July 9, 2011

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Bronx, N.Y. -

On a day when a baseball player in the South Bronx was reaching a milestone that involved the number 3,000, a group of other athletes were finishing their own feat that entailed the magic number. In their case, the 3,000 was the number of miles covered on their bikes as members of the Ride Across America for CitySquash tandem that pulled into the Bronx after a cross country adventure.

The group of riders included Fordham head squash coach Bryan Patterson, who is also the Director of Squash for CitySquash, along with three of his Ram student-athletes: Raymond Chen, Andriy Kulak and Jack O'Brien. They were joined by two members of the CitySquash program, Felipe Pantle, a tenth grader, and Angel Maldonado, a ninth grader, and were assisted on various days by other members of the City Squash program. They were also joined on the final few days by Sanford M. Schwartz, CitySquash Founder & Chairman.

The group pulled up to the corner of Arthur Avenue and 189th Street in the Bronx, just a few blocks away from the CitySquash office, at about 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, with five riders bringing their bikes to a halt and climbing out of the saddle for one last time.

"This was a great way to see the country and raise money for CitySquash," said Patterson. "It was a tough and grueling trip, especially going through the Rockies, but it was also very rewarding. We had a great time touring the country and met some very nice people and became really close to one another. But it will be nice to sleep in my own bed tonight and not feel the bumpy, stony earth below me."

The ride started in San Francisco on June 6th and took the group through the Rockies, across America's heartland and into the northeast where they spent last night in New Jersey before completing the trip today.

"The most difficult terrain was in Colorado," said Patterson. "Coming through the Rockies was tough. Riding at the bottom of the hill to the summit was really difficult. In Pennsylvania we had some long steep rides, which were also very tiring."

The group rode anywhere from six to nine hours a day, covering up to 100 miles. They were accompanied by a van that carried their provisions and spent most nights sleeping in sleeping bags in the one tent that they would set up, eating dinner by campfire.

"The last few days were probably the toughest," said Patterson. "When you get closer to New York City you start to hit more traffic and sometimes you don't have a shoulder to ride on. But we were able to navigate our way through, especially since we knew we were so close to home."

CitySquash is a not-for-profit after-school enrichment program based in the Bronx at Fordham University. The organization helps motivated and talented young people from economically disadvantaged households in the Bronx fulfill their academic, athletic and personal potential. Founded in 2002, CitySquash served over 130 elementary, middle, high school and college students in the 2010-2011 year.

After 3,000 miles on the bike you would think that Patterson and his charges would be thinking about anything but getting back in the saddle. But they already are making plans to participate in the New York City Century Bike Tour in September.

And now that the 3,000-mile trek is in the book what's the plan for next year?

"Maybe we'll try to bike around the Great Lakes or perhaps bike around England," said Patterson, a native of Berwick-on-Tweed, Northumberland. "Or maybe for something completely different we'll row across the Atlantic."

Donations to the program are still being accepted at the CitySquash Ride Across America Page