PUT 2014 Day 5 - Storms finally caught up to us

May 13 is the traditional day for the candlelight vigil at the National Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial.  In past year's I've taken an extra ride, either to clear my head, or see some sights.  I skipped the extra ride this year to hang out with friends at the Memorial.  It looked like it was going to be a great day for the vigil.

After filling the seats and getting ready to start the vigil, this moved in:

We all sought shelter in nearby venues until the storm passed, allowing the vigil to continue and for some special time at the Memorial after dark.

PUT 2014 Day 4 - Rolling into DC

We woke up to clear skies and bright sunshine in Annapolis.  Finally a perfect day to walk out the door and go for a bike ride.  I love the ride from Annapolis to DC.  It starts off with rolling hills through tree-lined roads before hitting the punchy little hills of Landover Hills, MD.

 

Our first rest break of the day comes at a Target in Prince George's County Maryland.  Several Officers from that department are riding with us and we were met at the break by a bus load of recruits and the families of fallen PG County Officers.

After the break, we hit the road again, heading to RFK stadium where we join the other Chapters before the final ride into the Memorial.  It was a little warm and an opportunistic ice cream truck driver took advantage of the only shade and a captive audience while we waited.

The last few miles to the memorial are always amazing.  Riding past the Capitol and the Supreme Court, crowds on the sidewalk and knowing we're getting close when we can hear the pipes.

There's nothing like rolling in to the memorial and meeting with the families of the fallen, presenting a wristband to a survivor, leaving a tribute by a name.

Thanks to the generous supporters of the Police Unity Tour participants, we were able to donate $1,910,000

PUT 2014 Day 3 - Mother's Day Marathon Mayhem

Mother's Day 2014 dawned bright and sunny.  It was a welcome change from all the threatening weather, so what else was there to do, but go for a bus ride...

Because there aren't enough hotels in one place to accommodate the huge PUT contingent, we stayed about 10 miles from everyone else and were bussed to the start.  Once we got there and found our bikes, everybody was ready to ride.  It was a beautiful start to the day, with only damp pavement to remind us of the weather of the past two days.

It looked like we were in for a great day of riding, until we ran into the Wilmington Mother's Day Marathon.  Part of our usual route through Wilmington was being used for the run, so we did a few diversions on the fly, stood around for a while and then finally found our way out of town.

After our usual rest stop at the David Lokey Center, we rode one of my favorite parts of the ride through the farmland of rural Maryland.  The Galena Volunteer Fire Department hosted us again for lunch and opened up the bays for us to use to get out of the heat.  Yes, it was hot, but it was a nice change of pace from fog & drizzle.

The farmland on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake is beautiful, but, without many trees, it can get windy.  Headwinds and crosswinds can wreak havoc on such a big group of cyclists, breaking up and stretching out the group.  We got lucky today.

Just before our last rest stop, we rode through Centerville, MD, where there is a Fallen Hero Memorial at the Police Department.  The Memorial honors Officer Michael Nickerson and Deputy Jason Schwenz who were shot and killed on Feb. 13, 2001 when they responded on a noise complaint.

We ended day 3 like we started, on busses.  We drove over the bridge over the Chesapeake into Annapolis and enjoyed a great evening out with friends, old and new.

Stats for the day:

Miles ridden:  100 (had to make it an even century after adding a couple miles due to the Marathon Mayhem)

Weather:  Temps HOT

PUT 2014 Day 2 - Glad we missed the big storms

Day two of the 2014 PUT started out much like Day one...Today we woke to cool temps, fog and threats of rain.  So what did we do, we went for a bike ride.

With hints of improving weather, we faced disintegrating roads for a bit.  Bad roads are hard on the riders and can lead to more mechanicals for our hard-working volunteer mechanics too.  

Good thing we had plenty of spare tires in the repair trailer.

Fortunately the weather cleared in time for us to honor fallen NJ State Troopers.

The good weather didn't last long though.  We had to make an unscheduled stop and seek shelter as massive thunderstorms started to build just before we were to cross the Commodore Barry Bridge.  We got really lucky, as the storms did not move toward us and we were able to make the bridge crossing without any issues and roll on in to Wilmington, Delaware for the night.

Stats for the day:

Miles ridden:  91

Weather:  Temps upper 50s to 70s, fog, threats of rain, threats of lightning.
Quote of the Day:  Can't publish it, but what I said when a vehicle in the procession sent me off-roading while I was trying to pace another rider back into the pack

PUT 2014 Day 1 - Stormy, but not too bad.

Today we woke to cool temps, fog and threats of rain.  So what did we do, we went for a bike ride.
 But, it was Day 1 of our 4-day journey to Washington DC, so we had to take care of a few important things before actually riding.

 A lot of the local NJ participants had family members come to the send off to say good-bye and cheer us on as we pulled out.

Last minute items, like Police Unity Tour decals on the motors were taken off and we hit the road.

Every year I do this ride I am overwhelmed by the community support for the Police Unity Tour.  

And there area some really pretty parts of New Jersey to ride through.  I don't think I'd want to ride here without the roads being closed, but still very pretty terrain.  Some sections even had new pavement, but the roads really took a beating this winter.  The repair trailer saw quite a few flats and a few other mechanical issues.

The quote of the day came from a first time rider:

"This is Awesome!"

Stats for the day:

Miles ridden:  40

Weather:  Temps upper 50s to 60s, light rain

Layers worn by riders from Texas:  amazingly only two

Complaints about the cold...a few.

PUT 2014 - The Calm Between the Storms

My 9th Police Unity Tour Officially starts on the morning of May 9, 2014.  My unofficial start is about a week ahead of time.  I flew out early to help out with some of the last minute logistics.

Just before flying out, there was a big storm that hit the east coast, leaving a lot of usually dry areas underwater.  Fortunately the PUT Offices and vehicles were not hit by the flooding as they were during hurricane Irene.

 The motors are clean and ready to go, with a few hundred gallons of Gatorade and water stored behind them.

Some clean up and minor maintenance of the trailers has them ready to go to the sign shop for new decals to list major sponsors.

10 o'clock start on the dreaded luggage tag and welcome packet project.  We laminate 4 luggage tags per person and include them in a welcome packet that will be distributed the day before the ride.  It took the better part of two days the first time I did this.  

But with lots of hands helping, some heavy-duty laminators and improved efficiency over the years

We were finished in about 6 1/2 hours this year

Stats for the day:

Luggage tags laminated & welcome packets stuffed:  ~1000

Number of Law Enforcement Officers Killed since I landed in NJ on May 1:  4