President’s Weekly Messages to Students

 BX to BK and Back

Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Dear KCC Students,

I woke up early on Sunday to participate in the Making Strides/ Breast Cancer Walk in the Bronx.  On the way back home, I was annoyed that I had to make detour which added 15 minutes to my drive home.  I forgot that some roads were closed due to the Tour de Bronx-- that’s when hundreds of cyclists make their way through neighborhoods and greenways in the Bronx.  I couldn’t be mad though, because I remember when I took up cycling as a hobby a few years ago. 

Did I ever tell you about the first time I rode my bike from the Bronx to Brooklyn?  I thought it would be a breeze.  For years as I drove along the Henry Hudson Parkway and the Westside Highway, I would see cyclists on the bike path.  They seemed so relaxed, yet focused on their rides.   I had just bought a new bike and thought that this was something I could do as well.  So, I set off early one day to find the route that will take me to the path that I had seen so many riders on. And you guessed it I got lost.  I was literally lost in the woods.  I was fortunate that while I was figuring out how to at least get back to where I started, that a group of cyclists were riding by and I quickly decided to follow them.   It was clear that they were expert riders, because before I knew it, I lost track of them visually, but I could still hear them which was helpful in me following the path they took.  It didn’t take me long to enter an open area, and then eventually the path that led me toward Brooklyn.

I was an amateur, so would ride for 15 minutes or so and then get off my bike and take a break.  I did this until I reached the Brooklyn Bridge.  I attempted to ride over the bridge, but remembered that essentially there was an incline that my knees would not appreciate.  So, I walked my bike until I got to the other side of the incline and rode my way into Brooklyn.    I knew two things for sure then: my legs were beginning to throb like my heart had been (I had never biked so far) and there was no way I was riding back, so I found the train station and made my way back home riding the train, and not my bike.   

This experience did not deter me though.  I would make this ride many more times, and every time it got easier.  In addition to riding, I started going to the gym, and got a personal trainer to build up my stamina and strength.  It got so easy that I could ride from the Bronx to Brooklyn without taking a break; and ride back as well.   I am thinking about riding again, so don’t be surprised if you see me making my way around campus.

KCC students…. There are many lessons here, but what I want you to take away from my experience is that there are many things you may attempt that may not go as planned.  Do not give up. Keep at it, get the support you need, and you will go far.

Have a great week.

-Schrader