Categories
Travel

Blue Skies and Dennos

It was rainy, off and on, with varying degrees of intensity, for a few days in a row here in Grand Traverse.  When the weather broke, Basil was ready for an adventure.

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We rode the TART trail into town, and stopped to admire the sky and the ships at the Great Lakes Maritime Academy. (Sure the ship is magnificent, and, personally, I’m partial to those sturdy, small tugs — but look at the sky!  People will talk water sports, winter sports, tasty home-grown cherries and beaches, but those skies are what Northern Michigan is all about!)

We ran a bunch of errands while in the city proper, and stopped at the Dennos Museum, a little gem that specializes in Inuit art, but also hosts a variety of other exhibits in three halls.  We viewed all three of the temporary installations.

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A new young staff member apparently had suggested handing out unfinished skateboards to local artists, with an eye to showing them and then auctioning them off afterward.  The result was a room filled with 85 mounted skateboard decks.  Artistically, the results were mixed (at least to my eye), but interesting nonetheless, and I thought the presentation was rather good.

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Though fond of wheeled objects in general, I’m completely ignorant of skateboard culture and practices, and was surprised to see that the majority of boards seem to have been decorated on the under- rather than over- side.  Perhaps to prevent destruction in use?  But how, then, does the user show distinctive colors (which, presumably, is part of the point)?  The two above present with the ends tipped up, but boards showing the ends tipped down were more typical.

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These two nods to the metaphysical, above, were designed with tips down.  (Is paranormal assistance needed when riding a board that might trip you up at any moment?  Or is there a mystical benefit to knowing that a hidden world lies beneath your feet?)

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As with the seemingly endless succession of derivative tattoos on human skin, skulls, skeletons and other grotesqueries of similiar ilk were over-represented on these boards, at least to my jaundiced eye.  (Is it really so difficult to find new ways to shock or startle?)  Even so, the exhibit was an amusing peek into a different way of seeing.

Museums, especially the smaller ones, struggle to engage younger visitors, and to solicit broader community involvement:  Hence the likes of skateboard exhibits, and perhaps this motivation figured into the doughnut gallery mere steps away.

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Doughnuts?  Really?  Oh, yes; and let me say that I have never seen such beautifully or professionally executed doughnut decoration.  This artist knows his stuff.  As a person who once made a startlingly realistic felt doughnut pin cushion (which is still in use), I’m in no position to criticize this particular art form.  (Though I’d like to.)  I blame the public for these silly excursions:  that dunking doughnut shop, the museum, and the artist merely follow the dictum:  give ’em what they want.

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In any case, I do wonder from whence this obsession sprang.  Is the artist terminally frustrated by the limited options at doughnut shops?  Or does he just have an unbridled sweets imagination?  Is this output the result of frustration or of a kind of personal bliss?   The curation implies a bit of each:  creator Jae Yong Kim, born in South Korea, feels self-doubt in life, and finds happiness in doughnuts.  (But doesn’t everyone?)

In a third gallery, Kevin Miyazaki‘s photographs showcase portraits of people he encountered in areas surrounding Lake Michigan, which counts, I imagine, as yet another creative approach to making museums more relevant to an increasingly self-centered population.

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Do these bright portraits qualify as selfies-of-a-sort for Michiganders?  (What a handsome, well-scrubbed lot they are!)

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The subjects are diverse; the photographs clean, almost pure.  There’s no nitty-gritty here; this is a rarified look at vibrant people.  The subjects above are described by occupation (that’s a very American thing to do, isn’t it?) and are, left to right, a welder, a longshoreman, a longshoreman, and a chief of police.

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Basil was drawn to this fellow:  His glossy green and blue bicycle has made it into the photograph, too. (As has Basil into this one!)

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I rather liked that there were two cyclists in the exhibit; and that neither one looked like a classic road racer.

A second Korean-born artist’s work filled the entry gallery.  Jinwon Chang‘s bamboo, paper and twine fantasies appealed most to my particular aesthetic.

