FL Rally and Club Ride - 2. Finger Lakes Rally Start

2. Finger Lakes Rally Start

The Hotel had a basic American Breakfast; it was good enough for us for this Friday morning.  

We never really ‘unpacked’ our bikes, the tent and sleeping rolls were still on the bikes, so riding to the actual rally site, the Hidden Valley was easy, just swing your leg over the bike, settle down and ride for about 4 miles. That is all I did, just about 4 miles this day. 

Checking In At Registration

When we rode off we met Joe, another BMW rider, he was a Rally ‘Virgin’ he told us. He had never been to this Finger Lakes Rally before so we showed him how to find the hidden spot. He was from Connecticut, a nice enough guy, but we soon lost sight of him once we entered the actual Campground. We were one of the first people to arrive, always a good thing because that way you can set up your spot (tent or bunk) where ever YOU want. 

Starting to Unpack

Also, we wanted to set up our tent ‘early’ because the weather forecast for today: “Heavy Rains” and ‘Thunder Storms”.

Setting up our tent has now become routine. While I do the actual tent, Carol sets up the inside. I put up the poles, the lines, the stakes and Carol is inside the tent setting up the thermarests, pillows and our sleeping bags. 

We work like a team; it does not take that long to set up our camp. We even bring foldable chairs, so we can sit in comfort. 

We no longer bring any cooking utensils; there are just too many other, easier options to find food while we are at the Rally. This is not camping in the wild.

Home Sweet Home

After we were set up, I went to the flea market tent to register and offer my ‘stuff’ for sale. I had packed motorcycle specific items that I took off my old (07) bike and now will try to sell here at this Rally.

While I did that, Carol rode back into town to find our breakfast for the following days, some fruit and snacks, some beer, wine and juice, and ice to keep it all cool (we brought a foldable Ice cooler) and she also wanted some American cash from an ATM. 

Flea Market in Full Swing

I had no problem listing all my items at the flea market tent, Roger, who is in charge of the whole set up, knows how to run this flea market but Carol, oh my, she was alone in town and ran into all kinds of ‘rules and regulations’.

She told me later:

First stop for her was the ATM it did not work for her, but after trying the Automated Teller Machine 4 times she went into the bank to try to get U.S. dollars, the ATM really did not work for her. The teller girl inside the bank tried the outside ATM, but it did not work for her either. So back inside the bank, the teller asked Carol for her ID, of course it was on the bike, so Carol had to go outside, get the ID and still, the teller could not get her U.S. dollars. Computers are great, IF they work. This time they did not. And the people depending on them are paranoid with the ‘security’. So YOUR money is in a bank but you will have a difficult time getting YOUR money out. Yes, it’s called ‘security’ but should there not be an easier way to identify a person? Face Recognition Software near each teller? A chip you carry under your skin someplace?  I think something has to be done to make life easier for the end user.

Friends Roger and Marc (L to R Foreground), Vicki and Jim (L to R Background)

Carol’s next step was the Gas Station, to fill up her tank. Once you fill up, the bike gets noticeably heavier. No money needed, she used her credit card.

Next stop was the Supermarket which has ATM’s.  She bought her food stuff, including some beer but when she tried to check out she was asked for her ID again. Naturally she had put it back on the bike……..duh!  You have to be over 21 years of age to buy alcohol in NY State, and you HAVE TO identify yourself, showing the cash 
register girl that that you are old enough. No, just looking at a person, even if you KNOW that person, or can see that she is older has no effect. You MUST show your ID. So, Carol had to get out of the store, get her ID again, walk back in and show the register girl her Government Issued ID just to buy a pack of beer!

Beautiful Side-Car Rig

So now Carol has her beer but she also paid for 20 LBS of Ice. You pay at the register, then walk outside to the freezer and take your bag. Sounds ok?  Well they were out of 20 LBS bags; they only had 7 lbs bags. Well if it had been me, I would have taken 3 of those and called it even, but not Carol. She is Canadian, they don’t do that. The 3 seven lbs bags are more expensive than one 20 lbs bag. Carol walks back to the register and tells the girl she wants only 2 of the seven lbs bag, and she is due back some money. But... giving back money was not what the register girl could do… you would have to see the Service desk. 

So Carol took only 2 bags, leaving the register girl to keep her extra money and now had to tie all of the ice to her bike. Right!

BMW Motorcycle Club of Ontario Banner With Club Member's Bikes

Strapping slippery ice bags on the rear seat?  It is a difficult, hard item to tie down, it slides around a lot.

Still, Carol managed……but now the bike is really HEAVY with the ice, beer and groceries and now she has to stand it upright from the leaned over position…. Arrrrrrggghh, she finally does it somehow, but now she remembers… she needs to use the ATM, so?  She was so frustrated, she just said, “Forget it!”

It was a frustrating morning for Carol, while I had a wonderful time listing all my ‘for sale’ Items with Roger.

Unpacking Groceries - More Tents Coming In

I helped Carol stash away our food when she got back, we had a walk around, said hello to people we knew and then had dinner with Jean and Ross. They came by car; Jean hurt her foot and was not able to ride her bike. 

We went for Mexican food in town. Margaritas were offered, but… the place was OK, but I would not go back there… the drinks were watered down, the food just so-so.

Jean had bought some Margarita mixes; those were much better than what the restaurant sold for $8 per glass. Thank you, Jean!

