Always bring a buddy.

Since we had 129 miles ahead of us, we left Hartford in the dark at 5:30 am Sunday. We managed to get out of the city without any trouble (no flats, wrong turns, or bad weather). Stopped at Dunkin Donuts in West Hartford around 6:00 am and then continued on. Riding at sunrise is probably one of the coolest things you can do!  As much as I love sleeping in, getting on the road before the sun is up is as peaceful as lying in your bed. 

No real issues moving south for the next several miles. We passed through some apple orchards, traveled on a cool rail trail and road along a pretty reservoir.  After climbing a very steep hill (coincidently named Old Mountain Road)  in Marion we had a little surprise. During the descent a huge turkey vulture popped out of the grass and spread his wings right next to us! We stayed upright, but never did we expect a vulture to crash into us on our ride!

Now everyone loves computers, right? I have the cue sheet printed out and Kim has the Garmin map.  After the LONG turkey vulture hill descent we looked at our directions and they didn't sync up. We pulled over and noticed that we were 12 miles off track! Ugh. We realized that we had made a wrong turn, recalculated and turned back. But those detoured miles were ALL major climbs. We now had an extra 12 miles on our legs. Although... the detour did give us a stop at Paul Bunyon's shop! 

So, Kim had the GPS and I had the cue sheet. They didn't match up.  Lesson here: Always check with your buddy. 

We got to the Waterbury area around noon but have only traveled about 50 miles because of the detour, RIDICULOUS hills, and stopping to read the map.  We stopped at a deli to refuel  and had lunch. Rode towards Danbury,  crossing a very cool bridge.

When we crossed we realized we were now in Newtown. We came around a steep bend and there at the center intersection was a huge flag at half mast.  Kim and I both felt the same way. It was hard not to think about the tragedy riding through.  We wondered how long that flag will stay there. Probably for a very long time. 

Hills still didn't let up and we are now about 80 miles into our ride when we arrived in Bethel. We stopped for a milkshake (I had to have one. You know, for the recovery.)  We were so tired and knew that if we continued on the whole 129 mile ride, we would be arriving in NYC in the dark. So Kim suggested we ride to Purdy station about 20 miles away, forego the last 30 miles of the day's ride and save our bodies for the next day. She's a smart one!! That's exactly what we did. 

We arrived at Grand Central station around 6:00 pm. When we got up to the street, we were a little apprehensive about riding in the traffic. We are in Times Square after all!

But we just wanted to get to the hotel, so we hopped on and joined in with all the crazy cab drivers, cars and buses. I was so upset.  I said to Kim, "Of all the cities that need a bike lane, this is one of them." We were riding on the right side. That's what you do, right?  Nope. The bike lanes are all on the left! Oops.  It felt a little like "lost in translation."  We just need to figure out how to blend in.   We SAFELY arrived at our hotel, showered and grabbed a cab for a delicious dinner at Momofuku.

Kim has been before and really wanted to take me. What an awesome place! A noodle bar with several twists! So good and so well deserved after a long day. 


We made it. Very proud of us and very happy to have a buddy. 

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