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Passing through the gallery was strangely like experiencing a light and airy underwater sojourn, with text:  Hanja-covered pods drape like seaweed from the delicate frames, which resemble wings on early aircraft, but whose shapes evoke whale-like creatures.

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All this before we made it to the Inuit gallery!  I’m not as fond of the newest designs being produced in the far north, but I still have a residual fondness for prints like those first made in the 1960s and 1970s, when printing initially became a way to supplement a way of life that was becoming marginalized.

t15-abAbove,  Angry Bears, by Pauta Saila and Lukta Qiatsug, 1968.  Below, Joyful Woman, by Ningeeuga Oshuitoq, 1967.t15-jwThe Dennos also hosts a well-curated museum shop, which manages to offer an impressive variety of goods, including an ecumenical range of items with small price tags, perhaps intentionally catering to the youngsters who visit.

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Along with pieces from local artists, there is a substantial offering of indigenous carvings for sale.  Buyer or not, the carvings are well-worth a careful look; they’re as varied as the artists themselves must be, and an interesting exhibit on their own.

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Here, too, as in the permanent gallery, styles range from the more traditional to modern offerings; the Dennos also maintains an online web store, if your future travel plans include neither Northern Michigan, Canada, Alaska, or the Aleutians.

Categories
Travel

Basil-by-the-Bay(s)

It’s been an allergy-filled summer for me, so far, and poor Basil has languished, and months filled with (mostly good) non-Basil distractions, as well.  Now we’re traveling — perhaps to less pollen-ridden climes? — and will be doing so for the next few months.

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At the moment, Basil and I are in Northern Michigan, where we’ve ridden the past few days with Dr. Diarist’s father.  That’s his Cannondale above with Basil, taking a break on the Leelanau Trail on the way to Suttons Bay.

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Suttons Bay is a cute little town about 15 miles/24 km north of Traverse City, and is a favorite tourist destination.  I mean, really, look at that list:  bike, kayak, and paddle board rentals, and winery and brewery bike tours.  What else could anyone want?

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Dr. Diarist’s mother joined us once we arrived, and we three repaired to the Hop Lot Brewing Company, where Dr. Diarist’s father enjoyed a well-earned brew.  (Dr. Diarist’s mother is not a fan of cameras, unless she’s on the opposite side of the lens.)

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The brewery is Northern-Michigan-rustic, with evergreens all around, and a patch of hops growing alongside the impressive array of picnic tables.  The beer itself got high ratings, too.

The next day, Dr. Diarist’s father and I circumnavigated Traverse City by pedal — the best way possible.

twbdrlWe stopped on a bridge over the Boardman Lake to admire the nearly still water (and our bicycles).  The water was transparent today:  We could see to the bottom of the lake, and we watched a large fish drifting lazily below.

glkI took another photo of the unused railroad trestle I’d snapped when we’d taken a simliar ride last year. This is beautiful country; the sky in this picture doesn’t do justice to reality, but the evidence is in that wonderful watery mirror below.

trstlIt had rained the previous evening, so the foilage was especially bright and lush.  California may be dessicated, but Northern Michigan is doing just fine.  (That will last only until the rest of the country starts raiding the Great Lakes, but we can enjoy it now, at least.)

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We dodged a massive number of kayaks and their owners once we reached Hull Park, on the Boardman Lake.  The armada, dozens and dozens strong, was setting sail in a mass exercise just as we arrived.  (I counted 72 in the pictures I took.  I may have missed a few.) We stopped to watch the launch and to listen:  the group cackled and chattered like an immense (and obstreperous) flock of birds.

gtblLuckily for me, Dr. Diarist’s father also likes to take the occasional picture.  That’s Grand Traverse Bay in the background; we’re at the marina.

Dr. Diarist’s father might be more inclined to take photos of interesting cloud formations than, say, Bromptons, or even other bicycles.  (Unlike some people.)

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Traverse City’s human population swells in summer, and an amazing number of visitors arrive with boats in tow, which join those already owned by water-loving full-time residents.

