Back about 1960 I was a Cub Scout in Maysville, Oklahoma. Mom was a Den Mother. Apparently there was a merit badge available for making a scrapbook; I can’t think of any other reason I’d have taken a wood burner to two pieces of plywood, engraved my name on one of them and then laced them together with a number of sheets of construction paper sandwiched in between.
To those paper pages I glued pictures of old cars… Dusenburgs, Pierce-Arrows, Stanley Steamers, and the like. Along the way, I learned about Barney Oldfield, Ralph dePalma and other race car drivers of the early 20th century as well as the famous, now Historic, Watkins Glen Road Course. (I assume I earned a merit badge for all that.)
Today I fought my way through the miasma unleashed on us by Canadian wildfires and drove to Watkins Glen.
The Road Course truly is a road course… 6.6 miles of county road over the stone bridge, through Archy Smith’s Corner and down Railroad Straight back to the start/finish line in downtown Watkins Glen.
The village — naming conventions for governmental subdivisions in PA and NY confuse me — is a charming, very busy, quite touristy community snugged up against Seneca Lake in New York’s Finger Lakes region. Historic buildings, marina, yacht club, hotels and motels, restaurants, beautiful churches, Walmart Super Center… all the stuff that makes a town (or village) charming, busy and touristy.
I remember seeing signs for what I assume were for Watkins Glen International while riding a BMW R1100S from Nebraska to Vermont (then to Galveston on my way back to Nebraska). That’s a beautiful area of New York State and one I would like to explore again via motorcycle.
Six Hours of Watkins Glen… histori sports car racing this weekend at the Glen.
Roads in the area are perfect for motorbikes… elevation changes, banked curves, decent pavement.
I was thinking that when you described it. Great bike ride!
Can picture you with your wood burner. I had one at about that age. I still have it.
Man, “miasma” is such a good word…
Isn’t it? Not many opportunities to use it unless you live in a major city such as (I don’t want to offend anyone whose petrochemical neighbors may have cleaned up their act).