One of the Motors is known for coming up with the word of the day. When I first started riding, the word was usually related to the current conditions, like "hydrate" on a hot day. For the past couple of years, he gives a word of the day that will ultimately become part of a sentence by the time we reach DC. Today's official word was "Together"
The topical word of the day however, was "Wind." The wind created havoc along the ride. The cross-winds made bike handling a bit tricky and the head winds made forward progress more difficult. From a weather stand point, it was not the best day ever of the Police Unity Tour.
Apart from the weather, there were other highlights. The send off took place in Jersey City. We got to honor Detective Marc Anthony DeNardo who was shot and killed on July 21, 2009. Detective DeNardo's brother is riding with us to D.C. We crossed into Newark, via the Officers Sean Carson and Robert Ngyun memorial bridge, with Taps being played on the bridge to honor them. We rode past Newark Police Headquarters and slowed as we passed their memorial. Turning south, we slowly rode past the spot where Officer Thomas Raji was killed last year.
Throughout the day, one of our riders, Officer Scott, created tons of photo opportunities by handing out small PUT flags to every kid he saw along the route. I even overheard a couple of kids say ''look, here he comes."
Stats for the day:
Bikes fixed - many. First breakdown was a broken chain a few hundred yards from the start and it only got worse from there.
Fingers broken - one (no, not mine). Wind, poor bike handling and not riding 2x2 was an issue today.
Miles ridden - 58
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