Wet Cement

After a delicious breakfast, cooked by my cousin Linda, I was ready for my final ride. It seemed as though the rain may hold out, but right as I was getting on my bike it started. I figured I'd get into my rain gear right away, rather than wait and have to do it later. Riding through suburban Jersey was quite nice. I was only traveling about 30 miles total, but had over 100 directions to follow. This left me riding on many short neighborhood and back roads. As I got closer to the city it became more and more busy. Riding through Newark was actually quite exciting. I had so much energy as I got closer to my destination.

I was about five miles away from finishing my entire journey when I noticed I had a flat tire. I couldn't believe it. It was my first flat on the bike on the entire ride. Not including the flat I had as a result of the accident. I considered just walking the remaining five miles, but it was already about 4:00PM. I knew that walking the final five miles would leave me arriving much later than planned and in the dark. Plus, I wanted to gloriously arrive at my sister's place riding my bike. I quickly changed the tire and continued on.

About one mile later I was about to cross a large bridge over the Passaic River. Here is a picture of what I faced.

One more obstacle in my way. I wasn't sure what the plastic was for so I had to explore. After checking it out, I discovered it was wet cement. I confirmed it was wet by scuffing my shoe in it. After leaving my mark, I began to brainstorm my other options. The road to the left was a busy, multilane highway. The wet cement was only about 30 feet long, and there was a tall barrier between the road and the sidewalk. I decided my best option at this point was to walk my bike and gear along the side of the road and lift it over the barrier and continue down the sidewalk along the bridge. I had to disconnect my trailer from my bike and carry my gear separately. I had finally made it across and was ready to continue on when I realized my the tire I had just replaced was flat, again. It was nearly dark and I was crammed on the sidewalk of the bridge. I decided at this point, I would walk the remaining three miles. After finally walking across two giant bridges and along a few busy streets in Jersey City I had reached my sister's place. Trina and her boyfriend Mike came out to greet me. I had done it!!! I was so happy to be there. We brought my bike and gear upstairs and I got a bite to eat and a cold beer. My parents arrived shortly after and we all had dinner together. It hadn't, and still hasn't really sunk in that it's over. I'm going to enjoy Thanksgiving, and let reality that the journey is over sink in.

Within the next couple days I will post a summary of the trip. I'll include best and worst experiences and some interesting statistics. Be sure to check back for it.