I am so desperately sad about the current situation in Israel and the necessary cancellation of this year’s Wheels of Love ride. I had planned for this to be an announcement about my final training rides in Jerusalem this week before heading to the Negev, but that was not meant to be.
However, this Sunday, October 22, riders from all over the region will participate in solidarity rides to show our support for Israel and the ALYN Children’s Hospital in particular. ALYN treats all children without regard to race or religion and especially so now, with a dramatic influx of war trauma victims. I never thought that war trauma would take precedence over birth defects and car accidents, but here we are.
Won’t you consider making a donation to ALYN and help provide for these innocent victims. I’ll be on the road for 50+ miles with my dear Long Island friends and fellow ALYN riders.
Thank you all so much for your generous support. For those of you who have generously supported me in the past, I am especially grateful.
Yes, that’s right – it’s 5am and my son Matt and I are standing in the dark outside Penn Station in Manhattan about to embark on our “bragging rights” longest one-day ride out to Montauk, Long Island. Did I mention that it’s dark outside? This ride usually takes place in May, but for logistical reasons too boring to go into, it was moved to September this year. That means, sunrise an hour later and dark for us an hour longer.
Eventually, though, the sun does come up and we just keep that big yellow thing in front of us since we are heading east for the entire day.
We always keep an eye on the weather for this ride, and usually (hint, hint), there is a prevailing westerly wind (wind out of the west, and helping us all day). But this year (as has happened a few other times as well), we had a 7-8 mph headwind the entire day. It got old really quickly. But, we soldiered on and finished in under 12 hours. Ok, Matt finished a lot under 12 hours. I was just happy to finish.
Please enjoy these photos from the incredible day. Man oh man, we were beat by the end. Best part though – hot showers and a big party at the finish.
(Click on the first photo for a slide show.)
Here’s our route: 153 miles from midtown Manhattan out to Montauk. And no, we did not take the Long Island Expressway.
Things are a little dark and fuzzy at 5am at the starting point.
Things are a little dark and fuzzy at 5am at the starting point.
34th Street needs those billboards to provide shed some light on the subject.
Crossing the Williamsburg Bridge and heading into the dark.
Heading east …
… just keep that big yellow thing in front of you.
Hey Matt, do you want to go to Jones Beach instead?
Matt shows me how it feels to bike 150 miles on only a couple hours of sleep.
On Dune Rd, we pass the century mark. Note the elevation: 8 feet above sea level. See next photo for an illustration…
… this is what 8 foot elevation looks like. Dune Rd floods easily.
Heading to the Ponquogue Bridge.
We pose for our traditional photo op.
We pose for our traditional photo op.
Check out Matt’s awesome Teri bike. He looks fast standing still.
Riding through the Hamptons…
Welcome to the Hamptons, aka Ground Zero in the Land of Entitlement.
That sign signals we’re near the end of this trek.
Best part of the ride? Taking a nice hot shower and feeling human again.
Celebration on the beach with music, food and beer …
My wonderful family and Uber drivers Joanne and Samantha.
The boys did it!
From sun up to sun down, Samantha gets ready for the drive home.
September 2, 2018
Back to the Mountains – Labor Day Weekend
Shandaken, NY – Catskill Forest loop – 66 miles, 3,646 feet vertical
Hi everyone,
I’ve heard from many of you that you miss my blogs. Well, let’s be clear: I sure do miss writing them and more importantly, I miss WHY I was writing them.
Here we are, on Labor Day Weekend – the traditional signal for the end of summer – and as my riding companion Tami would say, “Where DID the summer go? Oh, that’s right, we spent it riding across the country!” Yes indeed. I’m still in mourning at its end (the ride, not the summer.)
And so, I’m in the Catskills this weekend for a “destination” wedding of the daughter of a dear friend and thought this would be a great opportunity to skip the group breakfast and go for a long ride, while channeling all my coveted memories of our cross-country adventure and wonderful summer together.
Our host’s event is at a summer camp just outside the small town of Shandaken, NY – a tiny junction in the middle of the Catskill Forest Preserve. This area is dotted with summer camps and reminds me of the now-long-defunct camps I went to as a young camper and also as a camp counselor. (I had 8 and 9 year-old boys and it was SO much fun.)
Plotting out a bike ride here doesn’t leave many options. Being in the middle of the preserve, there are only a few roads amid mostly forested areas with the occasional town. And, without a topo map, I really didn’t know what I was in for in terms of elevation. But after the mountain passes in Oregon, the Tetons and Continental Divide in Wyoming, I figured, how bad could it be? So I plotted a 60+ mile loop and headed out.
Man oh man, did it feel good to be riding again. And climbing again. And descending again. And cruising again. I comforted myself with fond reminiscences of this summer’s journey and all of the fantastic new friends from the ride.
The loop started out going north and up – seriously up – and I immediately regretted not checking elevations first. But one thing about riding across the country: it gives you confidence. And so I climbed through beautiful forested areas and just decided to grind it out. Eventually, and not too bad overall, I reached a peak and then it was downhill to the small town of Lexington. Sadly, Lexington has seen better days and like many small towns in the general area, it seemed depressed with many boarded up buildings. It was Sunday morning, though, and the church was going strong. I continued north and finished the first 23-mile leg at Grand Gorge before turning to the south west.
Still riding into a headwind (oh yeah, remember those?) I rode into Roxbury at about the halfway point. There was a cute cafe on my right whose espresso machine seemed to call to me. It reminded me of our wonderful Dutch couple, Herman and Ada, who stopped at every espresso bar in the US in search of a good cup of coffee. Feeling rejuvenated (and smiling), I continued to Arkville before turning east to head back toward Shandaken on Route 28. I was hoping to make it to the wedding camp site in time for lunch from 1 to 2.
Unfortunately for me, the access road to the campground was a 3-mile slog uphill with the final section kicking up to a whopping 17-18% grade. I tried, folks, I really did, but when I rounded a corner and saw yet another quarter-mile of this ridiculous steep grade, I did something I hadn’t done for 3,700 miles. I got off my bike and walked. (My good buddy Herb and I used to call this “cross-training”!)
At any rate, a hearty Mazel Tov to Hillary and Alex on an idyllic weekend wedding celebration and the amazing Marjorie Goldstein, mother of the bride. Sadly, Lenny Goldstein passed away three months ago and could not be here in person, although he was certainly here in spirit.
Next weekend, I’m looking forward to a mini-reunion of sorts in south New Jersey with Abbe and Arlene for the Sourlands Ride. I’m still hoping to catch up in person with more folks here in the northeast before the weather turns and before I go to Israel at the end of October, so stay tuned.
Here’s a fun animated look at today’s 66-mile loop ride along with just a few photos to remember the day.
As always, thank you for following.
…Jeff
Here’s the loop I mapped out: counter-clockwise from Shandaken (Route 42),with a little tail at the end to the festivities at Timber Lake Camp.
Seriously, how do you not just stare at this? Stunning view from the bridge in Lexington.
More interrupting co… “MOOOO!!!”
You’re welcome.
A hint up ahead at more climbing to come …
Hey, I used to ski here!
Some sort of weird track maintenance car, but I never miss a chance for a good railroad shot.
What goes up, must come down. Hmmm, … should I ride or take the train?
Exhilarating downhill at -9% grade. I hit about 43 mph when my front wheel started to shimmy. Scared the bejesus out of me. Will have to ask Alex to take a look at that.
Journey with Jeff 