Bike trip



on the 145th st bridge btw Bronx & Manhattan



On Tuesday morning I left a friends house in the Bronx and started out somewhere around Terrytown with Amy's boyfriend Geoff who was familiar with the area because he had lived in Yonkers is whole life. He rode with me for apx. 30mi to the town of Peekskill. I then went the rest of the way over Bear Mountain and across the Hudson river toward Goshen. I did get a little lost and went over some hills that were quite difficult with my panniers (saddle bags) on the back of my bike.





View from Bear Mtn.

Bear Mtn Bridge: after crossing the mt.

I stayed in Goshen with a family I found on warm showers. They had a beautifully clean house & were extremely hospitable. They even fed me an awesome dinner!

Chris, the dad, was eager to help me map out a better, less hilly ride to my destination the next day. Their daughter KC had just learned to swallow fire that day and she owned her own hoop business: stellar sunshine hoops. And what really tilled the Lilly was the performance she did for me while the hoop was on fire!

This was my first experience using Warm Showers, and it was a positive one!!

The next day I rode 30 measly miles to the town of New Paltz. I was supposed to ride to Rhinebeck, but stopped here and stayed in a Hostel instead because I wanted to explore the town. Also, I needed to go to the bike shop because the boot on my hub was making a squeaky noise, and the mechanic there just happened to be an expert... And luckily everything was fine. Also I noticed that a local coffee shop was having a chess game night (Wednesday). So I beat my new acquaintance Matt in a good game then went with him and his roomates to their house around the corner to eat dinner and have a cup of tea. Then left to make it back to the hostel I was staying at by cerfew (10pm) the hostel was 30 bux for the dorm room. Though I ended up having the room to myself!



   



Rodeside America

between Rhinebeck & Red Hook, NY



On the way to Hudson:

 

reminded me of where I grew up in VA



thursday evening, just before i rode into Hunson, NY



After I left Hudson, I went by Stuyvesant Falls and took a small nap, because the girl that I stayed the night with had to leave super early for work, and for some reason I only slept 20min at a time that night.

its electric.


I began to think that I was lost after I left the falls. I saw an elderly man mowing his lawn with sound blocker headphones on. I thought to ask him for directions, but I didnt want to disturb him. After I went up the rode I decided toturn around and ask because I was worried about being lost. It was funny, because as soon as he took off his headphones and turned off the mower, he let go of it and it went rolling down into the ditch.
After confirming that I was on the correct road, he looked at me and said: "I can tell by that smile on your face that you must be a Christian" and that statement led us into a long conversation and an hour visit. He told me about his family, two marriages, and how he proposed to his wife, who I met when I went inside their house. They gave me cold water, his wife gave me a headband that she crocheted (that was her talent), and they gave me a more direct route (route 9 to route 4 - that went into Troy) which was better than the hilly country roads that I was taking, and potentially getting lost on, and before I left we all stood in the kitchen, held hands as they prayed for me and my future travels.
The experience was wonderful. And it is hard to explain with words how it made me feel inside.