mile 200 Montauk Point and Journey's end

I spent half a day on Tuesday riding around the shorelines of Montauk. Everything was so beautiful there, I didn't really want to leave. The effects of the sea air on a hot summer day was quite wonderful. Near the sea, the temperature was in the low 80s versus around 100 degrees inland. At the Montauk downs state park, I gathered some stones smoothed by the sea, they were very intricate looking. I think I shall give a few of them to my friends and turn the rest into amulets.

Near Montauk Point, I saw these strange looking sand dudes. The were basically hills of sand with ferns or perhaps dwarf trees growing all around them. It was like a scene from an alien planet, definitely very interesting. After awhile, I got a bit tired and the damages done to my body over the last 3 days had begun to catch up with me. I assessed the situation and came to the realization that I could not safely go on. My body has been thoroughly devastated. My stock of dried meat and fish were entirely gone and there were no sources of replenishment to be found in Montauk.

I knew that I had little chance of biking another 180 miles back to NYC, so I decided to call it a day and head home on the Long Island Rail. I arrived back home to the Upper East Side on Tuesday evening. And now, I'm still recovering. My legs were at first numb, and then under intense pain all of last night, and are now sore but flexible again.


While it's true that I didn't circumscribe all of long island, I had succeeded in crossing the entire length of it alone on a bicycle. One can only aim for the stars and do one's best. And I gave this journey everything that I had, and thus have no regrets. I had never gone so far on muscle power nor had I suffered so much for it. But I think this trip was entirely worth the pain and discomfort. I had pushed myself to the bleeding edge of my physical and mental endurance. I had learned a great deal about the practical side of bicycle travel and the scope of the fuel/food crisis. And finally, I have met many decent(and a few not so decent) people along the way. So I think I'll remember this trip for a long time. :)