Vince made the (30,36,48 -172 hour) flight in from Austria for some time in the Crippled cities.

A familiar pattern formed. We went to Danny's for breakfast for "local color". The next morning it was the Clinton St Cafe to meet Bobber and Tish and revel in stuffed french toast. The Broadway aka "Stacy's Ass" was next, where the size of the omelet was even bigger than the last. Wrapped up the breakfast tour with Fontanas. For a break I cooked on Sunday morning.

A trip to Mythaca was in order. We hit the Ithaca beverage center and spent way too much money on beer. My beer cellar is starting to look like Cliff's wine cellar. Had lunch at the Mexican place on the corner. Enjoyed a nice chorizo quesadilla and Cascazilla Red Ale. People watched. The magnet for the weird turned on and we dealt with crazy homeless guy. He made a bee line for me. Harmless. but they find me. Then back to Bingo.

A shopping trip to Sallys' netted Vince a souvenir from Binghamton in time for the dinner group. It was off to Franks and start cooking. I think our groups culinary skills and choices rival any restaurant in the area. As usual Cliff paired the wines. Vince and I stuck with summer ales and Belgian beers. The menu, fresh corn(best this summer), deviled egg with crab meat.Southwestern grilled vegetable potato salad, orzo salad and dill marinated grilled shrimp. Dessert was a lemon cake.

Cooking began in earnest. The grill was lit to grill the veggies. But,it didn't work. So Plan B was put into progress. The rest of the crew arrived. Introductions were made. Appetizers were put on the table. Mills had prepared the deviled eggs and was asking if we picked up on the "secret ingredient"? No one had, so he told us and Bob H. was merciless in his accusations that the ingredient couldn't possibly be in there. Come on, he cooked. He didn't just go to the bakery.

Sauvigon Blanc from New Zealand was the wine of choice. Grapefruit on steroids was description. Five bottles made the rounds each with own distinctive taste. Now Bob H. can consume alcohol with seemingly little effect versus his rate of consumption. Sometimes we watch in horror,sometimes in amazement! Well, tonight he was in rare form. A raucous evening followed. Thanks Frank for hosting.

We had breakfast at Franks'. Fresh blueberry muffins, eggs, and cottage bacon. I love breakfast.

Back in Bingo it was time to race. Yes, I'm still riding. Not sure when. But I still love my bike.

This was the first time Vince had seen a bike race. With he viewed with his cell phone glued to his ear. Just kidding. The race turned into a typical one 29 people and maybe 8 of us working. When the big motors went up the road. I said" There goes the race" I'd just pulled hard up the hill and they'd countered. So of course the "Yellow anchor" dug in even harder. The usuals tried to bridge but the Yellow anchor would have none of that and wouldn't contribute. So the race went up the road and we had our own little race. I gave Mike the lead out,except he wasn't there, so I tried to fend off the peleton on my own. A few came around. Nice to know I can still do a good lead out.

Dinner at Thai Thai followed. Our little hidden treasure here in Bingo. I took Vince to our "trendy hip new slice of NY Bistro". Many laughs ensued. His review was not good.

Friday was a R&R day. Vince hadn't ridden on a motorcycle yet. So today would be a good day for acclimation. We headed in to Pa then back into NY. A mango ice was on tap and it sure hit the spot. Dinner was Moxie. This place is another diamond here. A fine meal was had and we headed to the Belmar for the start of the local music scene. Dr J and the Rudimentary Sound Machine. Pretty good. Then we headed to McGirks to hear the Parlor cats,but they were on break. So it called an evening.

Saturday had us back on the MC for MC weekend at camp. This proved to be an eye opener for Vince. Some sights may not have been necessary. This event is kind of like the casting call for the Road Warrior movie. We shied away from the free beer and mystery punch being served.

The sky was giving signs of doom. So we headed out a novice doesn't need to ride in the rain. After all these years of riding,neither do I. Didn't matter. We got rained on a few miles from home. Beats the whole way. Back at the ranch caught up on the Tour de France. Vince commented I have two channels on my TV bike racing and motorcycles. I pointed out the Food channel does work. We'd decided to have dinner at McGirks to get a table for Dirt Farm. Now I'd been hyping them all week. Could be a tough sell to a musician. They lived up to their rep and played a great show.

What a week. Where did it go?

Enjoy life. I sure have been.

I'd better go ride my bike. OGQ