New Wheels

Rainy days are still making it hard to ride when I want to. I did get out last Saturday for a hilly ride in the Sourlands and a decent midweek ride on Wednesday. This Saturday was suppose to be the Spring Fling but it was another rainy Saturday. Because of that I listed a ride for Sunday out of MCP. There were few problems with this ride. First there was a problem with the website again so that a few people were not able to register since the register button went away for some reason. It eventually came back but I just told the people who emailed me to show up to the ride whether they could register or not. I ended up with 11 people who said they were coming to the ride although one of them thought the ride was suppose to be a 9:30am so I ended up with 10. 

The MCP picnic area was actually closed for some police training. Luckily they let us park on the grass by the entrance as it would have been hard to call everybody and tell them to park some where else. 

I had planned a 46 mile ride to Columbus and back. It's mostly a north-south route. I chose this route because the winds were going to be blowing 20mph+ with 40 mph gust from the north west so I wanted most of the route to be in the cross wind as opposed to having to head directly into it. 

It was cloudy and windy at the start and we had a tail wind pushing us out. Even though I was riding with a few people I didn't know or haven't ridden with much the group stayed together and was well behaved. We made our stop at the general store in Columbus and then headed back. This is where the wind became a problem. It was mostly a crosswind but the route purposely zig zagged  so we had a few short stretches heading in the the wind. Unfortunately the last 4 miles was directly into the wind and it sucked. However it was better getting out in the wind than not getting out at all. 

The ride did give me a chance to test out my new wheels on my Feather. The front wheel had a divot in it and with a little more wear it probably would have worn through the divot. The rear tire might have had a couple of hundred miles left in it but I decided to change them both as part of my spring maintenance. After years using black tires I decided to go with ones with a red stripe. I like the way it looks and I think it makes the bike more visible so will probably stick with colored tires in the future. 

Speaking of new wheels I actually went to the NY auto show on Tuesday. I had to go up to Armonk for work and decided to stop by, the show, on my way home. My trusty Baja is still going strong but it is 23 years old and so I just wanted to see what is out there in case I need a new car anytime soon.

There was an interesting variety of cars. You have a choice now of the type on engine, electric, hybrid or gas. My favorite electric cars where the Nissan Airya and Chevy Equinox EV.

 

There was also the Hyundai Ionic 5 which is more sporty and car like.   

Then there was the new ID Buzz from VW which is an electric version of the old microbus. 

It was actually really nice and had the most head room of any car I have even been in.  It is over 70k so not an option for me. However if I was going to spend a lot on an electric SUV it would be the Lucid Gravity. 

 

It's got 450 miles of range is well design and is beautiful inside an out. I like that the frunk turns into a love seat. 

I also looked at the hybrids from all the main car companies. The CR-V, Rav-4 and Rogue are nice but I think the Hyundai Tucson is the best of the hybrid SUVs. Then there was this from Fiat.

It was made out of plastic and probably weight just a few hundred pounds. I'm sure the wind we had today would have blown it over. 

It was fun seeing all the cars and at least now I have a better idea what's out there if I ever need to replace the Baja. 

April Showers Bring Road Closures

Last weekend was a rainout and so was this Saturday. So even though Sunday was cloudy and cool I decided to list a ride late in the week from Cranbury. The reason I decided to do it out of Cranbury is I wanted to get a few hills since I haven't done much of that this year AND also to see Jim who also had a ride out of Cranbury.

I had some problems listing the ride as one of the normal buttons on the website didn't work so wanted to talk to Jim and see if it was me or the website (it was the website). I only had a few takers for the ride but I'm glad I listed it. We did this route which is a variation of my normal Princeton loop from MCP or Cranbury. It has enough hills to help me to start building my hill legs. 

As we climbed up Bunker Hill I saw a flashing sign saying that the Griggstown crossing was closed. I didn't think it rained enough to cause flooding. Luckily when we got there the fence was across the causeway but there was no water on the road so we climbed over and under the fences and made our way across the canal. 

I made it up the hills and felt okay but it doesn't really feel like spring yet. So although I'm glad I pushed myself today I hope the weather gets warmer soon so theses rides feel a little better.

Spring Recovery

Now that I'm back from vacation I'm able to get more riding in. After a long and cold winter I'm looking forward to putting more miles in and getting back in riding shape. Spring is a time of rebirth so I'm looking forwards to the flowers that come with it and the warmer days that will make for longer rides. We have had a good amount of rain in the last month and the Manasquan reservoir is starting to recover as you can see by the picture at the top of the post. Here what it looked like in November.

