Fordham/CitySquash Cross-Country Bicycle Ride
Day 34 Flanders, New York to The Bronx, New York
Fordham Coach Bryan Patterson and several players are cycling from San Francisco to New York to raise money for CitySquash, a not-for-profit after-school enrichment program based in the Bronx at Fordham University.
Coach Patterson is sending reports to DailySquashReport.com from the road.
July 9, 2011 - Day 34 – the END!!!Man we are all up really early. I think Sandy was up by 5.30am. So I guess that yes we want to get on the road and make it back as quickly as we can. We pack up and get onto the road, only we are going the wrong way!! We do about a mile and a half and realize this! Back to square one and start again.
We have debated about our route into New York, thinking that we might find a bike route or take the smaller side roads. If we take the side roads we know that it will take a really long time to do the remaining 60 miles. So we plump for Route 46 again, knowing that there will be loads of traffic and certainly lots of intersections.
Sandy is a little concerned and is heard to say “You guys are crazy”, but we really do want to get back.
Route 46 is busy and we make sure that we are all safe, Felipe and Angel are sharing this last day with Angel riding first. So we have 5 on the road, with Andriy driving and Felipe waiting his turn to ride.
Still some long hills and lots of drink stops. We have also made the van stop every 5 miles rather than 10 miles, which we feel is safer.
There are one or two other bikers on this route, and one points out a huge pot hole under an underpass, which I don’t see and hit at speed. Literally 100 yards later I have a puncture – my fourth in the last two weeks.
Unbelievably there is a bike repair shop 4 miles on. So I get into the van and we drive there. It takes 45 minutes to get this repaired. A pretty busy place. We catch up to the group who are in a gas station.
The decision about keeping going on Route 46 has to be made, as it’s getting extremely busy and there are now major interchanges. We take the decision to drive through the Holland Tunnel and then ride the West Side Highway back up to the Bronx.
We all think that this is a smart decision especially Jack and Sandy who now don’t have to ride the George Washington Bridge! So we pile into the van and drive into New York.
The West Side ride is really great, no vehicles, only people out to enjoy the day. Under the GWB and over the Broadway bridge, and we are into the Bronx!
It takes us another 40 minutes to safely ride through traffic and to Arthur Avenue, where we are met by CitySquash parents, Felipes and Angels. Joe Di Bari is there to meet us, he’s from Fordham and has come to take pictures for the Fordham University paper.
We go to Michael Angelos restaurant to celebrate this epic journey and the fact the we made it back.
We really can’t believe that we did this. 2,700 miles give or take a few.
We have a party form 5 – 7pm in Michael Angelos, and we have parents, students from Fordham and some CitySquash kids and supporters of CitySquash there. Congrats all round, no speeches, just lots of stories about the Ride.
For me, I am amazed that we have done this, but it’s been a fantastic experience, one that I will never forget. Hopefully memories will come back about places, people, the group that I rode with, the mountains and the vicious hills that we all rode. Right now it’s great to be back.
I want to take this moment to thanks everyone who supported, donated, sponsored us, and encouraged us – A HUGE THANK YOU – we, BP, Jack, Andriy, Raymond, Felipe and Angel all appreciate this.
I also want to say to those who doubted that a) I would ever get this Ride organized, b) that I would actually do it, and c) that we’d finish it too – now you have to donate!
We organized, we rode AND we finished, so please put your money where your mouth is.
Thank you.
This blog isn’t finished yet – I still have to present the jerseys (a la Tour de France), and there are quotes that have to be told. So let me rest up and I will have these for you all.
To Donate To The Fordham/CitySquash Cross-Country Charity Ride:
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