Lying Bastard 2021

 

There wasn't much drama with this years lying bastard ride. I did not add my usually surprise 15% grade or any other major twist in this years ride. I figured people won't want to deal with any other issues this year. I have tweaked the route over the years to try and make it a little easier and remove any problem road crossings. We no longer go through Perkasie because that means a tough climb to get to Lake Noximixon and had to cross a Rt 313 which always had lots of traffic on it. Here is the route we did which hasn't changed much since last year.

My only concern this year was the condition of the roads. I wasn't sure if any of the roads I was using had gotten destroy as part of the storm that flooded the area a week ago. Some reports on Facebook seem to indicate that we would be okay and we were. There was a little extra sand and debris on Headquarters Rd and the closed bridge at the top of Headquarters Rd was a little harder to cross but we didn't have to make any detours in the route. 

It was a beautiful day for a ride and so we got some good views of the surrounding area after we got to the top of the hill. This route doesn't have any more climbing than a normal Sourlands ride but they are spaced out differently. Instead of some long climbs followed by some flat or downhills this ride is a series of rollers with a lot of annoying little climbs. The route also slowing goes uphill as you go up and down these rollers so there are no breaks or real flat parts where you can rest. 

There is some nice scenery along the way. Because the rest stop is at mile 34 I take a quick break at a boat launch on the south side of the lake where you can get a view of one of the coves in the lake. 

I did get a good turnout for the ride this year. Most of my regulars where there as well as a new guy, Jeff. I always wonder what a person unfamiliar with the Insane Bike Posse is going to think about the group especially since he thought that going on a bike ride called the "Lying Bastard" was a good idea. He fit in well with the group and it is always good to see new people on our rides but we don't have a good record of them coming back. We did have one other bridge out situation to deal with on and we sent the new guy over first because just like Star Trek you always send to the new guy(Ensign Expendable)  on any risky situation because you don't want to harm any of the main characters. 

We did our usual rest stop at the Turkey Hill gas station and convenience store then headed the last 10 miles back to the start. Although we didn't have much traffic for most of the route the first few miles after the rest stop had a lot of traffic so I will see if I can find a different route back next year. 

I was a little concerned about the last down hill (Red Cliff Rd) because it was a steep hill and could be covered with debris but it turned out not to be that bad. Despite the reputation of this ride it is actually always an interesting ride that I enjoy doing so it will be back again next year maybe with a little surprise.

The Power of Water

This week we were reminded about how powerful and destructive water can be. A little rain is good for the soil and cleans the air. A lot of rain can cause flooding and some property damage. Then there is what we had last week which was a biblical rain storm with a small tornado thrown in. Some parts of NJ got 6 to 7 inches of rain over a few hours. Almost every river in NJ was over the flood stage especially in the west side of the state which got the hit with the worst of the storm. 

I was lucky because where I moved to only got about an inch of rain and some wind so there was no flooding or trees down in my area. This past Saturday I did Laura's ride out of Pennington. She didn't send out the route ahead of time because she wasn't sure which roads would be open. We made our way through Pennington and up Stony Brook. There were signs of how bad the flooding was as we passed over any bridge or by any stream. There were trees and debris on the side of all the bridges and along the streams. The roads were mostly okay except for the occasional tree debris, sand or gravel on the road. There was one bridge at the top of Stony Brook where part of the asphalt had been washed away but is was still passable by bike, although we had to walk part of it. 

The worst damage we saw was by the covered bridge outside of Sergeantsville. We tried to go down Covered Bridge Rd to get to Lower Creek Rd but had to stop towards the bottom because we were told by a home owner who's house had been flooded and damage that it wasn't passable. 

After stopping at the bagel place in Sergeantsville we headed down to the covered bridge from Sergeantsville and saw some of the damage. The covered bridge was closed and was actually damaged. Lower Creek Rd was closed because most of it no longer exists. Lower Creek Rd is now just Lower Creek. Laura got some good pictures of the damage on her blog. 

We were able to complete the ride without having to make any more detours although there were more signs of the flooding. This time I finished the ride with the group so the repaired spoke and wheel held. I credit this to the power of the Holy Kickstand as I have been performing a blessing before each ride to try and ward off mechanical problems and injuries. I'm working on getting a new set of wheels for the Synapse as the Holy Kickstand can not fix poor maintenance or worn out parts. 

On Monday instead of heading to the All-Paces I did a solo ride from my new place. I'm still exploring the area and tried out some new roads trying to find the best and most traffic free way to get to different places. 

Today I wanted to do a loop to the Manasquan Reservoir. It had rained Sunday night into Monday morning so the roads were wet but by the time I got to the reservoir the clouds were starting to clear. 

After the reservoir I headed back home on the roads we usually use on our way back from Belmar. A couple of the turns felt wrong because I made a left where I usually make a right. I know I moved to a new house but I don't think my bike is use to that yet. 

One of the reason I stayed close to home was because our community had and Labor Day party. There wasn't really much to it. Just a two piece band playing some 80s music and a couple of food trucks by the pool. The band wasn't half bad and the food was decent so it was a good way to unwind from the ride.  

I am enjoying the facilities in the community. My wife and I usually hang out in the pool a few times a week especially after my after work ride. The pool is usually not that crowded and we have been there a few times where we were the only ones in the pool. It's mostly used during the day so when we go at 5-6pm there are only a few people left. So although water can be destructive it can also be relaxing after a long ride.