New York Walk about

Today I have been up the Empire State Building, which included a SkyRide- like those simulators in Bristol centre which show you a film of the pilot's eye view and throw you about like a roller coast. Somewhat unpleasant but the footage of NYC from the air was good.


Walked down to Ground Zero to see the WTC site. Quite sobering, even now.


Saw the Federal Reserve Bank (the one cleaned out by Jeremy Irons in Die Hard 3) and Wall Street. Walked most of the way up Broadway to Central Park which is fantastic, especially as it is tranquility in the midst of intense city life.

Flat Iron Building


NYC at night from the back of the bike


Bizarre event of the day: i saw a young woman in the park who had been in the queue in front of me at Heathrow three weeks ago. We never spoke then or now, but it was definitely her. I don't think she was American or British, judging by the profuse amounts of underarm hair- which is the precise reason she stuck in my mind! If anyone has invented the mind-scrubber device yet, please can I have a turn...

ADDITIONAL: Tonight I had the defining biking moment in my tour dreamworld. Riding down Park Ave, 10pm, green lights all the way, heading toward the MetLife Building, everything lit up, and to top it off, Springstein, Born in the USA. Fabulous!

Fahrenheit 9/11. NYC and TV geek heaven

I also managed to see F-9/11. Eye opening. Beware of the unavoidable bias, but watch it. Always two sides to every story? Try six.

I am in New York again staying with friends of the Middletons. Riding these streets is truely something else. Jostling for road space with Yellow Cabs, avoiding the pot holes (of which there are alarmingly many), seeing the buildings rise as I rest at a red light, music from the stereo adding atmosphere (for me and the pedestrians- who never seem grateful and always stare (!) ).

I have discovered a fantastic museum... The Museum of Film and Television (25 W 52nd Street). You can go in, sit at a computer and choose up to 4 items from a massive database of children's programmes, comedy shows, news items, variety performance, documentaries etc and then in your two hour slot, sit and watch them on a monitor in your own private booth for up to two people. The selection changes weekly. I watched Monty Python - Spanish Inquisition (1977 ?), Robin Williams- A night at the Met (NY 1988ish) and a documentary about the effects in Empire Strikes Back (1980).

What an amazing idea. Audio visual exhibits at my fingertips. I could have seen the pilot episodes for cop dramas, comedy shows, cartoons- you name it, it is available sometime soon if not now. And not just American stuff.

The bike is parked outside the appartment block here on West 82nd Street,

with no parking charges which is a bonus, plus we are a few doors away from 20th Precinct - NYPD, so the street tends to be pretty safe.

After winding down, and preparing to depart already, I have a new energy to go see, and to soak it all up. In a couple of days, I expect to head NE, to Boston, Martha's Vineyard (Mulder's mum lives there...), Cape Cod (first landing point of the founding fathers), Gloucester (fishing port featured in the true story depicted in Perfect Storm)....

Speechless, confused, indecisive...

... which is a description of me. No, I haven't been drinking. Against all odds, and owing to a new found tenacity in the face of the beaurocratic machine, I have gained entitlement to ride for another 30 days! I am amazed and now I don't know where to go next.

I was packed and ready to leave Philadelphia. It decided to rain the biggest, splashiest, fleshiest, ripest rain drops I have ever seen. Despite this and the immense humidity (two hurricanes are on their way up the coast) I decided to find the other Auto Tags place to see what they would say. By now I have been told 4 times by different offices in the state of Pennsylvania that it is not possible to extend my temp tag. I know that I am fully legal, well trained, and most importantly insured, I just needed to find someone who would put these things above the beaurocracy that manifests itself when they see the bike is from Michigan. A technicality which British bureacracy would see fit to overlook, since the real concerns (insurance) are clearly well met and above board. Well, I found someone who was able to do just this, and totally legally.

So I have headed to NYC as planned, but of course I am not shipping the bike Friday. The world is my oyster, or rather the East coast is my lobster...

Make my day, punk!

So, now I can say I travelled round America and blew things up.


...even if it was only paper targets. Bob, who lives next door to Jill and her dad, kindly took me to the gun club indoor range. We arrived with a briefcase containing four handguns. Here is Bob expaining a few things



Magnum 44, 9mm Browning, 9mm Ruger, 357 Python.


There wasn't room in the truck to take all 60 of the weapons he has, or indeed his ammo cache which is bigger than the local National Guard cache. (No, really).

I shot each weapon at close range (7 yds) and then competition range (50 feet). I have done this sort of thing before but still felt the awesome reverence towards the contraption in my hands. The weight, the power, the potential to do harm. Something not to be taken lightly. To describe this as fun seems perverse. It was fun, but not in some childish bla-ze kind of way. I didn't do too badly.




I could have bought a Sadaam or Bin Laden target. There is something very telling about the fact that the traditional silhouette figure has, in this gun club at least, been replaced by the Iraqi and Afghan nemesis (what is the plural here? - nemesii?) I stuck to the competition targets above.

By the way, I got stood up by Earl last night. Apparently something came up at work and he had to work late. Sounded like a poor excuse to me, but then looking back at the conversation, I wonder if he thought I was hitting on him! Friendlyness plus English accent could add up to gay advance to the untrained American ear... oh well. I cruised around town, found a restaurant. I went in, "Table for one?" I felt this insurmountable pressure to explain my aloneness "I just got stood up". Slight pause, as the attractive female seating hostess began to wonder what was wrong with me. I added "It was by a guy too, so that's worse..." Not making things sound better here. Her look said it all. I tried to make myself as masculine and straight as possible as I sat down. Anyway, the menu wasn't what I wanted so I left without ordering. I apologised as I exited. Maybe she thought I was going next door to the Blue Oyster Club.... definitely time to call it a night.

