Half Way Point

We are now halfway through the year and I have almost 3300 miles in 85 days. Outstanding considering how painfully long this Winter was. What I realized is that June seems to be my best month with 925 miles in 26 days. Looking back a few years June consistently was the month with the most miles. I even placed 5 for June in NJ in the National Bike Challenge. Very good considering I finished 30 in May.  I don't think I will have a year like last and frankly don't care. I'm just happy I still enjoy the ride.

This and That

I like to think of myself as a cycling advocate but I'm not one to go march on Washington. IMHO building more bike paths only reinforces the notion that bicycles don't belong on the road. It also never made sense to me to put your bike on your car, drive 40 miles round trip to do a 40 mile club ride. I understand some people are just not comfortable riding their bikes on the open road so for them any way they can get out and ride is good. For me cycling is exercise, sport, transportation and just a fun way to enjoy the outdoors.
Today's ride was a typical day for me. I got to enjoy this great weather, stayed in shape with 42 miles, saw some beautiful countryside, witnessed a giant turtle crossing and got the best parking spot in front of my favorite store.
That's how I do it.

Trailmate

Found on the Etra Lake path.
Big fella he is.

Nice Day

Lower temps, humidity, and winds with high clouds made for a great cycling day.
I rode my favorite 40 mile loop and after a quick pit-stop home I swapped out the ICE T for the Greenway. Then a trip to check on the Outlaws and off to the market for my my favorite after ride thirst quencher, on sale flavored seltzer. I brought home 10 bottles. 47 miles in total, Nice!

Morning Commute

Jerseybents

I was in the mood for some eye candy so I road out to Jerseybents in Hamilton. Lawrence, the shop owner, added Catrike, HP Velotechnik, Trident, ICE and Azub bikes. He is already a major Terratrike dealer. I would love to buy a new folding trike but I need to sell off some of my fleet first. It's a 50+ mile round trip so if I am going to make any test rides I need to leave early which I didn't. As it turned out Lawrence was not there and Charlie was busy in the other shop so no test rides today. Charlie did let me play in the store buy myself. I was like a kid in a candy shop. I got to sit on most of the trikes. I must say I was partial to the comforts of ICE and liked Catrike's road model. I look forward to their introduction of the folding Trail model.  It was great to get close up to HP and Azub, amazing engineering. Trident trikes are a great bang for the buck. It was great fun and when I'm ready to buy I will be back for some serious test riding. In the meantime I will continue to enjoy my ICE T and Greenway.

Terratrike Rover

HP FS 26 and FX

Catrike all models

Azub and ICE Adventure

Trident Spike and Transport

ICE and Azub

Naked

I've had my Streamer fairing almost 6 years and have kept it on all year long for the past 3. I found the benefits of wind and rain protection most beneficial and worth the weight penalty. The past week has been extremely hot and humid and I'm loving every minute of it especially after our long hard Winter. I thought it might be fun to open the cockpit by removing the fairing. Kind of like opening the windows on a Spring day. My last few rides have been without the fairing and I must say I am enjoying the ride. My last ride was windy and being as slow as I am made no difference. I have no immediate tours planned so if I get caught in the rain I won't be far from home. I must say I do enjoy the easy on/off as opposed to slide in/out. It also handles better and is more compact. It does lose a bit of the cool factor. I'm sure I'll be faired come Winter but for now, I'm loven' the ride.

Bugger

I took the fairing off for the first time in years to really soak in this long overdue warm weather. I have no immediate tours planned so getting caught in the rain won't leave me stranded too far from home. It sure makes it a lot easier to get on and off the bike.

15 miles into the ride I got a flat. Can't complain as these tires have been on 2 loaded tours with over 3k miles and this is the first flat. It was also on the front so no removal of wheel was necessary.

It's early in the season so I am really enjoying this hot humid weather. Let's keep it coming.

Bring it Home

About 25 years ago, when I got back into cycling, I bought a new Mongoose mountain bike. It didn't take long to realize I was not riding mountain trails. I traded those knobby tires for slicks, added fenders, rack, inexpensive panniers and I was off to explore the world. Back then there was no internet and all the information was obtained through magazines. I new of only 2 mass merchandisers, PerformanceBikes and Nashbar. I looked forward to the mail to see if a new catalog had arrived. It wasn't till a few years later that I hooked up with a bicycle club and purchased my first road bike. It was a good 15 years when I finally let go of my Mongoose but my passion for using my bike for errands never dwindled.

The nice thing about pedaling a 60 lb trike is you don't notice another 40 lbs of cargo.

If you don't take your bike to the store, you should.

Small World

Approaching me on today's ride was another recumbent. Not just any recumbent but a recumbent trike. A rare sighting in my neck of the woods. I quickly intercepted the rider and motioned to stop in a near by driveway. To my surprise it was a familiar face. It was Jay or as he's known in the recumbent world, BentJay. He was completing a Trans Am ride and was finishing up in Asbury, NJ.  Jay and I met 8-10 years ago at a Bentrider Rally in Upstate NY. Jay lives in Ohio and I in NJ. As it turned out we both went to the same High school in Flushing NY and graduated in the same class. We never new each other at the time. Jay is an avid recumbent enthusiast and has completed many self supported tours including rides around all the Great Lakes. It was exciting seeing him especially nearing his completion of this epic ride.
Well done Jay!!!

Commute

My first commute of the year. It was a beautiful cool morning with temps in the upper 50's. I love the quiet of the early morning. It's a 10 mile ride, half of which is on a paved bike path. There is only a 1 mile stretch of treacherous road to navigate which is more of a problem on the return ride. I stop at DD for coffee and a box of Munchkins for the staff. No guilt there as I now I can work them off on the ride home. It's a great way to round out the day.

Great Week

The weather has been on the money and I have been pedaling my ass off. I rode the past 6 days totaling 300 miles. As I write this I am currently in 1 st  place in the NJ National Bike Challenge for June. I finished 30 last month. I'm working tomorrow so there will be a break but as luck would have it they are calling for rain. If the weather clears I may get a few miles in. It helps having the wife out of town for a few days. Let's me do my long rides without feeling guilty.

Happy Day

Shore? Why Not?

What better way to spend a beautiful mid 80's sunny day than a trip to the Jersey shore. I love riding along the beach and NJ has some of the finest on the East Coast. The only problem is the 25 mile ride to and from. It's on some pretty busy roads and the ride back is into the sun and usually with a headwind.  I have to wonder if the 50 hard miles is worth the 17 scenic shoreline. For that reason I usually only do this ride once a year. I try to ride before Memorial day so I am free to ride the boardwalks. I was booted off the boardwalks 3 times today. I did have a good tail wind up the shore. Just before leaving I stopped at The Windmill for their famous Foot Long Dogs with all the fixings.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it. It was a 67 mile day, I got some color and my legs are sore but overall I feel good.

Belmar Beach

Entrance to Asbury Park

 

 

Long Branch