Day 0: Damon Runyon & Exploring the Metropolis. New York
Today was an amazing day all around for the Bike America Team!
It began with an orientation for our van drivers and another one for those performing the highly necessary dynamic chores for the ride. This was followed by a packed 40-minute subway ride to the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation’s headquarters in lower Manhattan.
We looooove Bo’s Bagels.
Waiting for the subway to take us downtown.
Breakfast at Damon Runyon.
Damon Runyon specializes in funding high-risk, high-reward cancer research and has been one of our beneficiaries for the past 13 years. I invite you to visit their website, https://www.damonrunyon.org, to learn more about the truly amazing research they have helped to sponsor. While there, we enjoyed breakfast and were introduced to Zeda Zhang, PhD, a scientist who focuses his research on discovering and implementing possible molecular-based treatments for ovarian cancer.
Following this, we took the afternoon to explore the city in groups and found ourselves visiting many different places including Battery Park, the 9/11 Memorial, Little Island, the High Line, Times Square, and Central Park (many of us walked through it entirely). Day 0, while considered a rest day, was pretty much the opposite in terms of excitement and enjoyment, and in some ways was a good warmup for the ride to come.
Obligatory Lady Liberty pics.
Jean, Paul, Patrick, and Nina chilling in Times Square.
Nabeel, Kathryn, Edward, and Jonathan explore the woods (yes, woods!) within Central Park.
Adam, Sam M, Sam R, and Jon walking the High Line.
We returned to St. Mary’s for a delicious dinner provided by Bipin Sangankar, long-time supporter of I4K and past stayover host. Weighing in the back of our minds is the reality of starting the ride itself. Some of us make last-minute adjustments to our bikes, some repack and prepare their backpacks to be ready to act on our 5 AM wake up call.
Stocking up on samosas after a long day of walking the city.
A few of the guys take a beautiful evening ride to Central Park and back.
~Dictionary of I4K~
Van Drivers: anyone with a license drives the team van on a rotating schedule. They find rest stops, pick up supplies and donations, and keep in contact with each rider group.
Dynamic Chores: necessary day-to-day tasks that rotate among selected riders. There are many, and include packing the van, cooking breakfast, policing stayovers, PB&J prep, and (perhaps the most necessary) waking up the team.
Rest Day: a day of rest and no riding. Riders are free to explore the area or stay at the stayover (and likely catch up on some much needed zzz’s). There are 12 of these for 2023.
Beginning tomorrow, I will be structuring our journals with defined sections to allow for some variety in sharing our concrete objectives, personal experiences, and a few other surprises. Stay tuned, and see you on the road! :)