Folks,

The rest of my time in Ithaca was gravy. Eric, his lovely lady Lara and I bowled, ate some good grub and laughed. Oh how we laughed.

However, by late afternoon Sunday I was beat. Unfortunately, Eric had folks over, so the only available place for me to take a nap was his and Lady Lara's bed. This would have been fine except that they have a big shedding dog that sleeps with them, and if there's anything in the world that your humble narrator is allergic to it's a big shedding dog.

But, being industrious by nature, Eric and I came upon a plan which resulted in quite possibly the BEST NAP EVER. We took an Aerobed, inflated it and put it on top of his mattress, placing me about 35 feet in the air but also making me very comfy. Before I knew it, two hours had passed. I may start sleeping this way at home.

After the nap we hit the poker table with some of Eric's law school buddies. It seemed like it was my night, as I had a run of sweet cards and took some serious money out of their soon-to-be extraordinarily wealthy hands. I was like a modern day Robin Hood who only looks out for himself.

The next morning I turned the bike around and headed for home. I'd like to say that this ride was equally as enjoyable as the ride up, but that would be a big frigging lie. It was cold and rained on me for about 150 of the 360 miles. Damn.

There was, however, one huge bright spot. In extreme western Massachusetts the road was empty and I was trying to pick up some time and so I was flying - literally between 85 and 95 mph. Of course, this is the time I blaze right by a speed trap.

Right after I passed the cop I started cursing myself. I knew I was going to get a ticket and sure enough, as I glanced into my rearview mirror I saw the blue lights go on. I knew I deserved it, so I pulled into the right lane and awaited my fate while calculating the cost of the citation - prolly between $250 and $350. FUCK.

I pulled the bike back down to 55 and waited. And waited. And waited. I have no idea why, but the hammer never fell. I couldn't believe it and I have no idea what happened. Whatever it was, I'll take it.

As a karmic equalizer, it poured on me the rest of the way home, but I didn't even care.

Again, I think I came out more windshield than bug.