Pig to Pig to Pig

Coffee Pigs

7 April 2019

Ricky left his purple Cinelli at home on Saturday. "Too damp," he said. The weather was much improved from the damp chill half an hour later when we pulled into Sourland Coffee ("The Pig," as https://seemingverb.blogspot.com/2019/02/kosher-june-ride-in-february.html" target="_blank" title="kosher june ride in february">Plain Jim

calls it).

Only Pete was there to meet us. We headed for Sergeantsville, taking the route I always take when I haven't bothered to come up with something else.

I peeled off my jacket, arm warmers, and glove liners at the top of Stony Brook. This is big pocket weather.

On Mountain Road I stopped for a herd of sheep.

And also at the top of Mount Airy, for the cows, of course.

It's been a while since I've approached the Sergeantsville General Store from the south, on Route 523. We were in sight of the salmon-colored house when I saw a herd of carbon bikes lined up in front of a deli I didn't know was there until just then. We turned in. The only sign is one of those heavy plastic ones, tied to the rails of the porch, half obscured by decorative shrubs.  "Bagel Barn," it said.

It was all carbon all the way down, save for Ricky's frame, which did at least have a carbon fork.

By the entrance, near the steps, was a plaster pig.

Well, then. Quite by accident we'd done a pig-to-pig ride.

The place has been open since last May. Inside is seating enough for a herd of carbon bikers, but not a herd of carbon bikers and a smattering of Slugs. We sat outside on a ledge at the far end of the parking lot.

The coffee is on par with the general store: passable. The salt bagel I had was worthy. The bathroom, which one of the owners pointed out, is spacious and clean.

What the place lacks is character. It could be any strip-mall deli anywhere in central Jersey. Except that it has a plaster pig, which means that we're probably coming back at some point.

Not having encountered any closed roads, I opted for the dirt stretch at the top of Stony Brook. Even though there had been rain overnight, the road was dry and easily passable.

As we neared Pennington again I suggested to Ricky that we stop at Sourland Coffee on our way home. "That way," I explained, "it'll be a Pig to Pig to Pig ride."

So we did.

And then, after he put his bike in his car in front of my house, Ricky drove back to the Pig to pick up a pound of coffee.


Sunday's weather was even better. Tom's Insane Bike Posse consisted of  three steel (me, Ricky, and Joe M), three titanium (Tom, Jim, and Chris), and two carbon (Ralph and Joe G) bikes. While an all-metal Insane Bike Posse would have been way cool, we'll give Ralph and Joe a pass because their frames were matte black with day-glow orange highlights, but not identical; so they looked snazzy too.

Down in Vincentown, Jim and I took pictures of Purple Rain and Kermit.

On our way back, Tom took us on a road near Smithville that was more pothole than blacktop. He did it to get around a truly closed bridge, so it counts.

Our approach to Arney's Mount gave us a view we don't usually see. Only 250 feet above sea level, Arney's Mount is the highest point in Burlington County. From where we were it looked far more imposing.

The air was full of the scent of fresh mulch and crab grass. Magnolia and cherry trees were blooming. Daffodils and adjuga were yellow and purple beside newly-tilled farm fields. 

A tailwind pushed us most of the way home.