Friends Ross, Jean and Jane (L to R)

Everybody was watching the sky for the anticipated rain… it never came; our tent was only ‘dewed’ on by the moisture in the air when we woke up the next morning.

We slept well that night, on the ground, but snug like a bug in a rug.

FL Rally and Club Ride - 1. Getting to the Finger Lakes Rally

1. Getting to the Finger Lakes Rally

The end of August brings cooler temperatures in the North Eastern U.S. 

The first Monday in September is a Holiday in Canada; it’s the Canadian Labor Day. This is also the weekend where the Finger Lakes BMW Club put on a rally, a get together, every year. For years I have visited this Rally. This year we want to return. It’s the Finger Lakes Rally’s 44th Anniversary.

All Camping is on Grass and Most Spots Are Shaded

Our Ontario BMW Motorcycle Club uses this Rally to have a club meeting so a lot of Canadians ride south to be at Watkins Glen’s Hidden Valley Camp Ground, where the Rally is held. The Camp is a beautiful spot. A spot I would like to own, hidden in a treed valley surrounded by rolling hills with a small idyllic river running through it.

Cabin Used By the Ontario Club - No Thanks.

A lot of people use the cabins that are set up permanently at the camp, just taking a bunk bed. We prefer our own domicile, even if it is just a lowly tent. We were one of the first people to arrive, but I am jumping the gun.

First we have to ride to this spot. We thought we would leave on Wednesday, August 29^th for the rally, but somehow life got in the way. I received a notice to pick up a painting I had bought and needed to go to Buffalo to pick it up. I could not haul the painting, a real piece of art, on the bike. So I needed to take the car. That killed the day. It usually takes 2 hours to go from here to Buffalo, then I do my thing over there, and drive back to Toronto; A total usually of 6 hours, including lunch.

But come Thursday August 30^th, we left early in the morning on our bikes. We had, as usual, lots of traffic on the 401; the only really good road going from east to west trough Toronto. Oh, sure they have a toll road (407) but this road is cumbersome to use for us, besides, it’s very expensive and their toll system is archaic, they will send you an invoice once they scan your license plate but add handling fees, camera fees and postage, etc. to the original toll. No thanks!

We opted, after we crossed the border in Lewiston, NY to ride along the Southern shore of Lake Ontario. We wanted to take the local roads, the roads less traveled. On a road map we had consulted, Route 18 was the way to go. We had a bit of searching to find this road, but then Route 18 turned out to be a lovely road to ride. Except, by the time we got to it, we needed gas. There are not that many gas stations along the way. The road is really, really rural. Farms galore! Quietude greeted us, and lovely housing right along the southern shore of the Lake. 

I found it very strange that here, across the Lake from Toronto, the housing was so ‘cheap’, the land available, no industry in sight. Across the Lake to the north, in Toronto, you would pay millions, billions of dollars to have this kind of view. The northern part of Lake Ontario, the shoreline in Toronto, Canada has some of the most expensive real estate in Canada but here, on the southern part of the same Lake are just farms and some vacation homes. There are hardly any towns, just large tracks of land and farms. No industry to speak off, no traffic, nothing but agriculture and just a few houses; most facing the Lake. 

Click Here to see our route

It amazes me that the northern part of New York State, of the whole U.S. really, is so ‘under’ populated and yet Southern Ontario is where most Canadians live. 

We had a lovely ride. The weather was in our favor, but we kept on looking for a gas station. We had an early lunch at a Golf Club Restaurant we passed and not far from there we found a gas station too. 

We were just west of Rochester and while our ride was lovely, we decided to take the highway system around Rochester, NY. Rochester itself is a busy, metropolitan kind of city and traffic increased many-fold once we came near Rochester. We saw lots of traffic lights which we now avoided by taking the Interstates. I 390 led to I 490 which led to I 90. But phew, we made good time. We looked for the local road, #14 heading south in NY State and thought we might stay for the night in Geneva, NY but found the hotels way too expensive. 

The Finger Lakes Region, that is what the area is called, has turned itself into wine country. Some very good wines are grown here, yet most of the vineyards are small enterprises. It seems that Geneva, on the northern end of Lake Seneca developed into a tourist center because of those vineyards. The prices and the fancy restaurants, the hip shops and the atmosphere of the town give me those vibes. It’s the American way, you find an attraction and everything around this attraction is like a magnet, hotels and restaurants sprout up like mushrooms.

We rode through the town, feeling we could get a better deal on a room a bit more south, right on the shores of Lake Seneca. 

Well, we found a few hotels, some very old, some lovely but we did not find a good hotel for us. Once we stop riding for the day, we like to have dinner within walking distance of the hotel. All the hotels we stopped at gave breakfast but not dinner. So Carol remembered a motel in Watkins Glen, NY which was not that far away. Watkins Glen was also the town we needed to go to the next day, so we would already arrive, but a day early.  

Unpacking at the Budget Hotel, Watkins Glen, Nice Place

Once we rode into Watkins Glen, NY, we saw the Colonial Inn and stopped to see if they had room. Yes, they did but this place was a total dump. There must be something better. We found the ideal hotel for us just a bit further south when we saw other motorcycles parked in the parking lot. The Budget Hotel on Route 14, right opposite the Top’s Food shopping center, was ideal. We had a few restaurants nearby, we could walk to them to eat dinner, we found the beer store across the way, and it even had an ice cream place which I visited for dessert. 

Covered Up in Case of Rain

All it all it was a good day, the predicted rains never came.

Tomorrow we will start with the real rally story.