This blog post is not about riding. It's about what I saw before, during and after the ride.
On the way home I saw one more ox.
I hope that you enjoy this diversion from my latest riding adventures!
Monday, July 13, 2015
More Ox's.....and a Car
Monday July 13
This blog post is not about riding. It's about what I saw before, during and after the ride.
I saw this ox on the way to the ride.
Wow.....this car has eyelashes! It was parked in the parking lot on the NJ side of Washington Crossing State Park
This ox was hidden from the road. How sad. I saw this on the corner of Linvale Road and Rt 31 on someone's property. If you look close up it has Long Beach Island painted on it as well as surf's up and other ocean type things. Unfortunately there was no sign with its' name.
On the way home I saw one more ox.
This last ox was named appropriately. (A Garden State of Mind)
I hope that you enjoy this diversion from my latest riding adventures!
This blog post is not about riding. It's about what I saw before, during and after the ride.
On the way home I saw one more ox.
I hope that you enjoy this diversion from my latest riding adventures!
Sunday, July 12, 2015
The Schooley's Mountain Ride
Saturday July 11th
I have been contemplating doing this ride since I arrived back in NJ with a bit of fear. Schooley's Mountain is not for the faint of heart. It's not Fiddler's Elbow which has a 22% grade t the top of the climb but it mind as well be with the amount of hill climbing I have done over the past year.
The ride started at Raritan Valley College and went through bucolic tree lined roads that bring a sense of peace while riding. However, that peace was interrupted with the sense of fear of the impending climb(s) ahead. We rode along Rockaway Road which dead ends in Mountainville.
This store served great coffee and gourmet breakfasts when it was open. The "For Sale" sign was a sad sign of the times.....no pun intended.
We headed towards Califon with some great views of the countryside and an awesome downhill. Well....it usually is an awesome downhill. However, one of the bikes had a mechanical.....a broken spoke. Yikes. We were pretty much in the middle of nowhere and certainly no bike shops around to get the wheel to for repair.
How many Princeton Freewheeler's does it take to fix a broken spoke?? A lot!!!!
Luckily Jim Brittain who builds wheels was on the ride so he was able to fix the wheel so that we could hopefully get to the rest stop without having to call for help.
We climbed Slicker Road....boy I don't remember that road being that long....but we made it to the top before we made a right and headed towards our rest stop.
The store is the only one in the area.
This satellite post office is contained within the store. I can't remember the last time I have seen one of these.
Even though our ride leader, Tom , said that there was not a lot of climbing left he was mistaken. We had a bunch of climbing to do but the scenery was great. The roads were not so great. Lots of potholes on the downhils lwhich were reminders of the harsh winter and had to be navigated very careful while controlling your speed.
The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful and that was a good thing. The broken spoke wheel held up and other that my neck and shoulder bothering me requiring the group to stop as well as one other ride cramping up and requiring a second stop for him to ingest some salt tablets. we made it back to the ride start with all 10 riders. We ended the day with 54 miles and 3,400 ft of climbing.
I have been contemplating doing this ride since I arrived back in NJ with a bit of fear. Schooley's Mountain is not for the faint of heart. It's not Fiddler's Elbow which has a 22% grade t the top of the climb but it mind as well be with the amount of hill climbing I have done over the past year.
The ride started at Raritan Valley College and went through bucolic tree lined roads that bring a sense of peace while riding. However, that peace was interrupted with the sense of fear of the impending climb(s) ahead. We rode along Rockaway Road which dead ends in Mountainville.
We headed towards Califon with some great views of the countryside and an awesome downhill. Well....it usually is an awesome downhill. However, one of the bikes had a mechanical.....a broken spoke. Yikes. We were pretty much in the middle of nowhere and certainly no bike shops around to get the wheel to for repair.
Luckily Jim Brittain who builds wheels was on the ride so he was able to fix the wheel so that we could hopefully get to the rest stop without having to call for help.
We climbed Slicker Road....boy I don't remember that road being that long....but we made it to the top before we made a right and headed towards our rest stop.
