Monday Washington Crossing Park, NJ Ride

Monday June 29th

I have been looking for hills rides since I returned to NJ and have found several that would fit my slow turning legs.  Remember I have been in the flatlands of Florida and need to be brought back up to speed with the regular hill riders.

Joe Bucci had a ride from Washington Crossing State Park in NJ at 10 AM.  It was the perfect ride for me....and several others.  The weather was perfect too.

The ride leader, Joe is on the left sporting the latest Princeton Freewheeler's Jersey and matching gloves.

Here is a little bit about the park.

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/washcros.html

For the Floridians who have not visited NJ yet, this is the site where Washington crossed the Delaware from the PA side to the NJ side.  In fact, there is a re-enactment every Christmas Day so if you are ever in the area it is worth seeing.  They dress in full garb and the actors look like the real people!

Seven smiling faces left the park and climbed up Church Street to get to the Sourland Mountain range.  It is the area that the hill climbers frequent most often.  One of the roads....which we did today.....Poor Farm Road...in 18% at the top.  It's a real leg burner for sure.

We continued on over the range and on the other side of the mountain range to Amwell Road.  Two winery's....both pretty good...are in this area.   I joked with Joe that we should do a ride someday to both wineries and get a sag home.  There would be lots of smiling faces despite all the climbing that was done to get there for some wine tasting!

http://unionvillevineyards.com/

http://www.oldyorkcellars.com/


Our rest stop was at the Carousel Deli in Ringoes, NJ which is a favorite stop in that area. 

We got back on our bikes and headed back over the Sourland Mountain range with more hills than we did coming over to Ringoes.    I asked the group to stop at the corner of Lambertville HQ and Sandy Ridge to take a photo or two.

One of the small climbs was Mt Airy Road in Lambertville.   Here is what we saw....

This is a working farm that has been at top of this hill for many many years.  We usually stop at the top to say hello to the cows ( but really to catch our breaths)

We have several more hills to climb including one that was a 12% grade at the top.  We turned the corner and started to head back to the start but I had to stop to take just a few more photos.

These ox's are all over the area.  Each one has it's own character which is reflected in how it's painted.  One of the past PFW members painted a full scene of Washington crossing the Delaware.  That ox was sold at a nice price and proceeds went to charity.  This ox is next to a farm stand.

We arrived back with 38 miles and 2500 ft of climbing.  It was a great ride.  I hope to do more of this ride in July as Joe has agreed to lead on Monday's from this park at 9 AM.  Come join him.  The sites are worth the climbs.   Thank you Joe.

The Ride to Lambertville and The Monthly Luncheon

June 23rd and 24th

I had talked with some cycling friends about riding to Lambertville.  For the SoWeFlo cyclists.....Lambertville is a hilly ride and not like the flat roads of FL. 

I hadn't done hills in over 10 months so I warned my friends that I would be slow.  Here are some photos of the roads and sites.

The first "REAL" climb towards Lambertville

Theresa and Mike are my cycling friends who ride these roads pretty often.


We decided to do a 30-35 mile ride with a coffee/rest stop in Lambertville.  We chose Lambertville Trading Company for the rest stop at mile 20.

Lambertville Trading Company Coffee Shop


We came back the usual route up Quarry Road which is about a one to two mile climb out of Lambertville.  My legs felt like lead because we probably stopped too long at the rest stop but that's the price you pay.

Here are some other sites along the way back home.

You can find these on the lawn on a homeowner.   The previous owners painted a Snoopy on one rock and a dinosaur on another.  We call the hill....Dinosaur Hill.....which anyone who rides to Lambertville and back knows very well.

We came back through a town called Pennington.  On Main Street is this....

This is an painted oxen done by local artists.  You can find these all over the area.  In fact one of our own Princeton Freewheeler's ....or at least he used to be.....painted an ox that depicting George Washington and his men.  It was sold at auction to support the arts for a tidy sum !!

It was a humid day but we finished the ride by 11 AM and I was happy to know that I still had a little bit of climbing legs left after 10 months and the flat roads of FL!







On the Wednesday ride with Team Social Security (TSS for short) we rode out of Allentown, NJ and stopped in New Egypt for coffee at Scott's Market before heading back to the monthly luncheon.  Once a month the riders get together to share a meal at La Piazza.....a local Italian restaurant.  There were at about 20-25 people who attended the luncheon.  Even the wives and some non-riders attended .

Thank you Dennis for arranging the luncheon.  We couldn't do it without you!


On a separate note.....Tom Hammell, Laura Lynch, Ron Semansky and Marco are headed to Bike Virginia on Thursday.  They will stop at Skyline Drive and do a short 25 mile to get their climbing legs ready for the weekend.  Good luck to you all.  I hope the rain holds off so that you can enjoy the event!

The NJ Edition of the FL Flatlander

Wednesday June 17th

I am back in NJ for the summer and riding again with TSS ( Team Social Security) group of the Princeton Freewheelers.   This group is a great group to ride with on the roads of NJ. 

SoWeFlo (Southwest Florida Cyclists) meet your counterparts in NJ. 

These are just some of the people I rode with today.  Dennis, our fearless ride leader, is in the first photo in the center in the red while and blue jersey.  Thank you, Dennis, for all you do!!

Here is my ride in NJ.

Seabiscuit is her name and she was glad to see me after almost 10 months of us riding together last.
She is a little heavier than Jersey Girl but she is an important part of my bicycle family.  This is my beater bike that I purchased from John Powers.

We started the ride from Allentown, NJ and rode on the country roads surrounding that area.   There is a peace that comes over me when I ride these roads even though they have taken a beating from the winter and have a lot more hills than the Florida roads.

Here is where our rest stop was today.

This deli has moved to a new location.....now in Imlaystown....and is three times the size of the previous store and even includes a coffee bar.   My kind of place.  It's definitely a good place to stop so ride leaders take note of this hidden gem.

We ended the ride with 32 miles and lots of smiling faces.   Maybe they were smiling because it was such a beautiful day here in NJ.....or that they finished the ride.

The Final FL Ride with Bob and Other Stuff

June 3rd 2015

Bob Wood and I rode together for one last time before I head to NJ for the summer.  Some of you know that Bob is re-constructing part of his home.  Here are some photos of the finished product

The kitchen with this nice black faucet....

Plantings around the patio area

The patio with  Bob in the photo.



The day before I went to Vanderbuilt Beach for a few hours with one of my neighbors.  I was surprised to find this ( Laura close your eyes!)

Love was in the air that day.  These photos were taken on the beach outside the Ritz Carlton Naples before a proposal of marriage.  My neighbor actually saw the guy who was in a tee shirt get down on one knee and propose.  I think it was a yes as the bride to be was all over him!


The day before the proposal siting I rode with two of the regulars from their house.  I did meet one other member of their family.

Princess Zena


See everyone in NJ in mid June!