There is such a thing as a free lunch

The hardest day was the very steep pass out of Hancock. Dang. Hate to say it, but I had to get off the bike for about 200 meters and push her up that hill. When I got to the top, I need to relieve myself of some of the liquid that my body is no longer retaining. I've gotten rather skilled at this. I pretend to check my chain in the event that I get caught by a passing car. So just as I was about to check my chain, I looked up to see that someone was actually sitting in the car in front of me. Almost busted! His name was Paul and we chatted for a bit. He was checking on some friends who were hiking part of the Appalachian Trail since it had been raining all

night. He was patiently reading the paper while waiting for them to walk through the pass. He's a cyclist who has traveled far and wide, including New Zealand on bike. He gave me some advance about the road ahead so I decided to call it a day in Ticonderoga. That would mean a long lunch in Middlebury. I enjoyed the steep descent down the mountain, stopping to warm my hands with some coffee in at a small country store. I walked into the bar at Two Brothers (the guys at the Rochester bike shop suggested I eat lunch there) just in time to hear a local sing the blues about how this person and that person was too busy so he had no one to drink with. "Dude," I said, "that is the sorriest story I've ever heard. I'll drink with you--it'll be tea but I'll drink with you!" I spent two hours with Kate, the bartender, and Dino, a loyal customer. Dino picked up my lunch tab.

As I was leaving the town, I climbed a small hill to find Paul at the top. He had taken the long way home after meeting up with his friends just to see if he might run into me. "You must have taken a long lunch!" he said. Yep, and it was truly free.

I took the Ticonderoga ferry into Ty (for short) and spent the night at the Circle Court Motel. I watched MSNBC all night long (Rachel, of course). The next day was my first rest day. I visited the fort and was lucky enough to meet Marcy who invited me to a PBS screening that night for a documentary on the French-Indian war (The Forgotten War). It was a catered event. Hitched a ride back down to the fort that evening (a guest heading to the screening picked me up and another one gave me a ride back to my motel). That would make a free dinner too!