Pedal To The Metal

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Dow Jones  Industrial's are up, the NASDAQ is holding steady, and I have no idea what pork bellies are doing.

According to the “cyclists” market at Coastal Coffee Shop, long-distance riding is way down. 

Last year we had 24 long-distance riders…and by long-distance, I mean they are on a journey of 3 days or more. 

Every year we get a fair share of “day-riders”… folks going from Bar Harbor to Camden, and back… that sort of thing, and we’ve had our usual numbers of them this year, but not so with the longer trekking folks. 

Last year we had 24 long-distance riders, and so far this year – only 3. 

One group, last year,  had 8 riders, and it was really a “merger” to two groups of four. One group left Washington, as in the STATE of Washington, not DC, and headed for Bar Harbor. The other group of four left Oregon about the same time with the same destination in mind. As fate would have it, they bumped into each other (figuratively, not literally), in Ticonderoga, NY. From there they decided to travel together until they reached Bar Harbor. 

They all had 21st century electronic gizmos with them and said they spent the first few hours after they met in New York comparing “apps” to see who had what…. LOL. One gal, though showed me her secret stash of special bicycling maps… several of them... and all of them wrapped in a large elastic band. “Just in case” she said, and smiled. You go girl!

The first long-distance cyclers we got last year came just before Memorial Day weekend. They were 3 men, all over the age of 70, and each year they plan a long distance bike trip from their home in South Carolina. Last year they chose Bar Harbor, ME. They plan their trip all winter, and their wives meet them at their destination, and then drive them all home after spending a few days enjoying their hubbies’ cycling destination. 

This year, however, has been very sparse compared to last year. Only 3 cyclists so far… and with Labor Day weekend only 6 days away, the outlook to “catch up” to last year is not very good. We’ve only seen one older man in his mid-60’s, and a couple from New York City in their early 30’s. 

Mr. “Mid-60’s” (his statement, not mine) is from Ticonderoga, NY. He retired 2 years ago and loves to ride his bicycle. He wants to plan a bike trip every summer of his retirement for as long as he can. Last year, he went to Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada, just across the border from Buffalo, as sort of a “practice run”. This year, he picked Bar Harbor, Maine. 

When I mentioned that I was glad the weather turned out so well for him… no rain and very mild temperatures… he remarked that he picked this week after studying the Old Farmer’s Almanac, AND paying $35 for a detailed temperature forecast from a national weather forecasting company. He didn’t care about rain, he said, “I have no trouble riding in rain. It’s oppressive heat that really bothers me, so I try to gather all the temperature forecasts I can get.” 

The young couple from New York City was on a 3 week vacation – 12 days to cycle from NYC to Bar Harbor… a few days of fun and frolic, then on to Burlington VT. From there they fly back home (bicycles and all) to NYC. They both live and work in “The City”, and don’t own a car. During the warm months they ride their bicycles everywhere, and use the subway and bus system in the winter. If they ever need a car, they rent one. 

I was curious how they were able to get the airline to fly their bicycles, and they said it’s not very hard at all… fill out a form, pay a fee, and voila, the bikes fly with you. I asked how they got them from the LaGuardia Airport to their apartment, and they replied, “We ride them. “ Duh, I should have guessed that… LOL….

It’s certainly cheaper than a cab ride… and probably a lot faster, too. 

I Love Aggies

I’ve always had a soft spot for the Texas A&M Aggies.

It started back in the late 70's when my former wife and I took our family to San Antonio, Texas to visit her brother. He was working as an engineer for Pratt & Whitney, and was assigned to a corporate support team at Lackland Air Force Base.

San Antonio is a lovely city, and we had a great visit, but while I was there I heard my first "Aggie" jokes. They were far from complimentary stories about the students who attended Texas A&M University. I felt badly that "Aggies" were being picked on with all those awful jokes, and ever since I've been a "closet" fan  of the Aggies.

Well, last week, a young couple came into the coffee shop sporting two bright, red t-shirts with "Class of 2013" on the front, and "Proud Aggie Graduate" on the back.

"I love Aggies", I shouted, and they seemed as surprised at the exuberant welcome, as I was to see some real, live Aggies in my favorite coffee shop.

They ordered their coffee and a couple of breakfast sandwiches and then sat down to have a conversation with myself, and the bunch of "locals" in the shop at that time.

