So first of all, sorry there was no blog yesterday. Dr. Ross has been riding from 5:30 or so until about 8 to 8:30 PM and by the time we get settled in, showered and eat dinner, we are both ready to sleep. Also, last night we stayed in Nottingham, PA and the only hotel in Nottingham did not have internet service. I believe they only have one stop light there as well. So between yesterday and today, I don't know where to start, but lets start with yesterday for the sake of being chronologically correct :) In the morning Dr. Ross decided he wanted to ride himself into Washington DC, more specifically because there are specific bike routes that we thought would be easier for him, so I met him there. Come to find out, it wasn't as easy as expected and he had to back track a few times due to wrong turns. Not to mention, the one thing you will probably hear Dr. Ross talk about most, I believe, is how hilly this ride has been compared to the Key West trip. There is hill after hill after hill after hill after.......hill..after hill...you get the picture. Finally, late morning we met in DC at the Lincoln Memorial and took some pictures. After DC, we headed out towards Baltimore. This is where things got tricky. We thought it would be a decent idea to just ride through on the not so busy highway through Baltimore. Less traffic, less people hopefully, and a straight shot to avoid riding extra miles. What we didn't take into account were the rough areas we would have to ride through, and how difficult it would be to navigate through a big city. All the streets change direction and name and the traffic, no matter where you are, is terrible. The craziest part of the Baltimore section was when we were coming up to a street Dr. Ross went up to a police officer and told him the direction we were trying to go and if we were headed in the right direction. He said yes, but just to let us know, we were heading straight into the most dangerous part in all of Baltimore. In fact it has a name "murderers alley". I was thinking "ok, well lets find another route, even if it means going a little bit out of our way". But....Dr. Ross said "Thank you" and we rode straight through it! I'm not gonna lie, pretty scary stuff, but we made it all in one piece. Later that evening, around 8:30 PM we arrived in Nottingham, PA and called it a day, 185 miles later.....unbelievable!
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| Murderers Alley |
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| Lincoln Memorial |
Today, we made our way into the New Jersey/New York area. This morning, Dr. Ross got up at about 5:30 as usual and head out. Apparently, early this morning, while he was riding on Highway 1, a State Highway Patrol officer kicked him off the highway and told him he was crazy for being on there. Dr. Ross basically just laughed it off, and obliged by changing course and taking a bit of a longer route on our way towards New Jersey. The story of yesterday and today was the difficulty of riding through big cities. We rode through Trenton and Newark, NJ as well as New York City, Manhattan, and the Bronx, New York. We rode through some of the craziest and wildest traffic that we have ever ridden through. Not to mention riding through the Bronx was an experience in itself. We actually took the time to eat at Wendys for dinner in the Bronx. haha. My wife is probably going to kill me when we get back. The one thing I will say is as I drive through these rougher areas I can't help but reflect and be grateful for the things that I do have. Just when you think times are tough in your own life, you see a situation someone else has been dealt and it brings you back to a reality that helps you remember the things you've been blessed with. So, we are now near Port Chester, NY in a small town called Rye Brook about to fall asleep in the Hilton here. Speaking of that, I'd like to give a shot out to Richard Christensen, a guest service agent here at the Hilton in Rye Town who gave us a room when the hotel was supposed to be full and no rooms available. He made it happen for us and we appreciate it. We tried two other hotels in a different town that were full and we were on about an hour's journey trying to find a place to sleep for the night. Oh yah...By the way, Dr. Ross rode 206 miles today!!! Anyways, it is time for bed. see ya!
So first of all, sorry there was no blog yesterday. Dr. Ross has been riding from 5:30 or so until about 8 to 8:30 PM and by the time we get settled in, showered and eat dinner, we are both ready to sleep. Also, last night we stayed in Nottingham, PA and the only hotel in Nottingham did not have internet service. I believe they only have one stop light there as well. So between yesterday and today, I don't know where to start, but lets start with yesterday for the sake of being chronologically correct :) In the morning Dr. Ross decided he wanted to ride himself into Washington DC, more specifically because there are specific bike routes that we thought would be easier for him, so I met him there. Come to find out, it wasn't as easy as expected and he had to back track a few times due to wrong turns. Not to mention, the one thing you will probably hear Dr. Ross talk about most, I believe, is how hilly this ride has been compared to the Key West trip. There is hill after hill after hill after hill after.......hill..after hill...you get the picture. Finally, late morning we met in DC at the Lincoln Memorial and took some pictures. After DC, we headed out towards Baltimore. This is where things got tricky. We thought it would be a decent idea to just ride through on the not so busy highway through Baltimore. Less traffic, less people hopefully, and a straight shot to avoid riding extra miles. What we didn't take into account were the rough areas we would have to ride through, and how difficult it would be to navigate through a big city. All the streets change direction and name and the traffic, no matter where you are, is terrible. The craziest part of the Baltimore section was when we were coming up to a street Dr. Ross went up to a police officer and told him the direction we were trying to go and if we were headed in the right direction. He said yes, but just to let us know, we were heading straight into the most dangerous part in all of Baltimore. In fact it has a name "murderers alley". I was thinking "ok, well lets find another route, even if it means going a little bit out of our way". But....Dr. Ross said "Thank you" and we rode straight through it! I'm not gonna lie, pretty scary stuff, but we made it all in one piece. Later that evening, around 8:30 PM we arrived in Nottingham, PA and called it a day, 185 miles later.....unbelievable!
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