So I Ran Over a Deer...

Most bike rider try to be careful on the road and watch out for potholes, cars and other things that can cause a crash. There are however hidden dangers that are hard to avoid. I'm talking about critters lurking by the side of the road waiting to attack.

Today instead of doing the All Paces ride I headed to Califon because I had to be in Long Valley in the afternoon. I was lucky to have Ron join me to I won't have to ride alone. We rode from Raritan Valley College and headed through some back road toward one of my favorite climbs Rockaway Road.

The back roads in this area are very rural and empty of traffic which makes them nice to ride but there are also a lot of deer in the area. I saw one on the right side of the road about 5 feet ahead of me. I yelled out "Deer" to let Ron know to watch out. The deer then took off and ran across the road towards me. I moved to the left to try and avoid the deer and then it turned and started to run along side of me. We were shoulder to shoulder for a few seconds then the deer looked back over at me and got ever more spooked. Its feet started moved so fast that it slipped and fell on its side with it feet pointing towards me. I ran over the back feet of the deer with my rear tire. Luckily I didn't hurt the deer and didn't loose my balance because the deer got up and ran back in to the woods right in front of Ron. It was all over in a few seconds but it was an intense few seconds.

The rest of the ride was uneventful. It was a beautiful day and the views were some the clearest I have seen. But no matter how much I wanted to enjoy the view I made sure I kept scanning the woods because you never know what is waiting for you behind the next tree...

Twin Lights

Some rides I do are about riding along quiet scenic roads and other rides like the Twin Lights ride, I did on Saturday, are about the destination itself. There is nothing that bad about the roads we took to get to Twin Lights but there is nothing particularly scenic about them and they tend to have a little more traffic than I like.

I had a surprisingly good turn out for the ride with 12 people besides myself. I even had a couple of new people on the ride. The weather started out being very overcast and was suppose to get better but never did. We did get spritzed on a few times but never encountered a steady rain. I usually start the ride to Sandy Hook from Monmouth Battlefield park but Larry(who didn't actually show up) ask that I started the ride from Thompson park in Jamesburg so it would be easier for everybody to get to.

The ride out to Sandy Hook was uneventful except for a flat tire Jim had at the bottom of one of the hills on Navasink Rd. The normal store we stop at on Rt 36 was closed but there was a new Quick Check next that was next store and actually much nicer.

After the stop it was time to head up to Twin Lights. The only problem is the 20% grade to get to it. Its a narrow road after a hairpin turn and to make matters worst there was some van pulling out of a garage at the bottom of the hill that I had to avoid. The hill to the light house is steep but short. I think the worst part was at the start. I was already in my lowest gear when I turned onto the hill but still had to stand up to get over the initial hump. I alternated sitting and standing up the hill as the sloped increased and decreased which is very different for me since I almost never stand when I climb. The climb is only 400 feet long so we all quickly made it to the top. It really wasn't that bad a climb.

At the top we got a good view a the twin light houses and could even see the New York skyline through the overcast. We spent about 15 mins taking some pictures and Cheryl even climbed to the top for a better view. Although we could see the city it probably would be much nicer on an sunny day.

Then it was time to go back down the hill which was harder then coming up especially with the road beaten up. The route home took us through Sea Bright. I took the new bike path over the bridge and along the sea wall. This was nice last year but there was still some damage from the storm. Parts of the sea wall were still damaged and there was a lot of sand on the path so eventually we moved over to the road.

The trip back was uneventful except for a little more light rain and a flat that Dave had. It was a good ride, although there were some complaints that I expect to see listed on another blog. It wasn't about the roads but about seeing Twin Light and the shore by Sandy Hook as well as having fun along the way.