Ground Zero

The ultimate destination of Bike Trip America was One World Trade Center, also known as Ground Zero. We reached our destination yesterday afternoon. Interesting that our worst day, as far as reaching our time goals, was the last day of our journey, but in our defense, as riders, it wasn't our fault that we were two hours late. Let me describe our day, which actually began the previous day when the Fishkill welcoming ceremonies included the announcement that we would be riding to the boat ramp at Beacon to dip our front tires in the Hudson River. They had already arranged for us to be met there by local press and members of the Beacon American Legion chapter. Our police escort was expecting us to follow that route, as was the photographer who would be riding with us all day, and that meant riding out to Beacon, then back to Fishkill to connect with our original route. That added several miles to an already long day, and put us 1 1/2 hours behind our scheduled start. We felt obliged to go along with the plan, which had been hatched by Fang Wong, a former National Commander of the American Legion. Fang Wong was the same one who had helped organize the welcoming ceremony at the World Trade Center at 3:00 pm.

Anyway, we dipped our tires in the Hudson River. 

From there, we had a State Police escort, accompanied by the Fishkill American Legion Commander. That resulted in a somewhat slower pace than we needed to make up for the lost time. Plus, the route took us up Tarrytown Hill, which had segments with as much as an 18% grade and lasting nearly a mile. When we passed Sleepy Hollow cemetery, I almost felt like stopping, hopping over the fence, and just ending the ride right there ... or maybe taking a Rip Van Winkle nap and finishing the ride in another 100 years. 

We stopped for lunch in Elmsford (I think) in Westchester County. One of the NYSP escorts was so impressed by our efforts on behalf of Operation Comfort Warriors that he bought our lunch for us. We sat outside a deli while eating, and local merchants came out to visit with us and to donate to the cause. Not counting the NYSP donation of lunch, we collected $95 in donations without even lifting a finger! 

After lunch, we picked up a long section of bike trail, so the NYSP escort took Pat and the support vehicle down to Yonkers, where local police (NYPD) were available to guide her to the World Trade Center. Meanwhile, we pedaled onward in 90-degree-plus temperatures, followed a maze of bike trails and roads, and finally found our NYPD motorcycle and cruiser escort! Fang Wong had gone as high as Mayor de Blasio in order to get permits for a police escort and a group gathering at the World Trade Center.

We rode through the Bronx, getting stuck in a traffic jam on the way, across the bridge and crossed into Manhattan, then climbed the hills around the Cloisters museum, downtown through Spanish Harlem, then across the island to the bike path along the Hudson River. Once we reached the bike path, we dropped the NYPD cruiser, but still had the two motorcycles in front and in back of us. Due to the Saturday crowds on a hot summer day, we had to keep to an easy pace, which meant that we had a lot of other cyclists joining us, asking why we had a police escort, and we had time to enjoy the scenery ... the Highline, the Intrepid aircraft carrier, midtown Manhattan, and then we had the new One World Trade Center tower in our sights. 

The final approach to our destination was punctuated by the excitement in Jonathan's voice when he said, "Look! I see my father. There he is, right there!" I was glad that I was wearing my shades ... I was more emotional, more sentimental than I care to admit, but that's how it was. Bryce's dad came running over to direct the NYPD escort, and we rode up onto the sidewalk and through the crowds of tourists, finally stopping in front of a large American Legion banner, and a crowd of around fifty, diminished from what it had been earlier because of our late arrival. The TV cameras had already headed back to the studios to catch the evening news with other stories, but still, there was a sense of being celebrities. There was an honor guard. There were photographers, and speeches. There was the permit that allowed us to have a large rally at the World Trade Center. We were presented with medals and plaques to honor us for our service to the cause, and as usual, there were donations. At the end of the day, we were just below $20,000, nearly double our initial goal of $10,000 in donations. Since our fund-raising account will stay open through September, we should easily double our initial goal.

We were quickly moved along to where Pat had parked the support vehicle, right in front of the World Trade Center courtesy of NYPD. We packed our bicycles onto the back of a car that would take our bikes directly to a bike shop for shipping home, and packed our gear in the back of the support car so that we could enjoy New York with just our "civilian" clothes. We posed for one last shot as a team before an exhausted Pat drove off, headed back to the West, and the rest of us headed off with Fang Wong to a banquet provided by the Chinatown American Legion chapter. 

Incidentally, we had to wear our Bike Trip America tee shirts all day because we had a photographer along with us for a forthcoming film about our trip. As a result, we were hot and perhaps a bit dehydrated on our last day, and also, I didn't have any pockets, so I was unable to carry my smart phone and camera. The pictures above are all from Bryce's camera, and from Pat, as are many of the pictures that have appeared in the blog. 

I also want to thank the parents of the boys for entrusting their boys to us for the summer, and for supporting our final day. On the right, in the picture above, you can see Ryan's mom, grandmother and grandfather; and wearing the purple Bike Trip America shirts are Jonathan's mom and dad; and Bryce's dad.  

What happens next? The blog will continue periodically as new pictures come in, and when there are important or interesting updates to our trip. A book may be in the works. Bryce and I have both been asked to do articles, and presentations may be organized. Also, the American Legion is doing a film about our trip, and it was suggested that maybe a feature-length movie could be made. So we can play the game of "Who's going to play the part of ...." (fill in the name of your favorite rider or support driver, Legion Commander, WarmShowers host, etc.). 

As mentioned earlier, our bikes are already on their way home. Mine is actually going to my son's house since I'll be collecting my wife, Wyn, on the west coast, then we'll go meet our new (and only) grandson Owen for the first time. Pat will be driving back to Gearhart, where she'll be happily reunited with her black lab Annie, who is perhaps as demanding as our bike crew, but less stressful because Annie wags her tail with glee and all demands are unconditionally forgiven. Ryan will be completing his senior year of high school in Hillsboro, Oregon. Jonathan will be holding down the fort as a junior at Astoria High School. And our fearless organizer Bryce will be completing his senior year of high school at a boarding school in Canada. Like I said, I'll keep you posted via the blog and via FaceBook when anything related to the bike trip transpires.

And thank you for having faithfully followed our journey across America.