Author Archives: scottluria

Vancouver, British Columbia. Wednesday, April 24, 2024 Richard III got nothing on me. The karmic punishers continue to mess with me. The flight last night finally took off two hours late; the seat had lots of legroom, but my seatmate, though perfectly pleasant, was corpulent and spilled over a bit into my space. I canContinue reading “For want of a nail”

Tuesday, April 23, 2024. Montreal to Vancouver Back in the 1980 presidential debates, Jimmy Carter would launch a spirited, thoughtful challenge to Reagan’s simplistic platforms and world view, only to have Ronnie dismiss him with “there you go again.” Three years after my tripis interruptus, I’m at it again. My blogging has been sparse, we’veContinue reading “Here I go again”

[OK sports fans, breaking radio silence. It has been 11 months since my last confession—er—post. This summer it was Jane’s turn to plan the vacations, we walked the Cornwall coast and e-biked England’s Lake District in May, and just got back from Italy. We’ll start with the latter, actually the story starts 43 years ago]Continue reading “Roman à grief”

Gaithersburg, Maryland to Washington DC November 1, 2021 For a science major, I seem to lard my narrative with a lot of literary references. Most of us have seen Les Misèrables, and many have read Hugo’s novel. A pivotal scene is where Jean Valjean, on the lam from Javert for years, learns another man hasContinue reading “Jean, Rabbit, Bill, and Jay”

Glen Echo to Gaithersburg, Maryland Sunday, Halloween 2021 It’s hard to overstate the importance of the C&O Canal in our nation’s, and in my history. It dates back to George Washington, who saw the Potomac as a path to the nation’s interior, and envisioned a series of bypass canals to detour around the waterfalls andContinue reading “C&O no-go”

Washington DC to Glen Echo, Maryland Saturday October 30, 2021 Been away for 40 years, but DC is still my hometown. Today was short on milage, but chock full of visiting friends, family, and old haunts. From that first Mr. Smith Goes to Washington view of the Capitol as I left Union Station last night,Continue reading “Stomping grounds”

Train to Washington DC Friday, October 29, 2021 I thought I was done. Maybe I am done. But I’ve decided to give it another go. It was good to be back. Despite all my trepidations, it was clearly the right thing to do. Thanks to all of you for the supportive comments, calls, and letters.Continue reading “Back from the dead”

Denver, Colorado Friday, August 20, 2021 This will come as a shock to many of you. I’ve decided to stop. Please don’t worry. I’m fine. There was no catastrophe, no trauma, no single thing that brought on this decision. It was just a lot of little things. I just spent four days of unmitigated blissContinue reading “Death by a thousand cuts”

Greeley to Denver, Colorado Sunday, August 15, 2021 I could barely sleep, I was so excited. Today I would see a city I love, Denver, see dear friends, and soon rendezvous with my wife. A long day, 80 miles, but 50 of these were on bike paths, following the South Platte River, Cherry Creek, andContinue reading “The mile-high biker’s paradise”

Cheyenne, Wyoming to Greeley, Colorado Saturday, August 14, 2021 Before we get started, I have to lay down some snark on my quirky hotel. It was cute, trendy, and innovative, but it appeared that at bottom, it was about cutting costs. Hilton figured out that almost nobody uses the dressers in hotel rooms anymore, whichContinue reading “The Centennial State”