My day began last night as I put my bicycle together for this morning’s ride. I put everything together, set out my riding clothes, and wrote out a detailed cue sheet.
The morning began early as I quietly got dressed and got the bike prepared and outside. James woke up right before I left and I got to see the sight of he and Amy snuggled in bed together before I left. She had a look pure contentment on her face!
Then at 7:20am my ride began in earnest.
As I headed off into the foggy morning I was struck by the fact that, aside from Europe, this was truly some of the most beautiful countryside I’d ever seen. No, it didn’t have the majesty of the Vermont or New Hampshire mountains; but it had a quiet power that comes as much from the people who care for the land as from the natural attributes.
I saw some simple and incredibly beautiful sights. The Amish were going about their lives and I got to see the juxtaposition of a woman cutting the grass with a power mower right across the road from a man using a push mower.
Yesterday Amy was struck by how odd it must be to live your life as a curiosity as the Amish do, and on my ride I seemed to be a bit of a curiosity to them. I guess they’re used to seeing people in cars, on motorcycles, in buggies and even on plain bikes - but a man on a racing bike in bright yellow spandex must have been quite a sight to them.
I also realized that the roads were smoother than any I’d yet ridden and that they were notably devoid of roadside trash. Of course, immediately after I thought that I saw a McDonald’s French fries container on the shoulder. So even in this bucolic setting and fairly pristine setting the corporate poster child of excess reared its ugly head.
Shortly thereafter I rounded a curve and there rising up before me in the middle of this farm country was a subdivision of McMansions called “Valley View.” I guess there really is no escape from Long Island and its creed of acquisition.
From the very first there were three things evident:
1) With this new frame my ride was going to be easier than any of my previous vacation rides,
2) Although it was much windier, this terrain was nowhere near as difficult as Vermont, and
3) Although I had studied the maps for two days and prepared a detailed cue sheet, I had grossly miscalculated the distances on the map!
To begin with, what I thought was about .8 miles ended up being double that. Then as I continued on, it was evident all my distances were way off. So only 20 minutes into my ride I began to think I was going to have to curtail my planned route simply because it was going to take too long because I’d promised Amy I’d be back in an hour and a half.
Then I realized I’d somehow missed my turn to head back north. So I decided to take a random road that headed northward. Was that a good decision or a bad one? Fairly shortly I confessed to myself that I had no clue where I was. I had to swallow my pride and ask for directions to Route 772, which would get me back on track towards the Red Caboose Motel. She told me that the road I was on would take me through Gap (was there an ironic message there?) and I’d hit 772 on the other side. But I surely didn’t want to go through downtown Gap on my bicycle, she said. I assured her I’d be fine, not wanting to go into a description of rollerblading in NYC traffic (even my wife doesn’t like me to go into that too much). I headed off leaving her looking a bit dubious, but figured it was probably a bit of the spandex reaction again.
Now, I’d been passing flocks of sheep, herds of cattle, and horses all morning thinking how much Sarah would love them. But what I found when I hit 772 made me vow that the day wouldn’t be complete until we brought Sarah back. It was miniature pony horse farm, and in a pasture next to the road were dozens of them - including several foals! Sarah would be in heaven!
Now that I was back on track, the rest of the ride passed pleasantly and uneventfully. I passed a huge high school (probably for the whole area), got some coffee and Gatorade at the Quick Mart in Intercourse (insert your own joke here), and discovered the American Military Museum of Edged Weaponry.
When I returned to the caboose (yes, at the Red Caboose Motel each room is a real caboose!) I found my family at the petting zoo. They’d been snuggled, fed, showered and dressed; and they were for another day of exploring. Of course, later in the day we visited the miniature pony farm and I was a hero!
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