From the Waldorf to Lady Liberty and into the heart of adventure...

hello from Orangeberg New York!

well it has been quite the 24hrs, it all started yesterday morning when Andrew and I moved out of the hotel where we had crashed for the night and started the business of figuring out how this ride was going to work. the first order of business was to figure out where the start was going to be. now when you go for a ride down to the store it matters not whether you start the ride from your back door or the front. but when the task is to ride clear across the continent, most things especially the beginning are symbolic.

we jumped on the subway and headed downtown, in 15 minutes we were at the end of the line and emerged from the earth at the southern tip of Manhattan island. within a moment we knew we had found the spot - Battery Park, looking south to the Statue of Liberty. this was it, we would return the next day to start our ride.

all that was left to do was find a place to stay for the night. sounds easy, but as it turned out there was some sort of a rush on rooms in NYC. standing at a phone booth beside the World Trade Centre Site, just off of Wall Street we scowered the listings to no avail, that was until Andrew muttered, "fuckit" and dialed one last number. the room was booked and he hung up the phone, eager to find out where we were staying, he turned to me with a grin and said, The Waldorf Astoria...

I've been to some pretty flash places over the years but this one has to take the cake. billed as the nicest place to stay in New York, it didn't disappoint. decadence heaps on top of opulence, crystal chandeliers, tuxedoed bellman and two guys with bikes - it was perfect. the view from our room looking down Park Ave was spectacular, and the Waldorf Salad with dinner would have made Basil Faulty proud.

this morning we made a leisurely start to the day, headed through the lobby with our bikes and pushed off onto Park Ave and on our way to The Statue Of Liberty. I've never been all that fussed about riding with traffic, but traffic in New York is a whole new kettle of fish, taxi's everywhere, cars dueling with busses to get ahead and two guys on bikes trying not to get killed in the mix. it was great fun! we made a plan to get onto a bike path that would lead us to our starting point without too much drama and remove us from the gamesmanship of Lower Manhattan during mid day rush hour.

After eating a hotdog and a pretzel from a vendor overlooking the statue, Andrew smoked a ceremonial cigar, we clasped hands, snapped a photo and began the ride. it was exhilarating to be on our way, after so much planning and forethought to be actually riding , to be on the road and heading west was a brilliant feeling. we rode north along the Manhattan shoreline, with New Jersey to our left just across the Hudson River. following the river we made a left-hand turn and crossed the George Washington Bridge and bid New York City goodbye. it was sad to leave the city that I had grown to love during my short visit, but there were miles to cover and the sun was already sinking low into the sky. once safely on the Jersey Shore, we turned north once again and headed toward the open country. where we had once been in afloat in an urban sea of concrete and steel, New Jersey was awash in glades of green trees and winding roads. the contrast was spectacular.

soon it was time to make our first decision of the day, it was already after 5pm and we had to decide how far we wanted to go for the day. we arrived at a petty grim looking place (granted, all look grim post Waldorf) and had to decide whether to stop a bit early at a for sure place to stay or to push on into the unknown and hope to find a place to spend the night. without much discussion we decided to gamble. back on the bike and heading north into the Garden State. the road held fairly close to the Hudson River and wound through pretty country blanketed by maple trees and multi-million dollar homes. as dusk fell there was still no sign of lodging and the first hints of concern began to enter my mind. I just hoped that we would find someplace to stay for the night and we both began to wonder if we had made the wrong decision to continue on. riding along I spotted a cop, manning a speed trap. I rolled up and asked him if there was anyplace in the area to stay - much to my delight there was a hotel a few miles down the road.

we arrived here just as it got dark and were thrilled to see that there was plenty of room left in the Inn.

what a great day, this is going to be such a brilliant trip I can tell already. to start from the Waldorf, dodge traffic down Park Ave, slide under the Brooklyn Bridge, have our official start at The Statue Of Liberty, ride the length of Manhattan, cross into New Jersey, leave the city behind and ride through the appropriately named Garden State, cross back into New York State and find a great place to stay just as we were needing it to be there... it doesn't get much better than that! I'm sure tomorrow will be just as much fun and the adventure will continue...

~Scott

May 10, 2007

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