7-9 Where The Heck I Am??????

For my old and good friend, Pat Renick, Pomo Renegade.

The fog really got my mind in a spin this day as I changed routes more than once. Poor Gail was very distraught by the time we finally connected in Fairmont shopping center. I eased along hwy 20/5 till they split and I stayed on 20. Then I met Barry and his wife and a friend going the same direction. Barry and I chatted for a time and he gave me some info that I figured would really benefit me so I changed my route again and that’s where the fun began.

I zipped along merrily thinking I was one cool dude on a bike and as I came to the end of 175 I began to think differently. I chanced upon another local biker that as we talked, found out that he had been on several cross country rides and was very familiar with the local routes. After some phone calls, Gail and I got our s?!’ together and just decided to get the heck out of Syracuse but even that was a chore. The detour signs were very poorly placed and as we drifted around the back streets and side streets of somewhere Syracuse, N.Y. we finally bounced on to hwy 81n out of the city. We floated around the east end of Oneida Lake and careened off at exit 32. We were both so upset by then that we decided we needed some lunch to calm the insides and that was a good thing.

After a good time out, I managed to bag a few more miles across hwy 49 and by then it was getting time to hunt for a landing spot so I lifted thru Rome, which turned out to be another fair sized township. Along the way we chanced upon a part of the old Erie Canal and we made a short stopover at the Erie Canal Village and checked it out. That was very cool and we got some history and artifacts and movies and pics and I learned that there are many miles of these old canals and you can ride the old pull trails. In fact, in about another week there is going to be a biiiiggg bike ride from Buffalo to Albany, like 500+ riders. Very cool if I do say so!!!! Turns out to be about a 400 mile trip. WoW!!!

We found a pullout along Hinkley Reservoir and decided to set up camp and as we settled down a very kind member of the New York Port Authorthy reminded us that it was a great sin to step over the railing and onto the Dam Property and we assured him that we were only staying for the nite and had no intention of violating their posted property. Joe talked for a time and told us some stories about his military career and that he trained attack dogs for the service. He said he would let the other patrolmen know that we were here for the nite. Thanks Joe. I am going to try to stay up long enough to see if there will be any lightning bugs as Gail bought me a small net to try and catch some??????? Think I’ll make it??? Tune in for the end of the story.

In 1976 we had a serious water problem on the rez at Big Valley and it was then that I met Pat Renick. We took on the Ca. State Dept. of Health and several other agencies and after a few years we got on the County system and the sewer system. Pat is a most remarkable guy and if it were not for his tenacity and wealth of knowledge, I believe that we would still be living in the dark ages on the rez. We became great friends over the years and he loved to stop by any time and have Judy cook up a big meal. A very robust fella but he could move around the basketball court like a globetrotter and to this day, his big smile lites up the whole room. He had a stroke a few years ago but has been able to continue along life’s journey and he settled in Willits, Ca. and I manage to stop in and visit but not as often as I will in the future. His daughter, Hillary, has a unique history all her own and I hope to cross paths with her again sometime. I knew her as a small child but over the years lost contact with her. Come to find out that she is now connected with one of my relatives from the Yakima Nation. Small World. There are a lot more stories about Pat and I and a few other Native Pushers like Dale Riesling to mention a few and I hope that Pat has written down many of his exploits as they are historic in their own right. We will get them abs this year, Pat, I know this to be true. Kudos Brother!


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