Olean Pigapalooza!!

This year saw a return to Olean for their annual pig roast. I brought McCarthy with me, and Aaron & Chrissy made the trip as well. It was gonna be a great time!

A&C had some things to take care of so they were going to split the trip and do halfway on Thurs, stay in Utica at a buddy's house and then arrive in Olean on Friday. Me & McCarthy hit the road around 7:30 and the plan was for him to hit the highway from his house and I'd meet him along the way. Unfortunately, we encountered a major (probably fatal) accident right out of the gate that set us back about an hour. (It was a portent of things to come.)

Once we got past that, we made pretty good time. First gas stop was @ the 'Vous exit and then quickly back on the road, through Binghamton and beyond.

At one point on I-88, we came up behind a rolling roadblock; a tractor/trailer in the right lane and a car in the left that just wouldn't speed up. Miles ticked by and I'd had enough. I dropped a gear and blasted up the rumble strip on her left side. Once beyond her, I cut back over, turned in the seat until I was facing her and gave her an emphatic middle finger. Turning back ahead, I noticed two things; I was now doing 90mph, and there was a Statie in the median who'd witnessed the entire spectacle.

Fcuk.

Well, nothing else to do but hit the brakes and ease down into the mid 70's and mentally cross my fingers that the Trooper was in a good mood....or asleep.

I saw him start to pull forward as I shot by, and kept my eyes on the side mirrors to see if the lights came on. He did pull out, but it took him a bit, as there was a lot of traffic backed up behind the car I'd passed. Then I saw the car move over, and who was next in line? McCarthy...and he was dropping back. Sweet! He was intentionally mucking things up so the Trooper couldn't easily come after me. Sure, he could have thrown his lights on but I guess he didn't feel it was worth it. Whew! Got lucky once again!

From there, we made it safely to M&M's house and settled in, catching up on stories and goings on. Bryan showed up with his son Hunter and the conversation soon turned to guns, and soon after that, we were out back, shooting a couple of guns that he had in his car (of course).

They had to head off after a bit so we settled back in and soon Mark had dinner up and ready (Mexican this time). Yum!

Jerry and Barb came by and we sat around the table reminiscing of timed gone by. The time was passing pleasantly and it was shaping up to be a low-key night. Certainly not the norm while here, but not unwelcome, either.

It got to be almost 11 and Barb asked Jerry if he was ready to call it a night. He got up, started to head for the door, then paused. He looked back at us and said "Anyone up for cards?" And just like that; BAM! Shots, beers and cards until 2am. Haha, now this is more like it.

The next morning,  Mark took us over to a little smoke shop where the owner sold small breakfast sandwiches.  Usually I'd want about three of these but I wanted to hit Mickey's for an early lunch, so a small breakfast was perfect.

McCarthy and I did make it over to see Tommy, but we'd just missed him as he had left for a family wedding in NYC. We made do with the usual steak sandwich (Yum!) then headed back to M&M's to meet up with A&C who had just arrived. Hugs and hellos, and catching up before heading off to the Post to for more hugs and hellos with folks not seen yet.

A little after 5, we headed over to Ski's house for dinner. He had a tray of chicken marinating, and some Pulaski potatoes. McCarthy took on the grilling duties and we were soon enjoying grilled chicken and taters out in Ski's back yard.

From there, he brought us up to his camp. The side road leading up to his road was lined with fields...of deer. These things were everywhere!  It was like there were herds of them (ok, so that's a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea).

As we neared the turn off for his road, Ski stopped his truck to let me come up beside him. He wanted to let me know that there was "some" loose gravel on the road ahead. I said ok and off we went.

Well "some" gravel turned out to be multiple inches of loose stone, which parted easily and hugged my tires like a lonely lover welcoming home a weary traveler. Egads, thus ain't fun!

We made it up (and then back down, later) without issue. Ski's camp was pretty sweet! A nice setup like a man cave, but with enough class and amenities that any woman would be happy there as well. It would have been nice to hang out longer than we did but it was getting dark and we wanted some light in the sky for the return trip down the gravel road.

