Out of the city and into the Woods

We left Christy in a frenzy, preparing for an interview to teach at the Academy of Urban Planning in Brooklyn (which she got!). She has such a patient, yet meticulous personality—one of those people you know will be everyone’s favorite teacher, with the perfect balance of focus, organization, and fun.
We left the other roommates a thank you note on their fridge and made our way, for the last time, over the Manhattan Bridge. The sky was bright and blue. We skirted underneath the bridge, wanting to take the scenic way out of the city, along the edge of the Hudson. Pedaling by the new World Trade Center, we tried to imagine the horror that plagued the city eleven years ago.

From there, we passed by the Chelsea Market, waving the High Line one last goodbye. Just as we thought we were going to make good time for the day, we were tempted by a cup of coffee. Stumptown Coffee Roasters is based in Portland, OR, and is probably Brant and I’s favorite roaster. We both had no idea that they also roasted in Brooklyn, so we took advantage of the surprise and purchased some beans to brew on the road. The shop is located in the lobby of the Ace Hotel in Manhattan—I don’t think a place could be more “Hip.” The lobby is dark and lit with old forties style milky glass lamps. The room is always dotted with beautiful people sitting on leather coaches sipping coffee from Stumptown or red wine from the bar.  

Pedestrians and baristas stopped to talk to us as we sipped the last drips of espresso from our camp mugs. Brant took a short walk around the corner to purchase what we think is the cheapest way to feed yourself in this city, some gyros from a local street vendor.

With our espresso gone, and our bellies full of falafel, we were finally ready to say good-bye to New York City. We loved it through and through. Perhaps it was because we found biking to be so accessible; biking a city slows it down, makes it smaller, more manageable. We kept saying to each other, “Could we live here?” And I think we could; it has so much to offer. You could spend a lifetime in the city and not see all that you could see. In the end though, I believe we would miss having a yard and a garden.

On our way out, we caught the greenway that took us by the little red lighthouse below the George Washington Bridge. It happened to be a day where the lighthouse is open to visitors. So we parked our bikes beneath the big grey bridge and wound our way up the old staircase and walked the balcony of the little lighthouse. After being tourists, we headed north to Yonkers to exchange our tent. We took the Manhattan greenway until we got to the Harlem River, we crossed the Broadway Bridge and made our way to another bike path in the Bronx, The North County Trailway, which would take us all the way to Brewster, NY. 

We stopped at REI in Yonkers and paid $30 for a brand new $330 MSR tent. Brant and I swore our allegiance to the co-op, knowing that they totally saved our butts. And later that night, when we camped in the woods just off the trail, and it thundered and poured all night, we were so thankful to have a tent without holes. 

It rained till 9 in the morning, giving us no reason to wake up and disassemble camp. When we heard the last drips of the storm, we finally greeted the world. Everything was wet and soggy, so we packed everything up, and headed out to look for some coffee and a dry place to sit.  We found a fantastic farmers market in the quaint little town of Pleasantville. We ate fresh bread and coffee and purchased some fruits and veggies for the ride. 

After a late start we made our way to Brewster. The ride was sweet and stress free, and along the way we ran into Lake Mahopac. Wanting to find a beach and take a quick dip, Brant ran into the public library to ask a librarian for some directions. While I waited outside, a mom dropping her daughter off at the library asked me about our trip and invited us to swim at her apartment complex’s private beach. Ok. 

Brant popped out of the library, and we made way to her beach. We ate our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and sunbathed on the dock. The water was crystal clear and refreshing, a perfect bath between two days of cycling. We hopped back on our bicycles and found the end of the rail trail. 

With no campgrounds in sight, we stopped a local sheriff to ask where he would recommend camping for the night. He was a great resource and pointed us toward some open fields with woods on the way to the border of Connecticut. He left us with a warning, “Watch your stuff as you go through town, there’s a lot of Guatemalans.” He had seemed so cool up until that point. 

