Meet Mark & Ray... I actually decided to stop and say hello to these denizens of the Columbia Trail. They are not actually using the trail; they are more like trail groupies... hanging out at its edges just watching the real trail people. Curiosity got the best of me. So here's what I learned: Both are retired. Ray worked for the state as a mechanic and retired at 46 (nice, huh?). Mark (the skinny one posing somewhat strangely for the photo) told a somewhat confusing story from which I extracted he was an artist of some sort and had evidently, at one time, been featured in Architectural Digest. That could be true or could be his imaginative story. The truck is a 1972 Ford that has only slightly more than 100,000 miles (church miles no doubt). The rusty, hulking snow plow? Still works...nearly 300,000 miles -- "moves snow like nobody's business". As for why they are always out there...well, "it's just the perfect place to be every evening". Ray told me there are a number of cops who use the trail. I said, "That's good to know. Although I don't generally see any creepy people on the trail." Mark laughed and said, "Yeah, we're the creepy people!" Hhhmmm... when it comes to men I learned a long time ago to always believe what they say when you first meet them, especially the stuff that seems like joking. They really mean it. Ray objected to Mark's joke; I'm sure he didn't want to draw possible attention to their secret basement room. Our conversation ended with them telling me to stop by anytime for a beer, that there's always a cooler of them 'right here' and a lawn chair to shoot the breeze. Sure enough, if you look closely at the pile behind them in the photo, you'll see many empty boxes of Keystone Light. Or maybe I'll just keep waving 'hello' as I go by.
|
DorkyBikeShortsFour months from now I intend to ride 334 miles in 10 days -- from Pittsburgh to Washington DC -- by myself. This blog will document the journey. Archives
October 2012
Categories |