6-10 home

Last day.  Last river trail along Blackstone to Woonsocket.  Last unfamiliarly named towns.  Then some MA towns I'd heard of, but have never been to.  The far out towns I used to visit for hockey.   Then the familiar from riding - medfield,  dover, etc.  Best roadside find of the trip - nice hunting knife.  Best story - nsa escorting.  Worst roads - approach to baltimore.  Best highlight - seeing friends, and random conversations along the way.  51 miles.

6-9 - last night

We all have our routines.  The bike tour day usually looks like this - coffee, then ride for an hour.  Find some non-chain diner for breakfast and then ride 45-60 min intervals, taking breaks to check out a sight, get a chocolate milk (best biking food IMHO), check if trump has been impeached, or check a map to see that I'm still on the right road.  Usually, the biking ends anywhere between 4 and 6, and then after a shower, and figuring out what to write on the blog, dinner at a pub/restaurant of some sort (usually at the bar).  Then doing it all again.  The 3 books I've been carrying haven't really been touched.  It's ok.  PawSox 7 - buffalo 3 with Mike F, JJ and jackson..  64 miles on trumpian back roads of CT & RI (more pickup trucks, and discarded beer cans than I've yet seen) and along coventry-providence rail trail.

6-8 - out of enemy territory

My plan for the day was to turn east on route 25, just north of my airbnb, and not make a turn all day.  But that road was BUSY - 4 lanes, stores,  trucks, so I headed north to 25A.  No stores,  but still busy so I kept heading closer to North Shore of long Island looking for a scenic, quiet road.  Sound ave?  Nice, but nowhere close to long island sound. Soundview ave?  Saw the water a bit.  Ultimately,  all the roads converge into one towards orient point.  Nice ride by farms, vineyards and I stopped at Raphael vineyards in honor of my friend Rafi, although the tasting made for a slow last 15 miles.  And onto the ferry back into eastern CT - red sox country, with them back on nesn and Sam Adams on tap .   Staying at a red roof Inn so I can watch analysis of comey senate Intel hearings.  A (non pc) note on airbnb - guys make fine hosts, women are better (cleanliness, etc), but ideally find a gay couple to host you.  63 miles.

6-7 - halfway out long island

I think I set a record.  My bike was on:
- Bike lanes in nyc
- elevator
- subway - out to rockaway beach.   Who knew there was a nice ocean beach within nyc city limits
- beach boardwalks in rockaway, Atlantic and long Beach
- nasty 4 lane commercial highway, 10 miles out of the way to avoid the no-bikes-allowed Loop Parkway
- lovely bike trail down to, and along, Jones beach.
- decent biking on shoulder of Parkway out to gilgo beach
- illegal biking across Moses causeway to fire island
- deserted highway biking on fire island
- main 'street' (golf cart width) on fire island
- boardwalks through towns (picture)
- boardwalks through dunes
- sand.  Google said these were 'roads'. Had to walk at least a mile, which meant I missed the 4pm...
- ferry from cherry grove to sayville
- suburban roads in blue point, where Dan used to live
- another busy commercial highway up to airbnb  in coram
Total - 64 miles.  Zero vertical, except over bridges.   Really - zero.

6-6 - Sox @ Yankees

Trip winding down.  Last game, appropriately,  is sox at yankees.   So much history and still exciting, although it'll never be like 2004 again.  A grey, cool day in NY - met raanan for lunch and then walked for hours around midtown.  Tried to get into see colbert, but no luck. And to wind up my trump tour, visited his tower and rode the golden escalator.  Then off to the bronx where sox won 5-4. Nice feature - Yankees shout outs and acknowledgement by each player in top of first. Kitsch - groundskeepers ymca moves.  Bike in Leila's boiler room.  Walked a half marathon.