Even though our ride leader, Tom , said that there was not a lot of climbing left he was mistaken. We had a bunch of climbing to do but the scenery was great. The roads were not so great. Lots of potholes on the downhils lwhich were reminders of the harsh winter and had to be navigated very careful while controlling your speed.
The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful and that was a good thing. The broken spoke wheel held up and other that my neck and shoulder bothering me requiring the group to stop as well as one other ride cramping up and requiring a second stop for him to ingest some salt tablets. we made it back to the ride start with all 10 riders. We ended the day with 54 miles and 3,400 ft of climbing.
Thursday, July 9, 2015
The Ride to Sergentsville.....and Ox
Sunday July 5th
We were suppose to do this ride on Saturday July 4th but the weather said otherwise. We met at the Rocky Hill canal parking lot at 8:3 AM.
There were six smiling and eager to ride faces at ride time. We headed towards the Sourland Mountain range. The first climb was Grandview Road. Tom, our fearless ride leader, spared us the harder climb up Dutchtown Zion Road although one of the riders, Ed, decided he wanted to make the climb and did it solo.
Notice Laura and Ed's socks. Ed's reminded me of Dr. Seuss's Cat in the Hat although they were green instead of red.
Let the climbing begin....for the second half. We climbed Rittenhouse Road, Lambertville HQ Road to the top of Sandy Ridge. Down we went on Sandy Ridge Road ( we usually climb up this one!) and then the climbing began for real. We climbed to the top of Mt. Airy Road, a left onto Rt 604 (??) and a long climb up to Hunterdon High School before we made a left to head back over the Sourlands via Linvale and Mountain.
When all was said and done we ended up with 50 miles and about 2,500 ft of climbing. A nice accomplishment on a perfect day.
On a separate note, I continue to find ox all over the area. I have found two more recently.
The top ox is located in Carnegie Center in Princeton. This is in front of a corporate facility. The second one....who's name is Newton ( look at the sign at his feet) is located at a local bank on Route 31. I am sure there are more and will post them as I see them.
We were suppose to do this ride on Saturday July 4th but the weather said otherwise. We met at the Rocky Hill canal parking lot at 8:3 AM.
There were six smiling and eager to ride faces at ride time. We headed towards the Sourland Mountain range. The first climb was Grandview Road. Tom, our fearless ride leader, spared us the harder climb up Dutchtown Zion Road although one of the riders, Ed, decided he wanted to make the climb and did it solo.
These photos don't do this climb justice. It's much harder than it looks although it's a short climb.
We headed up Hollow Road, up Long Hill Road to the top of Lindberg. Do you get the theme here?? Up up and more up. We crossed the mountain range on Ridge Road and finally had our first downhill to Wertsville Road. We crossed Rt 202 at Rt 514 and headed towards Sergentsville. The climbing for the first half of the ride was done. We stopped in Sergentsville for our rest stop.
It was a welcome rest stop. We had a lot of climbing ahead of us. Look to the top left....it says "Bikers Welcome"
Let the climbing begin....for the second half. We climbed Rittenhouse Road, Lambertville HQ Road to the top of Sandy Ridge. Down we went on Sandy Ridge Road ( we usually climb up this one!) and then the climbing began for real. We climbed to the top of Mt. Airy Road, a left onto Rt 604 (??) and a long climb up to Hunterdon High School before we made a left to head back over the Sourlands via Linvale and Mountain.
When all was said and done we ended up with 50 miles and about 2,500 ft of climbing. A nice accomplishment on a perfect day.
On a separate note, I continue to find ox all over the area. I have found two more recently.
The top ox is located in Carnegie Center in Princeton. This is in front of a corporate facility. The second one....who's name is Newton ( look at the sign at his feet) is located at a local bank on Route 31. I am sure there are more and will post them as I see them.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
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.
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.
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....
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.
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.
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
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!
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.
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.
We came back through a town called Pennington. On Main Street is this....
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!
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
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.
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.
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.
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.
Friday, June 5, 2015
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!
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 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!)
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.
See everyone in NJ in mid June!
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