No Turkeys Here

Some days mistakes and unexpected circumstances come together to make a good ride. My Turkey ride was suppose to be the Saturday after Thanksgiving but because of an error some where in the process it was scheduled for the Saturday before. I had more people on the ride than expected including some riders who I haven't ridden with in a while. There was 5k race blocking some streets which could make it hard to make through Bordentown. These things make me a little apprehensive about the ride as we started out from the Peter Muschal school on our way to the pinelands along this route. I did perform the holy kickstand ritual before the ride just in case.

The route I planned took us through Bordentown. There was a flock of vultures on top of a school watching us go by which was another ominous sign but none of the streets we took were blocked by the 5k and traffic was lighter than normal. We continued on down to Axe Factory Rd which has been closed for at least the last 5 years yet is the most passable closed road in NJ. The road itself is freshly paved and the only issue is a barrier across a bridge you can actual ride through if you are careful. I suspect the bridge itself is not safe for cars which is why it is closed and assume the state has no plans to fix it ever.

After passing through Columbus we made our way to Vincetown along the way there were a couple of strip brakes as the weather warmed from 50 to 60 degrees very quickly. In Vincetown I by passed our first Wawa but stopped at a park for a bathroom break as I knew the Wawa in Browns Mill doesn't let us use their bathroom.

We maintain a quick pace as we made our way through the pinelands and to our rest stop in Browns Mill. This is not one of the nicer Wawa and is in need of an update but it is in a convenient location. There were some kids out side the Wawa getting donation for their sports facility so we threw a few dollars their way while we were there.

I took a different way back and went around the south side of the lake to add a few miles. This gave us a better view of the lake as well as took us past some active firing ranges of Fort Dix. The wind had picked up a little and was at our back so we formed a pace line an cracked up to Cookstown at 20mps+. I almost lost the group as they got ahead of me and missed the turn in Cookstown.

The wind continue to push us back for the last 10 miles and we ended up coming in at a 16.7 pace which on the fast side. The good weather, favorable winds and lack of any problems with the ride make this great ride.