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And why not?  The bay is huge, and swallows up water craft, whether wind- or engine-powered.

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Some boat-lovers bring bikes along, too.  But these are just the wrong choice:  obviously a boat needs a Brompton, don’t you think?

Dr. Diarist is holding down the fort at home, but Basil and I will be here for a long time; then there are more travels in our future.  Posts will be slim to non-existent until November, I’m afraid, but I’m hoping Basil and I manage more great runs like these last two, before then, even if I won’t necessarily be recording them here.

Until then, happy summer to all of you, and a fine start to autumn!

Categories
Argyll

Camouflage, of a Sort

Can you spot the Brompton?

ag-cmIt’s Argyll, green amongst the greens (and sliver amongst the silver).

Note: Basil and I are out-of-town again.  (No more icy roads; making up for lost time!) Reponses to comments and email will be slow or non-existent (depending on conditions) until early next week.

Categories
Travel

In Transit, Train Style

Basil and I hadn’t traveled together by train in months before we went up for the 5 Boro.

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Winter was hard on everything, and did no favors to this rail station.  Basil looks spritely, though, doesn’t he?

I love trains, and the Amtrak run to New York City is just about the most blissful way to travel.*  Basil and luggage tucked neatly into a corner, as ever.

nym-lgNot that Amtrak doesn’t have its issues.  The bathrooms are usually clean enough to use without holding one’s nose, but the faucets are horrible:  In order to use one, it’s necessary to push up on a metal spindle so that water flows.

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That would be the same pushpin everyone else with toilet-used hands has also pressed. That’s maybe not as sanitary as one might wish.  There are alternatives, but only if you bring your own.  I do. Be prepared: Forget the scouting motto, that’s the byword for travelers.

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Also, passengers can be an issue when it comes to bathroom aesthetics.  I don’t think there’s any way to train passengers to close the lavatory doors.  What’s up with that?

On the plus side, there’s a quiet car on virtually every train, where peace reigns, except for the occasional twit, who is normally shut down quickly and efficiently by the conductor.  (No cell phone use!  No conversation above a whisper!)

It’s not always smooth sailing on the trip itself but issues normally resolve quickly.  Amtrak trains often stop if freight trains need the rails, though that sort of thing isn’t too usual on my end of the Harrisburg to NYC run.

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Anyway, the windows are large, and there’s nearly always something interesting to see while waiting.  New Jersey Transit trains, for instance, look nothing like Amtrak’s, or like the Philadelphia region’s SEPTA trains.  This time, a set of NJT engines was parked nose to nose on tracks next to us while we stopped for a long delay — the longest I’ve experienced yet on this route — waiting for something to clear elsewhere on the line.

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Once in New York City, we hop the MTA, and trade blue skies for underground grit.   Everyone gripes about the subway, but it’s such a fantastic way to get around the city.  I missed having these not-quite-Brompton rides with Basil over this past, icy, winter, as well as missing my usual quotient of Brompton-only travel.

*Well, as long as there aren’t any deadly crashes.  (That’s the route I travel.)  Amtrak may have some safety issues that need remedying.  And a Congress that belives that mass transit is important to the welfare of the country as a whole, if not the planet.

Categories
Luggage

Handlebar Bag a la Frite

I’ve seen Rickshaw Bagworks’s sweet little Pipsqueak handlebar bag at bike expos, and on their website, but features that others love weren’t going to work for me (or for Basil, my Brompton bicycle).

rsps3The Pipsqueak is infinitely variable, colorwise, if one emails the company and requests other hues, and it has other great features, too.  Unfortunately, the straps aren’t optimized for a Brompton bicycle* (shocking, I know); the bag’s too small for my humongous phone or its even more humongous case; I wanted buckles instead of snaps on the straps; and I wanted a buckle closure instead of hook-and-loop.

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So I made my own version.  (This is the curse of getting used to making things oneself:  Really, it’s easier to order online!)

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It’s the “frite” bag, because it bears a strong resemblance to the paper carton French fries are often served in.

