ChrisNYC Posted February 25, 2002 Share Posted February 25, 2002 I headed out of Manhattan last Saturday morning, with a vague plan of either visiting a friend up in Delhi near Oneonta NY, or fooling around in the Catskill Mountains. It was sunny and clear, about 45 degrees. I headed northwest into a stiff headwind on route 17 (future I-86), and after an hour of riding, I came up with a plan: ride to exit 96, figure it all out then. As I rode on, I watched my thermometer slowly drop, a degee here, two degrees there. When I stopped for gas near exit 97, it said 38 degrees. I decided that I'd rather cut back into the Catskills instead of continuing on to Delhi. At Livingston Manor, I got off 17, and headed back northeast into the mountains. My map showed a road that would take me back up north to Big Indian, where it meets with NY28. I've been on most of the roads in the Catskills, but never this one, so it should be interesting. The trip started out nice enough, on small backroads away from civilization, still some snow on the ground on the shady side of trees and sheds. Hardly any other vehicles on the road. The few houses or cabins that I passed had snowmobiles parked in their front yard, probably the way to get around this area during the snowy winters. The road surface started to change, no longer asphalt, but sort of a dirt-covered ashpalt, and I slowed down my pace. The smell of the forest was starting to penetrate RT's cockpit, and I slowed even further to take it all in. As I rode further into the mountains, the road showed more signs of winter: large potholes, frost-heaves, sand spread out over the asphalt. After gingerly riding over this for a while, a solid dirt road re-emerged. There were no signs marking the road, so I just assumed I was going the right way. Smooth dirt alternated with broken asphalt, so I couldn't take my eyes off the road for long, except enough to see that it was an awfully steep drop into the chilly creek if I missed a turn. Chapter 3-After Chris careened off the road into the creek, he was taken in by some simple hill people who nursed him back to health, and then taught him to play the banjo. The sun over my shoulder said I was headed in the right direction, but the map wasn't so sure. I came to a couple of dirt-intersections. The side roads were usually marked, but the road *I* was on was never marked. I took this to mean that I was still on the main road, but this took a lot of faith on my part to press on. I came next to a small lake, frozen over solid, and I decided to stop and drag out another map. Silence overwhelmed me when I turned off the bike. As I looked over map #2 I was startled by the sudden whine of a gas-powered ice-auger: two ice-fisherman were out on the lake, drilling holes for their lines. Comparing both maps, I tried to figure out if I was really lost, or just a little lost. Neither map could tell me. Now I had to make a decision: go back to where I remembered a marked side road, or go forward into who-knows-where. Hmmmm .... I've got a full tank of gas, there's food and water on the bike, the sun is still pretty high in the sky, for February anyway. I decided "forward". I rode on, down a long, steep, dirt covered incline, standing on the pegs for some of the big bumps. And then a really sharp bump. Wow. That's gonna leave a mark. What did I hit? Oh, I hit the start of pavement again. Do I have my tire patch kit with me? How soft exactly are those RT rims? If the bike starts to handle funny a few miles down the road, I'll know why. Luckily, 40psi prevented any damage. I started thinking of that old liquor-ad "Later, we toasted our adventure with Canadian Club". I might need a drink after this adventure. I came to a fork in the road. At least it was going to be pavement whichever path I chose. To the right would take me to a town, to the left, a *YMCA*. I judged the angle of the sun, compared it to my useless map. I think I'll go for the YMCA, Bob. I turned left onto the pavement, and looked at my odometer: I've been goofing around on this GS-type road for the last 30 miles. I hope it's all pavement the rest of the way. Just before the YMCA, I came across a road sign, Ulster County 47, so it turns out I was on the right road all along. No need to stop at the Y for directions. The road up to Big Indian was better but not great. I had dressed for cold weather, but I was a little cold by the time I made it up to NY28. I pulled over, put on the windliner and quilted liner over my Gerbings, and then put my MotoPort jacket back on. All this, and the strong sun, warmed me back up, and I rode over to a protected rest area where I took a nap in the sun. The rest of my day was on nice solid pavement. Later I toasted my adventure with a Sam Adams. The RT is filthy. ------------------ Chris (aka Tender Vittles), Little KZ400 in the Big Apple Black Boxer RT for Everywhere Else, such as ... Link to comment
