Nevada and I would have loved to go on Tom H's ride ( see Jim B's blog) but it was too far a drive for us so we decided to do our own thing.
Jim B's blog
We rode out of our usual spot in Pennington which is the Administration Bldg. We headed up the Sourland Mountain Ridge via Stony Brook Rd....as OLPH says is the most gentle way of climbing up to the top of the ridge. We turned left onto Syndertown Road and saw barriers that were previously blocking the road entrance but now allowed us to pass through the area. What we didn't know was that the road was full of tree debris and downed power lines. There were even downed power lines across driveways. It looked as if a tornado had gone through the area.
A transformer on the ground
A downed tree that has been cut up
A split tree trunk with a downed wire through it.
This is the worst condition of this road that I have ever seen in my years of riding! It really did look like a tornado had gone through the area.
We were able to get through the debris and turned right onto Linvale Road. That was also a mess. There were three work people from Jersey Central Power and Light assessing the damage on properties with downed power lines.
When we came to the intersection of Mountain Road and Linvale we saw this.
We were lucky that the road was not blocked from the other side and that we were able to get through at all.
We followed Linvale Road to the end and climbed the "S" curve climb of Rocktown Road where the view is stunning and there is a nice horse farm
We climbed up Losey Road to Amwell and made a left. Dutch Lane was our next turn and we continued until Back Brook Road and made a left and had a nice ride on the floor of the mountain range.
I always try and find a new climb that Nevada and I have not done this summer. Rainbow Hill was that climb. Blake....you were with us there in spirit. There is always a sense of peace riding these roads of Hunterdon County and it really does make me miss living in NJ.
We climbed back over the ridge on Lindberg Road ( Nevada's favorite climb) and over the other side via Province Line Road with that beautiful view of the Skillman area. If you have never seen this view....it would be worth a drive in the car to see it ! ( if you don't like climbing hills on a bike)
Our rest stop was the Brick Farm Market where many other cyclists stop for refreshment and a snack. Although a bit pricey they have a good selection of baked goods and cold brewed coffee as well as many other selections of food and drink for dehydrated cyclists.
We headed back to Pennington via Crusher Road. ( I call it my church because there is a calmness and peace that comes over me when I pedal on that road) We ended the day with 39 miles and 2,270 ft of climbing. It was enough on the hot and humid day.
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