2009 Anchor House Ride for Runaways

On Sunday, July 12, 200 cyclists left Lake Oswego NY, embarking on a 7-day, 500 mile journey ending in Princeton NJ. It is the annual Anchor House Ride for Runaways. The journey is a charity bicycle ride that exists to support Anchor House. Each day takes the cyclists to a new area, they stay in local hotels and sample the tastes and culture of each new place. Anchor House arranges for the hotels. Each cyclist is required to raise a minimum of $750 in pledges. Ride organizers also provide rest stops along the route with lots of wonderful snacks, water and Gatorade to fuel hungry hard-working cyclists.

For those unfamiliar with the charity, the Anchor House, Inc. is a multi-service agency in Trenton, NJ for runaway, homeless, abused, and at-risk youth and their families. For the past 30 years, Anchor House has committed its efforts to providing comprehensive, life-saving assistance to our most vulnerable population.

I became involved with the ride 3 years ago through TCCyclist Beth Mowery. Each year, the ride starts in a different location. The previous 2 years, we started in Harrisonburg VA and Rutland Vermont, respectively. This year, our trek began from Lake Oswego NY.

On Saturday, July 11, at Trenton Thunder Stadium,we said good-bye to our family and friends, then boarded 4 buses for the ride to NY. Our bicycles were loaded on trucks and shipped a few days before.

On Sunday morning, we mounted our bikes and started on our way, aided by a very efficient, and enthusiastic support crew. Below is a short description of the ride:

Day 1: Lake Ontario to Geneva – 76 miles

I've never seen a lake so huge, it looked like the Atlantic Ocean, and wind caused heavy surf and white caps on the waves. They pounded the rocks on the shore. The views were magnificent.

The first part of the ride was very hilly. At the end it flattened a bit, as we approached lake Geneva. In between we were treated to nice rollers through miles and miles of apple orchards and my favorite, cherry orchards. I've never seen so many cherry trees, covered with large red fruits. I didn't know NY was such a haven for cherries.

Day 2: Geneva to Ithaca – 74 miles

We awoke to another very cool morning but this time, on lake Geneva. The wind persisted but not as stiff as Sunday. Anyway, our ride today took us along beautiful Seneca Lake, which seemed on our right through the first half of the ride. The corn and soy fields replaced the apple & cherry orchards. Lake Seneca was much more like a lake than Ontario, the views were again, spectacular.

About 10 or 15 miles into the ride, endless vineyards replaced the cornfields as we approached wine country. As I passed the vineyards, I tried to remember the names, but there were so many. I do remember 3 Brothers. I even came upon a vineyard/brewery, with a beautiful restaurant overlooking the lake. Each time I passed I heard the vines calling me, urging me to stop for a tasting, thus it was so early and I had so much riding to finish. Not today, but I definitely plan on another trip to the area.

The ride was much easier than yesterday, except for an arduous 3.5 mile climb at the 4--mile mark. The grade was easy, between 4-6%, but it was long.. The last rest stop, 13 miles from Ithaca, was situated on a beautiful waterfall.

Day 3: Ithaca to Owego 74 miles

The morning we left Ithaca was very cool. And just like most days, we climbed out of the town. My lungs burned from the cold air. We climbed for about a mile as we left toward Cayuga Heights. But at the top we were treated to views of waterfalls and footbridges. Today’s ride was not as hilly as the previous 2 days. We knew that our next day would be longer with more climbing as we entered PA.

Day 4: Owego to Clark Summit PA 80 miles

The ride was not as scenic today, especially the first ½. The roads were cracked from the harsh winters, and the traffic was difficult to manage. Also, the first rest stop wasn’t until mile 39.

Other than a downhill stretch of 10 miles before the second rest, we did a fair amount of climbing. The worst climbs were in the final 7 miles, as we entered Clark “Summit”. We stayed at this hotel last year. Upon arriving (since the rooms weren’t ready) I pulled my swim suit out of the bag and dipped in the indoor pool. It felt great as the temps really warmed and the sun was quite strong. This hotel is beautiful and it serves as our “banquet hotel”.

Day 5: Clark Summit to Stroudsburg PA 62 miles

Well, we knew it couldn’t last, our string of cool sunny days ended (partially) today. We woke to wet roads and drizzle. However, looking at the radar, we knew it would clear. So we delayed our start 'til 8:30. The drizzle was ending, the roads were drying, and we could see patches of blue sky in the distance.

Once again, it was a climb our of Clarks Summit, but instead of cool air burning my lungs, the damp heavy, humid air made us feel quite lethargic. Very shortly after we started, the sun broke through and it was HOT.

Seems that we were spoiled riding in upstate NY, the routes and roads here are not as nice. We hit our first climb (4 miles) at mile 14, our 2nd climb (6 miles) at mile 36. In fact, we climbed 3700 ft in the first 42 miles.

Then after mile 40, we hit mostly flat roads with some rollers, a few climbs at the end, nothing hard.

Day 6: Stroudsburg to Clinton 74 miles

Someone turned on the heat! We've been blessed this week with wonderful weather, so I'm not complaining, but it was quite humid. It just made 74 miles of hills seem longer and more difficult.

When we left the hotel, we rode along Delaware Water Gap road, some route # that I can't remember. For me, I slowed to enjoy the spectacular scenery and to stop at the scenic overlooks. After meandering through PA farm fields, we crossed the river and into MT. Bethel NJ!!!!! We hit a rest stop in Milford NJ, a very quaint small town, and then on to Clinton.

Day 7: Clinton to HOME

This is it; the final leg on the journey. It is quite an interesting day. Each year at the end of the ride, a Pennington family hosts a picnic for all the Anchor House cyclists, support team and crew. Although I asked, no one knew how the tradition started, but for as long as anyone can remember, this wonderful family has provided BBQ, sandwiches, cold drinks, and ice cream for the entire ride. Their house sits across from Hopewell High School.

Then, at 3:00 our police escort arrives and we line up for our parade through Pennington and other towns (approx. 10 miles), to the Hamilton Mall. There, at the mall, our family and friends are there to greet us, we are introduced as we ride our bikes in the aisles, and a small, short ceremony takes place. This year, we raised over $400,000. for the Anchor House, and had a lot of fun doing it