Broke the String

I did not do much riding in October and November 2024, except for my monthly 100ks. I had several chances to ride a 100k in early December, but passed, for a couple reasons.

Then I got Covid (first time) mid-month, which kept me congested for over two weeks. When that had passed, I had one last chance to ride a 100k permanent with decent winter weather on the last day of the month (and year). But it no longer seemed important to me. Got the idea that I wouldn't continue my streak in the new year, so I just let it end after 47 months. Wasn't such a big deal not to complete another P-12. Not sure why; I just wasn't feeling it. I intend to continue riding, but not as frequently or for distance.

So now I have more time for running; I plan to get the frequency back up to three times a week (only 2.22 miles each). It is a more complete exercise (fully aerobic and weight-bearing), it keeps me closer to home, and it does not take up a half-day or more each time.

Over and out?

Pre-ride New Jersey Randonneurs Cape May brevet

With Rick L on 5.26.24, I rode the 200k Northern loop of the upcoming Cape May 600k.

We picked a good traffic day, a Sunday in the middle of a three-day weekend. Warm and summer-like, with little wind.

Went thru Princeton both outbound and inbound. Big doings there, apparently too late for commencement weekend, tho.

Saw lots of mountain laurel and phlox (an old fave); smelled honeysuckle, creosote and roadkill.
Rode thru some very scenic town and country areas of Mercer, Hunterdon and Warren Counties. Lots of one-lane bridges. And lots of hills...
Climbed more than ever before; had to constantly fight off the Cramp Monster. I was overmatched.
Nice day for a walk, and I took at least ten of them, uphill.

Appears all my walking up climbs threw off the mileage and elevation shown on RwGPS (link at bottom). Course is rated at 124.3 miles and 6665' of climbing.

Rick was good about it, and waited up ahead for me numerous times. He may have saved the day by giving me a Drake's Funny Bone.

On the Spesh Roubaix, which, as it turns out, performs well in first gear.

********

Pre-Ride NJ Randonneurs 200k · Ride with GPS

Down Jersey (windy) Hundy

I decided to attempt a full-century rando ride in early April, as part of my streak of monthly P-12 (100km+) rides and also to gauge if I was up to attempting a pre-ride of my buddy Rick's upcoming 200k (125 mile) brevet for NJ Randonneurs. I had already commited to working one of the controls for the brevet, and it is usual practice for volunteers to pre-ride the course a week or two before the event and get RUSA credit for riding the brevet.

Lately I've gone back to riding the long rides on Sundays (as I used to do pre-retirement when I worked on weekdays); I like not having to deal with rush hours, school buses and dump trucks. Wanting to get this first ride done early in the month, I went ahead with planning to ride the Down Jersey Hundy on the first Sunday even tho the weather forecast showed I would be going into 12 mph headwinds for hours during the mid-to-later stages of the course. But those winds made the ride unenjoyable. "Got 'er done. But it weren't fun."

Thought I felt a flat while riding in the City of Bridgeton, the most urban part of the course. Sure enough. Pulled over and saw that I was in front of the Salvation Army building, so I decided to hike-a-bike onto their grounds to make my repair. I have a soft spot for the place, since I write the annual donation check from my bike club to their food pantry (open twice a week, with morning and afternoon sessions both days - the need is great, apparently). 

I could not find the source of the leak, but I didn't feel any problem inside the tire, so I went ahead and put in a new tube, aired it up with my frame pump and avoided using the CO2 cartridges I carry with me. The pump got things up to riding hardness without too much effort. Thumbs up, Lezyne. I had shifted into the smallest cog to facilitate removal of the rear wheel for the repair, but forgot to shift to an easier gear before pulling away afterward. And of course the first block was a steep uphill, so I really had to grind it out (too difficult to shift while struggling). *urk*

The trickiest traffic part of this course is where major roads (turnpike, interstate etc) come together right by the Delaware Memorial Bridge. It is a real nexus. As I had done before, I thought it best to yield to a big truck coming uphill rather than assert my right of way to cross the off-ramp Yield area. It is not easy for those big rigs to stop and start on an incline. I waved the semi on while coming to a halt safely in the middle of some road striping, waited until it was clear, then continued across the ramp mouth. Sharing the road. I think the trucker appreciated it.

