We awoke to the buzzing of my alarm clock, followed a minute later by the morning news on Esther’s clock radio— she’s a news junkie.  I groaned as I rolled out of bed gathering my bike gear before taking Chico for his walk.  After weeks of planning and asking friends to sponsor us, today’s dual events have arrived, Esther’s birthday and the Tour de Cure.

     I gave Esther a hug and kiss wishing her a happy birthday when Chico and I returned.  We put our bikes on the car rack and headed into Manhattan — we would have preferred to ride in but with a hilly 55-mile ride ahead of us we decided to save our legs.  

     The Tour de Cure is a fundraising riding event raising money for the American Diabetes Association.  All riders have to raise a minimum of $150 to ride.   While none of us felt comfortable asking friends and family for money to sponsor us, especially during these tough economic times, it was easier knowing over 70% of the money raised goes to the American Diabetes Association mission to “prevent and cure diabetes and improving the lives of all people affected by diabetes.”

     Arriving at Pier 54 it was easy to spot the cars of those participating in the Tour by the empty bike racks on their cars.  We saw Linda and Leo gave us a quick wave as we pulled up.  They both wished Esther a Happy Birthday and we went off to check in. 

     At check-in I grabbed a cup of coffee and a bagel, and two bottles of water.  The water went into my backpack.  Although we brought two bottles each, the forecast called for humid and sticky — we knew it would be important to stay hydrated.  The last thing we picked up was the cue sheet with the directions of the route — the cue sheet would be important later in the day.

     After check-in many of the riders posed for pictures waiting for the ride to begin.   The tour was split into those doing a 100-mile ride, the 55-milers like us, as well as 30 and 15-mile riders.  The 100-milers left about an hour before us, the 15 and 30 mile riders had not arrived yet.  There were about 50 or 60 of us 55-milers; some looked like experienced cyclists, others, like us were bike riders riding for a good cause.  Before we left Leo told Linda he would call her from the George Washington Bridge to let her know when we were headed back into Manhattan. 

     The first part of the route was a tour of Manhattan — we rode down 11^th Avenue heading downtown towards Chelsea.  From Chelsea we zigzagged though the Village across Bleecker Street toward Chinatown.  Esther and I were amazed at the number of bike lanes; we started planning our own Tour de Manhattan, something we have been talking about doing for awhile. 

     As we reached the Lower East Side out group spread out a bit.  Several Marshalls kept their eyes on us shepherding us along the course just in case we missed the brightly colored arrows marking the route directing us where to turn.  At this point in the tour, keeping on the course was not too difficult, the bigger challenge was trying not get sideswiped by a New York City cab driver on Third Avenue.

     At 60^th Street we made a left turn and headed towards Central Park, after dodging taxis and busses it was nice to ride among our people, riders and runners.  As we rode the rolling hills we saw the New York Road Runners volunteers setting up for the morning’s Gay Pride Run.  I said to Leo, “it’s easier to be riding the race course than running it, oh wait — we are running the Hope and Possibility race tomorrow.” 

     We left the park at 110^thStreet, a group of six of us riding up St Nicholas Avenue.  As we rode St. Nicholas’ rolling hills Leo started messing with our new friends, the same way he messes with us during training runs. “We got some killer hills ahead of us”, he would say.  One of the riders turned to me jokingly and replied, “I don’t want to ride with him anymore.” 

Esther reading the map after she became an un-official marshal

     Upon reaching Washington Heights, we had our first goof of the day — the marshals took a wrong turn leading us up a very steep hill.  At the top of the hill, we stopped, not because we were tired, but because we realized were lost.  A few riders pulled out their cue sheets just as the SAG wagon arrived.  The hill we climbed was part of the course—a later part of it, meaning we would have to grunt our way up it a second time.  It was at this point that Esther wrapped her cue sheet on her handlebars.  He reason being, guys being guys don’t always read maps or ask for directions.  She became Team Never Quit’s marshal. 

