The Blue Knights New York II Chapter (Da Bronx) held its 30th Annual Suicide Run which raises money for local charities. It includes escorted rides into Manhattan, New York City on Friday and Saturday evenings. The grand finale is a police escorted non stop tour of the five boroughs of New York City.
Eleven bikes with 15 riders left Ottawa on Thursday, 9 AUG 2012 for the ride to NYC.
Starting area in Ottawa
Led by Stu, our Ride Captain and Chapter VP, took us to Cornwall and into the USA. At Malone we took route 30 and side tracked to Lake Saranac for fuel and lunch. With darkening skies we donned our rain gear which proved to be a wish decision. We followed #30 to the outskirts of Albany, NY through light rain at times. The group gathered for dinner and we enjoyed plenty of conversation since the service was slow and the waiter provided just one bill for the group.
As we departed the restaurant our 12th bike with Paul and Trudi joined us for the remainder of the trip. We overnighted in Albany.
Friday morning was overcast for our two hour ride into NYC. Along the Taconic Parkway we encountered extremely heavy rain and wind which lasted 15/20 minutes. Later that day we saw on the NYC news that cars were pulling over since the drivers could not see where they were going. You can imagine what it was like on a bike. The Taconic Parkway (divided) has curbs on both sides of the driving lane, therefore we could not pull off and it would have been dangerous to stop due to poor visibility. We arrived at our hotel in White Plains on the north side of NYC safe but wet.
We watched the weather to determine if we would participate in the evening ride into NYC. In the mean time, I made contact with a NY II Blue Knight (Mike H.) that David B. and I had meet in Digby, NS last June at the Atlantic Friendship Weekend. He offered his services to escort our group and gave us several possibilities. Once the rain stopped our group planned to meet at 5:00 PM to discuss our plans. MIke H. called to advise he was outside the hotel and had 15 tickets to the Ground Zero Memorial site. We made a quick and unanimous decision to accept the offer. The only problem was it was 5:15 PM by the time we assembled out side the hotel, the tickets were for 6:00 PM, the site closed at 7:00 PM and we were about 70 K from Ground Zero on a Friday evening during rush hour. Mike told me to tell the group it was going to be a quick ride. With his knowledge of the city (former Manhattan Detective) he was able to guide us to our location in one hour even with a stop to fix a broken kickstand. I am sure our members, especially the ones who visited NYC for the first time, will remember the ride for a long time.
Sites on our route to Ground Zero
Brooklyn Bridge
The visit to Ground Zero was both interesting and emotional. We learned from a NYC Patrolman the 7 towers at the site were being rebuilt, however the "Foot Print" of Towers 1 and 2 would be memorial sites for the victims. They are in the form of water falls that enter a hole and disappears. The names of the victims are inscribed on the ledges around the two pools. It also includes the persons who died in all the aircraft which were downed on 9/11.
Tower #1 is almost complete and will not be 110 floors as were the twin Towers. However it will be 103 floors which makes it one floor taller than the Empire State building and will be 1776 feet high (1776 is the year of Independence for the USA). It will be then the tallest building in NYC.
Tower #1
Those who died on 911
After Ground Zero, Mike gave us choices for the for our next stop. He then took us to Battery Park at the south end of Manhattan to view Staten Island and the Statue of Liberty.
The next stop would be Times Square, however remember it is downtown Manhattan and parking is scarce. Mike made a phone call to his former Precinct and arranged parking among the police vehicles on 54th. We all walked a few blocks to Time Square to experience the atmosphere.
The ubiquitous NakedCowboy
If you look closely you will see a Blue Knight and his wife on the bottom of this Billboard live screen.
Who is that with Mickey?
After Times Square Mike took us to the hotel through the heart of Harlem (125th).
The famous Apollo Theater, home of some great music.
We were notified that a special ride was arranged on SaturDay morning to Oyster Bay, Long Island to a private collection of vintage motorcycles own by Billy Joel. The weather held contrary to the forecast and well left at 10:00 AM. It took about one hour to the well healed community to the 20 th Century Cycles building owned by "The Piano Man".
There were approximately 70 bikes of all brands from Europe, Asia and America.
We were told by the staff that Billy Joel rides all of these bikes on a regular basis.
Saturday afternoon was an organized ride for all attendees now numbering in the hundreds. We departed for Mulberry Street in Manhattan's "Little Italy" which borders Chinatown.
Leaving the hotel.
Sprain Brook Parkway.
Passing through Chinatown on the way to Little Italy.
Street blocked for parking the bikes.
Handball being played in Chinatown park.
Bike's photo on slow exposure.
Upon our return to the hotel near midnight, Louis A. entertained us and others in the bar area with his guitar and voice. He played a broad range of music including country, pop, classics in English, French and Italian. We all sang along and only stopped when a string broke.
Sunday morning came earlier than planned due to our late night entertainment. However this was the big day. Hundreds of bikes gathered for an 8:30 AM departure for an escorted parade to Alan Chandler Park in the Bronx. Hundreds of additional bikes from the local area and beyond joined us for refreshments and donuts along with vendors. The NYPD Motorcycle Unit arrived to prepare for our escorted non stop ride through the five boroughs of New York City.
We departed for the Suicide Run escorted by The NYPD Motorcycle Unit, assisted by hundreds of police officers in cars and on foot to block the on ramps and intersections for the 2 hour ride. We started in The Bronx, then crossed over to Manhattan and then to Brooklyn via their famous bridge. Next was Queens passing by Staten Island back to Manhattan and returned to the park in The Bronx. At the park we had plenty of food, refreshments, music and vendors.
The Intrepid Aircraft carrier with the SR 51 spy plane.
Approaching the Brooklyn Bridge
Yankee Stadium
Vendors
