NYC Welcomes National EMS Memorial Capital-to-Capital Bike Ride with Special Mass to Honor Fallen EMS Providers

Entry 10: Honoring Our 9/11 Heroes in NYC I’ve done this portion of the ride for many years as a Muddy Angel of the National EMS Memorial Bike Ride (NEMSBR) and it remains one of my favorite parts of the ride—cycling through New York City and Times Square with police escorts. As for the weather? Fuhgeddaboudit! It was another cold and windy day, but it didn’t matter as we had the New Yorkers to keep us warm. OK, maybe not so much the New Yorkers themselves, but there were moments when the steam from the sidewalk vents gave me a tingly rush. Seriously, this small Colorado country boy finds the Gotham attitude curiously appealing. Maybe that is because Coloradoans have no accent or specific culture of their own to identify with so we borrow everyone else’s. I knew we were closing in on the city when a bystander shouted, “Yo! Where yoooz guys going?” When I replied, Washington, D.C., he replied, “Get the F#%&outahea! Oh, and put a real hat on. It’s brick outhea!” There are no other cycling events I am aware of that give cyclists the opportunity to see New York City and Jersey City the way NEMSBR riders are blessed enough to experience. We rode less than 30 miles today, but the day was full of sight seeing from a bicyclist’s point of view and, most importantly, several ceremonies that honored our mission for those that gave their lives as EMS providers. Today as we cycled through the congested city of New York, I was thinking of how wonderful a “slice”...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Columns Administration and Leadership Source Type: news