Out on 17, the fog was heavy and the temps; cold – but this is normal for our Labor Day departure. We ride through this for maybe 20 miles or so before we reach the beginnings of some large hills/small mountains which gradually lift us up a bit, then back down again. Up a bit higher the next time, the air gets slightly lighter, then back down again into the murk. Higher yet again, then a brief plateau that allows you to see breaks of sunshine begin breaking through…then it’s back down and the fog welcomes us with its cold and wet embrace once again.
This year, it seemed to take even longer for us to break through the fog once and for all, but eventually the fog parted for the last time and we enjoyed strong sunshine all the way through the state of NY…
…well, almost all the way through. See, Zig and I had been riding around in this, the 11th state of the US, for three days. We’d logged over 800 miles in those three days, and we were a mere 15 (yep, that’s right; FIFTEEN) miles from the VT border when we were greeted by a member of the friendly state of NY’s constabulary. It was a helmet stop, and our lids failed. Completely. Most of the crew rides legal lids, but 4 of us do not. Thankfully, the rest of the crew kept riding and it wound up being only Zig and I that were popped. Bub (in the chase van) had pulled in behind the trooper, but the trooper angrily motioned for him to pull back out onto the road and keep going. Suffice to say the trooper was a dick; all bad attitude, short/snappy questions, “You got a license? Got a registration? Don’t move from here, I’ll be back.”, etc.
As for the trooper; he must have been doing a one-man version of good cop / bad cop, because after he returned from his vehicle and handed us the tickets, he started this whole story of how he usually looks the other way and doesn’t harass bikers, he knows how it is to ride, his hands were tied because they (the troopers) were being forced to do a one-day enforcement drive, blah blah blah. I just took the ticket, turned my back on him and walked away while he was still talking.
Anyway, here’s the outcome…
Once we caught up with the rest of the crew and filled them in on the details, King texted me the following pic which I thought was very apropos.
I’m happy to say that this was the last of our troubles for the day. We soon found ourselves in Brattleboro and settled in for the night. A yummy dinner at a next-door steakhouse, followed by beers and one-card at the hotel and Friday was a wrap.
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