We filled up on water for the night and found a great place to camp near where he had told us to look, just above the town reservoir. We ate our burritos and dodged mosquitos till it was time for bed.

Donal, an old stabbie housemate, moved to Connecticut with his wonderful girlfriend, Michelle, just a year ago. We had contacted Donal about perhaps coming to see them on our way up to Boston. They live in the small town of Mansfield, which is dominated by the University of Connecticut. 

 We confirmed with Donal the next morning that he was home and had the following day off. So, at 10am in the morning we decided that we needed to pedal 92 miles in order to be able to spend time with Donal on his day off. We finished eating breakfast. Brant sat on our stove, burning a hole in his brand new bicycle shorts, and eventually we got on our bicycles. 

It was a good long day of riding. We held lunch off with Cliff bars till we got to a Whole Foods in West Hartford at 5 in the evening. After eating our long awaited meal, we pedaled into the night, navigating dark country roads and many hills. Around 10pm, we arrived at Donal and Michelle’s cabin in the woods—in the middle of Connecticut nowhere. We were so excited to see our old friends that we forgot, for a moment, how tired we all were. 

 We fell asleep and woke up in the morning to find that we were staying at the most adorable little farmhouse. We came downstairs and Donal made beautiful pancakes with fresh blueberries and we shared our Stumptown coffee. After breakfast, Donal took us to the backyard to show off their “bike barn.” Oh man! An old horse stable turned bike palace—Brant and I were in awe. 

Donal offered up his extra mountain bike and took Brant on a good New England ride—full of roots and tree dodging.
I stayed back with Michelle, and while she wrote, I enjoyed the blisses of their two gorgeous porches and did some much-needed yoga. From there, I worked a bit on a blog post. And after that, Michelle took me to meet two farmers, who in 2001 toured SE Asia by bicycle. 

 Their farm was idealic and perfect. As the sun drenched the full and fertile rows of vegetables, chickens in moving pens pecked at plants done with their season. Their happy little girls roamed barefoot in sundresses. They were just setting up their farmstand so we decided to come back for potatoes and tomatoes to make for dinner. 

Michelle then drove me past the local dairy and down to the co-op that her sister manages. Here, I purchased our favorite camp food, which can only be found at select co-ops—instant bean mix. It’s light, it cooks extremely fast, and it’s delicious. The last co-op to have it was all the way back in Laurence, Kansas. So I stocked up on our staple and other yummy foods, and we made our way back to the homestead. 

 Later, Brant, Donal, and I went back to the farm to purchase dinner fixings. Brant and I cooked up a potato stir-fry, and Michelle made caprece salad. We set the table on the front porch and enjoyed a good summer meal outside. As the sun set, we lit citronella candles and enjoyed a bit of local ice cream. Michelle continued to interest me with her research and current projects. So we soaked up the great conversation and eventually we were all ready for bed. 

We spent the next day reading, writing, and looking for tickets to go abroad. Our dear friend Lauren May told us that she had just purchased a ticket to Thailand for the end of September. So we took that as a sign that we too should fly in to Thailand. This would allow us to see a dear friend and would put us in Thailand just in time to attend a permaculture course. The two week Ecovillage Design, Deep Ecology, Community Building & Permaculture Workshop has been something Brant and I have been eyeing for a long while, but we didn’t know where or when we were flying into Asia. With a good priced ticket and something to pedal towards, we decided to go for it. On September 23, at eight in the evening we will begin our 26-hour journey to Thailand, stopping in London, Bahrain, and finally, Bangkok! 

After sitting on our butts in front of a computer for way to long, Michelle took us to one of her favorite swimming holes. We jumped off rocks into the crisp water, and lounged on sunny rocks. 

That night Michelle showed off her culinary skills and made us all sweet potato enchiladas that were delicious. Donal had to be off to work early again the following morning, so he gave Brant and I directions to the Airline Trail that would get us on our way to Boston, and we said our goodbyes and our many many thank you's. It was great to see an old friend in a new happy chapter of life.