The longest short day imaginable

I picked up my bike this morning and started my trek across New York City. My objective was to contact Peter, a friend/vendor from work that lives in Connecticut and also is a Harley owner/rider. He had asked me to let him know when I was in the area so we might ride together or at least have dinner. 

My cabby (I took a cab from the hotel to the H.D. Dealership) had suggested I ride highway 9W along the Hudson River for somewhat less traffic and great riding. When I departed Rahway, N.J. I hoped to avoid crossing onto Manhatten Island and clearing the Big Apple before rush hour.

The Girls were continuing their stubborn ways and not talking to me, I think. One recent day I had heard them talking to me before I started the engine, but in almost a whisper. I turned up the volume of my phone, of Navigator and my Bluetooth receiver, but to no avail. The only thing I had not done recently was charge the battery for the Bluetooth. I tried that the next night but still have not heard from The Girls in several days.

I was picking my way along highways 1 & 9 just fine until I came to Fort Hill, N.J. (?) where I was to pick up 9W.

Aside: It is not uncommon to see a highway sign with the number printed on a white shield backdrop, denoting a U.S. route. It is not uncommon to have two or more highways run concurrently, in which case you would see two highway signs, often on the same post. I have never before seen the single white shield backdrop with both highway numbers on it (I.e. 1-9), but it was the case all across New Jersey!

So as I worked my way through traffic trying to keep track of all the cars and still look for highway signs, stop signs and traffic lights, I saw a sign that Palisades Parkway was turning to the right as the road was turning to the left. No highway number was given for Palisades Parkway on any of the signs leading up to the intersection, and it wasn't until you began to turn left that a sign became visible on the right sidewalk proclaiming the road you just missed as "Palisades Parkway 9W". With my head on a swivel I turned back to see where I was going. George Washington Bridge was all I could see. This meant I was going into The City! There was one exit between my mistake and my destiny, so I took it to see if I could find my way back to Palisades Parkway.

As I pulled onto a surface street my phone rang; it was Peter. I pulled over so we could talk and he made a recommendation that I had not thought of - go across the GW bridge and catch I-95 toward Connecticut. His reasoning was sound. Even though it was still pretty early in the day it was a Friday (something I did not know at that point) and not only would several million people soon be sneaking out of work early about 30% of them would be heading toward summer homes/weekend retreats in Connecticut. It was no longer a matter of getting past NYC, it was a matter of beating everyone onto and through the Connecticut weekend traffic. 

His reasoning was sound so I (gulp) paid the $15.00 toll and crossed the GW and hit the cross-town parkway through the Bronx while it was still semi-viscous. I was too busy watching traffic and signs to take a picture when I crossed from New Jersey to New York so I cheated and took this...

When I stopped an hour or two later to take this...

As I rode through the Bronx I was reminded of Peter's words "it'll probably be pretty bumpy". It was. But the one thing that really blew my mind was a particular bridge/ tunnel that I either rode under or through, depending on your POV. It was wider than most bridges so there was substantial darkness beneath it. As I was approaching the patch of black under the bridge I saw that there was something in the middle of my lane. It was light in color and it appeared to be moving but did not change location! I was going faster than my thought process so I continued, not wanting to slam on my brakes and have some Big Appleite run me over from behind. The car in front of me had just gone through and there were no brake lights, swerves or crashes. But as I got nearer and nearer I really got nervous. It was definitely moving, rotating in position, right in the middle of my lane. In the darkness under the bridge it was as bright as the noon-day sun. As I entered the point-of-no-return zone it suddenly dawned on me that it was a huge hole in the pavement and something under the road was turning in it. My front tire crossed the edge of the abyss and I braced myself for the inevitable fall into the crater. But I cruised right over it and didn't feel a thing. As I emerged from the far lip of the cavernous opening I realized what I had seen. There was an opening in the overhead canopy with an exhaust fan to move fumes out of the tunnel. The sun was perfectly located to shine through the opening and project a round disc of light on the pavement below, perfectly illuminated and shaped to appear as a round hole, with the shadow of the fan blade creating the rotating image projected on the pavement.

I said out loud "boy, that was scarey", and a female voice responded " I've been reading your blog". The Girls had not talked to me in days and now they were telling me it was because they were reading my blog instead of navigating?

I asked who I was talking to and I was told it was my Granddaughter Brianna. The phone had not been ringing (the Bluetooth makes a strange noise when I have an incoming call), and I had not directed the phone to be answered. But now I was talking to Brianna. I hoped that she had not heard me say that it was scarey.

I had to tell her that I'd call back because I was driving in New York City! That in itself is scarey enough!

Peter had definitely called the traffic situation correctly! 

Over the next 5 hours I covered about 70 miles, some on highway 1 and some on I-95, they were both moving at about the same pace. I could tell I had moved into the high rent district however when I spotted this at a rest area

A charging station for the all electric Tesla

Then when I returned from my use of the facilities I found this

I don't believe Tesla has made an appearance in Idaho yet

Eventually I reached Peters house and we spent the rest of the evening chatting about just about everything. Had a nice dinner, did some laundry, solved the worlds problems! He drove me around Branford and nearby Stoney Creek so I could get a taste of the upscale side of town and it's great views.

 What more could you ask for on a Friday evening? His house is in a beautifully secluded area surrounded by shade trees. As the sun went down so did the temperature and it was perfect for sitting in the post-dusk darkness, watching fire-flies and talking life. 

Eventually I tired so I went to my room and tried to pen this blog. But the Sandman found me before I could complete it so...

It will wait.

So now my grandchildren, time for a quiz - how many states has Grandpa ridden in? (Mommy or Daddy can get out a map and help you count them).

Second question - If I will eventually ride in 30 states, how many more states will I need to ride in?