Last week, two of my daughters and I attempted to bike the Erie Canal in New York.  Some of it, anyway.

We started in Albany, on the north side, close to Troy, New York.  After biking for four days, we made it to Rome, New York.

The heat stopped us.  New York state experienced record highs last week.  Funny thing is, we were up there, in part, to escape the summer heat of Tennessee.  Oh well.   The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray, as the poet says.

I am proud of my girls.  They toughed it out without complaint.

As for the classical reference, I have to give my wife credit for that one.  In the Aeneid, Aeneas and the Trojans flee burning Troy and head for their ultimate home in Italy.  Aeneas’ descendants found the city of Rome.  It was my wife that pointed out we had biked from Troy to Rome.  Heh.

Home now.  Lots of emails to catch up on.  If you have been waiting on a response from me, I apologize.  I was on an epic journey.

Back to work.

Oh.  One more thing.  Some of you may remember, I used to sell the book Via on my site.  I sold it for five dollars.  Once it brought in enough to buy my dream bike, I started giving the book away for free.

So, to all of you who bought my book all those years ago… thank you.  Here, right on the Erie Canal trail, is what I used the money for: