Day 2

"That's Bear Mountain over there"

I am currently inside the Monroe Public Library which contains two computers. I've been limited to 15 minutes so I'll do the best I can to describe the day. I have now blown 3 tires. It always happens close to finish lines or food. Yesterday I blew a tire less than 5 miles away from the end of our first day in Ridgefield. Today I blew a tube 1 mile away from lunch in Peekskill New York.....and then one tube 1 mile directly after lunch....two tubes in 2 miles. I am never going back to peekskill New York.

Nick rode and finished today after crashing and suffering a minor concussion yesterday. He wins my hats off award. Today in Map meeting we were told we would go over a bridge and then have to climb "Bear Mountain". It is scary enough that it has the word mountain.....it was even scarier trying to make a left hand turn while riding on Rt 6 where cars were coming around the curve at over 60 MPH.

As my small group of riders of Miriam, Morgen, Pat and myself crossed a bridge we then climbed a steep "mountain". At the top I congratulated the other three riders as they came in to the spectacular view of the Hudson River. As I screamed "We've done it, we climbed bear mountain" a stopped motorcyclist says "ummm, guys....." he then pointed across the river and corrected us saying "That is bear mountain". It appears the small bridge we went over was just a tiny inlet, we had yet to cross the Hudson, and the scary mountain across the river was in fact the unclimbed Bear Mountain. After a trip over the cool looking Bear Mountain Bridge, we climbed up and down the mountain, climbed out of Hudson River Valley and now I sit in Orange County New York.

The church lady who drove me and a few others to the showers is raising deer in her living room, and tonight we get to do home stays with church members. I think I may be scared! Tomorrow we head to Port Jervis for our last full day in New York.....then off to PA, WV, some crappy Midwestern states, some cool western states and then San Francisco!