Day 5 - D.C., C&O Canal, Candlelight Vigil

I was threatened with an intervention. I took advantage of virtually no traffic in the District on Sunday morning to ride to the Memorial, snap some pictures and leave a few things. The memorial was much quieter than when we arrived Saturday afternoon. A few contractors were setting up for the candlelight vigil and volunteers were helping clean up after the downpour of the night before. When I went by Jeff Christensen's name on the wall, I was overcome. Not so much because of the days I spent searching for him or the ride last year in his memory, but the full row of names below his and the loss they represent. After a bit, I headed over to the Memorial Gift shop to meet some friends. A Unity Tour rider from Florida threatened the intervention, thinking we'd all had enough riding. Actually, I needed a little more riding to clear my head.
Through Fixedgeargallery.com I'd heard how much fun the C&O Canal path trail was to ride. I headed over to the start of the path in Georgetown, drank a cup of coffee, put a bottle of juice and a muffin in a jersey pocket and hit the path, much to the dismay of the transient who tried to steer me to a paved trail. I rode up the path around 12 miles. I found a nice bench in the shade to grab a quick bite before heading back to clean up for the Candlelight Vigil escort duty.

Among the survivors I had the honor to escort were the mothers of Aurora Detective Mike Thomas and Texas DPS Trooper Eduardo Chavez. I rode with 4 Aurora Officers in Mike's memory. Two of Eduardo Chavez' brothers rode with us to honor their brother.

As in year's past, there wasn't enough seating for survivors and the crowd flowed out onto E street and around the corner. The ceremony concluded with a roll call of the names added to the wall this year. 145 of those were killed in 2006. 237 in previous years. There are now 17,917 names engraved on the memorial.

Day 4 - Annapolis MD to Washington DC

Inspirational thought of the day: No one is ever really gone so long as you keep their memory alive.

Just outside Annapolis, the 160 rider group from southern New Jersey joined our 400 rider northern New Jersey group. The route from Annapolis took us through my favorite stretch of the ride; gently curving roads and rolling hills under a canopy of trees. That all-to-brief section then gives way to a brief foray through the car-jacking capital of the region, Prince George's County before entering DC. We rode through the city and on to the Pentagon, where we waited for the riders who were joining us from the south. We pulled out of the Pentagon and rolled back into the city and on to the National Law Enforcement Memorial. Despite the addition of hundreds more riders, this was the quietest stretch of the trip. No more war stories, no more complaints, just a single-minded focus on why we ride.







Stats for the day:
Miles ridden: 40 ish ...if anyone finds a cycle computer somewhere in DC, it's mine. The roads are a bit bumpy...

Dollars donated by the Police Unity Tour to the National Law Enforcement Memorial & Museum: $1.15 Million

Day 3 - Wilmington DE to Annapolis MD

Word of the Day: Hydrate

The day's ride was preceded by the weather report from one of the Motors: Temps in the mid-60s, overcast with a chance of rain, thus a chance of wet & dangerous road conditons. There was a bit of drizzle, but the rain never came. As we rolled south through Delaware and into Maryland, the clouds began to burn off and the temperature began to rise. There were complaints about the heat, but everyone who rode last year was glad to have the heat instead of the winds we rode through last year. The daily admonition to ride 2x2 and stay to the right was punctuated with the word of the day: Hydrate.

Our morning break was at the David Lokey Center outside Elkton, MD. The center provides services to developmentally disabled adults and they were one of the large groups that I remember coming out to cheer as we rode by last year. Lunch was at the Galena Fire Department again. Their lush lawn and numerous shade trees were just what the hot & tired riders needed.

After leaving Galena, one of the trumpet players, who was riding near the rear with me rode by and said she needed to get to the front for another service. I tried to make myself useful by getting in front of her to let her draft as we moved to the front. After getting up to the lead truck, plans changed and we took another break before the trumpet players needed to play. At the break though, they decided to send the trumpet players ahead early to the site of the ceremony, which did not involve a stop, just them playing as the riders rolled by. I was told it was in Centerville, which was only a couple miles down the road. I was sent along to let them draft behind and make sure any mechanicals were taken care of. We had two motors to escort us. Because it was only a couple of miles, we set off at a nice brisk pace. Three miles later, there was the sign....Centerville 9. I slowed the pace to make sure there was enough breath left for them to play Taps. They played 4 times so the entire procession of riders could hear it. The horns were quckly packed and whisked away for another rendition at the Queen Anne's County Fallen Heros Memorial on Rt. 18 just outside of Centerville, MD.

