July 17th<\/strong><\/p>\n Rode\u00a0 hard in the sweltering\u00a0 90+ heat and humidity and finally called it a day in New Paltz, N.Y. the home of New Paltz State University which is on the edge of the Catskill mountains. Really cool\u00a0rustic college town.<\/p>\n NEW PALTZ<\/strong><\/p>\n New Paltz hippie Hostel<\/p><\/div>\n New Paltz hippie Hostel<\/p><\/div>\n New Paltz Bus Station<\/p><\/div>\n Downtown New Paltz<\/p><\/div>\n Downtown New Paltz<\/p><\/div>\n Pinky’s bike, New Paltz<\/p><\/div>\n Ricci\u00a0the barber and her bike. Check out the plastic box above the headlight for her dog.<\/p><\/div>\n Stud Muffin connecting with his feminine side\u00a0on Ricci’s\u00a0custom Victory.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n July 18 HURLEY<\/strong><\/p>\n Old Guard House, Hurley, NY<\/p><\/div>\n Old Guard House, Hurley, NY<\/p><\/div>\n Hurley, NY<\/p><\/div>\n Hurley, NY<\/p><\/div>\n WoodStock<\/strong><\/p>\n Woodstock, NY<\/p><\/div>\n Woodstock, NY<\/p><\/div>\n Woodstock, NY<\/p><\/div>\n Woodstock, NY<\/p><\/div>\n Woodstock, NY<\/p><\/div>\n Woodstock, NY<\/p><\/div>\n Woodstock Hippie Store<\/p><\/div>\n Blues Brothers at the Woodstock Hippie Store<\/p><\/div>\n Woodstock, NY<\/p><\/div>\n Woodstock, NY<\/p><\/div>\n Pushed on to Hunter Mountain in the Catskills and found a near empty ski lodge in Hunter to spend the night. Beautiful peaceful little mountain town.<\/p>\n On the way to Hunter Mountain\u00a0from Woodstock<\/p><\/div>\n Hunter Mountain Sunset<\/p><\/div>\n Moon over Hunter Mountain<\/p><\/div>\n No relief in the heat tomorrow but I\u2019ll make the best of it as I continue toward northern Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n July 19th Left the Catskills behind today and\u00a0rode on\u00a0some beautiful two lane roads, often with no cars in sight, thru small townships, villages, hamlets and often just a small grouping of homes all of which had histories dating back to the 1700\u2019s.<\/p>\n The temps were in the mid 90\u2019s with high humidity again today so I pulled in to a newly built Best Western in Towanda, PA late in the afternoon and called it a day. TOWANDA<\/strong><\/p>\n Towanda, Pa<\/p><\/div>\n Towanda, Pa<\/p><\/div>\n They\u2019re predicting cooler weather for tomorrow which will be a welcome relief after the last few days. Hope to\u00a0increase my mileage as I travel west across Pennsylvania tomorrow.<\/p>\n July 20th What a great day! The heat wave broke and the temp dropped to the low 80\u2019s with broken clouds. The weather guy predicted thunder showers but I was blessed with a nearly dry day. Spotted a small car show and couldn\u2019t resist stopping to take a few pcs. There were two immaculate muscle cars that my friend Glenn would love to get his hands on. \u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n After the car show I saw a lot of other interesting photo opportunities but with it looking like it would rain at any moment I chose to press on. Good that I did because every room was taken in the places that I stopped and I ended up leaving Hwy 6 and putting in an extra 50 miles before I found lodging in Franklin, pa. \u00a0July 21 Woke up to fog in Franklin this morning but it had burned off by the time I hit the road. Took some pictures of two churches and one classic house that had been converted to a club before finally heading out of town on my way to Ohio.<\/p>\n FRANKLIN<\/strong><\/p>\n Franklin, Pa<\/p><\/div>\n Franklin, Pa<\/p><\/div>\n Franklin, Pa<\/p><\/div>\n Franklin, Pa<\/p><\/div>\n Franklin, Pa<\/p><\/div>\n Franklin, Pa<\/p><\/div>\n Stopped in Jamestown for breakfast and found a truck parked in front of me with a license plate frame that said \u201cMy other tractor is my neighbors<\/em>\u201d. Guess I\u2019m in the heartland.<\/p>\n Found a 1937 Chrysler rusting away next to restoration shop a few miles farther down the road and couldn\u2019t resist taking some pics for Glenn who is a mopar fanatic.<\/p>\n 1937 Chrysler<\/strong><\/p>\n Not feeling a lot of energy today and pulled up in Streetsboro and called it a day.