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