things i think about while powerwashing 190

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Happy Tuesday esteemed subscribers!

I biked a hundred miles the other day! Earlier this year I made a goal — bike to Philly and also bike 100 miles in one go. I did the math and from LIC to Philly is almost perfectly a century ride.

So off I went at 6 a.m. — I didn't end up taking the Queensboro Bridge and found myself huffing and puffing trying to pull myself up the Williamsburg Bridge. Also here is a picture that accurately depicts how I felt in the wee hours of the morning trying to get started.

The GPS took me to the Staten Island Ferry. I was able to take a short break from the riding while resting on the ferry - the brutal humid summer heat was already starting to show even as my bike weaved in and out of the bike lane in FiDi. No telling how hot it was going to get in the inner lands of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The heat was the least of my concerns – preliminary reports had forecasted rain and even thunder around the time my ride was to bring me to Trenton. My plan has been to wait out the three or four hour squall of rain in a coffee shop, but fortunately or maybe unfortunately the rain had dematerialized leaving me with an unbearable sun and a miserable humidity.

The latter of which, as it turns out, does not really matter when you're wearing a t-shirt and constantly moving at around 13 miles per hour. A shiver even crossed my body as I rolled through Staten Island, being careful to let impatient cars by on the sidewalk before taking back the streets.

When you're riding from New York City to Philadelphia you have to bike over at least two bridges. By skirting the George Washington bridge I had blessed myself with the pleasure of crossing the Goethals Bridge – an imposing cable-stayed crossing only opened in 2017! I should've known based on the bike and walking lane.

After 20-30 miles of suburban New Jersey stroad and highway riding I found myself finally amongst large swathes of green. Though this area could be taken as suburban, I decided to take it closer to rural due to the appearance of several farms. My favorite road was a long lazy winding path that curled up against the banks of the Delaware and Raritan Canal, with the long leafy arms of the great American Sycamores shading me from the former of my assailants. The plausibility of rurality and remoteness, though occasionally broken by a passing Subaru, brings a sense of contentment.

As planned, I arrive in Princeton around noon. Esteemed subscriber Rachel Inman had suggested several restaurants but something about eating at a place called "Hoagie Haven" during a 100-mile bike ride made a little more sense than somewhere mid-upscale. I politely downed half a hoagie, before rolling out of town past all the students wearing polo-shirt, baggy basketball shorts and flip flops. Somehow a scene so familiar, yet so remote.

This was not my first time in Princeton. The first time had been a week prior, when I sent it on a 66 mile test ride from my apartment. It was meant to be a scouting mission to get familiar with the terrain and the rolls of the road – but somehow then night before I had gotten so excited that I could barely sleep. That was just one of several mistakes I made before and during my journey: I had also declined to eat my prescribed carb packets during the last segment of my ride which caused my speed and energy to crater (as they say bonk) and also cramped 50 miles in due to my lack of electrolytes. This time, we did not make those mistakes.

This also meant that everything after Princeton was new to me. The increasing number of Wawas told me I was getting close. Something interesting my dad warned me about before my century was the lack of convenience stores in the area (he bikes a lot in Taiwan, where there are plenty of convenience stores). But ... why are there so many convenience stores in Philly? Maybe the true Japanese and Taiwanese vacation lies not across the Pacific, but across the Delaware River.

After rolling by my old AirBnB (where I was called a racial slur but in a very interesting situation) I set out to my first final destination: a cheesesteak. Del Rossi's Cheesesteak is allegedly Michelin-recommended but after taking a bite I could not figure out why this was so acclaimed. Hot take: I thought it was meh. It was definitely a cheesy sandwich, nothing more nothing less. My second final destination was a Chinese BBQ spot in the northwest corner of Chinatown. I ate this on the train home – also middling in quality.

So as I sat on the Amtrak home I decided on two things:

1. Philadelphia's foods are not that good
2. I am ready to spend serious money on a good bike

anonymous subscriber news

Thank you to the anonymous subscriber rooting (or not rooting?) for my Niners. After that amazing performance against the Rams ... I think it's possible. Also I drafted the Rams defense and Myles Garrett has to go get surgery. This season is over.

Submit here: https://forms.gle/2MABf8jNr2V8kEY87

• anon manifests on my behalf: not a niners fan, but I do have McCaffrey on my fantasy football team. manifesting an injury free season for him
• anon ... ?: I mean I’m not NOT a niners fan
• anon goes crazy on the preds: The niners are either going 17-0 or 0-17
• anon observes: Saw a car at the gas station today filled to the brim (literally) with someone’s belongings with the only open spot being the drivers seat

animal of the week

Esteemed subscriber and coworker Justin Cheng presents to us a magnificent red-winged blackbird with an awesome skyline pic in the back. Thank you Justin for sharing this with us!

Female red wing blackbird, I think. The male ones will dive bomb your head...

Send me your animal photos at ryan@torrtle.co OR at this form https://forms.gle/NT3nSkKVbpkjCr1u8!