Mileage: 43.6; 4,522 total
Home! Sweet home!
It was great to arrive home for the first time in almost five months. Leslie was leading a little cheering section to greet me. In addition to her and Dan, Heather, and grandaughter Ariel, it was really nice to see that Ginny M. and Fern S. had joined the party, and were able to join us for a bit in our apartment. And fortunately, as I got off the elevator I bumped into Walt, Jo, Sasha and Katya, our neighbors at the end of our hallway, who were also able to join us for a while. In all the confusion, I am sorry to have missed the chance to get a photo of the gang.
Backtracking to the start of the day: In the morning, Melanie prepared a big breakfast for Steve and me. Then my friend Matt, with whom I had biked for a few days in Ontario, joined us. He is still on his cross-country trip from Seattle, but he had been visiting relatives for several days in the Albany area, and had arranged to meet up with me and Steve for our final trek into New York City. Mel's son Adam is very much into winter camping and ultra-light backpacking, and had a great time talking with Matt (who lives in Colorado and does a lot of mountaineering) about equipment and so forth. We were all having such a good time that it was probably close to 11 am before we took off. (Note: See picture of Melanie and Adam, below).
Soon we were on the South County Bike Trail out of Pleasantville which, except for some lousy sections on city streets, eventually took us to Van Courtland Park in the Bronx (see photo). We were getting closer and closer to home, and it felt good!
Soon we were having coffee and pastries at a little Hispanic bakery on Broadway in the Bronx, and then we crossed the Broadway Bridge into Manhattan, covering territory that I know well.
The sight of the Little Red Lighthouse under the G. W. Bridge (see photo) was almost a "welcome home" sign, and I knew I was getting close. While near the lighthouse we had fun talking to Molly and Mike (see photo). They are planning their first bike tour for next summer, intending to travel from Seattle to San Diego! It was pleasing to be able to talk with them about their upcoming trip, now that my current trip is drawing to a close.
We traveled down the West Side Bike Path pointing out, to Matt, various scenes along the Hudson. Steve had to depart to catch the Path Train in lower Manhattan, so we stopped for a quick celebratory beer at the North Cove (next to the former site of the World Trade Center). As we were being served, outside, it started pouring, but we each had our rain-gear with us and didn't mind getting a bit wet as we finished our drinks. We then made our way over to the Brooklyn Bridge, said goodbye to Steve, and Matt and I worked our way across the bridge and through the Brooklyn rush hour traffic and home.
Now, my coast-to-coast trip is almost complete. Tomorrow, Thursday, I will ride out to Coney Island and the Atlantic Ocean.
Home! Sweet home!
It was great to arrive home for the first time in almost five months. Leslie was leading a little cheering section to greet me. In addition to her and Dan, Heather, and grandaughter Ariel, it was really nice to see that Ginny M. and Fern S. had joined the party, and were able to join us for a bit in our apartment. And fortunately, as I got off the elevator I bumped into Walt, Jo, Sasha and Katya, our neighbors at the end of our hallway, who were also able to join us for a while. In all the confusion, I am sorry to have missed the chance to get a photo of the gang.
Backtracking to the start of the day: In the morning, Melanie prepared a big breakfast for Steve and me. Then my friend Matt, with whom I had biked for a few days in Ontario, joined us. He is still on his cross-country trip from Seattle, but he had been visiting relatives for several days in the Albany area, and had arranged to meet up with me and Steve for our final trek into New York City. Mel's son Adam is very much into winter camping and ultra-light backpacking, and had a great time talking with Matt (who lives in Colorado and does a lot of mountaineering) about equipment and so forth. We were all having such a good time that it was probably close to 11 am before we took off. (Note: See picture of Melanie and Adam, below).
Soon we were on the South County Bike Trail out of Pleasantville which, except for some lousy sections on city streets, eventually took us to Van Courtland Park in the Bronx (see photo). We were getting closer and closer to home, and it felt good!
Soon we were having coffee and pastries at a little Hispanic bakery on Broadway in the Bronx, and then we crossed the Broadway Bridge into Manhattan, covering territory that I know well.
The sight of the Little Red Lighthouse under the G. W. Bridge (see photo) was almost a "welcome home" sign, and I knew I was getting close. While near the lighthouse we had fun talking to Molly and Mike (see photo). They are planning their first bike tour for next summer, intending to travel from Seattle to San Diego! It was pleasing to be able to talk with them about their upcoming trip, now that my current trip is drawing to a close.
We traveled down the West Side Bike Path pointing out, to Matt, various scenes along the Hudson. Steve had to depart to catch the Path Train in lower Manhattan, so we stopped for a quick celebratory beer at the North Cove (next to the former site of the World Trade Center). As we were being served, outside, it started pouring, but we each had our rain-gear with us and didn't mind getting a bit wet as we finished our drinks. We then made our way over to the Brooklyn Bridge, said goodbye to Steve, and Matt and I worked our way across the bridge and through the Brooklyn rush hour traffic and home.
Now, my coast-to-coast trip is almost complete. Tomorrow, Thursday, I will ride out to Coney Island and the Atlantic Ocean.
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