Saturday, August 12, 2006

Lunch in Vergennes

Feed Me
A couple of weeks ago, I went on a super bike tour in Vermont, organized by Bike Vermont. We started in Shelburne and made our way around the Champlain Valley, Middlebury and Vergennes.
You might remember that the weather was a tad warm here in the east that week. When it's that hot, I usually prefer something light and cold for lunch, so you can imagine my surprise when I arrived at the town green in the center of Vergennes and homed in on a hot dog vendor. If you read my blog about recovery, you know that I have a little gremlin in me named "Fast" who is a very bad influence.
Fast saw that hot dog vendor immediately and hummed into my ear, "I want one".
"No. Hot dogs are junk food. We'll eat at the Eat Good Food place with everyone else."
"I want a hot dog. Now. You want one, too. I know you do."
Truth be told, I could taste that hot dog. I did want one. On a 94 degree day??? Get real. Maybe it was the sodium calling to me.
"No, Fast."
"Yes. Get the hot dog."
"Okay."
I put away two of those babies. They were divine. Right down to the bleached white bread in the bun. I consoled myself by thinking that I'm not overweight, I'm burning lots of calories and if I'm craving a hot dog that much, there must be something in it I need.
The next day cooled down to 92 degrees and I found myself again in Vergennes at lunch time. Drat, the hot dog vendor was there again, too. It wasn't lost on Fast. "I want one."
"No. We had two yesterday. That's my yearly quota, all in one day."
"Make three your yearly quota."
"Okay."
I walked over to the vendor. Surprise! He had that hot dog wrapped in foil and in my hand before I knew it. I reached in my jersey pocket for money to pay him. He put his hands up. "Not necessary. Compliments of the gentleman with a rooster on his shirt."
I turned and looked across the street. There stood Gerry, another rider on our tour, with a big smile on his face and resplendent in a bright orange and red jersey with a road runner on it. (You may know Gerry as Elbert from yet another blog.) Apparently word had gotten around about my hot dog fetish.
Strong House Inn
Ah, Vermont! Never a dull moment. I highly recommend the area we were in for cycling. Pick up a copy of Northern Cartographic's Lake Champlain Bikeways Map and enjoy miles and miles of great riding. If you're putting together your own tour, make Vergennes your base. The Strong House Inn is a delightful place to stay: bicycle friendly with great breakfasts and wonderful accommodations. And there's this hot dog vendor on the town green...tell him the gentleman with a rooster on his shirt sent you.
Tailwinds,
Georgena