I wanted to ride a RUSA Permanent metric century each month for 12 consecutive months (a P-12) without repeating any routes. But I ran out of desirable choices after 11, so I decided to repeat this one, created this year by Rick, who agreed to ride along with me (again, as he did in June). His idea to ride the loop clockwise this time appealed to me, as it kinda made it a new route.
The weather forecast was pretty good for a December day, temps 39-53F with winds not exceeding 8mph (but they still fought me across the open fields late in the ride). The route around Cumberland and Salem Counties goes from the edge of Millville thru Fairton, the county-seat city of Bridgeton, historic Greenwich, Canton, Harmersville, historic Hancock's Bridge, Quinton, Rosenhayn and little Carmel, with lots of low-traffic country roads thru farm country and wooded areas.
We took one short diversion onto New Bridge Road to check out the closed old bridge over swift-moving Alloway Creek (incoming tide), which was a good place for my nature break. And the following stop at Bud's Market in Quinton was a welcome place, as always, to sit on a bench out front in the sunshine and munch a treat. There I learned that Rick once tore down the top of the engine to replace a head gasket in a second-hand 1980s Dodge Daytona he owned. Major props for that.
We rode and talked (never a problem when riding with Rick), and for once I even beat him to the punchline of one of his pop-up jokes. It was a "wrenching" experience.
I was dragging a bit with an achy knee on the last long stretches (of 7, 5, 7 and 4 miles).
At the end, I was congratulated for completing my P-12. Thanks for the support and company, Rando Rixter.
Course map, elevation profile and pics here:
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/79572965
