I woke up at 6:30am and went down to the hotel lobby to draw. The Comfort Inn was filled with road construction guys who were staying there while working on a project nearby. The lobby was packed as they swarmed the breakfast bar. I sat in the middle of them and listened to their thick New York accents telling stories. It was one of those moments where you’re the odd person out in the middle of a group of people who are all connected in some way. They were all in good spirits and it rubbed off on me. I smiled along with their conversations as if I was part of them. They all abruptly left at 7:30 and I felt like all my new friends (who I hadn’t actually talked to) had left me behind. Maybe this had been my chance to join the traveling band of road workers? 

I went back to the room but Kyle was out cold. I wrote for a while trying not to wake him but around 9 am I finally pulled back the curtains saying it was time to get going. Poor Kyle was sore after his first day of touring and his knee was angry about having to bend. His engine was started slowly and by around 10 he was trying to figure out how to lift his sore leg over the top tube of his bike. We had a much easier time getting down the highway outside the hotel without rush hour traffic and found our way on to the bike path. 

We had a puzzle today distance wise. It was around 80 miles (129km) into Brooklyn but I felt like that would be too much for Kyle given that this was only his 2nd day of bike touring. Day 2 is always the hardest and to jump him up from 45 miles (72.4km) the day before to 80 miles (129km) today seemed cruel. He eventually decided that he could make it to the end of the NYC subway line which would be about a 50 mile (80.4km) ride and we aimed for that. 

I kept trying to say hello to people on the trail even though I knew it was getting ridiculous. That big city don’t-engage vibe was starting to kick in and people on the trail mostly didn’t really want to be bothered. For the last week I’d say hello to the few people I’d see on the trail and pretty much always get a smile and wave back but folks now would just pretend to not hear or see me. A few hardened faces would crack with a smile but I’m going to have to remember it’s bad form to say hello to every person you see in New York City (I’ve seen Crocodile Dundee).

It was an easy day on the trail by my standards of the trip. Smoothly paved the whole way, a few rolling hills and long stretches without intersections, and no rain. For Kyle it was a bit of a drag I’m sure but he fought through it, forced his knee to work and made it to the subway. I didn’t join him as I had decided I wanted to properly finish the ride into the city. I’ve come so far I couldn’t skip the pedal across NYC by taking the subway. However, it was getting later in the day and I had a drawing assignment I needed to finish so I got one last hotel. It’s just a couple miles from the New York City’s official city limits in Yonkers. Tomorrow I will cross the city limits and take my time meandering across the Big Apple. 

I spent the evening in my hotel room drawing away. I’m feeling unfocused art wise thanks to so much riding, but I made some progress. If you see a drawing on Pinkbike by me soon that involves water, suspension and teeth I pulled this project together just in time. I’m about to go to sleep feeling like it’s not quite there and I don’t know how to fix it. Tomorrow is my last day to mess around with it as the day after that (August 18th) I’m heading to Europe where I’ll spend a couple months wandering around there with my bike.