Wednesday, September 19, 2012

If We Can Make It Here, We Can Make It Anywhere!



New York, New York!
Today was a great day for biking!  It was a cool morning, in the 50's but
warmed up to the 70's.  Glenn and his crew headed out of our hotel in
Princeton at about 8:30 AM.  Bill Wachtenheim and Lynn Stanley, HS friends,
rode with him for the first 10 or 11miles then he was on his own.  The stats for today are:
70 miles in 6 hours and 10 minutes of riding time. He pulled into NoHo in lower Manhattan at 4:30.

Thoughts from Glenn
For many years I always thought of a ride on my bike from Lakewood, the town we grew up in, to NYC.
I knew this was about 60 miles. So over the years, anytime I did a ride of that distance, I always imagined accomplishing that task. Although the starting point from today was Princeton and not Lakewood, I knew that I would be covering that distance, something I had contemplated doing for nearly 45 years.The day got off to an interesting start as a consequence of yesterday's storms.We headed to the intersection Lynn picked me up at yesterday only to find that the road was blocked. Apparently some power lines were down and the police were not letting anyone through, bicycles included. So this led to some improvisation. I also had to carry my bike on a few of the paths through parks as there were trees that had been felled by the high winds that were associated with the storm. For a change the East Coast Greenway signs were plentiful and helpful in finding my way especially as I neared the end of the day. I half expected that I would have a flat tire when I managed to ride into a pot hole that I could not see for the shading as I was riding through an overpass. Proved right as I got to the Hudson, I had been riding with a slow leak I also could not find the ferry and as I was riding through an area looking for it, I managed to ride over a speed bump, a sure fire way to wipe out. I have the abrasions(road rash in bicycle jargon) to show for it. I must say, I found two very helpful people today and my thanks to them. One was at a gas station when I asked for directions. He told me a different way to get to my destination in Newark and led me to where I needed to go. Needless to say I opted to ride to the Hudson rather than taking the PATH train. I did not think that going on the Pulaski Skyway was the proper way and a truck driver stopped and helped me on the proper way to my destination. I thought the ferry ride across the Hudson would be a great experience but it was over before I knew it.  I found my starting point for tomorrow's ride on my way to our niece Adina's apartment. All in all a good day and another state down.



Glenn's HS friends from Lakewood days joined him
in Princeton for the first 10 miles of today's ride.
Lynn Stanley, Glenn, Bill Wachtenheim





Self portrait of my dad and me at breakast...
at a NJ diner, of course!




Lynn's college roommate, Marty Homeijer,
Sends her regards to Glenn from our meeting 
along the New Jersey route.  



Lynn is at it again....Driving and taking photos at the same time.
Multi-tasking or drive-by shooting?




Gas in NJ right outside the Holland Tunnel!
Was even higher on the NY side.





Enjoyed strolling up Mulberry Street.
Incredible sights and smell of the
San Gerrano Festival in Little Italy.




Glenn rides into lower Manhattan.
Joining us is friend, Kathy Gibney!



There were actually East Coast Greenway
signs along the route today


One World Trade Center....A new
addition to the NYC skyline.  




Glenn's view from the ferry that carried him across the
Husdon River from Jersey City, NJ to the Financial
District in Manhattan.  Can he count those miles?


Fun dinner in Little Italy during the San Gennaro Festival
Our cousin Vicki Tobar, our niece and hostess for the night, Adina and Glenn
Thanks so much, Adina!  Best hotel in NYC!


Tomorrow's route takes us through NYC to New Haven, CT


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