My luck ran out on avoiding rain today.

I wake up at my brothers place in the Bronx with my four-year-old niece adorably curled up next to me. She decided to join me on the pullout sofa at some point in the night. My brother makes me breakfast and I say my goodbyes to my sis-in-law Tanya, Angie, Andre and my bro, before heading for Upstate New York. I leave under very grey clouds.

Most of my 175 mile ride over the Catskill Mountains is spent taking in the scenery and thinking about how lucky I have been with the weather thus far on my trip. There is something poetic and apropos about my odometer hitting the 4000th mile of my journey, near where I grew up in Upstate riding motorcycles in the rain, just as the skies open up and the deluge begins. The rain is so strong that maintaining vision through the shield on my helmet is no small task. Thankfully, the riding suit I invested in before departing really holds up to the rain and my clothes stay dry.

[most of the ride to upstate NY looks like this]

[the deluge begins]

After riding for nearly an hour in a torrential downpour, I arrive at my mom and stepdad’s office in Oneonta, NY to say hello. A number of folks at their company have been reading my posts and are eager to say hi. Its great to see all of the familiar faces and to attempt to put into words the experience of traversing the country on a motorcycle.

After catching up with everyone, we head for their new house. Last winter I did the design for the remodel of a new home my mom and stepdad recently purchased and I’m very excited to see the substantially complete product. I get a tour of the house, which is looking really great. It makes me very happy and proud to see my mom so excited about the how it has turned out. Tom (the general contractor) did an outstanding job and its nice to see him in person after having interfaced with him on virtual site walks via Skype over the last many months. [pictures to follow later]

After the tour of the house, I head for my hometown of Gilbertsville, NY to catch up with my Dad and stepmom. Its a pleasant surprise to find that my grandparents are also the house when I arrive. Its great to see everyone and naturally, with any group of motorcyclists, everyone is eager to inspect the bike that made the voyage and to hear about the great roads I’ve had the privilege of experiencing. Unfortunately my grandfather recently suffered a pinched nerve in his lower back and wont be swinging his leg over a bike for the upcoming rally in New Hampshire we will all be attending later this week. Thankfully he’s still going to make the trip to Laconia, NH for the rally, just on four wheels instead of two.

My dad and I depart tomorrow after I get my tires changed on the bike. I was a little optimistic regarding the life of my back tire and it wore a little faster than anticipated. I really look forward to having fresh tread for the rest of the ride.

[my childhood home under very grey skies]