We learned they met in college, and were married last summer. This summer they both graduated... they both love agriculture... and they both love Texas. Unfortunately, they said, folks in Texas still tell "Aggie" jokes, but not as much as they used to. Progress is good.

They finally revealed how they got to Maine.

When they first met they found out that neither of them had ever been outside of Texas. Then and there, they decided they wanted to visits all 50 states before they died… so they put it at the very top of their bucket list. Maine is state #5. So, they may have 45 states to go, but they are both in their early 20's, so they should be able to make it.


Well, after they left, the cynics in the crowd started with, “I’ve got a buck that says they’ll never make it. Heck, they’ll probably be divorced in 10 years.” It was followed by, “Even if they stay married, my money says that once the kids come, their dream is off.” Someone else chimed in with, “My money says that even if nothing goes wrong, they’ll get tired of pursuing that dream by the time they’re 35.”

Now, if I were a betting man, which I’m not, but if I was, I’m sure the Las Vegas odds makers would support the cynics, and by a LARGE margin. Divorce, kids, and just plain “bored with the idea” have a far greater probability of happening than for them to visit all 50 states.

But, as I said, I’m not a betting man, so my money is on the Aggies to do it.

I told you… I’m a closet Aggie fan… I love Aggies!

The Russians Are Coming

Back in the 1960’s, there was a moderately funny movie entitled, “The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!”. It was all about a Russian submarine that runs aground off a remote island near Massachusetts, and the occupants of the sub come ashore trying to get help. Of course, the movie came out at the height of the Cold War between the U.S. and Russia, and everyone was pretty edgy, so maybe that’s why it had only moderate success.

Well, last week, the Russians came to Searsport. A lovely young couple came into the coffee shop and we could tell by their accent they were from another country… so we asked… “Where are you from?” …  “Russia”.

Well, that stopped all the idle chatter in the shop. We frequently get foreign visitors, and not just from nearby Canada. Already this year we’ve had folks visit from France, Australia, England, Greece, Mexico and New Jersey.

You see, we’ve never had a Russian before. It’s not that we don’t think Russians visit the U.S. but we figured they go to our larger metropolitan regions, and not to little old Searsport, with a winter-time population of just over 2,000 souls trying to stay warm.

Well, they were delightful. He did most of the talking in very broken English, and she struggled even with the few English phrases she probably learned 10 minutes before her flight. What intrigued us most about her was the GREAT camera she had. She took pictures constantly… and from all kinds of angles… and sometimes with just one hand. We tried to ask if she was a professional photographer, because she wasn’t just snapping a large quantity of pictures… she obviously knew how to frame shots and things like that… stuff that only a professional would know how to do. 

Her non-English, and his broken English, never got us an answer that we could understand, but we did notice her camera “brand”. It had about 6 consonants and only one vowel, and was not a name we recognized, so we asked if it was a Russian camera.

Asking the country of origin of the camera had a hidden agenda for us. We were hoping to hear a short tale about how it was, indeed, a Russian camera and how it was developed from the technology of the Cold War Russian spy program, and now the optics were available to the ordinary public…. But alas, we got nothing of that sort. It was Swedish…. RATS!

When they left is when the intrigue really began. They walked across the street to Tozier’s Market. The only cars parked by the coffee shop were cars owned by folks inside the shop. Tozier’s had NO CARS in their parking lot… so we asked ourselves. “How did they get here?”

We explored many options – they could have been visiting relatives in town – doubtful, because we know everyone in town and who had visitors and who didn’t. They could have stayed at a local motel – probably not – the nearest one is about a 3.5 mile walk. They could be staying at a local B&B, but again, we know all of them in town and who has people staying with them, and where the people were from.

Our only recourse is that the theme from the movie, “The Russians Are Coming”, had finally come true. They washed ashore from a Russian submarine and had their dinghy hidden somewhere along our beach. Whew, are we glad the Cold War is over.

At least they were probably here on a peaceful mission… like to scout out little “out-of-the-way” places for a new wave of Russian tourism… or a new source of where to get blueberries to sell in Russian… or, at the worst… to find new markets for a Russian coffee-house franchise. Our devious minds were occupied with the many possibilities for the better part of an hour.

But then again… the option we forgot to consider… and the one that is probably true… is that Ken and Karen have been spiking our coffee.