Day 20 - Warren, PA to New York Metro

It was a ragged day but we made it! Most of us (except for the "racers" who were counting points), took a couple of short-cuts to shorten the route by a little, and to eliminate some traffic lights. The ride went across northern Pennsylvania, through the Pocono mountains, briefly into New York, and then south into northwestern New Jersey.

John and I woke up late. We leave at 7 every morning and when we woke up it was 6:52. Libby was not happy with the delay, because John's scooter is not fast. She had the last-support truck duty today so she had to stay behind the last scooter. But in the end, John rode pretty fast. I finished at about 6:45 p.m. and John came in an hour later. The last people and the truck showed up at about 10. Andrea at Scooters Originali was so kind to host us with some burgers and beer, but most people were too tired to really whoop it up.

The scooter shop is in a rough neighborhood in Orange, NJ, and most of us had trouble finding it. Our twenty-something friend from home, Stacy, who works in NYC now, met us at the party with some friends, but they soon left. Sorry, Stacy, for not turning out lots of hot young scooter boys. It was still good to see you.

The highlight of the day was stopping for lunch in an old diner. Lunch was good, but that's not the good part. The owner, Gordon, took me around back and showed me the two old Cushman scooters that he has. He's had one of them for 50 years since he was a boy!

In the morning, most of us will ride to Coney Island. It will be sad to say goodbye to the old and new friends from this bunch of 30 of us, and the support team. There is already talk of another Cannonball in 2 years. Of course, everyone has (conflicting) ideas of how to do it better.

There was still no rain today, but it is closing in on us. I might get wet as I ride home to Maryland tomorrow. I am excited to stop by my charity, Canine Partners For Life, on the way. It's in Cochranville, PA, west of Philadelphia. I am exhilarated and exhausted at the same time. I am so eager to see my family, and also eager to see clients again. Thanks for reading, everyone, and for supporting my ride and Canine Partners For Life.

Miles today - 382
Total Miles - 7956
Number of short-cuts on the route today - 3
Number of lanes on I-80 in NJ - 12 - yikes!