Here what it looks like by Georgia Rd now.

 

Here what is looked like in November.

 

It still has a way to go but it looks like its about halfway to normal. 

I have a number of rides I do from my house and use this rides gauge how I'm riding. A few days after getting back from vacation I did a 25 mile local ride and felt surprising good so decided to lead a B ride (Okay its a B- under the new guidelines) from Allentown. It was a warm but windy day but still a good day for a ride. We only had two minor problems on the ride. I'm not talking about the bridge out 

as that is just a given on one of my rides. We did have to straddle the beams to get over but no one complained (much).

We did have a problematic flat tire that took a while to change. There was a issue with tire being hard to get off and on the rim along with a tube where the valve stem kept unscrewing as well as a cartridge inflator that broke. With tubes and inflators from different people we managed to get the tire on and inflated. One of the advantages with riding with a group is that if you have multiple failures of equipment you have a better chance of fixing the problem than if you ride by yourself. 

The second problem was the wind in the final few miles. We wrote right into it on our way back to Allentown and got spread out a little. Still we I did 41 miles and felt okay at the end of the ride so it felt like a step towards doing longer rides. 

This weekend was summer like on Saturday. I ended up staying over at our condo on the shore on Friday night to try and get a view of the partial solar eclipse happening at sunrise.

 

The clouds were just starting clear at sunrise so I didn't think I got a good picture of the eclipse until I had a chance to download the pictures on my computer and take a closer look. Like the June 2021 partial solar eclipse I got lucky and managed to get a bird in the shot. Unlike last time the picture I got was actually better than it looked like in person.

Since I was down the shore on Saturday morning I decided to do a reverse Belmar ride and start by my condo. I actually got Jim and Jack to join me and we did a ride out past Manasquan reservoir. Jack and I also did a warm up ride along to ocean to Asbury and back before the ride. 

It was another windy day so I was happy we were going into at the start instead of having to fight our way back at the end of the ride. The route went out through some local neighborhoods and past the shark river on the way out. There were a few scenic spots and interesting landmarks along the way. After that we pushed our way into the wind until we rounded Manasquan reservoir and then got pushed back to the beach. 

We stopped at the Allenwood General Store which had a bathroom, good muffins and a picnic table to sit on so I may try to find ways to stop here again. 

When we got back to the beach is was close to 80 degrees and crowded with cars and people. After the ride I hung out at the beach with my wife for a couple of hours before heading to our favorite place for a good dinner. 

Spring is finally here so looking forward to the warmer weather and longer rides that come with it.

The March 14th Lunar Eclipse

As I mentioned last time I was able to see the latest lunar eclipse during my vacation. I had to wait to I got home to share the pictures since I didn't have the time to process the photos until now.

A lunar eclipse is not as exciting as a total solar eclipse, in fact it is pretty slow and boring for most people. It usually takes about an hour or so from the beginning of the eclipse until it becomes total. Then the totality lasts around a hour. After that it takes about a hour or more for eclipse to be over. Most people who care usually just come out for the total part. Few people want to dedicate 3 or 4 hours to the eclipse. Of course I'm one of the few people who actually enjoy these events and don't mind sitting around and watching them. 

Fortunately where I was in Jekyll Island it was 60 degree and clear skies so sitting out at night wasn't a problem. This particular eclipse started late at night. The eclipse began at 1:09 am and lasted to until 4:47 am. I was hoping to be able to sit out on our balcony to watch the eclipse but the moon was too high to be visible. This wasn't a problem as I sat out on the patio by the pool which was close to our room. 

I went to bed just before 10pm and got up just before 1am so got a few hours sleep before I went out. I sat out on the patio with my camera on a tripod and took a set of pictures of the moon every 15 mins to document the eclipse. I didn't bother bringing my telescope on the vacation as I didn't want to bother lugging in around. This just meant I had to keep adjusting the tripod every time I needed to take a set of pictures. 

The initial pictures I got of the full moon were probably some of the best shots of the full moon I have ever taken as you can see below. 

At about 1:10am noticed the shadow of the earth starting to cross the moon from bottom left to top right. I took a set of pictures every 15 mins until the total eclipse started. 