Random thoughts:

1) I started putting my phone in a handlebar mount, as opposed to carrying it in a pocket. I like the new arrangement. On this ride, I responded to a couple texts en route, using the microphone voice-to-text feature to carry on one brief conversation while riding along. Also, now I can see who is calling me, in order to answer immediately if an emergency arises.

2) Saw that what was a Gloucester County peach orchard last year is now a cleared field with some piles of trees to be disposed of. I guess peaches are not as profitable as other crops. I heard that in Hammonton, peach trees are being removed to make room for still more blueberry bushes.

3) Thinking I needed to pay more attention to fueling, I ate a lot more on this ride, including 2 Lara bars, a handful of Clif Blocks, a Clif Shot Double Espresso (no longer sold!), a bottle of Ensure Plus, and 4 SaltStick capsules. And near the end, I treated myself to more caffeine and sugar - a Diet Coke and two Reese cups from the Circle K on the circle on US-130 in Carneys Point.

4) It's curious that the various platforms show a wide range of elevations for this route. Ride with GPS mapping shows it as 1589', while my Garmin file uploaded from this ride shows it as 2149' on RwGPS, but 1801' on Strava! Guess it is not an exact science.

5) Unless I can build up my bike fitness using the trainer in the basement, I don't think I will be attempting any more full-century rides this year. It appears I don't have the leg strength I had as recently as last year, alas.

Ride map, elevation profile and pics here:

Down Jersey Hundy · Ride with GPS

Burden Hill, 2023 Year in Review

I let this ride go until late in the month, 12.26.2023, and with Rixter, rode the Burden Hill 100k RUSA permanent route, completing my third P-12.

It's a good feeling, the P-12, keeping my consecutive-month streak alive at 36. 

Without really setting any goals beyond most miles ever, I accomplished a lot this year, including most miles ever, drawing up and getting approved by RUSA three new permanent routes (Burden Hill being one), riding two 200ks, two full centuries, five time trials (with varying results), one NJ Randonneurs' brevet populaire (Juneteenth 117k) and two bike-overnites (one using my tent at Bass River State Forest). I added a new old bike, a 2008 Trek Madone 5.5, purchased from a club buddy who purchased it from another club buddy who had bought it new. Plus I finally learned how to clear my nose while riding without a hanky. 

Map, route profile and pics here:

Burden Hill · Ride with GPS

Oyster Creek Permanent Ride 4.27.2023

With Rick, I rode another one of his perms. He had to keep his 200km monthly streak alive to earn his R-12, and he was running out of month and rideable weather. Rick has had some physical issues, having to cut short a recent attempt at a 300km ride, and he wanted some company for this ride. I was wondering recently if I could still handle the distance, not having ridden 200km in over a year. So it came together, and really went okay.

We met and started riding mid-course in Hammonton NJ, roughly an equally distant drive for each of us. We started out in the chilly rain; not a downpour, but enough to make us hope it would end soon.  Thankfully, after an hour or so, it did.

I guess the rain washed off the lube, as my chain got chattery about halfway thru the ride. Knowing the weather forecast, for the first time I had packed some Finish Line Wet lube just in case. It came in handy. I applied it outside of Bud's Market (a control) in Alloway while enjoying a little time out of the saddle at about 90 miles in. While stopped there, I also enjoyed my first taste of Gerber's organic pureed baby food in a pouch, something I had seen recommended in a comment in a Road Bike Rider newsletter. I immediately wished I had packed a second pouch, it was that good and went down that easily. Along those same lines, I read where many riders like a Snickers for fuel, but not wanting to deal with peanut pieces in my teeth, about 50 miles in I opted for my first (Share Size) Milky Way in umpteen years, maybe since I was a trick-or-treater. Mmmm.

Fauna-wise, I saw a blue heron flying very close by, plus guinea hens, horses, cows, goats, sheep and donkeys, turtles (alive and dead), red-winged blackbirds, a duck family of 5 on a pond, and vultures tearing into a road-killed deer.

Flora-wise, I saw lots of pines (of course), plenty of Atlantic white cedar, blooming dogwood, wisteria, and lilacs (including some bushes planted in rows (?)), plus lots of blueberry fields, all with the bushes in bloom. I hope to be picking some by July 1.

