Sept 20 day 9

Sept 29 

Day 9

Rochester NY

Miles 104

Today two weird things happened.  

The first while riding close to the should on bend two birds took off from a. small bush.  I ducked and leaned hard and one of the birds hit the top of my helmet.  Never had that happened before.  Now i can truly say I have be hit in the head by a fish and a bird.  Does that make me a bird brain or fish brain?

Then as we approached Rochester a NY state police officer pulled us over and informed us that the helmets we were wearing were not up to code.  Then he took our licenses and registration and gave us each a ticket for not wearing an approved helmet.  Then with the tickets he directed us to a shop that sold them.  Unfortunately that shop was closed forever.   We found a second shop close by and spent just over $150 for two approved helmets.  The store owner thought the officer had a point as the rule says licensed motorized vehicle needed the helmet.  However today we passed 3 other police cars before this one and we never had a problem before.  But I must say the officer was nice and just doing his job so I guess we were fairly treated.

believe it not the side is Lake Ontario

The route followed on the very southern shore of Lake Ontario and we had some great views and very little traffic.  After we entered Rochester of course the traffic picked up and the road conditions became worse slowing us down some.  I was hoping to see Susann B Anthony’s house and Museum here or Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  But time lost with officer and buying helmets made are arrival too late for tourist stuff.  

The weather was 70s and sunny all day today so it was an easy ride.  

Count 

56 corn fields, 17 soya fields, 28 orchards, 7 cabbage fields, 3 vineyards and 4 harvested fields and what I guess were4 3 strawberry fields plus 2 what I guess are winter wheat fields just turning green

1 buzzard (thank goodness it was not a buzzard that hit my helmet)

3 lawn mower

2 location where people were working on power lines

4 police cars

18 churches

4 schools

1 school bus

18 bus (10 were just parked)

22 trucks passing us (about 10-12 were full of what looked like silage for feed lots)

12 locations selling pumpkins

14 locations selling camp fire wood

8 roadkill (note 1 skunk, 2 squirrels, remaining Raccoons)

2 garbage trucks

4 garden centers

5 motorcycles

6 dogs

5 Trump signs and 5 Harris sign (interestingly no political signs in Rochester)