I went for a bike ride today with my friend Brian Pawlow. He promised to meet me in NY and pull me all the way to Portland, Maine. Too bad I can’t keep up with him on the hills.
We were trailblazing from Amsterdam, NY to Arlington, VT and found some great roads and one busy one. Route 29 into Saratoga Springs had a nice wide shoulder but lots of traffic. The town itself was so crowded that we watched cars sitting at a traffic light for three cycles before they could proceed. Brian tells me there is a famous horse race track there.
I preferred the next town, Schuylerville. They had some cool bike racks.
There was weather moving in and we got worried when the thunder was accompanied by flashes of light. We were cycling directly into a cell so we took shelter in Hal Spezio’s barn before it started to rain.
Hal is a retired NY State Trooper, since 1996. He worked on this farm as a kid and made a deal with the owner to keep it from being developed. The owner’s widow lives in a new home that Hal built for her behind the original farmhouse. She is 89 years old. Hal comes from a family of cops, his father, uncles, brothers, are all in blue. His brother is also the fire chief of the local volunteer department.
It rained really hard and for longer than we expected. Brian told me the rain was my fault for jinxing us by mentioning the it in my previous post. I pointed out to Brian that two things were different today; 1) it was raining, and 2) he was here. The cause and effect seem pretty obvious to me.
Finally, we realized we had to get back on the road despite the rain. So we donned our rain gear and headed out into a light drizzle which quickly disappeared. The sun was even trying to poke through the clouds. The rain gear came off and, all-in-all, it was a great day!
I had a summer teaching job at Skidmore (in Saratoga Springs) for over 10 years. A bit of your sister’s cash has been left at that track. Horse racing is the Harry Fisher Sr. heritage. If I were you I would have pulled in and bet a few races.
See you at Cal’s house today? http://www.calvin-coolidge.org/html/the_homestead.html
It’s downhill from there to route 4 and I can probably keep from holding you up too badly.
p.s. I always biked to the track. Too much traffic.
p.s. #2 Jeanne says “rethink the potato salad since your brother doesn’t eat mayonnaise.” Will Brian eat potato salad?
Love your posts and pics and am so glad you’re getting closer to home BUT…. I’m so going to buy you a new biking shirt (that doesn’t contain the colors yellow or lime green) when you get back to the neighborhood.
It’s nice you have a riding buddy again and he is able to take some pix’s of you. Looking good!