As it turned out, Rick was his usual strong-riding self. He even chased after a trio of young bucks out on a training ride, and, even with his fendered bike sporting a big handlebar bag, damn near caught them before they turned off.

Me, I was happy not to have to resort to ibuprofen or additional caffeine; I just made sure to dose myself every 25 miles with a couple SaltStick capsules to fend off my old nemisis, the cramp monster. The ride went well enough that I plan to attempt another 200km in the near future.

I didn't care enough for this route to want to do it again, mainly due to traffic / shoulder concerns. However, Rick is working on creating another 200km permanent, in deep South Jersey, so I may be doing that one in the next few months.

On the 2013 Specialized Roubaix, my rando rig.

Route elevation, profile and pics here:

Oyster Creek 200km Permanent Route - A bike ride in Hammonton, NJ (ridewithgps.com)

Runnemede-Bridgeton-Runnemede randonneur ride 3.12.23

I rode a RUSA randonneur permanent route yesterday to get my monthly 100k+ ride in for the (27th straight) month. I picked a day with the forecast showing low winds (4-6 mph), which helped, as this route goes thru a lot of open farm country on NJ 77. Wind-chills were about 25F to start, but rose to close to 40F. Not bad.

One plus about riding solo, I can stop to take pictures whenever I want, so I do.

A couple miles into the ride, I realized I left my Clif bar in the glove box of my RAV. Riding solo, and without a good lock to use while I went inside a Wawa or some such, when I a saw sleepy little convenience store with just one car pulling away, I thought that would be a safe place to leave my bike unattended and pop in for some sustenance. A good excuse to buy a Reese's, I reasoned.

Saw about 20 turkeys together in a field, with a few of them showing their tail-feathers in all their glory. Must be mating season.

Had a yappie dog hanging out a car's back window yapping at me as I was going by close, negotiating a tricky traffic spot of bad road surface. I yelled at him, Shaddup! Just shaddup! The cur yapped even faster, but at least I stuck up for myself.

Had to pop 200mg of ibuprofen when my left knee started protesting, but it was enough to get me thru.
A good day on the bike.

Map, route profile and pics here:

Runnemede-Bridgeton-Runnemede - A bike ride in Runnemede, NJ (ridewithgps.com)

Gibbstown-Springtown URR rando ride again

Rode a rando route solo yesterday (26th straight month), Gibbstown-Springtown Underground Railroad, and happened to pick a day when the wind really favored me; it was mild in my face going South in the first half, then picked up a bit to become a nice tailwind on my return.

Still, I struggled, with my legs protesting the effort, which surprised me, as I had gotten a lot of miles in during January. Maybe it was the amount of up and down today, or the fact that I didn't get a lot of sleep last nite. Or maybe it was my lowered tire pressures, as I was trying 65/55psi, rr/fr. Dunno, but coming back thru Swedesboro with less than 7 miles to go, I did an unusual thing: I stopped for a big slice of pizza at Mama Francesca's. It was great, I ate it standing up and I felt revived.

I saw an eagle in a tree watching over a distant pasture along Kings Highway. Thought I captured it in a picture, but I must've aimed at the wrong tree.

Heard a big bunch of blackbirds carrying on near the Salem County landfill on McKillup Road. They were trash-talking, I guess.

At home later, I got a call from riding buddy Geo, who said he saw me riding as he drove by. Cool. As it turns out, the last time I rode this route, it was with Geo!

Map, route profile and pics here:

Gibbstown-Springtown rando ride - A bike ride in Gloucester County, NJ (ridewithgps.com)

Atco Gravel Dabble 100k permanent

For this month's 100k permanent, I decided to ride buddy and frequent co-rider Rick's new-ish route without letting him know. I figured it would surprise him. And I wanted the flexibility of doing an early start without having to coordinate with anyone else, so I drove my car to Atco NJ a little before sunrise, and commenced to ride solo.

My younger brother let me park at his house, and I joined the course en route at roughly the midpoint less than a mile away in downtown small-town Atco.

At the start the temp was 32F, and felt like 26F due to 6mph winds. After my halfway point in Vineland, it was 41/36F, winds 7mph. It was cold enough.

