no love for New York?

[g®eg]

oh well... here goes....

so... since my g/f lives in western NY, and since she loves to ride, and loves to camp... we figured a meet up in western NY for some riding and camping before the end of the summer was in order. A plan was made to meet up at Letchworth State Park (http://nysparks.state.ny.us/parks/info.asp?parkID=12), site reserved, and bikes loaded.

I headed west Thursday morning, figuring I had missed all the rain Wednesday night.... wrong! Just as I was getting on the pike to cover some ground west it pissed down! No pics as it was running across the road 2" deep :eek1. Happy to report by the time I got to Sturbridge the rain had stopped, and by the Lee Plaza my gear was even dry... P^

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/DSC00708.jpg

my GPS had some strange ideas about routing (which I finally figured out was due to "highway avoidance mode" left over Trans MA trail (http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=485647) trip)... anyway

I got off the pike and headed south through Great Barrington, pretty nice day, plenty of sunshine, and not much traffic.

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/outlap1.jpg

I saw this.... which made me laugh

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/DSC00709.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/DSC00710.jpg

it really is "the fork in the road"
what I probably needed was this....for later after the GPS dragged me through Corning, and around in circles...

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/prozac.jpg


Red Hook, New York (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/location/ny) - Giant Prozac Pill A giant Prozac pill sits on someone's lawn at this intersection right near the Giant fork in the road.
but I digress

I crossed the Hudson and took off through the Catskills. Lovely ride following the Delaware, and to be honest... having way too much fun to snap pics!

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/outlap2.jpg

in the meantime... the Multi is packed & ready to romp

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/P7300001.jpg

and even after taking the "long way" to Letchworth there's a serious lack of Greg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/P7300005.jpg

eventually.. a tour of downtown Corning, a couple attempts at getting into the correct end of the park, I finally roll in and get ready to set up....

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/P7300008.jpg

all is right with the world

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/P7300009.jpg

until the rain comes! merde!
more wine dear?

:D

lucky for us I had built an awning at work the day before out of 1/2 oz spinnaker cloth. It worked perfectly! P^


it had been a long day....and for the second time in a week or so, I was sitting under an awning drinking & looking at the back end of a bike..well that's not so bad actually :D

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/P7300010.jpg

[g®eg]

so, if you've never been there, Letchworth State Park is actually pretty cool.

Letchworth State Park was created by the stroke of the pen of New York State Governor Charles Evans Hughes in 1907. It was a fine addition to the fledgling state Park system, the gift of a retired businessman and philanthropist, William Pryor Letchworth. The new Park consisted of the thousand acre estate called the "Glen Iris" which Letchworth had lovingly developed over half a century. The Park was a treasure chest full of natural splendor and history, awaiting those who were willing to come and explore it. And for almost a century, they have come. more HERE (http://www.letchworthparkhistory.com/history.html)


the campgrounds were very nice, the scenery is amazing and the road through the park is also a treat (as long as you don't get nicked by the park police, or stuck behind a tour bus).

day 2 we have light rain in the morning, but it is promising to clear soon. we get food & coffee going

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/DSC00711.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/DSC00712.jpg

my "home made" spinnaker cloth awning P^

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/DSC00713.jpg

bikes ready to roll sans luggage (well for me anyway)

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/DSC00714.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/DSC00715-1.jpg

So, the park is a huge gorge cut by the Genesee River, and in some ways seems similar to Niagara the way it's cut the rock back. at places it's 550 feet from the rim to the river below. We stopped at the Wolf Creek overlook and took a walk around.

beginnings of a small waterfall leading down to the river

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/DSC00718.jpg

everywhere you go in Letchworth there are these amazing bridges & stonework

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/DSC00720.jpg

during the 30's the CCC (civilian conservation corps) did amazing work in the park. the skill and craftsmanship lives on..more info on the CCC HERE (http://www.letchworthparkhistory.com/cccwork.html)

another view of Wolf Creek falls

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/DSC00722.jpg

nothing beats riding with my girl! (sorry merc)

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/DSC00723.jpg

the river is 550 feet below. we saw tons of turkey buzzards? I think that's what they said they were... but no pictures

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/DSC00725.jpg

a taste of the roads

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/DSC00726.jpg

upper falls

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/DSC00729.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/DSC00730.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/DSC00735.jpg

we left the park heading south on 19 (which is supposed to be an OK road)... kinda boring :( but the sun did come out P^ We turned sort of north east onto highway 21 through Naples NY and into Canandaigua. Very nice road! The Finger Lakes region of NY seems to be characterized by rolling hills, vineyards, and valleys.

We looped by the grocery store & the wine store, and got stocked up for the evening. Before getting back to camp we stopped in Perry NY for a Friday fish fry...very good food!

[g®eg]

and there's where the ride report kind of falls apart....
note to self: take more pictures!

:rolleyes:

anyway.... Saturday we pack up & head out. we take a loop south through the park, snap a few more pics...

they still use the big train bridge over the chasm

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/P8010035.jpg

I guess there used to be a wooden one....

http://www.letchworthparkhistory.com/wbcanallg.jpg

that took 220 acres of trees to build.... one night it caught fire, and that was that.

http://www.letchworthparkhistory.com/wbruinswalker2.jpg

we turned back north through the park (and got stuck behind a tour bus)... and then headed over to visit Michelle's brother & sister-in-law. Lovely day for a ride, just taking in the countryside.

Sunday brought rain, again... so I decided rather than ride home in the rain, I would hang out until Monday.

riding home Monday morning... I am missing my girl

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/DSC00736.jpg

Uneventful backroads ride back to Massachusetts, but enjoyable, sun shining, not too hot, no traffic.

the old girl got me home once again

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/DSC00740.jpg

and the tale of the trip:

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc125/Gregory_Jarvis/Letchworth/DSC00738.jpg

couple points;

the actual trip mileage was about 1285 (I forgot to reset it until I got to the end of the pike out-bound).
I doubt the Sprint could do 167 unless it was dropped out of a plane... so put that down to Garmin gremlins :D

[Black and Blue]

Nice RR.P^ Loved the old pics.

[Sharpie]

Great trip report ! Also like all the pictures.

[Trailace]

Great report I need to go check out the falls next time I'm up that way. Thanks!

[Ripshod]

I have lots of love for NY. Best campsite EVER was at Crown Point campground on Lake Champlain. It's a CCC-era log lean-to on a ledge over a point in the lake. It has a trail down through the woods to a private rock shelf on the water. Just beautiful.

http://www.st-owners.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=662&pictureid=10301

Every time I ride through NY I see great new stuff. I remember great riding and camping in the Adirondacks, the Catskills and finger lakes, and lots more in places whose names I can't remember. Thanks for your great report, Greg. Now I know one more place to see before I can fool myself into thinking I've seen it all.

[Ironheadziggy76]

Great report, love the bikes you two were on! P^

[Mellow]

Wow, great trip, great report, great pics... geesh.. I gotta win the lotto so I can get out and ride.

[Alan]

Very nice report, made me feel like I was along for the ride.P^

[Trekker]

Great report. I must admit I do like the riding & camping around here. I haven't done enough motocamping close to home to justify a report, and yours nailed it. Letchworth is also know as the Grand Canyon of the East. There are not many technical roads in the Finger Lakes but some very pleasant riding.

Oh and I too need to take more pictures!