...I wound up trading in the Sabre for a brand new '04 Suzuki DL1000 "V-Strom," the most perfect motorcycle ever conceived by man kind.
Bill Hollink gave me a screamin' deal on my Sabre, a bike I wasn't completely happy with, because of it's negative effect on my back.
So he had the V-Strom ready the next day (Saturday) at 11 am and I proceeded to ride the heck out of it all day Saturday and Sunday for a total of 435 glorious miles along Lake Ontario and throughout the Finger Lakes.
To see the GPS maps of the first ride, click here >>>>>
(20 pictures on this page. Keep scrolling down to see them all...)
Suzuki calls this a 'Sports Adventure tourer,' or something like
that. It has an upright seating position - the most comfortable in the
industry for a tall rider, it's great for touring, great for sport
riding through the twisties and even goes off-road. What more could you
possibly ask from a motorcycle? And all for $8,000 (new leftover '04).
It truly is the most perfect motorcycle ever conceived.
After picking up the bike, I headed
straight east toward Sodus and eventually past Fair Haven. This dirt
road runs along the lake to the Port Bay outlet.
Here is the bike posing by the Port Bay outlet on the small jetty.
The view looking in towards Port Bay.
I found some rugged dirt roads just past Fair Haven. Even though
the bike had only 40 miles on it, I had to test its off-road
capabilities. It doesn't handle the knarly stuff very well.
To properly break the bike in, it requires a little muddin'.
I rode all weekend on sweet back-country roads, such as this.
The following day (Sunday), I found myself traveling down the
eastern side of Canandaigua Lake. Here is the obligatory Canandaigua
Lake shot.
Vine Valley on the east side of Canandaigua Lake is one of my
favorite destinations. From here, I took scenic dirt roads through the
Hi-Tor Wildlife Management area, another favorite destination.
In Potter, New York, I picked up some riding partners from a poker
run that was happening that day.
Riding through Italy Valley is a must if you're riding anywhere near
the Southern end of Canandaigua Lake.
After Italy Valley, I headed towards Keuka Lake. I stopped to see Tony Mazzo (a friend from work) at his camp along the way.
After riding around part of Keuka Lake, I headed through Watkins
Glen and then up the east side of Seneca Lake and through parts of the
Finger Lakes National Forest.
No ride is complete without a stop at the Eagle Hotel in Ovid, New
York. I was their only customer on this day.
Outside the Eagle.
Stopping to 'smell the roses.'
A country road somewhere between Farmington and Newark.
Somewhere up in the hills along the east side of Canandaigua Lake.
435 miles of pure bliss.
Ride to
the 