I hand-drew the pattern to the dimensions I needed, and then cut the bag out of black Cordura, and a lining of yellow ripstop nylon. (My Frite bag is taller than the Pipsqueak, and quite a bit thinner, front to back.)  Then I added a Cordura pocket on the inside for Basil’s cards.

fb-pkHere it is, partially assembled.  That’s the card pocket on the inside; you can see the buckle closure at the right.  The edges are bound in polyester twill tape.

The Pipsqueak can be worn as a belt bag, using the handlebar straps.  I almost never wear belts but I did need a loop to grab when the bag isn’t on Basil, so I added one to the top, incorporating it into the straps.

fb-st In theory, my bag could be worn on a belt, too, but those buckles wouldn’t be nearly as comfortable as Rickshaw’s snap loops.

Here’s another view of the bag, with the handlebar straps, grab loop, an embroidered patch, and the front buckle attached.

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I made several mistakes:  I wish the patch were about a quarter inch lower, and I probably should have made sure that the buckles opened the opposite way.  Then there’s this:  I haven’t road-tested it yet, so that list may grow.  But, all in all, not bad for a couple hours of evening amusement.

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For those with better things to do, the Pipsqueak looks like a great value, and involves much less fussing.

*Due to the cabling on Basil’s M (Brompton) handlebars, one attachment strap on this bag is longer than the other; using the buckles made it adjustable.  Snap closures would be trickier in this instance.  Cables are, of course, a very different matter on a folding bicycle like a Brompton than they are on other two-wheeled creatures.

Categories
Argyll Miscellaneous

Reunited

. . . and it feels so good!

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Basil and Argyll, together again.

Argyll has been sidelined for months, waiting for the moment when Dr. Diarist got the OK to ride again.  This past weekend, his patience was rewarded.

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Dr. Diarist was pretty happy to get his buddy back, too.  (Actually, he was ecstatic, but this was a formal portrait, so they’re both standing tall and looking serious.)

Categories
Tours, Trails & Group Rides

Phoenixville, with Walnuts

Casual group rides are a terrific way to spend idle hours, especially when the expectations are that it’s the experience that matters more than the speed, distance or endurance.

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When some of us gathered to ride the Schuylkill Trail from Conshohocken to Phoenixville, then, it was easy to accommodate our mate whose tire developed a slow leak.  Waiting became a good opportunity to talk.

Our resourceful ride leader had the right pump to hand, and soon had the tire functioning again.

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Not everyone finishes these rides, though they are usually planned for a specific route and distance.  Riders tend to turn around where they feel most comfortable, or partway through due to other commitments.

The speedier among us made it to Steel City Coffeehouse well ahead of others, which is another advantage of this flexibility.  We all snacked, ate, or caffeinated, according to personal preference, and then made the return trip in bits and pieces.

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My salad (the “Paulie Walnuts”) was delicious; I only wish my photo did it justice.  I’m publishing it anyway, in all of its unfocused glory, because the colors are so good. That blue plate: what a spectacular touch!

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When we left the coffeehouse, Basil transported a ride buddy’s sandwich; his rear rack was the perfect device for hauling a puffy square package.  Those Bromptons, such handy little rascals!

Categories
Short Trips & Errands

Alleyways and Windvanes

Basil and I took a spin around the alleys of a suburban town, as we are wont to do, and here’s what we found this time.

al-vwFirst, one of the alleys.  They’re just narrow lanes running behind houses — a relic of the way homes were once built in the area.  Most of the garages that open onto the alleys were once carriage houses, first for horses and later for horseless carriages.  And, even later, for anything at all.

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On these streets, there aren’t any driveways at the front of the homes, or running beside them. Parking and housing vehicles is usually done at the extreme back of each lot, where these buildings often still stand.

Almost all have been re-purposed, though most seem to be used as tool-and-garden storage.  I like to think that the one above is a backyard study, though, since the curtains are so home-like.

