Folker and I slept in a little this morning before walking across the street to The Butcher’s Daughter for a coffee and a little bite to eat. We both selected the menu item “The Best Damn Egg Sandwich” and it was pretty damn good and the coffee was also very satisfying.

The plan for the day would be to ride our stripped down bikes to see New York City from the ground level. We crossed the Williamsburg Bridge to Manhattan and made our way to the 9/11 Memorial and America’s Response Monument.

I knew being at the 9/11 Memorial would be heavy, but I totally underestimated it all. My chest was immediately tight making it hard to breathe and it felt like a weight was on top of me. I was sad and very angry.

Images from watching the news while in Germany during that horrible day were flying through my head. Faces of the friends and colleagues lost as a direct result of the wars that resulted from this cowardly act were flipping one by one in my mind. Thoughts of the actions I was a part of and the lives I have taken as a direct result flooded my head. I was temporarily paralyzed. I clinched my teeth.

This was an attack on the entire world. New York City is truly an international city and it was blatantly attacked. We and the international community that chose to be with us responded appropriately and many sacrifices were obviously made to ensure this has not happened again. Never Forget.

Folker and I then headed down to the ferry terminal to catch the Staten Island Ferry for a round trip in hopes of getting a nice view of the Statue of Liberty and of the city’s amazing skyline.

Cyclist get a special canine inspection and then are sent to a separate waiting area, which is truly an advantage especially on the other side when trying to catch the next ferry coming back. Only a handful of cyclists versus hundreds of pedestrian passengers makes the quick transfer so much easier.

The views were absolutely stunning on the ferry and the pictures taken could never capture reality. It felt amazing to get such a great view of Lady Liberty. She was a special gift from France celebrating our hundred years as a democracy and also a celebration of our nation liberating our slaves. It is a powerful symbol to the world representing the freedom that can be found in the United States.

After the scenic ferry ride, we headed to Wall Street. I was absolutely amazed and shocked at the number of people lined up to take a picture with the iconic bull. The lines were equal for those wanting a picture of the front and for those comedians wanting a picture of the back of the bull. The latter seemed very pleased with themselves.

Chinatown would be our next stop and I was wanting to grab some lunch. It seemed we immediately stepped into China, for real. The smells were definitely different. Some of the smells were unfamiliar to me while others like the fresh fish smells were not. We skipped past a Michelin Star restaurant and went to a place where locals were jumping in and picking up food to go. Carol’s Bun did not disappoint in the slightest.

For the return to Brooklyn we rode across the iconic Brooklyn Bridge. Luckily, a couple of years ago they made a completely separate bike lane for this bridge because I had seen the interesting videos of when the pedestrians and cyclists lanes were adjacent to each other. It would have been a nightmare today because there were about a thousand pedestrians making their way for a leisurely stroll on the bridge.

We decided to take a ride along a greenway close to the water once in Brooklyn. We found a beautiful park and more outstanding views to include a peekaboo view of the Statue of Liberty under the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges.

Our final stop was when Folker ran into a store and surprised me with a celebratory beer from his village in the Netherlands. There was no way possible to celebrate a perfect day for us in New York City better than this happy hour.