Early today we flew east over some of the few states we haven’t yet visited on our Rides for Human Rights.

From Washington over Idaho, Montana, and beyond.

Our tailwind exceeded 100 mph (162 kph).  We would have liked a bit of that in California and Oregon!

But instead of a nice biker’s tailwind, we encountered weather that led to this:

An aerial view of the 2 lanes of U.S. Highway 101 near Brookings, Oregon. The red dot is on our track, on the northbound shoulder. Storms and landslides caused the road to disintergrate, shift, and sink.

U.S. 101’s collapse forced us to travel by car on a long, narrow, winding, high-altitude detour too dangerous for bicycles.  It was the worst of the many hazards a car helped us to avoid.

Days of extraordinary weather made the harsh coastal terrain in California and Oregon unusually dangerous.  That’s why on our 9th Ride we pedaled only 503 miles.  Five hundred miles is not nothing.  But it’s not the 1,000+ miles of every past Ride.

We’re disappointed.  We hope our fans—and those who donate to Human Rights First and the IWC based on our mileage—won’t hold it against us.

Four and a half hours after takeoff, we landed in New York.  We took the AirTrain (monorail) to the A train (ordinarily an express, but today, ugh, it made every stop through Queens and Brooklyn) to Columbus Circle.  Jeffrey carried me via Lincoln Center . . .

Josie Robertson Plaza was nearly deserted at rush hour. Even so, look at the diversity of the people. I belong to a tiny minority—how many American kangaroo court puppets do you know?—and Jeffrey too is accustomed to being one minority among many. It feels good to be back where no group is dominant.

. . . to a bicycle, and pedaled uptown.  We reached West Harlem just before sunset.

L to R: Jeffrey and Joey, facing north on a Hudson River pier.

Jeff took that photo.

L to R: Jeff, Joey. Jeff works for an airline. He and his wife had wondered about children appearing in immigration court without a lawyer. He said a light went on when Jeffrey explained that because asylum applicants aren’t criminals, they can have a lawyer only “at no expense to the government.” Jeff talked bicycles with Jeffrey too. We’re glad to have met him.

We enjoyed the view uptown.

About 3 miles away is the George Washington Bridge, across the Hudson between New Jersey (at left) and NYC.

After sunset, looking downriver and into New Jersey.

Jeffrey chauffeured me back to our neighborhood, seen here from the ramp to Riverside Park South.

Our building is at the middle of the photo, immediately to the left of the two towers with glowing tops.

After biking 503 miles in 19 days, thus we ended the physical part of the 9th annual Ride for Human Rights.

As every year, Jeffrey will keep biking for his own purposes. I’ll go back into storage.

Those who have followed these Rides, or who know Jeffrey, know why the Ride has not yet ended. We are back in NYC, but Jeffrey isn’t home.

In a few days, I’ll yield to Jeffrey for his annual wrap-up, and he’ll clear up any confusion.

Meanwhile, it’s not too late to join the fun and donate to Human Rights First, donate to the Interfaith Welcome Coalition.  A donation to HRF in any amount gets you a collectible Beatles postcard, signed by Joey and Jeffrey.

One of hundreds of different postcards waiting for donors. We know it’s the wrong flag. It’s part of the fun!

A Beatles postcard . . . like the Rides . . . like the America we’ve seen from low and slow on over 10,500 miles of road . . . there’s nothing like it in the world.