Memorial Day in the Rockaways

Today, after 10 days off the bike, with the five most recent being severely sick, I felt I needed to get back in shape seeing as though my departure date is about a month away.  So when my friend Kristen messaged me last night and asked me if I wanted to do the big loop to Far Rockaway, I couldn't say no.

Here was our tentative route...

We set off at 10 am from Grand Army Plaza and from there on out it was a true adventure.  We rolled down Ocean Parkway through what seemed like another world, some suburb far far away from New York City (not).  Just before we hit Coney Island we headed due east and at one point we passed around a giant landfill, which just made me incredibly sad.  The only reason I could pick it out immediately was because of the unit I am currently teaching to my kiddos.  I couldn't help but think how beautiful the land was and how unfortunate that it has just become a giant, toxic, heap.  Not too surprising either, it is sandwiched between Canarsie and Far Rockaway, two neighborhoods known for their extremely high poverty rate.  Bummer. Major bummer.  My spirits started to shift when we went through the wildlife refugee where I "bonked" and was forced to eat a granola bar.  Where we stopped just happened to be directly under a giant nest.  I wonder what bird called that sweet pad home.  Never did see because the bird never returned while we were there.  Eventually, after going over the bridge, we arrived at an adorable little Thai restaurant that overlooked the harbor in Far Rockaway.  If you ever make it out there I highly recommend you check out Thai Rock, not only because of the $1 beers...no that wasn't a typo... the $1 beers taste better thanks to the amazing view and excellent service.

Following a brief meal with a quirky waiter named Jack, we headed along the highway toward Fort Tilden Beach.  That's when I was attacked by a gigantic 3 inch nail in the road! Well, I wasn't but unfortunately my back tire was.  On the side of the highway I had a panic attack, looked up local bike shops that I could get to (there were none by the way), looked up the nearest train (the A train and it was predicting it would take 2 hours to get back) and then called up Liz who I knew was at Fort Tilden nearby.  So not only was she a goddess biking up in a sexy bikini, but being the amazing bike mechanic that she is, she whipped out her patch kit, her pump and talked me through changing my flat.  I went from feeling completely disempowered to completely empowered in 20 minutes flat (no pun intended).  Afterwards, Kristen and I met up with Liz and her bike shop's crew down on the beach.  There we guzzled hidden beers, jumped in the water, and laughed the afternoon away.  Also, if you ever need a bike or to get your bike repaired, I highly recommend you head to Bike Works because both Ben and Liz are AMAZING mechanics and they are fun to hang out with too!

At about four we decided it was getting late and we should bike back up towards home.  For the remainder of the ride, Kirsten and I tagged along with their bike pack and we took the backroads home.  We wove through neighborhoods that were lined with beautiful victorian houses and once again I fell in love with Brooklyn.  It's days like these that make me feel young again and leave me wondering, how could I ever move away from New York?

Tentative Schedule!

I am a lame-o.  After coming back from Texas I somehow managed to acquire the worst flu/ sore throat/ fever/ stomachache/ you name it.  It lasted from Wednesday morning until pretty much now.  I had to go in on Wednesday and Thursday to work, but after it continued to get worse so I caved and took Friday off.  Sadly, to sum it up I have not trained in a week and a half and I'M PANICKING because my dad just sent through the tentative schedule.  Here it is:

TRANS AMERICA BIKE TOUR 2012

VIRGINIA   9 Days  528.5 miles  

June 28 Megan – Yorktown

#12 lodging: Grace Episcopal Church members overnight

June 29 56 miles Glendale

Camping @ Willis United Methodist Church .9 miles off trail

June 30 83 miles Mineral

Camping @ Volunteer Fire (free)

July 1 (Sunday) 78 miles Greenwood

Camping @ Misty Mountain Resort

July 2 (on Blue Ridge Parkway)

71 miles Lexington Bike Shop

Super 8 Motel – Hostel Mallard Dock

July 3 65 miles Catawla

#11 Camping @ General Store

July 4 73 Rural Retreat

Camping @ Rural Retreat Lake

July 5 REST DAY 42 miles to Damascus

July 6 59.5 Haysi (all services)

