Tom's Pineland Almost Metric Ride

Saturday July14, 2018

Tom H had asked me the week before the ride if I wanted to join him for a ride to the Pinelands.  When he said 60 miles it gave me hives!  I haven't done more that 45 miles in any one ride this year.  However, when I return to Florida I will ride with Bob W on his annual birthday ride.  I think this year it will be 74 or 75 miles so I thought it would be a good idea to get some longer saddle time and hang out with NJ friends before I head back.

Joe M graciously offered to drive me to the start.  Interestingly enough, in all the years I have ridden with PFW I have never left from this location.  Thank goodness Joe offered to drive or I would have driven to Plumstead Recreation Park instead of Mansfield and would have missed the ride.

There were seven of us.   Tom H, Joe M, Chris C, Ricky, Andrew, Sergy and yours truly.  As is customary (and because I asked) Tom blessed us with the holy kickstand before we left.

For those of you that don't know about the blessing..... Tom takes his frame pump that has a stand, throws some Camelback water on it and blesses us by throwing water from the tip of the pump so that we won't have any accidents or flats.  Well it worked on the accident portion of the blessing but we ended up with two flats on the ride so it didn't totally work.

This route was perfect with shady roads and not too much traffic.  The day started cool but heated up as we rode so the shaded roads were very welcome.   Our first stop was at Brendan Byrne/ Lebanon State Forest for a water break.   The ranger station had indoor plumbing too.   Yah!

Here is a link with more information about the park.

https://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/byrne.html

Here is a photo of the group.  

We filled up our water bottles and off we went.  We crossed Rt 72....after waiting a while....and headed to Tabernacle, NJ.  Along the way Sergy had the first flat.  We were lucky enough to find a shaded driveway (although the owner of the house happened to come home and turn in the driveway and wondered what we were doing there) and the flat was fixed fairly quickly.

The roads were in pretty decent shape considering the cold winter that had just passed.  Of course there was the occasional road that was full of potholes.   It had been so long ago that I called out a pothole road hazard that I had to think of the right word to call out.  Florida has decent roads and the most we encounter is a dead animal or debris from car tires. (wires, tire tread, etc)

I didn't recall ever stopping at Nixon's in Tabernacle but Tom was pretty sure I had.  When we stopped there for the second rest stop I was sure that I had never been there.  Funny.....in all the years of living in NJ and riding with PFW I had never stopped at this location.

Truthfully I wasn't that impressed.  It had Gatorade and things that cyclist like but no iced coffee!  It was in the right location and I was able to find something cold to cool off so I was happy.   I did talk to another cyclist not in our group that had ridden up from the Cherry Hill area so it is a popular rest stop.  It was just before the rest stop that Chris had the second flat of the ride.  He changed it quickly and we were on our way again.

It was getting warmer as the ride went on and I was trailing behind and wondered if I had made the right choice.  My neck hurt and my legs had lactic acid but all those symptoms went away as the ride continued.   There was mention of a WAWA stop if needed but I missed it but could have used it to stretch.  Oh well.

I counted the miles to the finish.  I was ready to be done.  We ended up with 59.8 miles and I was very happy to see the car and get off the bike.  On the way back,  Joe stopped at the Columbus store for something cold to drink which I really appreciated.

Thanks, Tom, for a great ride!!  I am glad that you convinced me to go.  I can now say that I stopped at Nixon's.

Ride to Carversville and Post Ride Picnic

Saturday July 7, 2018

It was the first day in weeks without humidity so it was time to head to the hills.   I talked with a few groups who were riding hills and decided to ride with Blake W.  He had the right amount of climbing and a great rest stop planned at Carversville Deli.    We departed from Blake's house after meeting his new puppies, Grizzly and Daisy.  Unfortunately I was too busy giving them treats and didn't get a photo of the new family members.

 Blake W

We decided to skip Eagle Road and Jericho Mountain and do hills that were more moderate with better scenery.  I always like when we do a covered bridge and it was great to have one on the ride today.

Van Sant Covered Bridge

Here is a little information on the history of the bridge.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Sant_Covered_Bridge

http://www.visitbuckscounty.com/listing/van-sant-covered-bridge/1403/

One of the prettiest roads was Meetinghouse.  It reminded me of Fleecydale Road in Carversville with a cottage similar to the one on Fleecydale.  I waited for Snow White and the dwarfs to appear from this cottage but no luck....just like Fleecydale.

 Meetinghouse Cottage

The rest of the ride was scenic and familiar.  We rode down Fleecydale past the cottage and stopped at Carversville Deli.  It's a common stop for cyclists and today was no exception.  We did run into John and Jane D who I haven't seen in several years.   You just never know who you will meet at this deli!

We continued the ride through Peddler's Village and up a Holicong Road which includes a nasty climb at the end.  Up on the ridge we came back via Wrightstown Road and back to River Road for a quick sprint back to the finish with approximately 2,400 ft of climbing for the day and 45 miles.

The post ride picnic was hosted by Jack H. and Dorothy.   Here are some photos from the event.

OLPH taking a photo of the pool

Tom H and Bob enjoying the picnic

Dorothy, The Excellent Wife, Jim B, Blake W and Jack L enjoying food and conversation

It was a great day with great weather and lots of social time afterwards.  Who could ask for more!