ANTARCTICA

At last! We are in the perfect town at the perfect time! Here in Middlebury VT, the library is next door to the movie theater, and the theater is showing MARCH OF THE PENGUINS. The library is open til 8pm on Tuesdays, and I get to sit here in the coolness for another 15 minutes before the feature presentation. I've been wanting to see the "penguin movie" for weeks now. For one thing, it looks sweet. For another thing, it looks really, really cold. Like just WATCHING the movie will induce climactic changes similar to Antarctica! I think today was the hottest day we've cycled---it was just brutal.

We are clean, fed and ready for the movie. Tomorrow we PROMISE we are getting up early to tackle a steep climb to BREADLOAF, then up and through the Middlebury gap, before shooting down the other side. Then, we have a series of passes to climb, with the steepest being the Kankamangus. No, make that Kangamankus. No. Maybe it's Kangamangus. I don't know what it is. BUT, I know it's steep.

We had a big climb today, with a lengthy downhill into Ticonderoga. I fulfilled my mini-goal to "ride my age", with a little bit to spare. I don't think I'll be able to keep this up for many more years, though. 44mph on a bike is fast enough for me. For now. Every year, on my birthday, I choose something "new" to learn in that year. Nothing too daunting---nothing like the dreams of yore when I thought I might learn a language, even English. This year I wanted to learn to either a) whistle that really shrill whistle that attracts cabs in NYC, with fingers in the mouth, or b) learn to score a baseball game. So far, I haven't found anyone who can whistle that way to teach me, and I haven't had a chance to work on a baseball scorecard. I've still got 7 months to learn one of those things, and I'm thinking ahead. More from over the pass.