July 1, 2023
Time Served
DAY SIX
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The weather channel is calling for rain as I sit outside the gas station eating yellow cupcakes and drinking freshly machine ground Sumatra coffee from a complicated machine. I’m on the phone with Tracy and the cops have some guy pulled over right at the pumps. The sheriff rolls in and takes the suspect away just before the tow truck pulls up and starts doing his thing. Phew! I’m definitely having a better start than that guy.
Looks like I have about an hour before the rain hits. There’s no place here to get a real breakfast so I need to pedal down the road 9 miles to a Country Kitchen.
On the road, I make it roughly halfway before it begins to rain. It’s not drenching but it’s a bit early so with the wind it’s cool. By the time the bike is parked in front of the plate glass window I’m definitely wet.
Good mornings are all around and the permanently old and bent over waitress looks beautiful carrying coffee and a clutched handful of creamers towards me. There’s one other customer chatting up the cook and he gives me a nod. I’m comfortable in a booth facing Fanchon and they make me feel like I have all the time in the world.
The homestead, please. Two scrambled eggs, biscuits with gravy, three strips of bacon and a heaping of hash browns. By the time I get going they all know my name and enough of my story to wish me well. I’ve used the restroom twice and I’m almost completely dry, as is the outside world.
The route picks up with traffic as I approach Crown Point. The sun is shining now and I see other cyclists for the first time in days. I love the familiar sounds of have a good ride and the way other folks on bikes make “be safe” hit a much less menacing note than the typical pedestrians in my life.
From Crown Point I’m on the Erie Lackawanna Trail. It’s pleasant enough with families having outings and well kept green spaces along the path. The street crossings become more numerous and congested and I recognize the normalcy of suburbia.
Suddenly there are spurs everywhere and I’m relying on navigation strongly. My plan is to stay about 25 or so miles from the city and ride in between the morning commuters and the lunch breakers. There was a WS host in the perfect spot but sometime between when I left and a couples days ago it looks like they removed or turned off their account.
So, I have an Airbnb room for a great price located near the train tracks in a working class neighborhood. The whole place shakes when the train passes and I order a cheese pizza and a can of soda. I’m showered and in bed before the the sun is down. This is the first night I wake up to fireworks, small explosions reminiscent of my childhood. The dogs bark me back to sleep.
Today's ride: 48 miles (77 km)
Total: 309 miles (497 km)
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