BACK IN JERSEY, HOMING IN ON RED BANK
Elmer and Jeff Jackson at the fog-wrapped Golden Gate Bridge as they prepared to start their ride June 3. (Photos by Tim Hathaway.)
Two months and countless pedal strokes later, the No Regrets cross-country bike tour arrives in New Jersey this morning.
Father-and-son sojourners Elmer and Jeff Jackson are expected to reach Red Bank between 2 and 4p on Thursday, when they’ll be met by representatives of the Red Bank police and fire departments for an escort to the West Side Christian Academy, the private school they run with other family members on Bridge Avenue.
The ride, which we’ve chronicled on redbankgreen, was a fundraiser for the school.
We reached Jeff, who traded his bike for the steering wheel of their sag wagon about a third of the way, this morning just as he and his father were about to cross the Delaware River into New Jersey on the Commodore John Barry Bridge.
“He can’t cross the bridge on bike it’s against the law,” Jeff said of Elmer. “So I’m looking for a place where I can pick him up and drive him across.”
“We’re very excited,” Jeff said. “We’re glad to be close to home. It’s been a long trip.”
He didn’t have a mileage total; the new Honda they bought in San Francisco for the journey showed 6,571 miles on he odometer, but that involved a lot of backing-and-forthing as the vehicle was used to support Elmer’s ride.
“I’m most looking forward to seeing my wife, Charlene,” he said. “For me and my dad, to have all this time together has been special. But we miss all the family events. It’s time to be home.”
The pair will travel diagonally across the state, first following a path of many turns before settling on Route 537 for the long final approach.
The idea of riding all the way to Sandy Hook has been scrapped. Now, the plan is for the escort to meet the two-man caravan at Newman Springs Road and Shrewsbury Avenue and lead them to the school. A reception that’s open to the public will follow at the school.