KENTUCKY  6.5 Days  499.5 miles

July 7 56 miles Bevinsville camping

July 8 68.5 miles Buckhorn (all services)

July 9 67 miles Berea (camping or motel)

July 10 REST DAY

July 11 92 miles Bardstown (all services)

#10 Camping 2 my Old Kentucky Home State Park 

July 12 89 miles McDaniels

Eat there – camping 4-5 miles past

July 13 72 miles Sebree

(Smith) Camping/cyclists’ only lodging First Baptist Church

ILLINOIS  2.25 Days 182 miles

July 14 81 miles Eddyville, Illinois

SS and Bear Brand Campground 2 miles

July 15 84 miles Chester

#9 All service/camping Chester Aerie

(Shower and breakfast) cross Mississippi

MISSOURI  5 Days 371.7 miles

July 16 85/99 miles

Camping @ Johnson Shut-in Park or 14 more miles to Centerville

July 17 81.5 miles Houston - All service

July 18 78.5 miles Fair Oak  - camping

July 19 64.5 miles Golden City

Picked up for Kansas City July 19, 20,21,22

KANSAS CITY TO CALIFORNIA

July 23 Back on the trail

48 miles Girard – camping

COLORADO  6 Days  444 miles

#4

July 24 75 miles Cotopaxi - camping KOA

July 25 61 miles Sergeant (Monarch Pass)

Tomichi Creek Post - camping and cabins

July 26 REST DAY

July 27 79 miles Cimarron – camping

July 28 47 miles Ridgeway - All service

Bike/inns/camping

July 29 61 miles Rico - All service

July 30 REST DAY

July 31 73 miles Dove Creek – (All services)

UTAH     7 Days  530.5 miles

#3

Aug 1 71.5 miles Natural Bridges Monument.

Camping Open County

Aug 2 86 miles Hanksville – camping

Aug 3 87 miles Boulder – All services

Aug 4 71 miles Rudy Inn – camping

Aug 5 73 miles Cedar City (all services)

Possible contact to cyclist home.

Aug 6 REST DAY

#2

Aug 7 56 miles Milford (all services)

Aug 8 98 miles Baker – camping/hotel

NEVADA   6.5 Days  388.5 miles

Aug 9 63.5 miles Ely (all services)

Aug 10 78 miles Eureka – (all services)

Aug 11 70 miles Austin – camping/motel

Aug 12 56 miles Middlegate 

Truck stop camping

Aug 13 48 miles Fallon (all services)

#1

Aug 14 65 miles Carson City (all services)

Aug 15 REST DAY

CALIFORNIA  5 Days  256 miles plus ferry ride across the Bay

Aug 16 54 miles Silver Lake camping

Aug 17 59.5 miles Placerville (all services)

Aug 18 65 miles Davis (all services)

Aug 19 70.5 miles Vallejo (all services)

Aug 20 Ferry to San Francisco 5-7 miles from the Wharf to THE GOLDEN GATE!!! 

TOTAL MILES:  3,200.5 miles/45 travel days = 71.12 average per day

9 rest days plus 45 travel days = 54 days

With all do respect this is going to the most painful 54 (although I suspect it will take more) days of my life!  This is the first year I have dreaded the end of the school year and the beginning of summer.  Oh well, too late now, here we go...

MS 126 Takes on Dallas!

As one of the best conferences of my life nears an end, I currently am sitting in a holding pattern in which the pilot just came on the loud speaker and announced, “Weather conditions in at LaGuardia have just fallen below acceptable levels, we are currently in a holding pattern and have an hour and a half’s worth of back up fuel.  I know it’s never good news to hear, but there is some good news.  Weather conditions are permissible in Hartford, Connecticut or possibly Albany. Sit tight and we will keep you informed as we go.” WHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTT?!?  An extra day off from work?!? You land this plane in Albany please and keep this weekend rolling because without a doubt it has been the BEST WEEKEND EVER!  Epic in fact.

Now I could go on about what we learned in the workshops and the cool Magnet Programs that are going on around this country, but assuming that you are probably not an educator, I’m not going to bore you with that.  Instead, I’m going to highlight the crazy adventure we had during our down time.  A fantastic tale that involves limos, a swim up poolside bar, live country music, cowboys and of course a mechanical bull.

