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Old 06-21-14, 07:03 PM
  #22  
Papa Tom
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Saturday, June 21st. Believe it or not, today was the first time I rode the entire Bethpage - I mean Papa Tom - Bikeway from north to south.

I started at my driveway in Syosset and rode the 2-3 miles to the start of the path at Woodbury Road. I hadn't been on this section in quite a while and I'm glad to see that it's all open now. I can take or leave this whole segment to Washington Avenue, though. Too many highway entrances and exits, too hilly heading south, and not much to look at except for road kill and fast food bags tossed from car windows.

After Washington Avenue, the whole experience improved, despite my noticing that much of the landscaping I thought was going to look really awesome when it bloomed is already dead. Still, this is the point at which I was able to clear my head and imagine I was far, far away from home - as I could only do when I was riding in Westchester or farther away in the past.

A small section of the path just north of Bethpage Park was closed today and all broken up. I think there's some kind of utility plant there that needed some work. It was passable, though, and I soon found myself in the park, watching a model airplane festival on the polo field. Suffering a little from what I think is a bone spur, I almost turned around here. But I have a loose tradition of celebrating the longest day of the year with a longer ride than usual, so I decided to keep going.

Ultimately, I made it down to the end of the bikeway at Merrick Road, where I had to take inventory of the various pains I was experiencing in my back, my feet, etc. so I could decide whether to continue to Cedar Creek park and on to Jones - or even TOBAY - Beach. These pains were not from the ride, but from my everyday life, which was rougher than usual this week. In the end, I decided to skip the beach, make my way to Rt. 107, and head north to my favorite weekend Indian Buffet in Hicksville.

THAT was a mistake, as Rt. 107 is like a war zone these days, with potholes and debris almost the entire length of my ride. At one point, I bit my tongue from the vibrations. At another, I thought I had shattered my front teeth after hitting a tar crater dead-on. By the time I arrived at the buffet, everything on my bike - from my mp3 player and speakers to my mirror to my headlight to my pannier to even a few spokes - was loose or falling off. Never gonna do THAT again.

Anyway, after considering packing it in at Hicksville and taking the LIRR home, I decided to man-up and just ride home. Hicksville to Syosset via Miller Road is no epic ride, so the day ended on kind of a bland note and with really painful feet. However, I'm always grateful, at 51, to be able to keep doing these rides without suffering TOO much.

Bottom line? Today's Long Island ride reassured me that I am ready for my annual overnight RHODE Island ride coming up next month. But, more than that, it made me a little less envious of the cool bike paths I used to drive all over the country to ride.
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