AdventurePoser Posted February 26, 2002 Share Posted February 26, 2002 AWESOME story, Chris! I'm sure those of us who've never ridden in the snowy north can hardly imagine what it would be like to come across guys ice-fishing! Sort of took me back to my childhood days of northern Minnesota. Is black ice an issue, or doesn't it get warm enough to melt and refreeze over and over again? Thanks again, Steve in So Cal Link to comment
Ron_B Posted February 26, 2002 Share Posted February 26, 2002 Kudos from a veteran at getting lost. At least you pick cool places to lose your way! I always get lost where it's boring. Thanks, a good read that made my coffee break! ------------------ Ron Barthelme on '99 Boston Green RT AMA charter life, BMWMOA, BMWRA, IBA, Chi-Town Crew GUNNISON!!! GUNNISON!!! GUNNISON!!! Link to comment
BamaRider Posted February 26, 2002 Share Posted February 26, 2002 Enjoyed your ride story brother Chris. Frost-heaves?? Can someone help me? ------------------ "Born to Ride" 2001 ST1100 AMA, Honda Riders, Red Knights, STOC, Iron Butt www.bamarider.com Link to comment
ChrisNYC Posted February 26, 2002 Author Share Posted February 26, 2002 I could be way off, but this is the way I l'arned it - I've always understood frost-heaves to be those sections of pavement which rise and fall due to the moisture under the roadbed. This usually doesn't happen on interstates or secondary roads. The older backroad two-laners (especially in the NE) are vulnerable to frost-heaves. When the temperatures rise and fall (especially when they go below the freezing mark), the road surface contorts as the moistures underneath freezes and contracts. And you're lucky if the surface is uniform in its contortions. Sometimes it's a simple washboard effect, other times it's a bizarre 6-Flags amusement-park ride twisting/ crowning effect. And I suspect that some of those potholes are really just frost-heaves gone really bad. This is my understanding, correct me if I'm off ... late edit ... of course AFTER i posted, I thought of searching the web : http://www.crrel.usace.army.mil/news/archives/NH_Frost_Heaves.htm http://www.swcole.com/news/potholes.htm http://www.womanmotorist.com/glossary/frsthv.shtml This one's got a picture http://www.usatoday.com/weather/news/2001/2001-03-29-potholes.htm ------------------ Chris (aka Tender Vittles), Little KZ400 in the Big Apple Black Boxer RT for Everywhere Else [This message has been edited by ChrisNYC (edited 02-26-2002).] Link to comment
ChrisNYC Posted February 27, 2002 Author Share Posted February 27, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Steves1150: Is black ice an issue, or doesn't it get warm enough to melt and refreeze over and over again? We get black ice, but on this particular road, I couldn't imagine it forming because the road surface was too porous (sp?). I'm sure after a heavy rain or severe snow-melt, it could happen, but this road had me thinking GS or KLR ... ------------------ Chris (aka Tender Vittles), Little KZ400 in the Big Apple Black Boxer RT for Everywhere Else Link to comment
David Posted March 1, 2002 Share Posted March 1, 2002 Nice report, Chris! I printed it out the first morning I saw it, but didn't have a chance to read it until today on a flight out west. I kept saying to myself: this fellow needs a GPS! ------------------ David C. Baker 2000 R1100RT Link to comment
ChrisNYC Posted March 1, 2002 Author Share Posted March 1, 2002 quote: Originally posted by recourses: I kept saying to myself: this fellow needs a GPS! The only GPS that would've helped here would be one of the newer ones with the big big screens showing the leeetle leeetle roads. I've got an older Garmin II+... but it doesn't show any maps. It'll mark waypoints, but that's only good for trips that you pre-plan and pre-plot, or places that you've been to before and way-pointed. This little ditty was neither . ------------------ Chris (aka Tender Vittles), Little KZ400 in the Big Apple Black Boxer RT for Everywhere Else Link to comment
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