Conclusion: Saturday, August 24 Staten Island

August 24, Saturday

59 miles: New City, NY to Mt. Loretto, Staten Island        

The final day of the tour has arrived, and there is a sense of finality, accomplishment, thankfulness and weariness plus a pending sense of loss for the richness of community and shared goal which is nearing completion.  There is also an eagerness for return to the comforts of loved ones and simple daily comforts and conveniences.   No one will miss the lines for food and bathrooms, sleeping on the ground and having to walk so far for everything when in camp!  Today is a wonderful mixture of the emotions which go with finalities.   

Up a bit before 5:30.   The usual morning chaos around the food truck ensues as large pans of porridge are consumed and pocket and saddle bags are filled with various snack and lunch foods. 

 At yesterday’s noon deli stop I was brilliant enough to also buy a beautiful large square of crumb coffee cake (a classic east coast breakfast staple) and enjoyed it immensely as a reward for having reached this day.  Remarkably, this morning - of all mornings - as people will be packing up tents today for shipping and traveling, there is a dry breeze and there is no dew!   In the three weeks I have been on the tour I think this is the first morning I have not packed up a wet tent.  This is a wonderful gift for those whose tents will not be set up to dry out this afternoon.    

Leaving Congers before 7 AM we ride up some nice hills of deeply wooded roads and through some lovely old Hudson River towns such as Nyack and Piedmont.   We see a deer crossing the road and a flock of turkeys.  We pass the Tappan Zee Bridge and follow route 9W along the Palisades.   It is obviously a favorite road for bicyclists as there are scads of riders, bike clubs, and groups of friends out riding on this beautiful Saturday morning.  Doug Haan has a sag stop for us at mile 15 with Dunkin Donut holes and we continue on to my native state of New Jersey.   

The Palisades provide peaceful wooded passage all the way down the river until we get to the famous George Washington Bridge.  We take the upper level which has a dedicated bike and pedestrian path on the south side which allows for a great view towards NYC.

Riding across this bridge is pretty exciting and very busy with lots of other bicyclists. 

We follow down the entire west side of Manhattan, first on surface streets such as Riverside Drive.  I stop at Riverside Church (Harry Emerson Fosdick, William Sloane Coffin) and take a look at the sanctuary. 

 

Soon after we get on the Hudson River Greenway all the way to the southern tip and Battery Park.  The Greenway goes along the Hudson and features a crowded bike path and pedestrian paths, shops, gardens, parks, and piers

A couple of huge cruise ships are docked here as is the Intrepid Museum.

 The One World Trade Center towers over the 9/11 ground zero.

Arriving at the Staten Island ferry along with tour buses on busy streets

 they herd us into a staging area for bicyclists for our 11:30 departure. 

The 20 minute Staten Island Ferry ride offers wonderful views of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. 

 We get a police escort for the busy mile to Project Hospitality where we re-gather and are served water and fruit. 

Shortly we are escorted south along the east side of Staten Island with a stop at Fort Wadsworth near the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.   

A few more miles south get us to Middle Beach for the official tire-dipping where we are greeted by many family (including Cathy!) and friends for the celebration.

 We gathered in a circle for a group prayer and singing the doxology.

 We have an official police escort (fore, aft, and at intersections) for the final 9-10 miles along very busy (six lanes in places) Hylan Blvd

to the south end of the Island at Mt. Loretto at 3:30.   It has been nearly 60 miles of exciting riding for our last day and now the odyssey has reached is conclusion.  There are lots of congratulations.  The trucks arrive.

We unload the truck and repack belongings and begin to tear down our bikes and box them up for shipping home.   I take my last cold public shower (sorry, no pictures) and I have my weekly shave (Cathy condones the effort)  before our closing banquet, program and farewells.   Good friendships built around shared experiences make the farewells bittersweet.  

I've ridden 1278 miles, but only a third of the entire journey.  I can hardly imagine having done the entire route, but then again I can hardly believe I've ridden as far as I have.  It is really good to see and be with Cathy again and to return to the securing routines of life.  The daily devotional aspect of riding will be a loss but when I think of how much of life is a never ending struggle and frustration for those enmeshed in poverty, I am glad that I could do something  -- with the blessed assistance of so many contributors (150 donors and over $20,000 for the cause).  I give thanks to God for the blessings of my life as I have a new realization that no one becomes poor by giving.