Late Summer Colors

 

Farrington Lake

7 September 2020

Between work, family crap, glass class, and nighttime spider photography, I've let blogging slip down the to-do list.

A few weeks back, Tom took us on a ride towards Helmetta. I started with him from his house. We passed by Brainerd Lake on our way to Cranbury.

We met up with a few more Slugs at the park. Winter Larry was there, about to lead an official ride. Since Beaker was demolished, the crash is the first thing everyone asks me about when they see me for the first time since lockdown.

From Cranbury we went north past Davidsons Mill Pond, Lawrence Brook, and Farringdon Lake. Through the trees I spotted a splash of late summer color.

A handful of rides happened after that, and I didn't take pictures on any of them. I have been taking pictures of spiders, however. That's a subject for another blog post. Here's a sample, from this morning. This is Rosie, a Hentz orbweaver (best guess), who has been living under the deck and in a rose bush since early August. Here I caught her from above, so you can't fully appreciate how fascinating she actually is.

Tom led an off-the-books Labor Day ride today. Jack H and I met him at his house and we rode over to Etra Lake Park, where another ride leader I haven't seen in forever asked me about the crash. Ron S was there too. He works where I work, but he's been working from home. I haven't seen him in forever either. At the park we picked up Ricky and Pete (now sporting a beard that made him unrecognizable to me at first).

We stopped for pictures on the causeway at the Manasquan Reservoir. The water was shockingly low. Tom guessed that there must have been a deliberate draining or construction. The position of the sun made for too much glare. I had to delete a lot of the pictures.

The water lilies were on the other side of the causeway.

These pictures are from a little farther north:

Tom had originally planned to stop at Battleview Orchards, ten miles from the end of the ride. We collectively steered him away from that. It might be too crowded.

Instead we sat on the curb of a strip mall in front of a closed bagel shop, where Tom and Pete said "the bagel shop is closed" to something close to a dozen drivers who pulled up and pulled away. 

On Disbrow Hill Road, a mile or so from the park, there's a field I had to stop for:

We dropped Pete off at the park and continued west. Ricky headed for home when we got to Hightstown. Jack, Tom, and I stood in Tom's driveway, ten feet apart from each other, and chattered on for a while before going our separate ways.

Kermit's due for a tune-up. The chain, which I knew was wearing out, is finally worn enough to start giving me trouble in the small ring. The left pedal, a good decade old now, is giving me grief too. (No, it's not the cleat. I have several bikes. I can test these things.) So this week I'll drop Kermit off at Hart's, which will leave me with only two road-ready bikes in the house: Miss Piggy and Rowlf. Gonzo is mounted on the smart trainer*. Beaker is in mid-reincarnation. How did I let this happen?

(*This situation led to a discussion on the ride today. Does a bike mounted on a smart trainer count in the n+1 calculation? The answer, Pete said, is really up to my husband, who figures into the s-1 upper bound.)