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The hits of this excursion, though, were the decorative plaques and windvanes.  The former carriage house above is decorated with this delightful fish, the significance of which is best known to its owner.

aw-gnI suspect that this particular outbuilding was originally something smaller — say, not much larger than the width of those doors.  (A homeowner’s compulsion to add-on may extend to the alley on occasion.)  The shutters and flower boxes are charming, though.

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The windvane is designed after an old schooner; I confess to liking the cupola, with its slightly curved roof, arches, slats, and boxy footing, just as much.

aw-tnNot every outbuilding is precisely “quaint”; decorative approaches are as varied as the owners must be.  Here, the dark green trim, shutters, and shingles liven up what would otherwise be a quite plain shed.

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Those side lamps are interesting, and totally modern: they are motion-activated security lights!  (Basil and I were curious about the obviously elderly building to the right, but we draw the line at clamouring into other people’s yards uninvited.)

aw-bnNot every building we encountered resembled a small-scale dwelling.  This one must originally have been either the largest carriage house in the county, or (rather more likely?) a kind of barn.  Or possibly housing for vehicles, a chauffeur and cook?

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Whoever selected its windvane has a sense of humor: Pigs fly!

Across the alleyway, however, so do dragons:

aw-dgFurther along, someone else went with a different unconventional windvane motif, describing a traditional, though non-agrarian, past-time:

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This vane is teeing off perpetually into the wild blue yonder.  The building he’s standing on looks like a bit of a twist itself:  I think someone may have crafted an actual garage onto a carriage house, in an inversion of the more typical situation.

aw-orAmusingly, the double garage is nearly the size of the original structure.

A final plaque caught my eye.  It had apparently slipped from its moorings, but was still interesting.

aw-pqYou can probably just make out the circle above in which it once fit, before dangling on a single pivot.

aw-p1I think it’s meant to be oriented as below, at which point a tree of life kind of theme becomes much more obvious.

aw-tl2 (If only home repair were as easily accomplished in real life as in a photo editor.)

aw-cbBasil posed beneath a burst of spring blooms before we wrapped up, and then we headed home.

Categories
5 Boro Tour Tours, Trails & Group Rides

5 Boro Tour, 2015 Edition

“It’s going to be a long forty miles [63.3 km] on those small wheels” smirked the guy next to me at the 5 Boro Tour.

“Don’t knock it, ” I said, “this is a great bicycle.”

“I know! I’ve got a couple of folding bikes” the twit fellow responded — but he obviously doesn’t have Bromptons.

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Do we look as if we’re suffering?  Forty miles/64.3 km might, under some conditions, tax me, but they’ll never tax Basil, my Brompton.  See all those big boys in the picture?  They’re behind us!  Basil’s got the gears; no rider need supply extraordinary muscle.

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Even if a Brompton weren’t an excellent bicycle, the unrealized truth about the 5 Boro Tour is that almost anyone can ride it.  Persistence is the key; not equipment–or Lycra.

The tour is a 40 mile/64.3 km ride through all five New York City boroughs.  Roads are closed, and support, in the form of lots of liquids, snack bars, other treats, bananas, and strategically-placed porta-potty stops, is plentiful.

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Basil and I met up with Mme. Unfolded and her Monty at the front of Wave 2, early enough to be only about a block from the start line.  The adventure begins in the canyons of lower New York City, and always with at least a little bit of scooter-like activity:  stop-and-go.

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That offers opportunities for some good-natured interaction.  See the gent behind me in bright yellow?  He and his buddy (yellow sleeve on the other side) spotted Basil’s under-seat bag motif, and cheerfully yelled “Lizard!” every time they caught up with us on the tour.  (That’s much more typical of Tour camaraderie than Mr. Snarky’s comment, by the way!)

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In Central Park, while hordes of us waited for the right-of-way, another fellow mentioned that he always tells people that the 5 Boro Tour is actually a series of smaller rides:  five miles/eight km here; six miles/9.6 km there; eight miles/12.8 km; or ten miles/16 km now and then.

One stops, a lot–and everyone stops at Astoria, where we’re all required to dismount and make our way through the teeming masses.