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t know where I\u2019ll land tomorrow due to the mosaic of secondary roads in Ohio. Unlike Pennsylvania it\u2019s difficult to find roads that go east to west for a long stretch so I\u2019ll be shucking and jiving all over the place dodging the big cities.<\/p>\n July 22nd Got a haircut and headed south to Hwy 30 where I turned west and rode to ft. Wayne, Indiana. It was about 240 miles and 125 miles of that was continuous rain\u2026.whooopeeee! That surpasses my previous rain record of 101 miles. I\u2019ll take the rain over extreme heat any time!<\/p>\n At one of my stops I met a guy who was doing a similar ride to mine but in the opposite direction. He started from Florida and went to Seattle and was working his way home. While we were talking a women pulled in on a Harley V-Rod outfitted with touring gear. She\u2019s a member of The Motor Maids, which is the oldest women\u2019s motorcycle club in the U.S and was on her way home. She\u2019d ridden from Ohio to the west coast then on to the Motor Maids annual rally in Bend, Oregon. They both shared a passion for riding and letting the road be your guide.<\/p>\n Clear skies tomorrow!!!!<\/p>\n July 23<\/strong><\/p>\n LOGANSPORT<\/strong><\/p>\n Logansport, Id<\/p><\/div>\n Logansport, Id<\/p><\/div>\n Logansport, Id<\/p><\/div>\n Logansport, Id<\/p><\/div>\n Logansport, Id<\/p><\/div>\n Logansport, Id<\/p><\/div>\n Miles and miles of corn and bean fields with the occasional farm town every 15 miles or so.<\/p>\n Tomorrow I head north to Milwaukee to visit the Harley museum and visit the galactic headquarters of all things Harley.<\/p>\n July 24th<\/strong><\/p>\n Ended the day in New Berlin which is on the outskirts of Milwaukee. From what little I\u2019ve seen of Wisconsin it is far more scenic than Indiana or Illinois.<\/p>\n Tomorrow is my pilgrimage to the sacred Harley Mecca \u2026..The Harley museum. A sacrifice and thanks will be required to appease the exalted motor company who is all knowing and powerful to gain access to this, the most revered shrine in all of Harleydom.<\/p>\n Hit the Jacuzzi and am fading fast.<\/p>\n \u00a0July 25th Harley Museum<\/strong><\/p>\n Harley Davidson #1 built in 1903<\/p><\/div>\n Harley Museum<\/p><\/div>\n Harley Museum<\/p><\/div>\n Harley Museum Army<\/p><\/div>\n Harley Museum Navy<\/p><\/div>\n Harley Museum Police Cruiser<\/p><\/div>\n Harley Museum<\/p><\/div>\n Harley Museum<\/p><\/div>\n \u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Harley Museum – Board track racers<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n Harley Museum – Board track racer<\/p><\/div>\n Harley Museum Board Track Racer<\/p><\/div>\n Harley Museum -Beach Racer<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Following the Japanese earthquake and tsunami in 2011 this Harley Davidson floated more than 4,000 miles across the Pacific in a large container before it washed up in British Columbia. Tsunami Bike<\/p><\/div>\n Harley Museum<\/p><\/div>\n Harley Museum – I’m thinking BATMAN inspired this<\/p><\/div>\n Harley Museum – Somebody needs to get their meds adjusted!\u00a0 Did he dream this twin engine monster up after watching a Buck Rodgers movie?<\/p><\/div>\n Harley Museum<\/p><\/div>\n Harley Museum – If Liberace ever had a Harley it would have to look like this.<\/p><\/div>\n Harley Museum<\/p><\/div>\n Harley Museum – Hill climber statue<\/p><\/div>\n July 26th Views of the Heartland<\/p><\/div>\n Back in the corn and bean fields again and found aliens on the side of the road. I thought those guys were supposed to be in New Mexico or Nevada or one of those other desolate places. Did get some pictures and anticipate that I\u2019ll soon be appearing on one of those UFO shows on the discovery channel. Need to cook up a good story about being taken to the UFO equivalent of the playboy mansion. Should probably contact Geraldo for an exclusive interview.<\/p>\n Aliens and dinosaurs<\/p><\/div>\n Arrrrgh matey!<\/p><\/div>\n Victim of genetically altered corn.<\/p><\/div>\n The damn thing is hatching eggs!<\/p><\/div>\n Terradorktal<\/p><\/div>\n What’s next……….Bigfoot?<\/p>\n Crossed the Mississippi river and called it a day in Dubuque where I found a room that would on it’s best day be described as \u201crustic\u201d.<\/p>\n Tomorrow its west to Cherokee, IA<\/p>\n July 27th First stop was the Mississippi river in Dubuque.<\/p>\n The mighty Mississippi<\/p><\/div>\n The mighty Mississippi<\/p><\/div>\n![\"Day](\"https:\/\/exocet.com\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Day-35-Map.jpg\")
