Our idyllic last night of camping was soon shattered to the sound of engines, kids, scooters and shouting. We appeared to be in the busiest campground in the Appalachians. At least we didn't have to worry about the bears. The noise wore on until 2am; We had a particularly noisy 6am porridge breakfast the next morning in retaliation.
A fantastically fast and steep downhill run out of the mountains to the Hudson greeted us first thing. We reached speeds in excess of 40mph again. From there we joined cycle route 9 which runs straight to New York City. Being a Saturday, all of the weekend riders were out in force, with scores of cyclists passing us each hour in both directions. There were more bikes than cars on the road. Several cyclists rode with us, curious about our travels. Their reactions and congratulations brought home the fact that this was our final day, and we had achieved our goal. The rolling hills passed effortlessly beneath us as we were spurred on to the finish. We almost kept up with the racing cyclists on their carbon bikes.
We crossed Washington Bridge at Fort Lee into Washington Heights, and Manhattan. The contrast in scenery, from mountainous national park to urban metropolis was sharp. Once over the bridge from New Jersey we were truly in the City. The roads were quieter than we expected, and cycling was relatively comfortable, although it got busier the further South we rode.
From behind, sirens screeched out, and we ducked off to the side of the road. A police car and small convoy passed, with three runners being escorted through the city along with several support riders. We shouted encouragement, and the girl running in the group replied "Thanks! Ride with us!" The van behind lowered a window and the passenger reaffirmed the invitation. Sensing an opportunity to join something special, we accepted, and took our place behind the runners. The group stopped for a water break and we said our greetings and told our abbreviated stories. They were running 26 miles for the Run For Hope Foundation doing a 9/11 remembrance run to raise money. They were from New Jersey, and ran from there across the same bridge as us, and were aiming for the World Trade Centre. We joined them along the riverfront.
We met a cycle policeman, a number of retired police officers and serving officers some of whom had served during the 9/11 attacks. It was great to ride and join the escort of the three runners. Maria, who initially shouted to us to join, had herself joined the run in Fort Lee! Not being a runner herself, she jumped straight into a marathon! Remembering my first days running, and struggling to maintain a pace for a matter of minutes, I was in awe of her effort and mental strength to push on.
We joined them past the Intrepid aircraft carrier, seeing views of the Statue of Liberty to our right, and the city to our left. Eventually the World Trade Centre came into view ahead, signalling the finishing straight for our team of runners. They finished together, with a crowd of supporters on the corner. A news agency was accompanying them, and took pictures and film of their feat. We said our respective congratulations, shared details and thanked our friends for letting us share in their accomplishment.
Next order of business; lunch. We sampled the street vendor hot dogs, and sat with views over to the Statue of Liberty. Afterwards, we had the small matter of dipping our wheels to complete our trip. Across the iconic Brooklyn Bridge, which had more people on it than I thought possible, we found a surprisingly quiet park with an outstanding view over the river to Manhattan, and a pebble beach to the water. We dipped our rear wheels and phoned home with the good news.
After lingering for a time to savour the moment, we crossed back over the bridge into Manhattan, and aimed for my friend Nathan's apartment. I met Nathan three years ago in Morocco on an excursion into the Sahara, and was surprised to learn he was in the city and offered us a place to stay. Thankfully he only lived on the first floor of his building, which has only one narrow stairwell to haul the bikes up. He presented us a bottle of Moet, which we drank up on the roof of his building while he described the skyline. After catching up and cleaning up he offered to show us around. We went to a Taiwanese dumpling restaurant for dinner, very authentic, then walked across the city along Broadway towards Times Square. He took us up his office building to a high story overlooking Times Square, and with exceptional views over the city to the iconic buildings.
Afterwards the rain was thundering down, so we took the subway back downtown to his area, and sampled the local bars. The "oldest bar in the city" was trying too hard, but the rest had a good atmosphere. A couple too many beers later and the 55 miles caught up on us.
A final reflective post to follow, likely after we return. 3743 miles in 59 days.
No comments:
Post a Comment