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The line Basil and I were in snaked around under the Queensboro Bridge and along the far edge of the park,wending back to us, where we stood next to a bank of essentially unusable porta-potties while we waited and I took pictures.  The sheer volume of people and bikes was stunning: 32,000 cyclists participate in total.  I think I saw them all at Astoria.

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Most of the ride, though, especially in this second wave, went fast.  Basil and I nearly always whipped along between 13/20.9 kmh and over 15 mph/24 kmh, and were hitting over 25 mph/40.2 kmh on clear down hill trajectories — and close to that elsewhere, at points.

Stray water bottles and even sunglasses tend to litter the roads, so staying alert is critical, but there’s really nothing like flying down the FDR and Gowanus Expressways (no cars!!!) on a bright, sunny, day.

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Which is not to say that there aren’t challenges.  The approach to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge goes on forever (and, or so it seems, so does the incline on the bridge itself).  We weren’t doing 15 mph/24 kmh there; it was more like 3 mph/4.8 kmh just before the peak, and (ahem) barely 6 mph/9.6 kmh at one point on the approach.  There’s no shame in walking, though, and plenty of people do.  This is a fun ride, not a contest.

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Mme. Unfolded and I lost track of each other early on, but caught up at the “party” at the end, at Fort Wadsworth.  We grabbed some Greek comestibles and eventually headed out to join the wait for the ferry.   “Partying” usually consists of some super-long lines for [really tasty!) food, and a mad crush of people and bikes packed all over the terrain.

Somehow neither one of us managed to get pictures of each other on the tour — how did that happen?  No matter, I did snap Basil and Monty again before we left Fort Wadsworth.  (Priorities, right?)

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The final three miles/4.8 km of the tour runs from the end zone to the Staten Island ferry.  Participants ride most of the way, then join a queue for loading onto the boat.  Sniffer dogs, like that handsome, but bored, lad (lass?) below, were required to give each bicycle  and bag a once-over.

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That was dull for the canines, it seemed, but one can only be grateful that nothing discovered was worth getting excited about.

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Once aboard, we were sent upstairs (or up-ramp, in the case of the uppermost level), where we, and our Bromptons, had a view out the back of the ferry.

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On the sparkling water, Lady Liberty raised her torch, as always, enduring silently even in the face of changing immigration policies and the well-worn immigration arguments that endlessly percolate through the contemporary American experience.  It’s good to have ideals, and monuments to them, even if reality so often falls short.

It was late afternoon by the time we returned to Manhattan’s fabled shores.  The intrepid Mme. Unfolded and her Monty chose to ride home, but Basil and I, mindful of the hour, took the subway back to Fort Washington at the other end of the island, basking, admittedly lazily, in the glow of a day well-spent.

Mr. Snarky?  Never saw him again.  I assume we left him behind in the dust.  (Or amongst the potholes.)  If he had half the fun Basil and I enjoyed on our ride, he will have done well, even if he had to do it on a less-versatile vehicle!

Categories
Tours, Trails & Group Rides

Spring Bliss (and an OT gripe)

This was another lovely ride along the Chester Valley Trail, about 24 miles/38.6 km.  The world still looks a little bare, but things are changing rapidly.

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I took only these two pictures, perhaps because it was just so fine to be out on the trail on a beautiful day, and such a good thing to be with cycling buddies again after the long winter!

We stopped at Wegman’s, as is our habit, and got a bite to eat.  I meant to snap a picture of one of their new individual cheese trays, but forgot to.  The serving was delicious and generous enough that I took a portion home for snacking later.

hb-12(That’s one of Saul’s steeds, posing with Basil in Exton.)

This paucity of photos may also be due to my unending frustration with my smartphone, which is one lousy camera.  (Or maybe smartphones are strictly selfie-phones? Ugh.)

After this ride, I vowed to keep carrying my clunky little point-and-shoot.  You know, the kind with a viewfinder that is usable in daylight.

Response to comments and email will be slow or non-existent until early next week, as Basil and I will be travelling — and riding in our third 5 Boro Tour.