Plans changed, however, when the vehicle carrying the trumpets was recruited to carry one of our riders to the airport. When the rider's bike was rolled back to the truck, I recognized it as belonging to one of riders from New Hampshire. It's never a good sign when a rider has to leave suddenly. He had to return because Corporal Bruce McKay of the Franconia, New Hampshire Police Department had just been murdered in the line of duty. The tour leadership kept us blissfully ignorant of this so that we could finish what was an otherwise wonderful day on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

95 miles of riding. 7 hours 45 minutes of saddle time. Salad, Seafood & Pasta in Annapolis.

Day 2 - Edison NJ to Wilmington DE

Today marked the end of leisurely starts. We were up at the crack of dawn for breakfast and hit the road around 7. Yesterday's bright blue skys were replaced with low clouds that kept the temperatures relatively cool. Today's route took us onto major highways and our motor officers did another phenomenal job keeping us safe from the traffic.

The sun broke through the clouds late in the afternoon as we rode over the Commodore Barry bridge from New Jersey into Pennsylvania and on to Wilmington.

Stats for the day:
Miles ridden: 90.4
Donuts consumed....yea, like I'm gonna acknowledge the stereotype
Former NJ State Police Barracks used for breaks: 2, really, we weren't going in circles, they just really do look a lot alike

Day 1 - Morris Township - Edison NJ

The first leg of this year's tour wasn't too long. We rode about 35 miles today. We were shuttled to the start at Morris Township, where we enjoyed a substantial breakfast before attending a memorial service before our departure. I made it a grueling 3 miles before I got a flat tire and had to miss a bit of the riding while changing the tire in the repair trailer. After a quick tube change, I was on the road again. The weather was fantastic and the countryside was beautiful. We rode on to the town of Watchung for the unveiling of a memorial to Officer Matthew Melchionda, who was killed March 8, 2006. We finished the day with a quick cruise into the hotels in Edison.


Stats for the Day:
Miles ridden - 31.2
Miles missed riding in the repair trailer -3
So much for pedalling every darned inch of the ride. Guess I'll have to try again next year.

Day Zero - Echo Taps

Late last night after helping shuttle vehicles, I was invited to join riders from New Jersey and New York on a short pre-ride tour. I joined riders from New Jersey this morning for an invigorating 2 mile ride to a ferry stop. We rode a ferry into NYC to attend the send off ceremony for Chapter 37, the Port Authority group, at Ground Zero. The ceremony included a roll call of Officers killed at Ground Zero and those for whom the Chapter is riding this year. Together we then rode through the Holland tunnel and back to New Jersey. Our next stop was the bridge over the Hackensack River where Jersey City Officers Robert Nguyen and Shawn Carson were killed on Christmas 2005. The route then took us through Newark to the Newark Police Memorial where we remembered Sgt Tommaso Poplizio, who was killed on March 3, 1007. Our last stop was in Orange New Jersey at the site of Kieran Shields' murder on August 7, 2006. At each stop, two of my fellow riders played Echo Taps.


Stats for the day: 21 miles ridden. 4 renditions of Echo taps

Updates

During the past few months a number of people asked me if I was going to do a blog again for this year's Police Unity Tour. Based on the positive feedback, I guess I will. I'll start this year's blog of with some updates.

The Colorado Officers killed in 2005 that I rode for in 2006:
Denver Police Detective Donald Young's killer was found in Mexico, brought back, tried, convicted and sentenced to 80 years. The coward did not not appear at sentencing.

Special Agent Greg Boss' killer was tried, convicted and sentenced to two life terms, plus 26 years. Appeals are pending.

Rocky Mountain National Park dedicated a memorial to Ranger Jeff Christensen. In true National Park Service fashion, a memorial was not enough, they also put up an interpretive display explaining all the different things that make up the job of Park Ranger.

Since February of 2006, the Colorado Law Enforcement Community has lost 4 Officers. The losses have been disproportionately shared between the Colorado Springs Police Department, who lost Jared Jensen on Feb. 22, 2006 and Ken Jordan on Dec. 5, 2006 and the Aurora Police Department, who lost Mike Thomas on Sept. 20, 2006 and Doug Byrne on March 25, 2007.

The names of 382 Officers killed in the line of duty were added to the National Law Enforcement Memorial on April 24th. 145 of those names represent Officers killed in 2006, including Jared Jensen, Mike Thomas and Ken Jordan. The remaining 237 names represent Offficers killed in previous years, but not yet added to the memorial. Doug Byrne's name will be engraved in 2008, amongst those killed in 2007.

The other question I've been getting from supporters is "are you really going to do the ride on that one speed?" Uh,yes, but it's not really a one-speed, it's variable speed. The faster I pedal, the higher the speed. It's a fixed gear too, so no coasting. It's not enough to ride every inch of the route, I'm hoping to pedal every inch. For the bike geeks amongst my supporters:
Surly Steamroller. 39:15.