On Friday I finally got Rose to take her first ride of the season with me. I had been a few times already this year, but she hadn’t. I don’t really mind the cold when riding the bike, but she is much more of a warm-blooded creature.
I got the Yamaha out and we got our gear together. We are big fans of being safe when on the bike. There is a term in the motorcycle world called “ATGATT”, which means “All The Gear, All The Time”. This means that whenever we go out on the bike, we will wear a jacket with armor, a full face helmet, gloves and over the ankle boots. No exceptions.
Rose had asked that we went to the Ocean State Job Lot in Valatie, as she was looking for something in particular. I put the tour trunk on the back of the bike so we would have extra room to carry any small things we might buy.
We got on the road and on 90 just past the Corporate Woods exit we saw a Toyota Camry with a very funny vanity plate on it. When I spotted it, I pointed it out to Rose. The lady driving the Camry saw me pointing to it and gave me the thumbs up. Rose had the small point and shoot camera and grabbed this shot…
PEDLSTUK
As we passed her, I gave her a wave and a smile. That lady has a great sense of humor. It’s good to see that some people don’t just freak out and give up on a good company.
We continued out 90 to exit 11A towards Pittsfield. In Schodack, we took Route 9 down towards Valatie. When we pulled into the Ocean State Job Lot parking lot, I noticed that the outside air temperature was 72 degrees. So, we grabbed a picture of that as well.
We had no plans for the day, so we continued down Route 9 through Hudson where we picked up Route 23 across the Rip Van Winkle Bridge. After the bridge, we hung a left and went down to the town of Catskill for some lunch. We had been to a great cafe down there called MOD previously, and were hoping to eat there but they closed at 3 and we got there around 3:30. Bummer. So, we found a little pizza joint and grabbed an Italian Mix and a slice to refuel.
It was getting late, so we decided to take the highway home to make the trip a little quicker, as coming home on 9W would have taken close to an hour and a half. So, we shot down to Saugerties and hopped on 87 for the ride home. I don’t like being on the highways with the bike, as it is very boring. I would rather be on the back roads eating up the twisties and having a blast. This time of year it gets cold quickly after dark, so for Rose’s sake, I took the quick route.
Speaking of twisties, Rose was taking pics while I was going thru some twisties and here’s what she got…
A left-hander
A right-hander leaned way over
Please feel free to comment and subscribe. Also, please watch out for motorcycles. Look over your shoulder before changing lanes. Remember the old adage “Look twice, save a life.” Be safe out there!
**Today’s photos are courtesy of Rose**
The World Through My Lens 
Rt 32 south, by St. Lawrence cement looked familiar! {BTW Catskill to Albany usually takes about 45min – unless you do many of the dead ends to the river}
So by the quick route home you mean getting on the Thruway going the wrong direction… (Wink wink cough cough) You just had to say you wanted to ride longer! LOL! XOXO
You say safety is the most important but is taking pictures while riding a motorcycle exactly safe? Especially while taking turns and driving on the highways?
John, I appreciate your concern, but the pictures were taken by my girlfriend who was riding on the back of the bike. I would never try to take a picture while I was riding.