We rode some scenic back
roads which brought us out to 495 for a bit before breaking off for some more
scenic side roads which dropped us off onto Rte 2 where we’d spend the next
several hours winding our way westward.
The skies were bright and sunny when we first hit the pavement but as we
continued further and further, the clouds soon outweighed the blue, eventually
blocking it entirely. As we neared the
summit of Mohawk Trail, the skies were ominously dark and foreboding and before
too long, we were on the side of the road, gearing up in our rain gear as the
water poured down around us. I’d hoped
to make it to our usual lookout spot for our annual overlook photo but the rain
had been coming down too hard for us to delay donning the rain gear, so we
pulled over a few miles early. Making
the most of things, I snapped some pics of an Elks memorial statue that was at
this spot. (Believe me when I say that
despite the sky not looking very ugly in these pics, it was pouring on us.)
Once back on the road, it
continued to rain for a bit before eventually backing off to just gray skies
again. We made it to our lunch stop in
Troy for food and beerfreshment before heading out for our last leg of today’s
adventure.
We arrived safely at the
motel to find Tim and Lynner waiting for us.
We unloaded our bikes and made a supply run to Walmart…
Arriving back at the motel we
found most of the rest of the Olean crew had arrived and we exchanged
handshakes and hugs all around, and set to getting the night’s festivities into
motion, and long in to the evening. (I
was pleased with myself for turning in at midnight, rather than staying up to
the wee hours of the morning. I’m
getting older, and I dare say; marginally wiser.)
Panoramic shot, late-night.
After a shower and breakfast
the next morning, our caravan was off!
Cruising along 88, I did the usual steer-with-my-feet as I snapped some
picks of the countryside around us. Man,
this is just gorgeous!!...
We made it to Batter street
and hung a right turn. It’s at this
point that I mentally cross my fingers and hope we don’t find cars and bikes
lined up too soon, and are instead able to get pretty close. Well, this year we cruised a few corners, and
there was no line. Then there was the
barn that we’ve stacked up at before, and no line. Sweet!
Then a stand of trees that we’ve stood under and hidden from the rain
before…and no line. SWEET!! Next up was a stretch of a few houses that we’ve
been feet-down at in years past, and still no line! What is going on? Who cares; no line!!
And then things just got
weird…next up; we were cruising past the exit gate…and still no line. Then the Vendor’s gate, and still no
line?? How can this be? There’s the entrance! And no line!?!?! What is going on!?!?
Well, a few more feet and we
could see what was going on; the pen was open!
They were taking folks off the roads and stacking them up in the pen…and
bikes were going to the front of the line!
Such a sweet sight, this is like the days of old!! Oh how I’ve missed those days!!
We blasted up to the barn,
dismounted, and…were met with staff members who were collecting tickets and
handing out wristbands. Are you
serious? We don’t even need to walk up
to the shack? This is getting better and
better!
They were letting vehicles in
as well, but bikes were led up the side and had our own weapons & glass
check corridor and were soon through and on our way in!! My mind was still trying to wrap itself around
this, but from the time we’d left the motel until the time we pulled up to our
camping spot was about an hour. It’s
Never, EVER been that fast!!
The down side was that it
took about 6 hours for our vehicles to finally come in, and there was a lot of
grumbling from the drivers, but c’mon folks.
Think back to the old days. You’d
arrive at 2 or 3 in the afternoon and wouldn’t get in until midnight or 1am
(because the gate wouldn’t open until 7), so this year’s wait was actually
less. And those of us on bikes had made
good use of our time by heading back out to the road, coming in the entrance,
loading up on tents and such, coming in and getting things set up for the
drivers.
So all in all, I would rate
this year as a tremendous success! (Oh,
and another good thing; because we made it in so early, we were able to claim
our original area, back up on top of the hill – sweet!!)
Once everyone was in and settled (and it was still daylight!), everyone’s mood picked back up. We had plenty of space to move around in, the canopies and tables were up, and that meant it was time to party.