I had a little fun with Rick, texting him a couple pics of where I was early on, knowing he would recognize his route and realize I was riding it.

I liked the course, especially early on a Sunday with little traffic on some nice country roads. It is one I would ride again.

Before halfway thru, I felt my thigh muscles protesting again, like they did during last month's 100k. Hmmm. Not riding enough?

The course has 'gravel' in the name, and there is a good 1.5 mile stretch of gravel road, complete with some full-road puddles after the previous day's rain. But it was no real problem, and a nice change of pace. Around that same section of the route I sensed a bit of a 'tobacco road' vibe. 'Nuff said.

My front derailleur was a bit balky early, then flat-out wouldn't shift to the big chainring. I futzed with it roadside for 15 minutes, to no avail; the cable adjuster and the ferrule/cable housing wouldn't move independently of each other to hold an adjustment. I found I was able to perform 'manual' shifts while riding along by reaching under the downtube and pulling the cable. Then I mostly tried to leave it in the big ring. Thank goodness I have 10 cogs in the rear to give me some range, and the route is in South Jersey flatlands.

Later in the ride I stopped to pee at a construction site porta-pot, and surprisingly, while walking alongside the bike I sank in wet sand, as did my bike wheels. It wasn't really convenient to clean the bike off, so I had crunchy rim brakes for a while. I tried to ride going easy on the brakes, and I finished fine. 

A good day on the bike, and my 12th month, completing my second RUSA P-12.

Route map, profile and pics here: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/108924802

Gibbstown-Springtown NJ 107km randonneur ride 7.10.2022

 I rode with rando George B on this Underground Railroad route (#4391) on a nice summer Sunday.
George is a stronger rider, so I was riding above my normal pace, getting a bit of a workout and keeping up my Saltstick capsules intake to avoid cramping.

Lots of nice country along this route. We enjoyed seeing an eagle take flight from the ground along McKillup road.

George has done a lot of randonneuring, and tells good stories, such as riding thru the night until he started hallucinating other riders coming up behind him.
Or when he thought he had gone over the time limit on a ride, and, riding along at a leisurely pace, was surprised to find people cheering him across the finish line with only seconds to spare.
And the route where his nature break is usually bothered by attacks of green-head flies.
And there was the time he was cold from riding, and at a bar full of bikers ordered hot tea.
Good times. Thank heavens for rando-nesia. 

Now 7/12ths of the way to my second P-12.  On the Spesh Roubaix. 

Pics and route profile here:  https://ridewithgps.com/trips/96111012

Batsto 200k rando pre-ride 4.21.2022

I pre-rode my buddy Rick's 200k route to check out the navigation cues for his upcoming brevet, open to all registered randonneurs next Saturday April 30, when I will be a volunteer working one of the controls.

I rode basically that same course during the brevet with a lot of other randos back in 2019, the last time it was held before Covid-19 (I think). It was also the last time I rode such a distance, and I wanted to see if I could still do it. Things went pretty well; I felt satisfaction that my body was still up to it. I did find myself shaking my fist and cursing the double-digit winds, especially late in the ride when the Hammonton blueberry fields I was riding thru provided no shelter. And early on my fingers went a bit numb; the earlier forecasts showed 46F at my start time, but at ride time the thermometer read 37F and my hands were under-dressed for at least the first hour.

My end-of-ride reward was a most welcome bowl of chili and a beer at the start/finish of the route, the Lower Bank Tavern, owned by a randonneur, Bill Reagan, who graciously allowed me to park my car there for the day.

Solo, on the Spesh Roubaix.

Course map, elevation profile and pics here:

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/87809432

Underground Railroad in South Jersey 117km randonneur ride 4.01.2022

Today I was the first to officially ride a new 117km Permanent I created and submitted. It was recently approved by RUSA as route #4411 (kinda like that number).

Temps were forecast to be in the 50s, so I wore shorts, which was okay, but I was glad I wore latex gloves under my fingerless ones. The route is mainly north-south, but the 10-18mph west winds pushed me around quite a bit, slowing my pace considerably. It had my cue sheets flapping up over my GPS at times, and apparently it was the reason I couldn't vocally enter Notes on my phone. On the plus side, I was able to work on my elasticity by spending a lot of time riding in the drops, trying to cheat the wind.

