In September 2018 I installed a new heating system at the farm having discovered a crack in the combustion chamber of the old one that was installed in 1993. I would walk into town for a 2-1/2 mile loop every night, as I have done for years when I visit the Farm. I customarily stopped for a draft beer at a local bar to break up my walk. As such I became acquainted with a young lady who was bartending there during the quiet weekday nights. I told her I had taken my motorcycle for a scenic ride in he area and she suggested trying Tooley Pond Road, which I had never heard of. I told her I was going to check it out.
One thing led to another and I didn’t have time then, nor the next summer of 2019 when a charging problem developed with the motorcycle that could leave you with a dead battery miles from anywhere. Now it is the summer of 2020 and I’ve finally fixed the charging problem, and with the leaves at their peak colors I took a ride into the mountains and back. Then I recalled her suggestion of Tooley Pond Road. So, I mapped out a route and printed directions that I taped to the motorcycle fuel tank and started on about a 100 mile circuit that traversed Tooley Pond Road from start to end in Cranberry Lake, New York. The scenery was magnificent and at points like a prehistoric forest. At one point on a ridge The St. Lawrence Valley lay out before me, the river threading through it in the distance. As much as anything, there was a sense of peace and satisfaction that I had finally done what I said I was going to. I wish I could thank LeAnn, wherever she now is.
I also learned that the directions taped to the gas tank are too hard to focus on while riding. So, I used my phone app with verbal directions. The problem is I couldn’t hear them well enough over the rush of the wind… only some garbled something at crucial junctures, forcing me to stop repeatedly to see where I was. (One of these stops resulted in dropping the motorcycle on its side in the deep loose sand concealed on the road side). I have learned that a phone GPS with verbal directions and a bluetooth helmet is probably the answer. I intend to order one.
