July 1: Oceanside, NY to Bayonne, NJ (66 miles)

The Traditional Atlantic Ocean Rear Wheel Dip (Long Beach, NY)

With enough free time and a bit of training, almost anyone can bike across the United States.   I'm starting to realize the process is actually about 80% mental.  You definitely have to get past some reasonable fears: of not finding a place to sleep, getting lost, automobile "mishaps," busted spokes and shady characters.  And packing well and planning ahead certainly helps, but I think the key is just to take the trip one day at a time.

So when I awoke the morning of July 1st, the day of my cross-country departure, I was careful to quiet the voice inside which asked me what I might encounter on the road in the great northwest in September.  Instead, I told myself, "Today I feel like biking to Bayonne, New Jersey." 

Still, I knew this first day presented unique challenges.  You don't need to be Magellan to know the route between Oceanside and my sister's place in Bayonne is mainly urban, with several bridges to cross, only some of which welcome bikes.  Knowing this, and the list of bike-friendly bridges at my disposal, I knew I'd have to break one of cherished laws of travel and ride pretty ridiculously out of the way.

I love my sister this much.

So, just before noon, in cool, sunny summer weather we Marylanders only dream of, my bike ride to Bayonne (a.k.a. my Trans-American tour) started in the lowermost right corner of this map.  Oceanside and Long Beach--where I performed the traditional Atlantic Ocean rear tire dip; see photo above--are just east of the thin green horizontal strip in the corner. 

Now, if I were a crow flying to Jersey, I’d almost certainly take off bearing west from that thin green strip, fly past JFK Airport, glide northwest into Brooklyn over the Shore Parkway, over the Verranzano Narrows Bridge into Staten Island, then descend quickly in a northerly direction over the bridge into Bayonne (unmarked, near Route 440 on the map).  In all, I'd have covered forty miles at most. 

But I’m not a crow and am beholden to The Man where bridges are concerned.  Bikes are allowed to cross the bridge into Bayonne, which would have deposited me just three miles from the end of my day's ride.  But they’re strictly verboten on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge into Staten Island (i.e., my most convenient route to the Bayonne Bridge).  So no luck there.

I was also unwilling, especially on the first day of my Trans-American bike tour, to “cheat” by loading my bike onto a ferry and cruising into Staten Island.   

So I really had just one option.  I skipped Staten Island altogether, rode into Brooklyn over the Marine Park Bridge and picked up the bike path alongside Flatbush avenue, then fought my way through Brooklyn and over the Brooklyn Bridge into Battery Park (southern tip of Manhattan). 

Please note that even before the point at which I'd crossed the bridge into Brooklyn, I was already biking out of my way, north of Bayonne and my comfy couch for the night.  What I failed to appreciate that day was how soon, and to what extent, I was taking the "scenic route."

Upon arriving in Manhattan, I rode the length of the island on the Hudson River Greenway to the George Washington Bridge.  You wouldn't know by the bike and pedestrian traffic that the HRG is the most heavily used bikeway in the U.S. (thanks, Wikipedia).  It's a beautiful ride, roughly twelve miles, with the Jersey skyline and the Hudson your constant companions to the west. 

Because it’s about twelve miles from Battery Park to the GW, I assumed that once I crossed the bridge into Jersey it would just be another twelve miles south to Bayonne and a hot meal.  Yeah, about twelve ....or twice that many.  Whichever.

Eventually you realize your crow has flown 66 miles.

Looking back, it strikes me how different the various parts of this one day were.

*Oceanside, NY through Far Rockaway (i.e., the little green strip on the map)...was a beautiful, flat ride on boardwalks past sunbathers basking in God's creation.  Along the way I met Mel Bennison, an active sixty-something who works for Homeland Security and who expressed a genuine interest in my trip and bike touring generally.

*Brooklyn...started  out promising on a bike path alongside Flatbush avenue.  But at the northernmost tip of Marine Park, where trail gave way to sidewalks and ugly urban storefronts, it devolved into a frenetic hellscape of swerving cars, honking horns and surging pedestrians.  Brooklynites also seemed to take special joy in mocking my recumbent bike; one gentleman in a black SUV honked his horn repeatedly until he first got my attention, and then behind the glass performed a pitch-perfect pantomime of ridicule, with head thrown back, pointing and knee slapping.

*Manhattan...was my biggest concern beforehand due to traffic but instead presented a wonderful, picturesque, waterfront ride on a path nearly untouched by cars. 

*New Jersey...would have been thoroughly enjoyable to race through had I not begun by that time to struggle with directions and the gradual realization that my destination was still far away.  Nonetheless, I felt very strong by day’s end and rolled up to Lisa’s apartment around 8:30.

Thanks very much, Lisa, for the tofu lasagna, the companionship and the excellent hospitality!  

Brooklyn Bridge

Hudson Greenway, Manhattan

NYC Skyline from Jersey