There was a lot of overcast, but at times the sun was out and it was glorious; the country roads looked great with plenty of signs of spring. At one point I caught a glimpse of something gleaming below, and looked down to find the sunlight was bouncing off my chain rollers. Nice.

Happy to report I didn't encounter the nasty cur on Compromise Road that chased me recently (and got an attack-stopping water-bottle squirt in the face for his efforts). I did see a couple friendly dogs with their owners, with whom I exchanged brief pleasantries. 

Saw a yard full of maybe 15 wild turkeys and a small field with a similar number of guinea hens. Saw a hawk soaring just overhead, and a great blue heron coming in for a wet landing, until it saw me and turned the maneuver into a touch-and-go takeoff.
Used a new app to identify a saucer magnolia coming into bloom.

Made my first-ever stop at the little store in little Canton, because I heard they were nice people, which I found to be true. Bought a Coke and (coincidentally?) had a serious case of the pees, so by necessity I discovered a number of new spots for nature breaks. One involved making a last-minute decision to turn off the road onto some damp ground; in a bit of a late-ride brain fog, I didn't get fully unclipped and went down, softly but quickly, which gave me my first chainring tattoo in a while.

I am now 1/3 of the way to my second P-12. All in all, another good day on the bike (Spesh Roubaix, solo).

Route map, elevation profile and pics here: 

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/86129088

EDIT: This route was used as a New Jersey Randonneurs Populaire on 6/19/22 (Juneteenth).

Gibbstown-Springtown Underground Railroad 107km randonneur ride 3.05.2022

Unusual for me to ride on a Saturday, but I wanted to be the first to officially ride the route I recently submitted to Randonneurs USA, which was just approved Thursday. Named Gibbstown-Springtown Underground Railroad, it has lots of good-riding country roads (and some nice long stretches), along with URR historic value. Until I read the book Parallel Communities (by Dennis Rizzo, The History Press), I had no idea the URR was so active 'down Jersey.' I have at least two more URR-related routes to submit for RUSA approval soon.

The ride started out pretty cold (wind chill 29F at the start, but up to 40F by the turnaround point in Springtown/Othello), and my hands felt cold inside of latex gloves inside of light leather gloves, but they warmed up after several miles. Headwinds weren't bad until they picked up across some open fields an hour before the turnaround point, but they were glorious tailwinds coming back.

Saw my first daffodils of the season pushing up thru the leaves while I took a Clif-bar break by the cemetery at Head of Greenwich.

Saw a Burger Fence truck and thought of buddy FFrank's line, A dog would eat right thru that!

Solo, on the Spesh Roubaix.

Route map, elevation profile and pics here:

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/84230634

Bow Tie Metric 100km randonneur ride 2.09.2022

I went back for a repeat of this Permanent course, ridden in November, but this time I brought along two buddies, and I even remembered to bring my camera! Having the camera along meant I didn't have to do (non-)artist's renderings at the photo controls this time. Much more convenient. And Rick and Jim coming along meant I had cyclists to watch in the far distance ahead of me. Thank goodness they use blinkies.

Just as in last month's metric century, my thighs were protesting along the way. I'm not riding enough, I guess. Plus there was a fair amount of elevation on the course for this flat-lander - over 2100' of climbing. On top of that, I had changed out my rear derailleur cable recently, but hadn't run the shifting thru all the gears when finished to see if I got it right. I found out during some hill climbs today, no, I didn't get it right. I couldn't shift to my two lowest gears, and I wound up walking up a couple hills! *urk*

[Edit: Seems the problem was I hadn't tightened the rear derailleur pinch-bolt to spec, and the cable loosened up.]

The Garmin behaved itself today. Also, I learned how to lock the screen so it doesn't jump around to other views for no apparent reason. Nice. And Rick had an allen wrench that fit the Garmin mount, so I played around with different angles in order to get more ambient light on the screen at times. My Lezyne multi-tool has allen wrenches, but not the size I needed today. First time that brand has left me feeling let down.

At one point I saw laying on a quiet country road a fresh clean baggie with something in it. Shortly thereafter I saw another, then a third. It looked like the contents were a few smooth stones and a piece of paper with green printing. It occurred to me that maybe these were religious tracts to be found and read, with the stones added to keep the baggie from blowing away. I might have stopped to satisfy my curiosity if I wasn't already off the back.