What happens at the ‘Vous,
stays at the ‘Vous so in summary; we had a fantastic time. The bands kicked ass (including the one that
went on at midnight on Friday, M-16; full-on metal cover band. The weather was awesome, if not a bit too hot
on Saturday, but it beat the hell out of rain. King paid off his beer debts to me and Zig and even wore a Bills hat and a Sabres hat, to pay off each team’s portion of the wager. I thought that was awesome and am planning on bringing my team’s hats next year in case I have to pay any debts off…
The new adult sized Jenga game was a huge hit but needs a little
tweaking on some of the drinking rules (some are just too involved and need to
be a bit easier).
Here we are, playing it late-night with my bike's headlight as illumination. Which meant I had to get a jump the next morning and then go out riding to charge it back up.
Look at that lean! (And pay no attention to Ed's head sticking in from the side, LOL.)
This guy had a fantastic ride! Check this thing out!
Pay no attention to the hitchiker on the back of the hearse...
Even gas-lamp replica tail lights...
This thing was mint!!
Two things that stood out for
me this year;
Aaron proposed to Chrissy on the main stage. He’d spread word about his plan throughout
both camps and we all made sure to be down there to witness it.
He used the excuse of having her sing Amazing Grace to
get her up o n stage, and while she was singing, he dropped to one knee and
presented his ring.They were both choked up but she of course said yes, and the hill went wild, followed by a receiving line of sorts when they rejoined us outside the fence.
The other thing was on Saturday early-evening as I was
strolling up to buy beer from the barn, I came across Brother Ed, sitting by
himself and watching the sunset.
I stopped to let him know where the rest of us were (down
the hill) and he explained that each year at sunset, he sits atop the hill and
talks to those who have passed, that he misses them.I was beyond-impressed with this idea and I plan on doing it as well, going forward. (I won’t intrude on his spot, but there’s plenty of area for me to find a place.)
I did get a sunset pic from Friday night, though…
The rest of the evening
passed uneventfully, which is not a bad thing after three days of all-out
partying. Sunday arrived all too soon as
it always does and our camp was soon emptied of tents, canopies and everything
else. Intermittent rounds of hugs and
handshakes as sections of the group began peeling off for their rides
home. Before long, it was our group’s
turn and we slid in to the dusty, writhing snake of vehicles wending toward the
exit gate.
Our first stop is always the
same; the service plaza on 88. The
McDonald’s inside is our source for breakfast but this year they were
thoroughly inept. They only had one
register open, and apparently only one person cooking. The line stretched almost to the door when we
walked in (I’m not talking about a normal McDonald’s, this is one restaurant within
a service plaza, so for the line to stretch almost to the door…that’s one damn
long line). Anyway, it took us 20
minutes to get to the register and order and then over 30 minutes to get our
food. There were a lot of disgruntled
people (not from our group) who were vocally upset, which I can understand.
Anyway, it was too stuffy
inside for me so once I was done eating, I got my bike, gassed up and found
some shade to hang out in while I waited for the rest of the crew. As I was waiting, I could see all kinds of bikes
and vehicles flying by on the highway and I began getting anxious, thinking
about all the traffic that was getting ahead of us (possibly resulting in
traffic jams). The flip side of this was
that I got to watch (and listen to) groups and groups of motorcycles roaring by,
their engines and pipes bellowing off in to the distance. Not something I get to enjoy very often, so
that was kind of cool.
When everyone was all gassed
and ready, a few of us agreed that we’d lost more time than we wanted to here
at the plaza, and were just going to straight-shot the ride home. A few others were going to stop at one rest
area on the Pike, so we said our goodbyes there, and off we went.
Flex, Ed and me made good
time on the return ride (only 3 hours) and majorly lucked out with
traffic. Not only did we not hit any
jams, but none of the three accidents I saw in the opposite direction caused
any problems from rubber-necking. I was
impressed, people!
Oh yeah! I forgot about this until I was just going through my pics to load them. Looks like even Santa goes to the 'Vous! (This guy was a riot; running around with a bottle of whiskey and making friends, but he hit his limit and passed out on the hill.)
It was a great ‘Vous this year and makes me long for next. To those that were there; we had a blast! To those that weren’t; you can always make up for it next year.
Ride Hard, Take Chances
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