3 Ducs for lunch

[fasterdammit]

Well, lucky for me, today I met up with delagem (Michael) and his friend Steve for lunch at the Golden Pheasant in Cazenovia, NY. The weather was gorgeous, and most of the office wasn't around so I took advantage of the fact and had an excellent 2+ hour lunch. It took about 25 minutes to get out of the city and catch up with Michael and Steve - and this was the view outside of the Golden Pheasant:



Michael rode his recently-acquired, even-more-recently repaired, 907ie-skinned Paso 750; Steve rode Michael's 748 and I on my Monster. And Michael, I have to say - I really enjoyed cruising through the towns on three different eras of Ducati together. The sound of the three Ducatis' exhaust was just fantastic.

After some good tales at lunch, we took off down route 13, Michael in the lead. Michael's racing ability is quite clear; Pasolini would be proud. He waited for Steve & I to catch up at the Falls, and I lead the rest of the way down into town. We'll definitely need to catch up for lengthier rides in the future!

But it was the perfect cap to an already nice day - taking a spirited ride down my favorite road with two other Ducatis, meeting two more Ducatista - it's a very nice day indeed. Thanks Michael & Steve. We have to do this more often!

(Hopefully Michael will chime with better pictures than my little camera phone - hint hint!)

[delagem]

Actually, I thought your pic looked pretty good! Yes, today was a great day, I'm thinking of writing a book about awesome rides that involve lunch stops for chicken wings in Upstate New York!

The scene outside the Golden Pheasant:


Three different headlights, one great Marque:


Jake, it was great to get to meet you, and see your beautiful bike. It's always nice to see a bike owner with a nice bike, that isn't afraid to ride it like it should be ridden!

After parting with you, we did indeed find our way to Cedarvale Lane, the infamous "13 Curves". I had just finished telling Steve the legend of that road when you pulled up. It's the story of the newlyweds who died while driving to their honeymoon on that road, and how the Bride continues to haunt the road to this day. We had a blast on that road, albeit at about 2/3 the pace of what we ran Route 13 at... Don't wanna upset the spirits, you know?

I finally came to the conclusion that the guy yelling at Steve outside of Jamestown was an instructor from Reg Pridmore's CLASS riding school; judging by the single digit he was waving at Steve, I think he was telling him to use 1st gear. Or maybe the message was: "You're number 1!".... Ahh, people in cages, no wonder they're unhappy, they oughtta buy a bike!

[fasterdammit]

Thanks Michael - I can't wait to get the two Pasos together now! I think I really need to get that carb sorted first, that's for sure!

I wondered what that guy was hollering about. At first I thinking he was a concerned citizen, offering some cornering advice, too - or maybe he was commenting on the 748's utter lack of chicken strips. Or - he was pointing up a lot, maybe he was saying we could've taken that one stretch a little faster? Ah well, probably just jealous, maybe even a little excited. Not often you see a little piece of rolling Italian motorcycle history. :funny:

We'll have to visit the spirits on the 13 curves; I'd forgotten about the legend ... we could roll that into a trip around Skaneateles Lake. There's some good ridin' to be had out that way!

Thanks again for calling me out; we'll have to do that again soon as you're back on dry land!

[delagem]

In case anyone wants to see a glimpse of the famous "13 Curves":



That's one of those rare signs around here that you really do need to slow down to 25mph for. Most of them around here it's safe to double the suggested speed; not this one! Oh, it turns out its called "Cedarvale Road" not Lane, I noticed today. Here's a link to a story about the legend:

http://www.s-t.com/daily/10-00/10-25-00/a02li016.htm

I've heard the legend many different ways, sometimes it's a ghost that's seen as you drive by, sometimes it's a hitchhiker who died 60 years ago, sometimes both bride and groom died.

Did a nice drive yesterday over to Cornell University, the Botanical Gardens are beautiful, and the road in there is a 2nd gear tight, twisty little snake about 2 miles long! Curbs on the side, though, so don't mess up!

Jake, what the heck is a "Chicken Strip"? Is it good that I don't have them? By the way, Steve was on the 996, nobody drives the 748 but me...

[fasterdammit]

Hey, good find with that article!

"Chicken strips" - I'm not surprised you haven't heard the term, because I can't imagine you've ever had them, either. :laugh: They are the unused, outer portion of riding surface rubber on the tire that has yet to make contact with the pavement. As evidenced on your 996, where you have obviously ridden it right to the edge and back - there are no chicken strips. Some joke that the bigger the squid, the bigger the chicken strips - implying they're too "chicken" to lean the bike over and expand their contact patch.

[delagem]

Ok, well, that sounds like something good not to have!

The link to the legend of 13 Curves isn't the one I wanted, that one's gone now. There used to be an urban legend website that adressed that road. Having to stop in the middle of the run to take that pic wasn't much fun! So of course, I had to turn around and have another go... Neat place, and for the 2nd time in 3 days, no police... Maybe they're only patrolling it on weekends?

[Skins]

Thanks, boys! A lovely contribution, with all the right ingredients (even an interesting corner pic!) to 'Aiming for the Apex'.

I also was intrigued by the reference to 'chicken strips', and then delighted at the explanation. I'm glad to say there ain't any on my tyres ..

[jcslocum]

You guys have never heard of chicken strips?? You live in a cave!

Next you'll be asking what a squid is...

[Skins]

I like a squid. Fried in a batter made with beer, preferably ..

Around here, 'squibs' are the little bangers that go off at Guy Fawkes time.