I was running the Pulaski Bridge Marshal Teams.

We met at Battery Park at 5:00 AM, got fed, got materials and supplies,
assembled, gave speech and instructions to Marshals and we pedaled out for the
bridge at 6:30.

We took a "We hope it stops raining soon" rest stop under the 59th Street
Bridge overpass at 60th and 1st Avenue while we hit the Food Emporium for coffee
and bathrooms and fixed a couple of flats under the overpass.

It did NOT stop raining, so we formed a line and led three Marshal teams over
the Queensboro Bridge. On the other side, I "aimed" them and their Captains
at their sectors, took my own team and we headed out for the Con Ed Learning
Center Rest Area that was on the edge of our own sector.

Once there we glommed all of the bananas, power bars, chips and bottled water
that we could carry and headed for our bridge in a downpour. Almost everyone
had rain gear so it was almost fun.

The D.O.T. hadn't showed up with their expansion joint covers and gear yet
and the vanguard of the ride wasn't supposed to come through until 10:13 AM, so
with about 90 minutes to go, we withdrew from the bridge to a diner on the
Queens side, where we did the "pancakes, coffee and eggs" thing.

The hand dryers in both bathrooms were in continuous use for the entire time
that we were there. We were using them to dry out our gear...LOL

At 9:45 or so D.O.T. showed up, closed off the traffic, and covered the
expansion joints with rubber gaskets.

I signed for the bridge a few minutes later and had all of the Marshals go up
and down the bridge picking up screws, glass, rivets and all forms of flat
making detritus.

By the time the vanguard came up 11th Street in the rain, The Marshals had
been posted all over the bridge and were ready for the onslaught...LOL

Second year in a row no falls or accidents, except for one rider with a rat's
ass bike who tore his ankle open when his chain broke. He had come down on
the chain ring and cut himself to the bone.

I was on the front end with the bullhorn, teaching a new Marshal how to run
that position in between helping with first aid and repairs... Lots of bloody
knees and elbows from falls earlier on the course.... Had stop one bad one
with an old, but freshly laundered, white sock and two Kotex pads...

As the ride went on, the experienced riders had long since passed and the
slower, more exhausted riders started predominating, pedaling by looking like
Zombies....

The front riders had pedaled 21.5 miles when they passed our post, but after
a certain hour, the course is shortened by 6 miles (the ride no longer goes
out to Astoria Park and back, but rather goes from the 59th Street Bridge
directly over the Pulaski and on into Brooklyn) so the exhausted riders had
actually
only gone 15.5 miles and STILL they looked whipped.

We pulled the worst ones out and gave them water, candy, power bars and
bananas while ordering them to sit down for ten minutes....all the while keeping
up
the repairs and first aid until the S.A.G. Wagons came by at the tail of the
ride and ordered the stragglers off of their bikes and into the school busses
that would take them to the Festival on Staten Island.

Once the SAG had passed us, We picked up our stuff, cleaned up our area that
was covered with empty water bottles, power bar wrappers, dressing wrappers,
ointment tubes, tire tubes, empty patch kits and tube boxes....

The D.O.T. guys signed for the bridge and I rode up the bridge pulling the
Marshals into a line behind me...We stopped on the Brooklyn side where I thanked
them and distributed their Marshal Meal Coupons and shook their hands...at
that point they all converted to Riding Marshals and pedaled into the ride from
the back, doing good deeds for the next 19 miles along the course, at the
Festival at Fort Wadsworth, on the road to St. George, in the ferry lines,
helped
to load the ferries, and care for the riders ON the ferries and direct them
off of the ferries, out of the terminal and into Manhattan...

In Battery Park, we returned our gear and picked up our baseball caps and tee
shirts.... I dropped one of my Marshals off at 90th and Francis Lewis, then
home by 6 ish!


Let's do it again next week!



John Chiarella (Fixer3@...)

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