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\nKissed Kathy goodbye and got on the subway to Long Island city in Queens only to jump off two stops later when I realized I was mistakenly headed\u00a0towards Brooklyn. A quick trip across the platform and I was back on track. Great way to start the day but it was a start.\u00a0 Picked up my baby and headed north thru Queens, the Bronx, Mt. Vernon and White Plains. Blew the directions (it’s one of those days) and ended up in Stamford,Connecticut where I had to backtrack to White Plains then cross the Tappan Zee Bridge and start up the Hudson River Valley.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
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\nHeat wave continues!
\nLeft New Platz and made a quick stop in the small town of Hurley before heading on to Woodstock. Took some time to wander the town in the oppressive heat and take a few photo’s. Woodstock wasn\u2019t the actual site of the famed August \u201869 3 day concert but it sure has capitalized on the event. Boutiques, gift shops, etc.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
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\nTowanda sits in a tree lined valley on the banks of the Susquehanna River in northeastern Penn. The downtown looked interesting as I passed thru and I may go back tomorrow to shoot some pictures when it\u2019s not so hot.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>
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\nLeft Towanda at 10 am and continued west on Hwy 6 for 250 miles of absolutely excellent riding thru the country over rolling hills with sweeping turns and little to no traffic .<\/p>\n
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\nToday\u2019s ride was a real morale booster after the never ending 90+ days in New York.
\nTomorrow Ohio.<\/p>\n
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\nRode across Indiana and finished in Pontiac, Illinois under beautiful skies and temps in the 80\u2019s. They say Montana is big sky country but it sure felt like it here. Stopped in the town of Logansport grabbed lunch at Happy Burger and took some pics of churches and mansions.<\/p>\n\n
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\nLeft Pontiac, IL on Hwy 47 and rode this secondary road thru endless corn and bean fields to Wisconsin where they suddenly stopped and where replaced by green fields and trees. Spent a lot of the day going thru slow highway construction zones in Illinois and didn\u2019t stop along the way to take pictures. The temps were in the mid 70\u2019s and for the first time on this trip I had to wear a sweatshirt.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>Harley Museum – Every gas tank in every color scheme produced by the motor company<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>
It stands as a memorial to all of those who lost their lives in Japan.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>\n
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\n10 miles out of New Berlin the rain started and it was slow going from there to Beloit, WI where it finally let up. 50 miles east of Dubuque, Iowa a second storm suddenly popped up and the rain came down as hard as I\u2019ve ever seen it. The good news is that it was over in about 10 miles\u2026yuk!<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>And they talk about Californians being weird<\/p>\n<\/a>
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