PUT 2015 - Day 1 East Hannover NJ-Somerset NJ

We Ride for Those Who Died.

Sergeant Dave Baldwin, Jefferson County Sheriff.  EOW January 26, 2014

Husband, Father, Mentor, Friend.

When I wrote a while ago about spring training in the rockies and thinking that the snow only fell on my weekends, the glorious thing about "Winter" in Colorado is that it can dump snow one day and be good riding weather the next.  Dave was working on his patrol motor on one such beautiful January day.  He was patrolling Highway 93, a stretch of road that has it's own bumper sticker:  Pray for Me, I Drive 93.  The road is known for heavy winds, blowing snow, and realllllly aggressive drivers.  It's the quickest route between Boulder and Golden and is only one lane each way, with some short two-lane sections to allow drivers to pass.  Dave spent a lot of time patrolling this road for aggressive drivers.  On January 26 he was struck, head-on, and killed by a driver making an illegal pass.

Our usual start is at the same place, just another name, the Ramada that has been our home away from home was bought out an is now a "FairBridge Inn"  Miami Mikes remains the same as it ever was.

A sign of the times

Despite all that makes the news, it's always awesome to see all the public support we get along the way.

Stats for the day:

Temps in the 50's

Mile ridden:  43

PUT 2015 - And so it begins

As has been my practice in recent years, I've flown out about a week before the ride to help out with all the last minute details to help the ride go smoother.

 

The FedEx driver won't need to go to the gym for a month after moving all these bike boxes around.

Hundreds of riders, motors and support all need luggage tags and welcome packets.  That's about a two day job.  

You know it's getting close to go time when the Refrigerated trucks are rented and are getting filled with pallets of sports drinks, water and snacks.

And then it's really about time to go when the last minute washing and detailing of trucks, trailers and motors is underway.

PUT 2015 - May Day Ride

The Colorado Law Enforcement Memorial holds a ceremony every year on the first Friday in May.  Since I've been going out to NJ early for the PUT in recent years, I don't always get to attend this ceremony.  Fortunately the first Friday happened to fall on May 1 this year and I was able to go.  In the early years of my PUT participation it was either just me arriving on bike, or a small handful of riders that has grown over the years.  This year the group of  PUT and Tour De Force and other riders started off from Aurora PD headquarters and headed west to Golden.

PUT 2015 - Spring Training ride for OPD

Over the past couple of years I've noticed a trend.  I might be a little over sensitive, but it seems like it only snows on my weekends.  Which would be great for skiing, but not so great to get ready for a 300 mile bike ride in early May.  Good thing I can livestream and watch re-plays of the spring races in Belgium and Italy.

Occasionally though, there's a break in the weather when it's neither snowing, nor blowing, so a good road ride will start with a little hike-a-bike down do the road.

The shoulder's are pretty well plowed, but pretty sandy. 

 And the selfie view of the Continental Divide it pretty nice too.

But the most important part of today's spring training ride is the number on the bike computer.  Today I rode 32.1 miles.  321...not like a countdown 321, but 03/21.  03/21 the date four Oakland Police Officers were killed.  Officer John Hege and Sergeant Mark Dunakin were shot during a traffic stop.  The killer escaped and barricaded himself in an apartment building.  Sergeant's Ervin Romans and Daniel Sakai were killed as they attempted to contact and arrest the suspect.

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