It was a little strange sitting outside late at night by myself. We were by the beach so I could hear the waves hitting the beach but it was otherwise quiet. Since I was in Georgia and near a marsh there was still a possibility that there were alligators around so kept scanning the area for any kind of movement. I wasn't really that concerned but a person alone late at night sitting on a patio is the perfect opening scene for a movie like "Attach of the Mega Gator".

By around 2:20 am the moon was almost fully covered by the shadow of the earth.

Then about 10 mins later it went into total eclipse.

Of course unlike a solar eclipse the moon is still visible when it is totally covered by the earths shadow. This is because there some light reflected off the earth and back into space that illuminates the moon even when it is in the earth's shadow. This is called earthshine. The amount of earthshine varies depending on the distance between the earth and moon and sun and the relative angles between them as well as the amount of dust in the atmosphere. 

This means that each lunar eclipse is a slightly different each time. This one like the last one I saw the moon was very dim. The moon had it's usual red glow but it wasn't as deep as last time. The top right corner was almost white which was a lot different than other eclipses I have seen. 

Because the moon was so dim I really had to decrease the shutter exposure to 1/4 of a second so the images of the total eclipse aren't as clear as I was hoping for. I also had a moisture problem. It was very humid by the beach so the lens kept fogging up. I had to clean it off before taking photos. Next time I will have a dew heater to prevent this problem. 

After about an hour of totality the earth's shadow slowly retreated from moon 

I kept kept taking picture documenting the progress

Until the full moon appeared again. 

It has been a long time since I was purposely up this late at night. I thought I might get tired just sitting there staring at the moon but I actually enjoyed it. There are very few times that the weather will be this good for a lunar eclipse so I'm glad I made the effort to stay up and experience it.

 

Spring Break Part II

CLICK HERE for More Picture from my Trip

The second part of our spring break trip involved heading further south to relax in some warm weather. The original idea was to find a hotel on the beach so we could relax on our balcony or beach and veg out. However as we were researching hotels while planning the trip, 6 months ago, we found some houses on or close to the beach that looked more comfortable. 

The thing that sold us on getting the house was having our own private pool. The house we had in East Windsor had a pool and although we have and indoor and outdoor pool in the community we live in my wife misses having her own pool. We did have one day of rain but the weather got sunnier after that. The house was a couple blocks from the beach in Panama City and was a comfortable place to spend 5 nights. I did work a couple of days as my wife enjoyed the sunshine and floating in the pool. We had not been to this area in Florida before so I did a little exploring in my free time. There are a number local and state parks in the area. 

At  St Andrew Park I spent a little over an hour near sunset photographing some birds. I got a good close up of a heron who was trying to steal a fish from a guy fishing off the jetty.

 

There was also a blue heron nearby

 

As well as a Pelican

I spent some time doing a hike at a local conservation park which didn't have any animals 

 

but did have a deep red swamp that was interesting.   

I also spent some on the beach and got some more bird pictures like this one of a sandpiper

and this one of the raptor (jet fighter)

 

We didn't make any plans for the last few days of our vacation and figured we would play it by ear depending on the weather. Since the weather didn't look good in Panama City we headed east and ended up in Jekyll Island in Georgia at a Holiday Inn at the beach for a couple of nights.

 

 

Although I didn't plan this trip to see the lunar eclipse it turned out to be a clear night where we were so I spent the middle of the first night viewing the eclipse. 

I will post some more pictures once I get home and have time to process them with better photo editing software that will bring out more details. I will say it was warm clear night so I didn't mind sitting outside for the entire eclipse.

Jekyll Island turned out to be a nice beach to spend a couple of days so we may be back again if we come back this way. I also think I found my next car a Caprice Classic pickup truck. 

 

After Jekyll Island we spent a couple days driving back home. It was a nice relaxing break in some warm weather. Although I got a lot of hiking in I didn't haven't been on the bike in a couple of weeks so look forward to getting back on the bike as the weather warms around here.

