Long Haul - Day 19 (9/4/21) Elizabeth NJ to Trenton NJ 50.1 miles.

You’ve had one of those days when you look back and think, “hmmm…nothing really memorable happened today”. Right? I’ve had those days too. Today was not one of those. Let me see, cool things, or crap things first? Ok, if you insist, cool things. We rode through some really pleasant neighborhoods, we rode past Rutgers University and then also Princeton University. I have to say that the Princeton campus is really cool the buildings look like they belong in old European cities.

Now for the “oh crap”. Right after we left the Rutgers U area the route took us to a towpath along the Delaware and Raritan Canal. We took a right turn on to the tow path and crossed a bunch of rocks that then took us the path. We looked at the path and thought it looked a bit rough, but up ahead it looked smoother and we looked at each other and thought, sure why not. That ended up being a 4 mile, 2+ hours mistake. It was one of those moments when we/you kept thinking it was going to get better, and by the time you realize it isn’t going to get better, it’s too late. We pushed our bikes for about a mile but we knew there was a bridge ahead that we could use to bail and get to the road. As we were pushing along, there was a runner coming up from behind. She stopped and said she runs regularly on the tow path and said it is usually pretty smooth but the storm totally destroyed the path. She confirmed that there was a bridge ahead that we could use to get to the road. Our spirits lifted. She kept running and we kept pushing. Soon after we came across a spot where four logs had fallen across the path. I stood there and wondered what the options were. I didn’t say out loud any of the naughty words that were swirling around in my head. So I took the bags off from my bike and wrestled the bike over each of the logs. Dana straddled the logs and handed me the bags and I finished carrying them to the other side of the obstruction. Then we together lifted her bike across the logs. After reloading my bike, we kept pushing. There were a number more single logs across the path but they were easier to cross than the earlier one. We were getting tired but also knew we were getting closer to the bridge. As we pushed along we saw the runner approaching from the front. She stopped and said that the bridge was totally blocked and impassable but that there was another bridge another several miles ahead but she didn’t know if that was blocked as well. Either way, she said eventually the path crossed a road which of course would give us a place to bail. We chatted a bit and she kept on running. We looked at each other and realized we had only one option. We kept pushing. Yes the bridge was blocked (see the pic). Another 1.5 miles later we finally came to the next bridge which indeed was open and passable. It was a beautiful bridge. We crossed and sat down and slammed some Gatorade and inhaled a complete container of Pringle’s. Don’t judge us for the lack of control. :). Dana did place a “Josh Cooper/Goshen Rocks“ rock in the middle of the path, just to redeem the path/day a bit. After resting we finished the next 26 miles. Hey, one more day under our belts. Tomorrow will be awesome!

#treesforgoshen #eastcoastgreenway

https://www.treesforgoshen.org/biking-for-bucks-expand-goshens-tree-canopy/

Today’s Ride Ratings

Weather 9 (it was pretty chilly this morning but the sun was out most of the day)

Temperature 60 at start and 78 at finish

Scenery 7 (we saw some turtles in the canal)

Riding Surface 4 (do I have to say more?)

Terrain 4 (I said all I need to say)

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