First he said, "Vous ne passerez pas!"
As if Marley speaking French weren't astounding enough, his next utterance really made me take notice:
He wants to learn how to true wheels. Now, why he would want to learn that, I'll never know. But how can I say "no" to a face like his?
First he is learning how to check side-to side-trueness. He's very polite: He said, "I see wobbles" and not "That thing's wiggling like your belly!"
Now he is checking vertical trueness. There are no "hips" or "hops" in the wheels, he reported. I explained that the wheel has a different kind of rhythm. He understands rhythm very well!'
"What's that thing hanging off the center of the wheel?"
"You mean the hub?"
"So that's what it's called?"
Now he's taking another look. He sees how the wheel is more rideable than it was a few minutes earlier. Of course, he'll never experience that rideability for himself--unless, of course, I put him in a basket or carrier.
Marley is definitely curious.
Max, on the other hand, couldn't care less.
I know that Fall "officially" begins on Saturday, the 22nd. However, I think I saw some signs of when I rode out to the Canarsie Pier late this afternoon:
On some of the trees, the tips of the leaves are turning brown:
And, on others, entire leaves have turned:
A few leaves have already fallen to the ground.
I used to look forward to the fall: I always enjoyed riding in the cool, crisp air. Although it was a bit warm for a fall day (about 26C), the air felt autumnal because brisk breezes from the sea swept over the streets. Somehow, this day, which straddled summer and fall, made me a bit sad. For one thing, the days are growing noticeably shorter. And three seasons have passed; a year is passing.
All right...I'll make this lighter, and bring it back to cycling. Here's a sign for which I wouldn't dare not to stop!:
Another ride through Harlem, the New Jersey Palisades, Staten Island and lower Manhattan.
As always, there were interesting sights on the Ferry:
New York is all about style, right? I was going to ask her where she got that bag, but I kind of lost her in the shuffle as we disembarked. However, I got another glimpse of her sack and realized I wouldn't be able to buy it:
You can't see the logo from her, but it's from a film festival in Germany.
In addition to style, New York has always been known for attracting dreamers:
With all due respect to Frank Sinatra, you can't have a city of dreamers if it's a city that never sleeps.
And, of course, everyone wants a home with a view. Along the way, I stopped at an open house. I didn't even bother to feign interest in buying the house (which I probably couldn't do, anyway) because, it seemed, everyone else had the same look of disattachment.
But wouldn't you just love a patio with a view like this?
Hey, it's even better as you get closer:
If you were to buy the house--in Bayonne, NJ--you wouldn't be able to access the water. It's fenced off about fifty meters from the shoreline: It's government land. Oh, who wouldn't want to take a dip in Newark Bay on a hot day?
The bike riding is pretty good, though, as long as you stay away from the main commercial strip. It's even better along Richmond Terrace in Staten Island: As you approach the Ferry, the sight of cranes and tank farms give way to harbor vistas of lower Manhattan.