 

Spring Break Part I

I never participated in spring break when I was younger because I didn't have the time, money or inclination to take a vacation during the late winter/early spring. However a couple of years ago we did a quick two week trip to Florida and enjoyed the break from the cold. So we decided to do it again this year. Our first stop on the way to Florida was Pigeon Forge Tennessee. It is at the foot of the Smokey Mountains and is the main vacation spot for this area. It is a weird place though. On one hand you have the Smokey Mountains and all the hiking, fishing, river rafting and all the outdoor activities that you would expect in this type of environment. Then you have to main towns of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinsburg whose main streets contain an array of tacky gift shops, mini golf, amusement parks, dinner shows and any kind of restaurant you want. It's kind of like Wildwood's main street and boardwalk only without the beach part. Then there are the hotels and cabins that dot the hills around the town. About 17 year ago we stopped off here on our way back from Nashville and found it good place to relax for a couple of days. The cabins are very reasonable and have a lot of cool amenities.  

We rented a cabin a few miles from town and spent a couple of days relaxing and in the cabin and see a couple of sights. One the first day we spent a few hours driving around the Smokey mountains. These mountains are known for a blue mist that hangs over them however today was a clear day with no haze. However they had a small snow storm a day before which left a coating of snow on the  pine trees at the top which really highlighted the contours of the mountains. 

After our scenic drive we had dinner at a restaurant of a famous chief serving southern food, family style. The food was really good. I  have never had better mash potatoes. They were creamy and smooth and melted in your mouth. The pot roast was equally as good. And because it was family style they keep bringing it until you say stop. I definitely over indulged but is was just too good to not gorge yourself. This chief's favorite ingredient is butter so I won't be checking my cholesterol anytime soon. 

The next day we headed to Parrot Mountain which can best be described as a open air zoo for birds. There are literally over 50 birds in a garden that you can feed and play with. 

The garden has a bunch of perches with various parrots, macaws and a few other small birds. You buy some sunflower seeds and go up to a bird and they walk on your arm or shoulder and eat the seeds out of you hands. 

I have been in aviaries and other bird exhibits but never one that let you interact with them like we did here. Beside the parrot garden there was a lorikeet section where you could feed them. There were also a house where they had baby birds you could interact with. It was noisy with all the birds chirping but it was fun to have them walking on my arms and hands. 

We spend a couple of hours playing with the birds. It was a lot of fun and hopefully I hope I can find more places like this. After playing with the birds we headed back to the cabin to relax a while 

 

As I said at the beginning of the post the cabins in Pigeon Forge have some cool amenities. Ours had an indoor pool as well as a hot tub so it was a good place to hang out for a couple of days. Our next stop is the panhandle of Florida for a few days on the beach.

Still Winter

February has been a horrible month to try to ride. February is usually a hard time to get out but this year the weather has been colder, windier and snowier. It has been almost impossible to get out. I got out the first Saturday this month but the cold and snow has kept me off the bike until yesterday. The weather was still not great 35 degrees with snow showers coming after 12pm but I was tired of not riding. 

I sent a message to the posse about a ride I wanted to do near me and was somewhat surprised that some of them wanted to join me. We road the Henry Hudson trail from Freehold to Keyport and back. It's a paved trail so we didn't have to worry about riding over mud and it is somewhat protected from the wind. I decided to use my road bike instead of my mountain bike as I didn't think I would need the shocks or the wider tires. The last time I did this ride the trail was a little bumpy in spots as some tree roots had popped up along the trail. However it looks like they have done a lot of repairs since it was smoother than I remember it. being. 

We moved along at a decent pace. This trail in not continuous as there are a couple of spots where you have to ride on the road to connect it's different pieces. At about 6 miles we exited Big Brook Park and road a couple of mile on Rt 79 before getting back on the trail. My original plan had to be to go to Matawan where there is another gap in the trail and turn around. I was a little worried by the snow storm so wanted to get back before it started. 

We checked the radar when we got to Matawan and it didn't look like the snow was threatening yet so I added a few extra miles to Keyport. This involves another few miles on the roads but I had done this little detour a couple times so was able to connect back to the trail. 

Keyport is a town on the Raritan Bay so you have to jump off the trail and head towards the water. I had done this detour on my own thought the view from Keyport was interesting so was glad to show the people that joined me something scenic. 

It's cloudy when we got to the Raritan Bay in Keyport but you could still see Sandy Hook, the Verrranzano Bridge and the New York skyline. It was worth the stop since there was not much other scenery along the way.  

We then worked our way back to the start. I felt my lack of miles as we got toward the end of the ride and slowed down a little. My original 24 mile ride ended up being close to 30 but I'm glad we were able to get the extra miles in as the weather for the rest of February doesn't look great so I'm not sure when I will be getting out again.