The Hours Between Showers
The forecast called for rain in the morning, a three-hour break around midday, and then more rain in the afternoon. Serge and I decided to take advantage of the break and headed for the Empire State Trail.
We parked in Palmyra. Rain was still falling when we arrived, but no sooner had I shut off the truck than it began to slow. By the time we unloaded the bikes, the rain had stopped completely and the break between weather systems had started.
We rode east to Newark and crossed the bridge into town. From there we followed the sidewalks through downtown until we found a family restaurant for a late breakfast.
I ordered pancakes topped with bananas and pecans and shared them with Serge. He ordered a breakfast sandwich with hash browns and shared some with me.
The restaurant was testing a robot waitress. The robot delivered food to a table behind us while a human waitress walked alongside it. When it arrived, she removed the plates from the robot's trays and placed them on the table. She then typed something into the iPad mounted on top of the robot and sent it back toward the kitchen.
We sat near the window where we could see our bikes parked outside. Several customers stopped to look at Serge's recumbent trike before continuing on their way.
After breakfast we rode through downtown Newark to reconnect with the trail. Along the way we passed a house with a large pit bull sitting in the front yard. From where we were riding, I couldn't tell whether the dog was tied. Serge rides low to the ground, and his recumbent puts him much closer to dog level than a traditional bicycle. I rode ahead until I could see that the dog's collar was tethered to a thin cable. Once I knew it was secured, I waved Serge through.
Just as we reached the trail again, the rain returned. We stopped under a small gazebo at the trail entrance, pulled out our rain ponchos, and continued on.
The rain never became heavy. Our ponchos kept us mostly dry. We passed several other cyclists riding through the drizzle. Their ponchos flapped in the wind behind them. Most were smiling.
The canal was quiet. Raindrops dimpled the water. The trail remained firm and easy to ride despite the weather. We followed the canal through farmland, locks, bridges, and small canal towns before turning back toward our starting point.
By the end of the day we had covered about 20 miles. The forecast had been right. There were showers in the morning and showers in the afternoon and we were able to spend the hours between them on our bikes.
