Connecticut to New Jersey: Week 3, River Relay

Sept. 7

We saw our third relay exchange as cyclists Niles Barnes (right) and Tim Yarborough (left) took off from Hartford, Connecticut, today, picking up the course from Rob Dexter. They ended in New Haven, collecting a water sample from the Quinnipiac River before calling it a day.

Day 16

Sept. 8: Niles and Tim rode from New Haven to Stamford, Connecticut, 63.6 miles on a sunny, mild day. They enjoyed a brand-new two-way cycle track in New Haven on the route and collected another river sample from the Housatonic near Stratford, Conn. Tomorrow: New York City!

Day 17

Sept. 9: It was a full, fun day in New York City. We paddled on the Bronx River with the Bronx River Alliance, sent off 39 FreeWalkers from Van Cortlandt Park, met a few leadership board members for lunch, and walked down the Hudson River Greenway to meet FreeWalkers as they arrived in Battery Park, an 18-mile walk (in photo, Mary Beth and Beth Brody, our New York Committee chair, talk with two FreeWalkers who did the walk round-trip, 36 miles!).

Day 18

Sept. 10: A much-needed rest day for all, and a beautiful one in New York City. The best of what the Greenway does is connect people to place — like Mary Beth Powell, our River Relay manager, enjoying a classic bagel and lox Sunday morning breakfast outside on the Upper West Side.

Day 19

Sept. 11: Classic busman's holiday: For his day off, cyclist Niles Barnes took to his bike and rode across the George Washington Bridge, down our complimentary Palisades route along the Hudson, back to Manhattan by ferry, and across the Brooklyn Bridge for kicks. Throw in a few meals, yoga, and laundry and it was a great day!

Day 20

Sept. 12: We stopped first  in Hoboken, N.J., to learn about that city's resiliency initiatives post-Hurricane Sandy with city officials and a hanfuld of cyclists and others. Then Niles headed out solo, bound for New Brunswick, N.J. Which means he braved the Route 1 & 9 bridge to cross the Hackensack River in the Meadowlands — a region of the route that we're hoping to improve through a coalition of partners.

Day 21

Sept. 13: It was a rest day for our cyclist and a catch-up day for the team. Our thoughts are partly on hurricanes — we've taken part in several conversations the last few days on how linear parks like the Greenway can play an important role in coastal resiliency efforts. And we caught up with two of our staffers, based in Savannah and Palm Coast, FL, who had to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Irma but report all is well, except for lost power. Paul, in Palm Coast, sent us this photo of a sailboat swept up onto the Greenway.

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