Saturday May 28th, 2016
DAY 1.

It was a lovely morning in the month of May when I set out. Clear blue skies, relatively warm temperatures that were forecast to heat up rapidly as the day wore on and best of all I did not have to go to work for the next several days!
At 10:a.m. sharp, I kicked up the side stand of the bike and headed out into the morning. It was a balmy 79’F (27’C).
I wound my way through the neighborhood and onto Interstate 90, heading eastwards out of the city.
I went right through downtown Cleveland, taking in sights I don’t often see.
A grand overlook and view of the whole downtown area from a different perspective than what I see on a daily basis from the rooftop of the facility where I work.
I crossed the bridges over the famous, or should I say infamous Cuyahoga River – the river that caught fire – not once but twice! (you think I’m joking? Do a search on the internet. The history is there for all to see/read).
Observing in passing, the Indians’ baseball park and the Browns’ football stadium and picking out the unmistakable shape of Rock and Roll hall of fame, I settled in for the long and welcome ride ahead.
As with the first day of each tour, my aim/wish is to get as far away from home base in as short a time as possible.
I made it to the Pennsylvania state line in just shy of 90 minutes. I exited the highway and made my way into the town of Conneaut, OH and sought out the McDonalds establishment. It was a good time for a potty break and some food for my now hungry belly.
Although not tired and as I have come to learn to and usually have done, I still made the time to get off the bike and limber up to keep my blood circulation healthy.
More importantly I wanted to take off my newly acquired Tourmaster riding pants.
It had become too hot in them.
The outdoor temperature by this time, had climbed to 87’F (31’C) as my gauge cluster on the bike reported.
As I “un-garbed” a young family pulled up in their mini van as well.
Their young son, who must not have been more than 8 yrs. old or so, I noticed, had his eyes glued to my bike, especially at my stuffed animals., strapped on the top box, thoroughly enjoying the ride.
Hey mister, that’s a nice bike he said. I asked if he liked the one that just went by on the road. (A Harley had driven by emitting the characteristic high decibels of the exhaust note). Nah, I like yours. It looks cool!
I acknowledged his parents and exchanged pleasantries before going indoors.
The place was full of elderly folks who all could not keep their eyes off me and were all so nice by greeting me warmly. I found out in conversation that they had all gathered here as they do each day for coffee and breakfast.
The first impression I had was that there must have been some kind of old folks’ convention going on!
After mingling with them for about 20 minutes, I said farewell and parted ways with them.
My next heading was towards Seneca, NY. From Seneca, I wanted to catch highway 20. This part of the route I chose would take me by the Finger Lakes region and on into Syracuse, NY. From Syracuse I would then route myself back onto Interstate 90 and on into Saratoga Springs, NY.
As part of my trip preparations, I had bought and mounted a new Pelican weatherproof box onto the bike that I was using as a rear mounted top box.
This new configuration of the top box on the bike, loaded with gear, made for a very “light steering”.
It did not take me long to realize that the increase in weight at the rear of the bike had altered my center of gravity. So I made a mental note of to take it easy the whole trip through. Luckily I had made provision by allotting myself ample time for this trip, so I was in no great hurry to get anywhere too soon. I could afford to slow down a notch.
So with blue skies and leaves of green as far as I could see, I pushed on.
I routed myself onto the local road out of here.
My jaunt through Pennsylvania was very short. This stretch of highway through to the New York state line is only 55 miles (88km). I arrived there in “a blink” and staying on Highway 20, I made my way in the now 100’F (38’C) weather towards the town of Ripley. But not before stopping at the sign welcoming me to the state of New York to take a few obligatory photos.
After loading camera gear back up, I pushed on through miles of vineyards and farms in the countryside. It was so peaceful and relaxing. I was enjoying the peace and quiet of the farmlands.
The road quality was good. The bike was running true to form. The weather was fine. All was good.
I still had several miles that I wanted to knock down today and realized that if I did not get back on the highway I would not accomplish or achieve the distance I would have hoped for.
But I also wanted to stay on this lovely backroad and “take it all in”.
So pulling up the map function on my GPS unit, I gave myself a brief overview of my bearings in relation to the Interstate system.
In this part of the country, it doesn’t get any farther north than this in terms of the interstate. Interstate 90 hugs Lake Erie and only runs East-West. So one really cannot go too far astray here. If you get lost or happen to stray off course, all you have to do is to head north, keep going as long as you can and you will eventually “run into Lake Erie” from where you can them turn east or west towards where you want to go.
The country roads had meandered quite a bit and I had no direct shot due north, but with the afternoon sun now making its way behind me, I knew was still heading eastwards. I was still on Highway 20 and that’s where I wanted to be. That’s where I stayed.
The ST “chewed up” the miles effortlessly. Looking down at my instrument cluster, the bike reported that all was good.
I stayed on Highway 20 all afternoon till around 5:15 p.m. through the beautiful rolling hills of the countryside that took me through Pennsylvania and New York and on into the beautiful Finger Lakes area of New York.
Stopping at the head of one of the lakes, I made a forced break to sit by the lake for a little while and enjoy the ambience and do some people watching.
Pushing on from there I headed towards Syracuse, NY. And checked into the Comfort Inn around 7:30 p.m. (With still 139 miles (223 km) to go to Saratoga Springs and this late in the day and with this much fatigue from stress reduction, I made an executive decision to bed down in Syracuse for the night. I did not want to endure the hard work of making it to Saratoga Springs under the conditions I found myself in.)
After all, I was in no rush.
I was on holiday. There would be no long ride next year, so might as well take my time on this one and enjoy it to the fullest!
The room was clean and the front desk service was good.
To my delight, the clerk, without my asking, instructed me to park my bike right outside of the front door under the canopy.
The ST had transported us 357 miles (572 km) today.
I was ready for a hot shower and a clean bed.
I ordered a Pizza from a nearby Pizza house. It was good.
I made a phone call ahead to Mike ahead of our meeting tomorrow in Maine.
I fell asleep soon after my shower, dinner and phone calls to report all being well to my wife.

Next - NE Day 2.