6-5 - Big Apple II

One of the cool things about cycling is that you see things you never knew existed.  Did you know about the lighthouse under the George Washington bridge?  Or the architectural details they used to put on bridges along the park ways leading into nyc?  Or a lovely bike trail along the Bronx river (!!)? Left white plains, and rode down into nyc along the Hudson which I've always wanted to do.  Met up with my aunt and walked around Greenwich Village - love walking in nyc.  Did a little riding arind midtown -  nice bike lanes, but too many people, and too many lights.  No baseball today, and rain held off.  Not sure what Google was thinking for my route, but I did not do this.  35 miles.

6-4 - The big apple

2nd half of the trip - time to head back to states touching Massachusetts.   Mostly flat ride through the great swamp and back roads of NJ to summit, where I planned to jump on a train to Penn Station  (just too crazy to bike through orange and newark, and ferry into wall st).  Or so I thought - only certain trains allow bikes, so got to spend some extra  time in summit.  Running late, so jumped the 7 train to citi field where I met my buddy scotty for the Mets game (11-1 losers to pittsburgh).  We had different views on the 1986 exhibit in the Mets museum.  Peculiar moment - 2 7th inning stretches  (and sang the song twice) because of instant replay.  The top of the 7th finished,  the stretch happened, then a play was overturned so players came back out, got another run, and we stretched again.  25 miles.

6-3 - back into blue states

Totally trusted Google today - plugged in my destination without looking at the route and away I went , in a ligh mist to meet Jeff Steinhorn in Stockton, nj.  Unbelievable houses in northern burbs of philly, and bucks county, and a great trail along route 202.  Over the Delaware in Lumbertown on a pedestrian-only bridge. Good lunch destination at the Stockton farmers market and then through the NJ countryside.   All beautiful until we rode by Trump's golf course in Bedminster.  Then onto peapack,  and local community day - highlighted by the tug-of-war, at 6:00pm, exactly half way through the trip.  Tomorrow - onto NY and the Mets game.  65 miles.

6/2 - To Philadelphia

Onto Philadelphia,  but by train as it's 120 miles.  Train was late, and didn't include a baggage car/bike rack - boy, we really blew it with our rail system.   Toured around historic Philly and rode over the Ben Franklin bridge into NJ.  Got poke for lunch, which I ate in Franklin square surrounded by a chinese lantern festival.   A nice river/rail trail up the Schuylkill river to stay with the trejos, an old college buddy who it had been too long since I'd seen.  Skipped the 17-35 phillies game, who got blown out 10-0 to hang with them, and got tacos and several more drinks with Bob and Sarah.   So nice to catch up with them!   Short entry today - late night and early morning tomorrow.  43 miles.

6/1 - Sox at Camden Yards

Spent the morning going to sites a little further afield.   By bike of course -
Ft McHenry - which inspired F. Scott Key to write star spangled banner after a key battle in war of 1812.  Cool flag raising ceremony!
Federal hill - key civil war battle here defended baltimore from confederate army.
JF trail (Jones falls,  but had my name on it) - disappointing bike trail built along I-83, which some genius built right over a once nice stream.  Photo below.  Nice conservatory in druid hill park at the end of the trail.
Gwynn Falls Leakin park - potentially lovely Olmsted-esque park, but poorly maintained and overgrown.  Signs advise against contact with 'contaminated water'. Parts of Blair Witch project were filmed here - not surprising.
25 miles  (total guess)
Afterwards,  visited B&O railroad museum around the corner from Camden and my airbnb.  Okay,  I know this is lengthy,  but the place and the industry is cool and important. Once again baltimore played a key historical role, in development of USA railroad industry.  Pictured below, one of first ever steam engines (original, not reproduction) before boilers were placed horizontally.  It was because of Railroad Standard Time (needed to avoid accidents) that accurate clocks were developed in the mid 1800s, which eventually led to our current time zones.  Railroads were instrumental in development of the telegraph industry, laying cables along rail lines, until Marconi discovered radio waves and wireless transmission in the 1890s, and you know where that led.
Back to Camden yards where O's defeated sox 7-5.  Objectively,  visiting Yankees fans last night were 5x as obnoxious as visiting red sox fans.