Yard Road, Ringoes, NJ
1 February 2020
I've been trying not to stop so much for pictures. In the winter that's relatively easy. We're staying closer to home. There's not much I want to take a picture of that I haven't already.
Winter is good for pictures of the sun through tree branches. I snapped this one after riding from home to Jim's Six Mile Sunday.
There were nine of us. "Your brand is growing," Bob said.
I'd seen the route ahead of time and had told Jim that every hill on the way to Hopewell fit into Tom's "annoying" category. Jim then decided to crowdsource a good adjective for a series of annoying hills. I suggested "grumble," which didn't make it to his final three of "affliction," "infection," and "hassle."
We snaked through back of Princeton up to Pretty Brook Road. I could have stopped a dozen times to catch the Stony Brook, rushing and muddy, but I didn't.
When we got to Bayberry Road, though, both Jim and I had to stop for the pile of sheep on the pile of compost.
We briefly considered a "sheep pile" of annoying hills, but it didn't stick.
Boro Bean was crowded. We got split up. I did my best to enjoy some slow coffee. When it was time to leave, I turned toward Carter Road while everyone else continued down Route 518. I'd taken so few pictures that I'd forgotten about them until today.
Today was chilly and clammy. There had been a little rain overnight. The roads weren't wet, exactly, but they weren't quite dry either. I'd listed my ride, late in the day yesterday, as a no-registrants-no-ride affair. Pete registered immediately. Jim and Bob signed on in the evening.
If I hadn't had any takers, I'd probably have driven to Cranbury to get my ass kicked by a bunch of strangers. Time was when I went out on a lot of other people's rides and mingled with different crowds. Now that I lead so many rides myself and tend to ride with the same set of people on the ones I don't, my circle of Free Wheelers has shrunk. This is probably not a good thing. On the other hand, the people I see regularly have become good friends.
Because I knew Jim was registered, because I didn't want to do the same old thing (Pete might give me guff), and because we hadn't been to the Sergeantsville General Store in a good long time, I chose the counterclockwise route Jim calls "widdershins." I think it's a mellower way to get to Sergeantsville. The biggest sustained ascent is on the way back, but at least it's not too long after the rest stop.
We met at the Pig and headed out the usual way, past the Watershed and up Stony Brook. Pete almost turned onto Snydertown, which is also my usual way. It isn't the widdershins way, though, and as I motioned him to turn around, he signaled to me that I needed to take a picture of the two chickens by the side of the road.
We climbed to the top of Stony Brook, turning off before the dirt section (which would have been a right mess today anyway). Then we descended on Rileyville. From the top we had a good view of the hills all the way to Flemington. We could also see just how misty and gray it was. I didn't try for a picture because I figured my camera wouldn't capture the different grays very well.
At the bottom of the hill I did take a handful of pictures of the farm on Wertsville Road. I haven't edited them; it really was that gloomy.
Jim's favorite part of the route is Yard Road. He warned me ahead of time that he'd be stopping for a lot of pictures. You can see them here.
When I lost sight of him before a sharp bend in the road, I stopped. I happened to be standing next to what appeared to be an abandoned property, and there was plenty on it to keep me entertained until Jim came pedaling up.
Around the bend there was a good view to the north of the winter drab.
A little zig-zag got us to Lambert Road, which is my usual way out of Sergeantsville. It's a slight incline, and when we're cold and caffeinated, we're going too fast down the hill to really see anything.
That's probably why I saw the longhorns for the first time today.
Magnificent beasts know they're magnificent and show you their best side.
On the other hand, some are too busy eating.
We were the only cyclists at the general store today. Jim saw some pass by as we were getting ready to leave. Other than that, I think we crossed paths with two, maybe three, other bikers in the 40 miles we traveled between the Pig and the general store.
This being Saturday, the Pig was still open when we got back. I hadn't been in there since mid-December. They've added to their decor:
The ram on the wall is sporting the antlers I gave the buffalo last year.
Tomorrow will be above freezing and not rainy, so I'll take Kermit to Jim's Six Mile Sunday. If I give myself enough time to get there, I might snap a few photos of Carnegie Lake or the canal on the way.
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