After donning my “MS 126 Takes on Dallas” T-shirt and standard straw cowboy hat, courtesy of Alexis, we load into a cab immediately following the work day on Friday and head for LaGuardia Airport.  Making it through traffic and security in record time, we mysteriously end up at the airport bar.  How did that happen?!?  We smile and laugh and gloat about how this will be the “best weekend ever!” Boy were we not kidding. 

A short flight (short because I took a lovely siesta) swept us away to Dallas.  And upon landing, feeling the first blast of warm air, and greeted with a hearty “Welcome y’all!!!” we were ready to have a good Friday night.  We checked in and then headed up to the 27^th floor Piano Bar.  The view of  Dallas was breath taking and surprisingly different from what we are used to.  After the Jazz band wrapped up their set, we headed down to the next hoppin’ place on the first floor.  Apparently Southern Methodist University was hosting some sort of gala for former athletes that are in their Hall of Fame.  So everyone was dressed up in suits, tuxes and gowns, and towered about four feet over us.  It was AWESOME!  A little bit later we found the dance floor in the Hotel at a place called “Media.”  Upon entering we were shocked, repulsed, but strangely intrigued to see people line dancing to rap music.  The lure of the music pulled us in and there we closed out the night.

Proof that everything is bigger in Texas.

Saturday, post workshops sessions, we finally got to spend a little time in the pool.  Lacking the proper sun protection paraphernalia, every single one of us were burnt to a crisp although some more than others (just ask House).  But did we let that hold us back from exploring Dallas? NO WAY! 

We got dressed up and headed down to the lobby to get a recommendation for a good BBQ place downtown.  We were recommended Sonnys Bryan's Smokehouse.  With suggestion in hand we then requested a taxi only to find out it would be cheaper  since there were 7 of us, to pile into a limousine.  Squealing with delight I realized that tonight I would check off not one, but TWO items on my bucket list.  Yeah buuuddy! Bring on the limo!  Watching the sun set against the uniquely shaped architecture of downtown set the tone for what would soon be an fantastic night.  We got out at the West End and were escorted to alfresco dinning where we enjoyed everything from brisket, to mac and cheese, to local beverages (wink. wink.)  Convincing everyone that it would be a necessity to indulge in some live country music, we then loaded back in the limo and headed for The Trophy Room Bar.  It was rumored to have the only mechanical bull on their strip.  What it also had was a banging band that was playing my favorite songs.  There I rocked out and released the inner Hoosier in me.  I’m pretty sure everyone else was into it too, but who knows?  Then the time came.  The lure of the mechanical bull called me to cross of yet another item on my bucket list.  Unfortunately, I was wearing a skirt, and after seeing what happened to the previous girl I grabbed an extra large tip, signed my life away and begged the operator to go easy on me because my boss was there.  Sadly my first stint on the bull only lasted a mere 10 seconds or so... but not to worry I would be back to eventually lay the smack down on the bull!

Following our workshops on Sunday, and a little more pool time, we geared up in our finest western attire and headed off to the "Diamonds and Denim" Gala.  Somewhere along the way I figured it was best to pick up fake mustaches for the crew.  Not exactly sure why, but just figured I'd warn you first before you scrolled down to the photos.  For a second night in a row we dinned on BBQ, this meal being better than the first in my opinion, and lined danced yet again to all types of music.  We mingled with many teachers from other parts of the country and at one point, Hulk Hogan himself! Well, a hulk look-a-like in my opinion.  There we got the great idea to return to the bar from the previous night.  This time I took that bull by the reigns and lasted a good two and half minutes before I was bucked off in the most award way possible.  Classic.  Upon returning to the hotel we stole pizza slices from the Hulk, who happened to be back before us, then went back to Media to finish up the night.  To our surprise we met a male cheerleader who was wallowing in self pitty because his father got too drunk to drive him home.  So they had checked into the hotel.  One thing or another led to him doing multiple back flips in the bar and around the hotel lobby until the wee hours of the morning.  Strange night? You can say that again!

On Monday, with a tear rolling down my cheek, I heaved my bags over my shoulder and headed down to the main desk to check out.  There I ran into House, and I happened to catch the funniest conversation of my life.  It went a little something like this:

House: Yo dude, I'm checkin' out.