It was a chilly day to start, around 33F, but the wind was light early on, and then it warmed up some. Pretty good riding day for February, actually.

Pics, route map and profile here:

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/82865464

Millville 100km randonneur ride 1.19.2022

Rode the Millville 100k today with Rick, Dawn and Jim (stronger riders all).
Jim created the course a few years back, and Dawn was the recent owner under the previous Permanent system (now RUSA owns all the routes, in order to make the rides insurable).
This is the fourth time I've done this one; last February I rode it less than 48 hours after my first Covid-19 vaxxing, and had a bout of dizziness near the end. It went better this time. Mid-ride I did have a bit of soreness in my thighs (unusual), so I popped an ibuprofen.
It was nice having these good folks to pull me along and keep my pace up, otherwise I might have dogged it on that last 16-mile straight stretch on NJ 49.

Early on, a policeman pulled alongside me and said I should ride on the shoulder. I said I was avoiding the rumble strip, but in truth there was room to ride to the right of it, so I moved over. I thought I was within my rights to ride on the road, but I've always felt respect for a New Jersey State Trooper, and this time was no different. (I like seeing them on TV, in their distinctive 'kit' in the end zones at the NJ Meadowlands football stadium during New York Giants and Jets games.) He then pulled ahead, and said the same thing to my co-riders. Everyone complied. We saw him at least 3 more times on that long stretch of Fairton Road, driving back and forth and pulling over a couple cars.

A lot of this 'down Jersey' route is on straight, quiet country roads, so there were plenty of chances to ride two-by-two and shoot the breeze. Rick and I did some joking and punning, as usual, after seeing a sign outside a fire hall for meatloaf. [EDIT: Meatloaf's death was announced 1.21.2022]  I learned that Jim once got frostbitten fingers while racing his motorbike, and had to have help removing his hands from the bars at the finish. (He now has chronic issues with frostbite.) I enjoyed hearing Dawn talk about her Paris-Brest-Paris plans; she rode that 1200k/744-miler in 2015, missed 2019 due to knee problems, but is hoping to repeat in 2023 (it takes place every 4 years). In order to qualify, you have to record some long rides, including a 600k/372-miler. She plans to do that plus go longer this year and do a 1200k in preparation. Godspeed, Dawn. You are the only person I know and ride with who has done P-B-P, the oldest and most prestigious randonneur brevet. Kudos and cred.

Not a bad riding day for January, with temps 39-48F, winds a bit strong at 14-16mph but out of the South/Southwest, which meant they were mostly crosswinds on this particular route, thank Buddha.

Route map, elevation profile and pics here:

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/81740404

Hancock's Bridge 100km randonneur ride 12.05.2021

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

Bow Tie Metric 100km randonneur ride 11.17.2021

 For my monthly metric century, I rode the Bow Tie Metric out of New Egypt NJ, about an hour's drive from home. I was solo, so with no time constraints and colder early temps, I took my time getting to the start, only to discover I'd left my phone at home! *urk* Well, no pictures today. 

I started riding, making a right turn out of the Wawa convenience store; after some miles of the Garmin's Off Course warning (nothing new), I saw a sign saying I was entering a military reservation. That's not right, I realized. So I turned around and after 8+ miles I was back at the start, making another right turn out of the Wawa, but a different exit, that put me on the correct road. My bad for not checking the road name on the big intersection signage previously. Bonus miles, right off the git-go. *urk again*

It turned out that four (4) of the controls wanted a picture to prove I had gone the correct route, no short-cutting. But I didn't have my phone / camera. When I had first discovered my phone missing, I thought to bring paper and pencil that I had in my vehicle, so at the controls I sketched out what I was supposed to photograph, using the saddle (working around its cutout) to support my paper 'canvas.' I don't know that my artist's renderings would hold up in court, but they were the best I could do in the circumstances. Along with the electronic file from the Garmin, there should really be no doubt I rode the whole route.

And the route was a nice one, with lots of roads thru woods and farm country. Worth riding again, for sure. However, with the bonus miles at the start, the ride was more distance than I am used to, and my legs felt it. But I experienced none of my dreaded cramping, thanks to dosing myself with the 2 Saltstick capsules every 20 miles or so.

