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DAY 6

We dodged a bullet today

DAY'S OVERVIEW: Well, I must report that the day didn't start out very well.  Today I woke up in a chipper mood ready to get the riders on the road for another super day of rural riding.  I had just jumped into the luggage truck to give Shane some help loading when Ed sped into the parking lot and told me I had a rider down about a quarter mile from the motel.  I jumped into the van and scrambled down course and came upon the accident scene...something I never like to see as you can imagine.  As soon as I got out of the van I saw it was George P. a rider who has ridden with us on numerous occasions.  As I approached there were several riders and a local who were attending to George and directing traffic...my first question was has anyone called 911...the answer was 'yes' so help was on the way.  It seemed like only a flash before paramedics and the local authorities were on scene...my hat's off to the Phillipsburg authorities!  After initial evaluations at the local hospital, his injuries are serious, but don't seem to be life threatening. 

The accident was a hit and run.  A car turned in front of George and after stopping initially, the individual got back into their car and sped off.  One local witness, after making sure someone was caring for George, left the scene to try and find the car to no avail.  She did return after her search and gave a pretty good description to the police and hopefully they will catch the individual.  Meanwhile on our front, our prayers are with George for a speedy recovery.  His friend on the ride, Don H, stayed with him at the hospital and George's wife will fly in this afternoon...logistics were discussed and covered...the ride goes on.

On the other side of the coin, it was a great ride today albeit a bit on the somber note after the accident.  We rode along the Delaware River again today and at times the road was so narrow it was impossible to pass an on coming car with the van...someone had to pull over.  The roads were great cycling roads and I even heard one individual say that if there were cycling roads in heaven, they would be from this area.  I was really late getting on the road after the accident so I didn't get a lot of the photos I planned on getting today, but I got a few as I tried to catch up with the group and when I came upon the rider at the back of the group, he became my subject for the day until we got to the first SAG...I know he felt like a movie star as every time he looked up, I had a camera aimed at him, then I'd be gone.

After the first SAG everything got back to normal...or as normal as they could be after the rough start to the day.  I worked up through the riders and fixed a couple flats and got a couple riders back on course after they had missed a turn.  Frank was on his second flat by the time I arrived at his location so after a few minutes of trying to figure out why he was having this problem, he was back on his way with brand new air in his tire. 

This route today was a great one as I said before...miles and miles of New Jersey backroads that made me think of places like Indiana, Kentucky, or Tennessee where you can go out into the country along corn and soybean fields and see dairy barns and silos peeking over the treetops.  Life was good as we meandered through the countryside lost in our thoughts of the morning. 

Well, we put another day to bed.  Tomorrow will be a better day and we renew our focus on getting to our destination safely.  At rap we discussed several issues to insure our focus remains positive.  We'll continue our trek to St Augustine in honor of George and wish him the best as he begins his long road to recovery.  Keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.  Tune in again tomorrow...we'll be here. 

HEARD ON THE ROAD:  Maybe this should be a DUH too.  Today Barbara had to make an emergency run to the local store for some handi wipes and Germ-X for the SAG.  She was off the published route hustling to get back to the SAG before the riders started showing up when she came upon Chris and Tim riding off in the opposite direction into la la land climbing a pretty steep hill.  Barb honked at them and they gave her the "all's OK" signal to which Barb signaled they needed to turn around.  Tim and Chris were a bit puzzled but luckily they decided something seemed odd about Barb's response.    When Barb got to the SAG, she got a call on her cell phone...it was Tim.  "We've already passed the SAG and will probably just stop and get something and continue on our way."  Barb said, "Well, OK...but you need to find someone to get you back on route."  "We're on route," was the reply.  "No you weren't," said Barb.  "Yes we are, we saw you," Tim insisted.  "You didn't take the left into the church," said Barb.  "Well, we took the right," said Tim.  "Well, that don't make a left unless you took 3 of them."  Can you see where this is going?  Since they saw Barb, they were convinced they were on route...well, they were on route to the grocery I guess.  "Do we have to come back to the SAG," Tim asked.  "If you want to find Pottstown, you'd better," Barb insisted.  Finally, they got back to the SAG and then it all became obvious what was up.  Tim mentioned that he couldn't figure out what Barb was saying and why he could be off route if he saw the van.  Lesson learned...follow your cue sheet no matter where you see the van go.  Sage advice...we sometimes go off route for that special cup of coffee and hills don't bother the van. 

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