Ramblings from a biker boy

A blissfully uneventful day – just some nice riding in good weather. OK, there was a moderate to strong headwind about half of the time, but that was all. Otherwise, all was good – the road surface was fine, the sun was shining and the miles went by pretty fast. That said, it definitely wasn’t one of the days when you all of a sudden realise that you are pedalling; I could feel every revolution of the cranks in my legs so it was good that it was a short ride – just a bit over 50 miles.

I had decided to go through Amityville as I was a horror movie buff growing up – I should have done the research beforehand though; the Amityville Horror is based in Amityville, New York… Turned out that Amityville, Pennsylvania was just a small village with a few houses. However, someone must have tipped them off that I was coming and apparently they thought it was a huge thing. How else would you explain that they had named a road after me (well, kind of…):

Besides that there was also the following in a vending machine:

The best part is the “A FAT FREE FOOD” information! And for all Swedes who have wondered why the heck it is called “Swedish Fish” – here’s the background (see more here) :

“In 1958, Malaco, a Swedish confectionery manufacturer, decided to expand its business by exporting a few of their products to North America. Allsort Licorice, Ribbons and Laces candy were the first products to be exported to North America.

The Malaco exporting business grew and in late 1960′s and early 1970′s Swedish Fish and Swedish Berries were developed specifically for the North American market. As you have probably already guessed, it was named Swedish Fish because it was developed in Sweden.

Today this product is made in both Sweden and Canada.”

See, now you’ve learned something today as well.

After a short stop in Mt. Penn for an egg and cheese bagel, I continued on to my destination for the day – RDG. That’s the IATA code for Reading, Pennsylvania – just wanted to show that I haven’t completely forgotten everything concerning the travel industry…

Lastly, for those of you that didn’t catch Mates of State’s performance on Conan O’Brian, you can check it out at Alarm. It’s well spent time.

And, no I haven’t forgotten: the Google Map of today’s route can be viewed here.