Attendant: And what room sir?

House: 407.  Eh, uhhhh, what's in that mini refrigerator?

Attendant: Alcohol.

House: No dude. I mean how much is each one?

Me: Oh god, you didn't did you?

Attendant: They range from $10 to $13 to $15. Why?

House: Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuddddddeeeeeee!

Attendant: Well nothing's been charged yet.  Sometimes they don't check.

House: *** In shock***

Attendant: Don't worry I won't tell them.

As we walk away....

Me: Dude, how many did you drink?

House: I don't know... a lot. Duuuuude....

Classic.  Talk about the abs I got after laughing so hard this weekend!  Perhaps the final over-the-top moment was when Alexis shows up for the taxi to the airport in her swimsuit and see through beach throw.  We encourage her to put something over it and what does she do? She pulls out her "White Girl Wasted" t-shirt, puts that on, and then proceeds to walk around in her see through skirt the rest of the day.

On second thought, we need to end this weekend.  If we keep rollin' at this rate we are going to need someone to post bail for one, or maybe all of us!  Thanks for the blast, Dallas! See you on the flip side!

Tour De Staten Island

Following last week’s epic 5 Boro Bike Tour, I decided to sign up for the Tour de Staten Island to keep the momentum going.  This was my first actual visit to SI, and I am delighted that I did it.  I was blown away by how suburban and small town it actually was.  It had everything from a main street, to beautiful beaches complete with a lovely boardwalk on the east, full on forest in the middle and a historic old town (or neighborhood now?) called Richmond.  It was amazing!  Once again this bike is allotting me the privilege of discovering parts of New York that I haven’t before in the 10 years I have taken the trains and walked.  Thank you Ms. Bruiser Cruiser!

Staten Island Ferry...yeah buuuuddy!

In addition to Staten Island itself, I got to ride with some really cool peeps.  I told you I coerced House into coming.  Despite our wild night at Berry Park with gnome last night, he still made it for the ride! Impressive.  His little sister Laura came along too.  She was awesome, and a trooper I might add, because her bike wasn’t adjusted properly and she had very few gears.  Her bike was more of a cruiser, not really designed for the hills we were tackling.  You’d never know it though because she just kept pumping, and totally rocked it out.  And lastly, as I was registering I ran into our good friends Hambone and Tenessa.  They too rocked it out, and we were fortunate to meet up with them at certain points and help navigate our way through the poorly marked route.  Aside from who I knew, other riders were super awesome and helpful.  If someone fell or got a flat, everyone was quick to offer support.

Tenessa and Mark- Adorable!

Brother and Sister Love!

Balla' (and House)

What I liked about this tour compared to last week was that there were a ton less people which mean absolutely no stopping and waiting because of bike traffic jams.   It was definitely a go-at-your-own-pace ride. There was also plenty of room on the road to make a mistake and correct yourself.  However, with that being said, it was a bit challenging to follow the route because they gave us a print out of all the turns, and had spray painted reminders along the way, but holding the paper continuously was cumbersome and the reminders required that you constantly scan the road.  Often times the course symbol, “TSI” with an arrow, blended in with what other construction reminders had been painted on the asphalt.  But in the end it was no big deal, if we got off course (which we did about three times) usually other riders were there and we’d figure it out together.  We always got back on course and we finished the whole ride in about two hours.  Not too shabby for a Saturday morning eh?

Winning!

The newest badass!

Victory Shot!

Dunzo.

My total mile count was 34.5 miles.  Now I’m registering for two more, the Tour de Brooklyn and the Ride to Montak!  I told you I was kicking it up a notch! 

Gnome Run!

I had a mini “gnomance” last night.  Levis acquired this dapper little fellow Wednesday night at the Yankees game, and much to my surprise, it is the only piece of sports memorabilia that I have ever “loved”.  So rather than just placing him on some shelf somewhere where he will most likely will obtain a thick layer of dust, we decided to take him out for a night on the town and show him how real teachers party.  Poor little comrade though, by the end of the night he was all tuckered out!  So tuckered in fact, that I had to get a cab for him to make sure he got home safe.  Here’s some damning photos of a night that I’m sure he’d rather forget…but I will always remember!