I had a Garmin hiccup again, rearing its ugly head after I had stopped at a deli control for about 15 minutes (and enjoyed sitting in the sunshine eating and drinking). But with the cue sheets hanging off my handlebar, I was able to work things out. Again, the belt-and-suspenders approach paid off.

Fought headwinds toward the end of the ride, just as the forecast showed. Worst when riding by open fields, of course, but not too terribly bad. I saw a few autumn scenes that made me miss my camera. There were a number of times I thought, what a beautiful fall day to be out riding my bicycle.

On the Spesh Roubaix, as usual.

Route map with elevation profile and artist's renderings here:

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/78708289

Half Dirty Metric 100km randonneur ride 10.19.2021

Rode the Half Dirty Metric route out of Flemington NJ today for my monthly rando metric century. I was lucky enough to have Rick and Walt riding along. Those gentlemen are strong riders and good bike mates. I'd forgotten to load the route into my Garmin GPS (Doh!), but remembered the paper cue sheets, so today I had just a belt, no suspenders. Fortunately, Rick had the route loaded onto his phone; that made all the difference.

I rode my 1974 Raleigh Super Course Mk II with the 32mm tires, because there are plenty of unpaved roads (hence the route's name) where the larger rubber is desirable. There are also lots of hills up there in Central Jersey; having ridden this route in 2018 as part of a brevet group, I was concerned about one tough climb up to the QuickChek control in Chester, but gritted it out in first gear, which is not that low on this bike. No walking was required, I am pleased to report. The old-school, balky friction shifters (both under- and over-shifting!) were an ongoing adventure, tho, and added an element of uncertainty on the climbs. Wouldn't do it again.

In a Hunterdon County park at Landsdown Trail we came upon a fence-closed gravel road ("Weather damage. No trespassing. Violators will be prosecuted."). Rick worked his phone and found an alternate way, bless him.

A long stretch of this route (about 15 miles, from High Bridge thru Califon and Long Valley to Mount Olive Twp) is on the Columbia Trail, an old railroad right-of-way that now has the Columbia Gas pipeline buried beneath it. In good shape, it made for easy riding, along with walkers, runners, other cyclists and piles of evidence of horse traffic.
Some other gravel stretches of this route were washboard. My bike was bouncing, and my head was hurting. No fun to ride. Later I found my bike's headset had worked loose.

We traveled along the Raritan River a lot (the Columbia Trail parallels it, as did the rail line, apparently), and passed a long driveway of a place labeled Raritan Headwaters. 

Saw some wildlife, including a fawn, a snake and a praying mantis on the road; all survived. Walt (former state game warden and park ranger) pointed out Osage oranges, which were lying by the side of the road in a number of places.

We met a guy at the QuickChek control in Chester, Corey Degree, who chatted with us and handed out his Orbit Energy & Power business card to all three of us, in case we are interested in going with solar for our homes.

For some unknown reason, I had to stop for many nature breaks. We made one unscheduled nature/food stop in Long Valley (Rick gave me half a toasted cinnamon-raisin bagel with cream cheese), and with all the slower, gravel road riding, we thought we might miss the time cutoff, but we finished with almost 40 minutes to spare.

Besides the half bagel, I ate a That's It mini fruit bar and a Clif bar along the way. As usual, I also downed 8 Saltstick capsules to stave off cramping. I had a Clif caffeine gel with me, but like last time, I felt strong enough that I didn't feel the need to partake.

Weather was pretty near ideal, with clear blue skies and temps from the high 40s into the 60s by the end. There was some 10mph+ wind out of the west/northwest, but we didn't feel it much, often being among the trees.

All in all, another good day on the bike with good buddies for company.

Route map with elevation profile plus pics here:  https://ridewithgps.com/trips/77323738

Sourlands 100km randonneur ride 9.10.2021

The Around the Sourlands RUSA permanent was my choice for this month's randonneuring metric century (100km), using a Hopewell NJ start (instead of Piscataway, as originally drawn up by the route's creator). Starting in Hopewell, besides being a much shorter drive from home, meant the route's real climbs, along the Sourland Mountains ridge, took place early in our ride when we were fresh, which I preferred.