     Back on the course we rode two miles until we reached Inwood Hill Park and the first rest stop.  We stopped for a quick snack, some water, and a Facebook update.  We also refilled out water bottles.  The temperature was now in the mid-80s and it was getting sticky.  Leaving the park, we were about the face our first true test of the day. 

    We rode along when we got to 190^th Street we were met by a steep hill at Overlook Terrace.  I had to put the bike into a low gear and slowly rode up the hill, at the top — we took a sharp turn into—another steeper hill.  I put my head down, put the bike into the lowest  gear saying to myself again and again, “It’s for a good cause, it’s for a good cause,” as I slowly pedaled up.

Bike Traffic getting onto the George Washington Bridge.

     With the hills behind us we headed to the George Washington Bridge, one of the highlights for Esther and me.  We talked about riding our bikes across the George Washington Bridge for awhile, today was the day, we just didn’t expect to encounter something the GW is known for—traffic.  It wasn’t automobile traffic, it was bike traffic.   As we went up the bridges’ bike path, we ran into cycling teams coming off the bridge.  Both lanes were single file and congested.

     The George Washington Bridge may be been the best part of the Tour de Cure for me.  The views of the Hudson River and Manhattan from the top of the bridge made the traffic jam seem inconsequential.  There was a pleasant breeze as we cruised across the bridge with other riders and runners going in both directions.  Once in New Jersey, I looked over at Esther who had a huge smile on her face.  “Cross one more thing off the bucket list, she said.

     “Happy Birthday Baby,” I replied.

     From the bridge we headed to Route 9.  The difference between the urban riding we’ve done to this point and the open-road riding we just started were like night and day.  Besides our fellow Tour de Cure riders the roads were filled with cycling teams riding in formation.  I admired the smooth effortless way they took the steep hills — it was very inspiring to a bike rider like me.

     We rode about 9 or 10 miles on Route 9 to the second rest stop, which was almost at the New York State border.  The temperature had risen to 89 degrees as we refilled our water bottles.  We talked with some other riders about what they thought about the tour until this point.  We then remounted our bikes and were off.

     We took turns leading the ride back to the bridge, talking about everything from the World Cup to if the Knicks had a chance of signing LeBron James, my prediction is no.  Leo said how he wanted to do the Tour de Cure for a few years, but things kept coming up and he wasn’t able to.  Leo’s father had diabetes and the many health issues that came with it.  His father passed away almost two years ago and he was riding in his memory.  Esther’s father has diabetes, and my grandfather had diabetes.  The three of us have family and friends in New York and in Puerto Rico who are diabetic, don’t exercise or watch their diets.   That’s why we signed up for the tour. 

Esther and I taking our tourist picture.

   When we reached the George Washington Bridge, we decided to be tourists.  We stopped and took a few pictures, with many of the other tour riders.  Leo called Linda and told her we were on the bridge and we should be done in a little over an hour. 

     Back in Manhattan, we stated the urban zigzag through Washington Heights.   We reached the rolling hills of Riverside Drive and headed due south.  We zipped past Grant’s Tomb in Morningside Heights, my first time here, I’m a typical New Yorker, I thought as I made a steady pace towards the end of the tour.

     At 72^nd Street we did our last zigzags and were headed towards West Street.  We rode under the West Side Highway taking a left on the bike path and we headed towards Pier 86 and the finish.  We soon saw Linda waiting for us, camera in hand, taking pictures of us as we passed her.

Leo and Esther riding down Riverside Drive.

     When we finished we parked our bikes, we were a little tired, but we felt great, it was a good ride for an excellent cause.  We found Linda and the three of us told her about our day, like three kids telling mom about their class trip. 

Why Didn’t Linda Ride?

     If you follow this blog at all, you’ve read about Leo, Linda, and Esther and I, Team Never Quit.   You may be wondering, why Linda didn’t ride in the Tour de Cure.  Here is the answer.  Linda never learned to ride a bike that is until recently.  Since she never learned as a child, she took classes and learned how to ride at age 50.  It’s never too late.   Linda and Leo are planning to join Esther, me and any of our friends who want to join us in the Tour de Queens on July 11^th.  We hope to see you there.