Ups and Downs, val gj

Like life, a bike trips ups and downs, not only the geography, but my mood, my energy enthusiasm, and the amount of food in the bag. I trundle my way up a hill, enjoy the view, cruise down the other side and start all over again. I try to look from hill top to hill top, not valley bottom the valley bottom. And, like life, the bigger the down the better the up.
In the last 24 hours we went from a deep crevasse to an alpine peak We started the day, damp and cold, about 100 kms out of New York on Long Island. None of the many Warm Showers hosts whom Don had contacted had responded. Sitting in a huge Laundrette, which had WiFi we found all hostels in New York were full, and camp grounds impractical. And how would we get a permit to take bikes on the train. We did not wish to admit defeat, (and face an extended holiday on Long Island) but for quite for a while we really did not know what to do.
In Portland we had met Pam at a party, a lively, vibrant woman who insisted her nephew in Hoboken, New Jersey, would love to have us to stay. Even I thought it a bit of a cheek, as I rang the number.
Today we had a trouble free train trip, changing twice, en route to John and Ali's luxury apartment, ( $1 75 on the sub way to Manhattan ) with a squinty view of the sky scrapers just across the Hudson River. We have landed sunny side up again, and intend to stay on the hill top for quite some time. Within 24 hours hours of despair, we were biking round the waterfront like locals, taking in the views of Manhatta at sundown.