Labor Day weekend ride to Western New York

(9/18/2014) Over the Labor Day Weekend I rode to Kenmore, New York to see my sister and her family. I also got to spend some time with my friend and former college roommate, known by many of his friends and family as Tiger. In the photo, right, that’s (left to right) me, Tiger, and my sister Margaret.

Just an aside: when we were much younger and living together, my father and brothers and I called Margaret Boo Bear. I now call her Boo Boo and Tiger calls her Bear. Funny how that turned out. My sister and I have always kept in touch and she has known Tiger almost as long as I have.

We took that photo of ourselves outside of the relatively new First Niagara Center, where the NHL Buffalo Sabres hockey team plays. Behind us is a new statue of The French Connection, Rick Martin, Gil Perrault, and René Robert. I’m wearing my denim coat because I was soaking wet from a downpour we rode through as we entered downtown Buffalo.

Tiger was riding the 2000 Road King Classic (FLHRCI) he bought from me in 2009 and Boo Boo was on the back of my 2006 Electra Glide Classic (FLHTCI). With all the construction going on in the area, the rain splashed mud all over our clean bikes and made it look is if we had been “four-wheelin’ “ in the woods. Ugh! I can’t stand a dirty Harley. (I cleaned it as soon as I got back to my sister’s place.)

Attica, NY

My friend Tiger was born in Corfu, NY, which is locally infamous as a speed trap along NY 33, where NY 77 crosses. His grandparents lived in Attica, not very far away, and are buried there. Tiger thus has a family connection to the area and over the course of the day showed me around his familial territory. Tiger currently lives in the little town of Elma, where one of my uncles used to live.

On Labor Day he took me out for competitive bow shooting, also known as competitive archery. The club where he is a member is on Clinton Street (NY 354), between Elma and Attica. 

That was a new experience for me. In particular, I was fascinated by the appeal of the traditional long bow as compared to the much newer compound bows. Tiger tasked me with using a range finder to ensure the team’s guesses were not unreasonable. It turns out that they didn’t need me for that: they almost always guessed the actual distance to the target within two or three yards. I also kept score and mediated any arguments about where the arrows actually hit the targets. They didn’t really need me for that either: he and his two adult sons, against whom he was competing, were very gentlemanly about any close calls. 

After five hours of that, Tiger took me out to his favorite woodchuck and deer hunting place in Attica. He hunts the chucks in the summer as a favor to the farmer who owns the land in trade for deer hunting privileges in the autumn and winter (during deer hunting season). He kills the woodchucks, which are very destructive to the farmer’s land, with a rifle but hunts deer with a bow.

We saw only one woodchuck, which scampered off into the woods before we any chance at a shot. We patrolled the entire permieter of the meadow. Near the end, Tiger whispered to me, “They know me. They’re not coming out.”

Before we departed for the day, I did pop off a few rounds at a 12-inch diameter rock that was sitting on a tree stump about 175 yards away across the meadow. Tiger's rifle is equipped with a bipod and excellent scope he had carefully calibrated for this meadow. He had me shoot from a prone position in the eight inch tall grass. With the stability of the bipod on the ground and the clarity of the target in the scope, even I could hit the target. ;-)

Donora Smog

Because I typically ride through the Pittsburgh area on my way to Kenmore, I decided to stop in Donora, Pennsylvania for a quick look around. I was curious to see what this little town looked like, and I was not disappointed. Like many small American towns, it has not changed much in the last 66 years. My stop in Donora is part of my new effort to slow my riding pace and explore the areas I traverse on my way to other places. I’ve missed too many interesting places and events because I was in a hurry to get somewhere.

Why Donora? At my day job, which I’ve have had for almost 20 years, I work for Lockheed Martin at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Not surprisingly, I have an interest in environmental issues and the history of air and water quality in the US. In October 1948, an unusual weather pattern combined with intense air pollution in and around Donora, leading to what is now called the Donora Smog. Many people suffocated and thousands of others were made very sick by the dense, dark poison in the air.

For those who like to attack the EPA as a “job killer” and drag on business competitiveness, one need only look at Donora, October 1948 to see what happens when industry is not regulated with regard to emissions into the environment.

In addition to touring the Donora Smog museum in Donora itself, you can also watch a couple of documentaries about the event if you want to know more: (1) The Donora Smog and (2) Rumor of Blue Sky. Unfortunately, I cannot find either of these available for streaming. The Donora Smog video was available on YouTube for a while. Hopefully someone will post it again. Apparently, the Weather Channel has also made a brief documentary about the Donora Smog as well. I haven't seen that one.

Almost there with the bike...

The bike held up well with only an oil leak to irritate me. The primary chain case had a second leak that Kevin (Jockeys Cycle) missed on the first go-round.* It was a small one, but at high speeds over 700-mile distances, I needed to add about half a quart to the primary chain case when I got to Kenmore. The back of my bike had a coating of oil on it, as the back tire captured the leaking oil and sprayed up my bike’s backside.

As of 9/16/2014, that leak has also been sealed. Amen. Thank you Kevin!

Keep the shiny side up.

-The Long Rider

*The original leak was so bad, the abundance of leaking oil made it very difficult to find a small leak when a large one was coating the entire underside of the engine.