Back at M&M's, we settled back in for more cards and libations. At one point, Mary knocked her (full) shot glass over. Shortly thereafter, McCarthy knocked his (full) over as well. Then Mary knocked her (refilled) glass over again. At this point I commented that since I was the only one who hadn't knocked anything over, that I probably needed to give lessons on how not to knock things over. I handed a roll of paper towels to Mary who promptly tossed them back at me. They bounced off my head and knocked my glass over. I guess I was in the club now.

At some point it dawned on me to prank Ziggy. I has McCarthy Draft up a text, saying that I was #1 son, that he (McCarthy) was #2 son, and that Ziggy was a very distant third. Mary took it a step further by drawing up a nice sign to send with the text. Ash yes, good fun!

The next morning Mark cooked up some breakfast for us before we headed off to the V to check in on how preparations were going. It was raining pretty good but a party is a party so off we went, after saying our goodbyes to M&M (our plan was to camp overnight and then hit the road straight off in the morning).

Things were going well at the Post so our help wasn't really needed. I still wanted to check out the new brewery in town so I met up with Myszka, Tom and Tracy. A&C met up with us and we sampled and enjoyed a number of the brewery's offerings before heading back to the official party.

The rain had stopped and the weather was improving nicely. Lynner was organizing a corn hole tournament so me and McCarthy signed up as partners. He's better at the game than I am but toward the end I didn't do too badly. Fortunately for us, there were no pros there because as it turned out, we won! That's right, we win the tournament and the $8 (apiece) that came with it.

Soon after, it was time to eat and it was a hell of a spread and we all had our fill. Some folks drifted off but others showed up to take their places. Once things were cleaned up, a fire was started and we gathered around. Jerry regaled us with poems and stories for a couple of hours and a few of us tossed a tale or two into the mix. It was a great, great time and felt much like the nights on Maine, years back when Russ was still with us.

After Jerry and Barb had left, the group split up; some stayed fireside, others headed inside (myself included) to make sure the bartender was kept busy slinging shots and beerverages. This went long in to the evening and good times were had by all. As the hours got on, folks began to either head home or to their tents. I would have loved to keep going long into the wee hours but I knew a long road awaited the next morning so I turned in shortly after it became Sunday morning.

The next day was the day to go home. And ordinarily I'd try to be out the door as soon as my eyes open. Not this time, though. The Post was putting on a breakfast and I was interested in trying something new. Rather than bolt immediately, hang out for a bit and then hit the road. And that's what we did. The feed was good and our bellies were happy, but all too soon (10am) it was time to get rolling.

The ride home...well, suffice to say it sucked ass. It rained from about Horseheads til after the Mass border. That alone would have been bad enough but the road gods must have felt that I needed to pay more penance for my idiotic stunt on the ride out (passing on the inside), so they tossed 3 separate,  miles-long traffic jams into the mix. Nothing says "fun" like sitting in the pouring rain as your bike begins to overheat.

Oh yeah; at one point, McCarthy came up beside me, pointing to the rear of my bike and motioning to pull over. I did, and when I looked, I saw I was dragging a 5' long rats tail...from the inside of my right muffler. What the...it's the batting from inside! How is it that that's coming out??

Well, the side of a two-lane, in the rain with traffic rocketing past, is not the time or place for non-emergency repairs so I cut the stuff off, tossed it into the saddlebag, and off we went.

(As it turns out, my muffler pipe had broken inside, exposing the batting. Also, as it turns out, both mufflers are rotted and needed to be replaced. How do I know this? Because I'm at the dealership having my 30k service done. Also as it turns out,  my extended warranty doesn't cover performance parts, even though they were installed by the dealer at the time of purchase. And one more kick in the nuts; traffic jams and rain in the ride in here this morning. And, I just got word that my bike is ready, so of course it's pouring out again.)

Without question, the trip was still worth it, though. Great times with great friends is not something to be taken lightly, for it happens all too rarely.

Can't wait to get back out there again!!

Pics to follow, I've gotta go get wet now...

Ride Hard, Take Chances