After seeing all the warnings on TV, and hearing that the New York Triathlon had been cancelled due to heat one might stay indoors over the weekend. I even got a call from my mom - all the way from Turkey - telling me to be careful, but being away from my bike for two weeks only meant that I was going to get a long ride in.

For most of us, including Erwin, Sunday was the very first taste of the OCA: “The amount of times I’ve crossed the GWB (George Washington Bridge) in the 4 years I’ve lived and rode in NYC is hard to count. Crossing ‘West’, and going up, almost seemed the one and only thing to do.

The stories I had heard about staying East of the river, varied from people describing it as a trail or a path. Turns out, it’s both. We initially hit the paved path and later discovered the OCA (the soft gravel trail) was paralel to us. The path is mainly paved and perfectly doable on a road bike, but for the trail, I was very happy to have team mate Corey Williams’ CX bike on trial for the weekend! It was perfect for this absolute scorcher of a day, as it’s mostly covered by shade from the trees. I’m already excited about coming back and riding all the way up to Peekskill - perhaps on a slightly cooler day though.