she’s been talking to me as I type this (she’s already pulled up a chair). In fact, she just showed me how to defeat the monster on level 3 of Custom Robo Arena on Nintendo DS. Which was quite important, considering I’ve never played, nor do I expect to ever play, that game. However, should I ever be presented with such a challenge in my future, I feel confident in my newly acquired knowledge base.

That wraps up our Monday. We hit the miles hard in the morning, but the rest of the day was spent the best way possible; good friends, lots of laughs, and some beers mixed in along the way.

We don’t head out on our Labor Day trip until Thursday morning, which means we have two days to unwind and relax, which we’re actually looking forward to. We’ve been hitting the road hard for the past few days, without taking much time to enjoy the scenery flowing past us. We’ve now reached the part of this adventure where we can relax. From here on out, it’s King’s show and we’re more than happy to hand the reigns over to another road captain. He’s going to treat us to a new route up to NH, going via Mass this year and we’re looking forward to it.

I’ll try to get updates posted for tomorrow and Wednesday, but there won’t be a lot going on. We’ll probably go on a ride with Marshall Jerry at some point (who’ll ride too fast for the roads he’s on, and we’ll do our best to keep up with him), and he’ll have some great sights to show us. Beyond that, we’ll be hitting Mickey’s for one of Tom’s famous steak subs, as well as stopping by the Parkwood for a beer.

Without a doubt, we’ll be doing the circuit to say hello to Dana, Gapper and Chuck. Even though they’re always with you in your heart, you still have to say hello to your fallen brothers when you’re in their neck of the woods.

Ok, time to wrap this up - King needs to get some sleep. (Not everyone is lucky enough to be on vaca yet, and he has to get up at 4:30. Zoinks.)

Ride Hard, Take Chances