Distance: 29.5 mi, Climbing: 1,860 ft
Completed: 29.5 mi, 1,860 ft
Today is the day. Joanna and I start our big adventure, riding from New York to Seattle. We had a perfect day. The high was in the low 70s, and the sun was shining bright. We are all packed up, with each of us filling two panniers with 25+ pounds of clothes and gear each. For perspective, two panniers can hold about the same amount as an airplane carry-on bag.
There is a tradition for cross-country bike tours of dipping your wheels in both oceans. The closest beach to our house is Rye Beach. It’s technically on Long Island Sound, but Long Island Sound connects to the Atlantic Ocean. That is good enough for us.
We rode through Connecticut to head back into New York to get to Rye Beach. The country roads in Connecticut are just beautiful for biking. We made it up our first hills. I was nervous considering the packed panniers but happy to find the hills manageable.
I was expecting Rye Beach to be empty. I imagined Joanna and I dipping our wheels in the Long Island Sound on a cold April day with not a person to be seen. Well, it was a beautiful day, and the beach was teaming with dog owners with their dogs. There must have been fifty people on the beach. The good news is that made it easy to find someone to take the obligatory photo with both of us freezing our feet off in the water.
How fun it was to run into our friends from Bet Torah, Paul and Jamie Rosenfeld, with their daughter Kira. They were enjoying the afternoon with their sweet dog. It felt like a great way to embark on our journey.
The ride from Rye to our hotel in Tarrytown was more challenging than I expected. First, we ended up on Route 119 in White Plains for a short bit and had to cut across four lanes of high-speed traffic to make a left turn. Then, we meandered through the neighborhoods of White Plains, which had some serious hills that made the morning climbing look easy. We had several short hills with 14% grades and one long hill at a steady 12% grade. While tough, it did give me some confidence for the road ahead.
With our first day of riding done, we did a quick turn-around at the hotel and took an Uber to Joanna’s sister Abigail’s house for a lovely Passover seder celebrated together with family. It was great to see everyone, and we really enjoyed all the food. We were hungry. 🙂
You are both awesome and amazing. Wishing you a wonderful and safe bicycle adventure across the USA. I can’t wait to hear more about your adventures. 🚵♀️🚵🇺🇸👍⛑️🫂🙏
Hi, Melanie! Thank you for your sweet note. Though Rich and I are enjoying our bicycle adventure, I was disappointed to have missed your mother and you at Sisterhood Shabbat.