Leaving Corning (or at least trying to, without getting onto the expressway) we ended up travelling a roundabout route getting a of the town.
Eventually after around 15 miles of back roads, we linked up with the BDR route. We were on country roads both sealed & gravel through forests and farmland. This area appeared from the architecture (especially Farmhouses & barns) to have a Dutch influence look about it. Looking it up later I found, there has been a Dutch influence here since the 1700s and Pennsylvanian Dutch is still taught as a first language in The Pennsylvania Dutch (also called Pennsylvania Germans or Pennsylvania Deutsch) are descendants of early German immigrants to Pennsylvania who arrived in droves, mostly before 1800, to escape religious persecution in Europe.
Travelling through these rural areas was extremely scenic on roads which once again were a pleasure to ride. By late morning it was threatening rain, so we stopped to don wet gear. We were manly back in Pennsylvania but occasionally went back into New York State. Most of the farms we rode past were being used for a mixture of cropping and/or beef
& dairy. I noticed some beef were grain fed I guess for the Wagyu market. As usual deer were plentiful in the forested areas and on some of the open paddocks. A sharp eye was the order of the day.
We rode into the PA town of Montrose past some beautifully kept old mansions on immaculately kept lawns & gardens. The local golf course was equally pristine and A really nice small town that you could imagine living in. I assumed the prices would be through the roof here being a nice country town only 3 hours drive from New York City. NZ prices distorted our view on what other people pay. On checking on a local real estate site I found this example below - 6 bedroom house $345,000
We had a diner lunch in this pretty town and ss we rode further through these rural areas we were starting to see brilliant Autumnal/Fall colours. As we progress over the next week, I guess this will evident.
Arriving into our destination of Hancock (back in New York state) we had managed to avoid most of the rain and found the
old hotel we had booked on Main St. (Hancock House Hotel) was brilliant. Built to reflect the style of a previous hotel on this site it was only 16 years old but looked like 100 years old, in great condition. The rooms are spacious with a deck overlooking the town and the from Rosie the receptionist made you feel like you had just arrived home.
Rosie knew all about the BDR and the crew had stayed here when making their promo video. Rosie appears in the video blessing the venture and she came outside and did the same for us in Gaelic. She is of Irish ancestry and thought it more appropriate to do the blessing in a foreign language.
We decided to have a rest day here tomorrow, Wednesday as it is a pleasant town with excellent Hotel Thursday, we start the 1300 miles of the North East BDR. Keith and Ian ordered tyres to be available 3 days hence in Bennington NY so we proceeded to rest and recharge.
