Trees in Bloom

This pass weekend was the great weekend to see some of the local trees in full bloom. Besides the Magnolias and Cherry trees we also have some nice red and white flowering trees like the ones shown here. These trees are beautiful and great for the environment but unfortunately some of them will be turning in to saw dust soon so that my book may live. That's right I just got word from my editor that the book finally went to the printers.

I got an advance copy today and I think it came out really good. It should be out in stores by May 19th. The book has been a lot of work and I'm glad that the work is now complete. I intend to do some book signing to promote it but that should be fun.

Now that the book is done I can concentrate on riding just for the fun of it. The weather this weekend looks great and I have a ride in the book for Saturday morning out of Bordentown. It will be a nice flat cruise down to the pine barrens and back with a stop at a nice bakery near Smithville. It should be around 55 miles and a fun ride. Come out and enjoy the weather

(Disclaimer Falcon press prints their books on recycled paper, I think, so no actual trees were killed in the printing of my book)

Spring Photo Ride

Click Here for More Pictures
Before I had to take pictures for the book I never really bothered to take a camera along on my rides. Although there is always some nice scenery along the way I never had the desire to stop and capture it. But now that I have spent the last two years with a camera with me when I ride I find that taking pictures has become part of my rides. I try not to let the photography interrupt the flow of the ride but there are always opportunities for a few nice shots.

During the winter I read a couple of good books on photography and now better understand how aperture, shutter speed, white balance and a number of other factors affect a photograph. I am still a long way from mastering photography but I when I look at my pictures after a ride I can tell what I did wrong on certain shots and am learning how to take better pictures. This past weekend was Easter Sunday and because of the rain on Saturday and the family gathering at my house on Sunday I wasn't able to get a group ride it. I was lucky enough to be off on Monday with decent weather and decided to take a ride by my self and concentrate on trying to get some good pictures.

I headed for the Sourlands and my goal was to try and get some scenic shots of some of the rivers and farmlands. I thought after all the rain we had last week that the rivers would be flowing full force and would afford some nice photos. Unfortunately the rivers really weren't as high or fast flowing as I expected but there were a few nice photo opportunities. You can click here to see all the pictures that I took.

I started off in Rocky Hill on the other side of 206 and ended up going to Stockon and back. I went over the Sourlands through Sergeantsville pass the Covered Bridge to Bulls Island and back. I tried to hit all the major rivers and stream that I always pass. Being by myself I took a little more time and stopped more than I usually do for pictures. It was fun experimenting with my camera and trying out different combinations of shutter speed, aperture and exposure. I learned a few things about my camera and how different settings affect a picture. Its still early spring so the land is a little barren but I still managed to a get a few good shots. I know the land will look a lot better in another month so I plan to dedicate a ride every now and then to photography. I may never be a great photographer but I have found that biking and photography go good together and it is something that I really enjoy now.

Wind or Hills?

Spring is here is so is some crazy weather. Thunder storms this past Friday lead to 25 mph winds with gusts close to 50 mph on Saturday. I put my dog out on Saturday morning and even with four legs to steady her she was having problems standing in the wind. I have ridden in some pretty windy conditions but I didn't think it would be safe to ride on Saturday.

Luckily Sunday was a little better it was still windy but it was down to a 20 mph which although not fun is ridable. Laura had a ride out of Mercer park that I considered doing but she was headed south toward some of the more open and flat land which would have made dealing with the wind a little harder. I decide instead to head to the Sourlands and start doing some hill training. I hoped the hills would block most of the wind and even if they didn't the way the wind was blowing meant that it would be in my face on the way out not on the way home.

We started at Rocky Hill by the canal and went west towards the Sourlands. The wind was in our face all the way to the base of the Sourlands which made it slow ride but once we got to the mountains the wind wasn't a problem. I took the easy way up and over Sourlands, Hollow to Zion, then stayed on the ridge a little while before heading down to the Valley. The climbing was a slow steady grind but was a nice respite from the wind.

We did a little more climbing and worked our way towards Neshanic Station crossing the Raritan river a few times. The weather was cool but sunny and we had some nice views as we kept riding along. I took a few pictures along the way. My route took us along and over the Raritan river a few more times. The wind was there but wasn't too annoying although the direction kept changing. I think I made the right choice heading for the hills.

On the way back to the canal we got some nice tail winds on a few stretches and were easily pedaling over 20mph with out any effort. We can around the north end of the Sourlands on the way home so there were no major climbs on the way back. By the time we go back to the start we had done 45 miles. It was a good ride with some nice views. We did some climbing but nothing really hard. I think this was a lot better than trying to fight the wind.