Day 4 (Ramapo Romp & Rumble)

Sunday arrived and we were well rested after a good night in the comfortable beds of the Sheraton in Mahwah, NJ. This is not the normal Phat Pac accomodation, being much more on the ostentatious side of spectrum of motels we ususlly pick. It was however, close to Ramapo college and it did have a pool and hot tub. These are two requirements we usually try to find on our trips. There is nothing like an hour or two of relaxation in a hot tub after a day on the bikes. Hot tubs have a way of sparking "Joe Badecki stories" and we all enjoy listening to them even though we know most of them are probably embelished, but it does not matter, they are always funny! This particular night the hotel was hosting 2 weddings. One was what seemed to be a traditional Indian wedding. The clothing of the participants seemed to exude money. It probably would have been a good evening to be "Wedding Crashers" but we dedided against it. At most motels we stay at, we are allowed to park our bikes under the portico right at the front door. That did not apply here as, it would interfere with the "Valet" service. NONE of us opted to have our bikes parked by the valet! We had to park in a covered garage behind the hotel. That always makes me nervous, as I wonder if they will be there in the morning. They were however so all was good.

We traveled the short few miles to Ramapo College and registered for the ride. They had a nice tent set up with coffee and goodies to start the day. This was a "poker run" with each rider drawing a playing card from a deck and recording it on their entry form. We then rode a 92 mile loop that included 4 more check points where you drew 4 more cards to make a poker hand. When we arrived back at Ramapo the best hand would win a prize. Joe had the best hand among the Phat Pac with two pair, but with a large number of riders, it usually takes four of a kind to win top prize. We then were treated to a picnic lunch complete with music. I told Gerry that next year a few Patsy Cline numbers would be more appreciated than the "head banging hard rock" band of the day. :-) I believe they had about 175 riders and Gerry said the event raised about $20,000 dollars for scholarships.

All-in-all, it was a nice ride through the lake and mountain regeions of southern New York state and North Central and Western NJ. When I think of agrculture in New Jersey I always think of the south, but we passed through an area called the "Black Dirt Region". I have never been here before and didn't even know it existed. The soil in this area is extremely black and very fertile. It is unlike anything I have ever seen except for regions in the plains states. As it turns out, it is ideal for agriculture and we passed miles of onion fields. Of course I had to immediately go to Google and learn about what I had just seen. The soil is left over from the last ice age and is only found in this very limited region. Here is a good link to learn more about it if you have an inquisitive mind like mine. Unfortunately, I am having a hard time trying to figure out how to include a link in my blog, so you may have to cut and paste this your browser to see it. Sorry! ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Dirt_Region ) After a group hug with Rich Berman in the middle like mayonaise in a ham sandwich, we each headed home. Gerry was joining Dawn to visit family. Joe headed for the shore and Rich and I headed south. I peeled off at I-78 and headed for PA and he headed for Haddonfield. Another Phat Pac trip had come to an end. We only traveled about 1,100 miles on this trip, but they were all very safe miles with no traffic mishaps or agressive drivers to deal with. Gerry is getting the feel of his new bike. Joe worked on his tan wearing his 1/2 helmet like he enjoys, and Rich and I had our normal great conversations while riding with our new Cardo G4 bluetooth helmet communicators. I am sure we will have a few short summer rides, but I can't wait for our next adventure in California, Oregon and Washington in September. The route is all planned. My GPS is all loaded with the route and the reservations are made. I will be blogging that trip as well and hopefully, I will be able to figure this link thing out in the mean time and will be able to link the blog to some nice video clips in Youtube taken while riding. Thanks for following our adventures. We hope you enjoy them.