New Jersey

Today I had planned to "explore New Jersey" which is apparently a funny (ludicrous) idea... apparently there are no major cities in NJ that you want to go casually exploring. There are spots, but don't go exploring. I'll take the local knowledge- thanks. We did go to NJ DMV for extended plates but, unsurprisingly, no can do. Pennsylvania will not issue either, except there is a local, sub contracted office which seemed nonchalantly to consider that a temp plate would not be a problem- but they have run out! That's like going to McD's and finding they are out of burgers, or the Post Office to hear that stamps are off today....! Anyway, there is the slimmest of chances that I can stay longer. However, I am really looking forward to seeing people at home. So if it doesn't happen that I can extend, I will be happy to get home and maybe even do a tour to Europe or Scotland (applicants for pillion seat, please form a queue...) before work starts up again.

Been shopping, bought "24" Series One boxset- been meaning to catch up with that- nobody tell me what happens..!

Out tonight to meet Earl, the guy who helped me out when I arrived in Philly...

Washington DC, MD

The State of Maryland. Washington DC. Zoomed down to Capitol Hill for the day. It turned out to be 300 mile round trip. I took some photos and enjoyed cruising round the streets. I called in here.....


and I called in here and asked to speak to Fox Mulder on the X files.

(other photos removed by FBI -photo evidence restricted)

They insisted he does not work here. I know he does. It's just a big conspiracy....

Next up, handgun lesson with the guy next door. I get to choose a weapon from his small personnal armoury...

The Streets of Philadelphia- NEW PICS ADDED 13 Aug

Here are my wonderful hosts, Jill and her dad Marvin


A beautiful Philly sunset


and Philly at night


and me in a window


Philadelphia is where the United States had their constitutional beginnings. The downtown area has numerous historical buildings, all Georgian architecture, giving a pleasant old world feel to things. Of course it's also as urban as any other big city with a thriving night life etc etc.

The main roads through the region are turnpikes, or toll road motorways. This comes from the old English term (1678) turn-pike, from the fact that at a toll junction there was placed a studded pole (pike) which was turned as people passed and paid the toll charge. (source: Bill Bryson)

And whilst on the matter of words, did you know that the term 'jaywalking' comes from a term 'country jake', meaning a country bumpkin type, ie an innocent from out of town. Jake degraded to Jay and became used to describe an innocent who doesn't now how to cross roads. Hence Jay Walking. (source Bill Bryson- in fact anything I know about America is generally from Bill Bryson- read 'Made In America' to get ahead....)

Been to the cinema today- saw the Bourne Supremacy. Worth seeing if you like subterfuge spy stories. I also want to see Farenheit 9/11- nothing like seeing something like this in context. Then I can ask some of the punters what they think (I want to be the next Louis Theroux!) I might even watch it in Washington tomorrow.... ironic? Not if you use Alanis Morrissette's definition...

Additional: Hostile Forces

I have worked out why people look at me as if I am from another planet when I ask for a student hostel. It is because I am from another planet. You see, hostel is how they say hostile. It's like someone asking if there is a student futile around here. You what? Speak English man. It makes no sense. Then I discover that the concept of backpacking is seldom known. I have not discovered what I should be asking for. It tends to be a long convoluted explanation of what I mean, including references to Australian and New Zealander travellers, low cost and particular emphasis away from it being some kind of massage parlour.

Hmmmm

Ottawa to Philadelphia

Breakfast, 10:10am, Tim Horton's Coffee bar, York Street, Ottawa. English Toffee cappucino (spilt by me being a donkey- replaced for free because customer service is extraordinary). Then on the road for what turned out to be the biggest ride of the holiday. The miles flew by and I hardly noticed.


11.25am Crossing into USA for the third time this holiday- no real problems.

2pm Lunch. Syracuse, New York State. Dinosaur BBQ restaurant, local speciality Beef sandwich with chilli and fries. Great converstation with a biker couple whose names I never learned and who refused their photo taken!


4pm, heading for Philadelphia. 5.30pm, Scranton , PA.

7.30pm Allentown, PA. Stopped to call Jill in Philly- but phone was out of power. Contigency plan: Find internet machine and look up the number.

9.15pm Philadelphia, PA. No internet cafes. No one has heard of the concept of Backpackers Inn, or student hostels. Everyone I approached for help appeared visably threatened and no one stopped walking to tell me that they were not from round here or couldn't help. I felt like a leper. Was it the bike? Surely the accent, much accentuated for the purposes of assuring the locals of my innocent intent, was not a threat. Anyway it was strange. The only people who weren't apprehensive on approach were the cops- but then they have guns!

I found an internet machine, put in $1 for what seemed like less than a minute and had to race the archaic technology to the email address stored in Hotmail. Parallel scene: Tom Cruise, hacking into the Pentagon computer in Mission: Impossible (except I wasn't hanging upside down). Got the number. Find a phone box (mobile was dead but ran out of credit 10 days ago). Not as easy as it sounds. 5 phone boxes, 3 broken, one mugged me of the coins... phoned Jill- not in. Hooked up with biker guy on VERY loud Yamaha Warrior custom- he gave me change for more phone calls- talked for an hour about bikes and politics. Then phoned Jill and she was in. I then had to find their place, 35 miles out of town. Eventually i made it after getting lost three times despite good directions. Jill and Marvin are really hospitable and thought nothing of fixing me a piece of pizza at 1am.

What a day. over 500 miles, two countries, three states. Three and a half tanks of fuel at a cost of 22.00 GBP.

Ottawa Bike Ride

I spent the evening chasing an R1 round the streets of Ottawa. Met loads of bikers and had lots of biker chat- I'll spare you the details. This is Jamie from the hostel



Nothing else to report. Big ride tomorrow for Pennsylvania...