Originally Posted by bmike
Over the top and alone I dropped into Manchester – the last drop of water squeezed from my bottles. Refueling at a convenience store – Pepsi, Combos, Powerade, water – sitting outside I see Spokenword flash by – I yell and he stops. I assumed he was well up the road – but he stopped to enjoy some fresh fruit at a farm stand further up the descent. His tale of tearing into half a cantaloupe is funny.
so, here's the tale for the benefit of everyone else.
I was descending from the climb through Green Mountains into Manchester and realizing that my hydration pack was running on empty. We were well into the mid-afternoon. It was hot, I was running close to dehydration and in the corner of my eye, I saw this farmstand by the side of the road.
So, with visions of cool water and harvest ripe berries dancing in my head, I pulled over and walked inside, gathered about 1.5 litres of water in my arm and saw this small pile full of watermelons and cantaloupes. The melons glistened with juice and sugar, and I was immediately ravenous for one. Conveniently, there was bowl with pre-cut chunks sitting right there, wrapped in plastic, and even though there was no price tag, I didn't care. I scooped it up and approached the counter.
The registrar looked at the bowl and said, "I'm sorry, sir, but this is our samples bowl. You can't buy this."
"Well can I get a bowl with some diced melon?"
"We have some cantaloupes that have been split in half. That's the only cut we do."
"Can you get me a plastic spoon?"
So, there I was, sitting by the roadside, with the flimsiest plastic spoon in the world, tearing into what had to be the juiciest cantaloupe ever produced from Vermont soil. It wasn't quite fully ripe and so the flesh was still a bit on the 'toothy' side of chew; so I wasn't so much scooping out the flesh as I was stabbing at it with my spoon then tearing out the chunks with my sweaty, desperate fingers.
Like, you know that scene in the Return of the King where they show Gollum digging into a live fish with his bare hands? Imagine Gollum as a vegetarian with a cantaloupe. The most precious, tastiest cantaloupe in the world.
I went back into the store to drop the dessicated husk of the melon in their garbage bin and rode on, thanking them for the produce.
The following day, after the murderous unshaded midday climb up Rt. 119 between Keene and Royalston, I stopped at the 4 Corners Store with three other riders, and as I stepped in, my nose was assaulted with this wonderfully savory aroma. I tracked down the scent to a cabinet of rotisserie chicken that was slowly basting in the backroom deli. I was mighty tempted to just buy a whole chicken right there and devour it by the roadside, but I figured that I had done enough detriment to the reputation of randonneurs as civilized cycling adventurers; and instead opted to get a gallon of water and finish the Italian sub that I bought in Newfane the day before.
I still dream of that chicken, though. I'm almost convinced that I would've come in at under 38 hours on the 600 if I had just succumbed to temptation and scarfed down some of that delicious fat and protein.
It was a pleasure to do the first 300 of the 600k with bmike, and I missed his humor and spirit on the long nocturnal haul back to Sandgate. I look forward to doing more brevets with him and with everyone else
that I've met this year. They have all been wonderful company, and I apologize in advance for any offense that my table manners might cause in the future.