“Pretzels.”
The young woman and her companion had rolled into the same trailside establishment as us and slid wearily off their bikes, but no one had told us anything about pretzels.
We are on the Great Allegheny Passage and headed toward the C&O Canal Towpath, the 330-mile bike route that connects Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C. It was our second day of riding, and the three middle-aged men sitting in old-fashioned gliders beneath a shaded and ancient looking gabled carport operated an informal trailside trading post, of sorts. When we pulled in, one of them got up from his comfy looking seat and offered fresh corn on the cob or tomato sandwiches, both veggies from the garden just yards away. He also said there were cold drinks in the fridge, and he placed a plate of sliced cucumbers and carrots down in front of us a free appetizer.