I rode with bike-club buddy Rick (who is the main person responsible for my giving rando a go). Again, he was good about my stopping to take pictures; some riders might not be as patient.

We saw some people setting up, marking roads etc, for tomorrow's Sourlands Spectacular, a big annual fund-raiser ride out of Montgomery Township that spends more time on the ridges. I am thinking about going back to ride that route on my own some time. Nice country. I gotta say, calling this a Sourlands route is misleading. It starts out in that vicinity, but soon becomes mostly urban/suburban. 

A lot of water runs thru some of the areas we traversed, including the Raritan and Millstone Rivers, Bound Brook and other feeders. We were surprised to see the aftermath of flooding caused by the rains from Hurricane Ida last week; there were numerous road detours (none that affected us). There was debris as high as our heads in the trees along one road, and one ('closed') bridge we crossed had a lot of stuff washed up, filling the walkway. In one area there were a lot of water-damaged household items sitting out along the roadside, awaiting trash pickup.

Weather was outstanding, sunny and 60-72F; a few times we felt the headwinds, NW at 8-12mph, but usually we were shielded by the trees. 

Pics, route map and elevation profile here: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/74987817

Breakneck 100km randonneur ride 8.10.2021

For this month's metric century I rode the Breakneck 100km Permanent route with Rick, its creator.

We arrived simultaneously for a pre-ride breakfast at the Lamp Post Diner about 6am, its opening time per its website, only to find it dark. The sign out front said, Open 7am.
We left our cars there, geared and saddled up, then rode a short distance to a Wawa, where we ate breakfast sandwiches, turned on our recording devices, and headed out on a grey, humid morning. Forecast was partly cloudy, 72-84F, winds out of the south at 5-8mph. Pretty good riding weather for August.

This route starts in Gloucester Township (not far from Camden County College), heads over to Mullica Hill, down to Vineland, up to New Brooklyn and Sicklerville, across the highest point, in downtown Erial (part of the same alluvial ridge that runs thru Pine Hill and Pine Valley Golf Course), then back down to the starting point. A bit of the early part of the route was on a bike path in Blackwood NJ, but the rest of it was on roads. Several of them were a bit sketchy, with car traffic and minimal shoulders (can't imagine doing it without my helmet mirror), but most of the ride was enjoyable, especially in the farm and orchard country.

This was the first loaded-in course ridden while using my new Garmin 830, which replaces my 820 (possibly a defective unit). I only growled at it once.

Rick was game to accompany me for this monthly metric, even tho he had ridden the route with someone else just a few days (nights, actually) before. I welcomed his good company. We were never at a loss for conversation, and the ride went well and safely.

 Another month, another metric century. Rando-lite, I call it.

 Pictures, route map and profile are viewable here:  https://ridewithgps.com/trips/72995974

Knapp's Cranbury 100km randonneur ride 7.20.2021

Had a pretty nice Summer day for this month's solo metric century - sunny, temps 70s to mid-80s, very low winds.

Just one Garmin hiccup, and, surprisingly, one cue-sheet error. Not bad. Between the two, I got the route sorted out. The belt-and-suspenders approach paid off again.

This was the first time I went by the Monmouth Battlefield, so I picked up a park brochure (while taking a nature break). Upon reading it at home later, I learned that the June 1778 battle was an important political win for the home team, with lots of Continental star power: Washington, Lafayette, "Mad" Anthony Wayne, and General Charles Lee (uncle of Robert E.). It is also where the myth of  "Molly Pitcher" originated.

I ran out of water, so I went into a Donkey coffee shop and grabbed a bottle out of the cold case. But some super senior ahead of me was holding things up big-time trying to prove to the bewildered counter-person that she was entitled to something extra according to whatever she had in her gold shopping bag. I got so frustrated waiting, I put the bottle back and left, finishing the ride with empty water bottles. I hope I never get old. Hey, wait a minute...

At one point, a driver in a car headed the other direction on an otherwise quiet country road yelled out something to me, not sure what, but it ended in the syllable "-ole." I wasn't affecting his drive in any way; guess he just needed to express himself.

Route map and pics here:  https://ridewithgps.com/trips/71626509