I’ll get to the point of the headline shortly, but first, a word about yesterday’s biking, which took me from a remote area (i.e., dirt roads) around Royalton, VT to Rochester, VT. There was a lot of beautiful countryside on my ride, much of it along the White River. I only had about 20 miles to cover, which allowed time for a lunch stop at a diner just south of Bethel, VT, and for taking photos. Here are just a couple of them.

When I got to Stockbridge, VT, I saw this building by the side of the road that looked like an old Ford dealership–and that’s exactly what it was! In fact, it is the oldest Ford dealership in New England, having been founded in 1913, 110 years ago, and it is still in operation on its original site. The dealership, Ted Green Ford, Inc., was founded by the great-grandfather of Joanne Green Mills, its current President. I had a nice chance to chat with Joanne and learn a little bit about the business, and of course I let her know that I am a loyal fan of Ford products. Joanne’s daughter also works at the dealership, the fifth generation of the Green Family (no relation!) to work there.

Joanne told me that Henry Ford, Sr. had traveled from Dearborn, Michigan to meet with her great-grandfather around the time the dealership was founded. When I told her I was from Detroit and that my great-grandfather had done business with Henry Ford, she mentioned she had gone to college in Michigan, a small school I wouldn’t know about. “Where was that?” I asked. She said it was the Northwoods Institute, a small college near Midland, MI, a school that catered to the children of American car dealers.

Well, as it turns out, the Northwoods Institute also had a journalism program, and they offered a summer journalism “boot camp” for aspiring high school journalists. My school honored me with a $60 scholarship to attend this program, where I learned how to write snappy articles in a big hurry on a manual typewriter. I worked hard while I was there, wanting to make sure my school got good value for its investment in me. So, quite improbably, Joanne and I share an alma mater! She was certainly surprised that not only did I know about her school but had actually taken a class there. Here she is, standing in front of her office and some memorabilia from the dealership’s early days.

On my way to my overnight stop last night, the Stable Inn in Rochester, VT, I saw a bike shop, Green Mountain Bikes, where I stopped in and got my tire pressure checked. It was a good thing I did–my pressure was down to 70 lbs. psi in my rear tire (it started out at 90 a few days ago). It is normal for tires to lose pressure like this when carrying a load like I am.

To my amazement, I learned that my inn was right next door, and is owned by the owners of the bike shop, Doon Hinderyckx and his wife, Anni Mackay. What a perfect place for me to stay–and quite by accident. This is a great full-service bike shop that has been around for more than 30 years. Doon’s assistant Dillon, who first started working there when he was 12, gave me a tour, which included a bike crank chain-operated “drawbridge” they can use to bring bikes in and out of the shop. Dillon appears to love working there–here he is, proudly showing off the drawbridge and a tattoo of the bike shop’s logo on his leg.

Here is the Stable Inn next door. The rooms there reminded me of small European-style hotels. It recently opened after being under construction for the past four years. Doon showed me their furnace system, quite sophisticated and energy efficient. Anni and Doon were very friendly hosts, and I would love to stay there again sometime.