It seems an awfully long time since I hopped in that cab on a snowy day at JFK and headed into mid-town Manhattan. This is as good a time as any to reminisce, when trying to hang with the super fast pack on a benefit ride through the Sammamish Valley of Washington State. It is three years since last in the city and I am intrigued on seeing I can now swipe a credit card in the back seat of the taxi to settle my fare. Tempted into doing so I can’t help but wonder about the cases of fraud we see from Ghana, Nigeria and from NYC itself as unidentified persons use stolen card numbers to attempt flower purchases for whichever witless squeeze they have fooled into aiding and abetting them. Guys from Ghana seem to have the capacity to have women from Spokane fall for them site unseen…. and usually for roses. How special!
Despite the intervening years the staff at The Lucerne Hotel instantly access my history and address me as If I had never been absent and I was an enjoyable guest to have stay. Remarkable how adroit they are at making one feel this welcome. I head up the elevator in search of hot water and momentary respite from the travel. Heading the bike up the first notable incline and already well back in the pack of twenty and thirty year olds and with a gal, an Olympian and a past national champion of New Zealand I seek a better gear (more…)
