The Big Bang

In 1959 Bell Labs built a large microwave antenna to support NASA's Project Echo which bounced radio waves off large metallic balloons satellites to transmit radio signals across the globe. A few years later this microwave antenna was use with Telstar the first communication satellite.  Two scientists at Bell Labs, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, got permission to use this microwave antenna to survey the sky and study radio emissions of the stars and Milky Way. As they used the antenna to look for radio emissions they found they had some background noise. Initially they assumed this noise was caused by a problem with the antenna or some interference from the surrounding area. However after eliminating all possible sources of noise (including cleaning the pigeon droppings out of the antenna and shooting the pigeons) they realized that this noise was not coming from some man made source but was some background noise that was coming from outside our galaxy.

At the same time a few Princeton astrophysicists who were being led by Robert Dicke were trying to find some evidence to support  the Big Bang theory. At the time there were two competing theories on the formation of the universe. The Steady State theory said that universe was static and unchanging and had always existed this way. The other theory was the Big Bang theory that said that the universe had started from a large cataclysmic explosion and was constantly expanding. At the time there was no observable evidence to back up the Big Bang theory but Robert Dicke had theorized that it would have left a low level microwave signature.

Penzias and Wilson hear about Dicke's work and contacted him. Dicke came down and listen to the background noise which immediately confirmed his theory. This lead to a joint paper published by Penzias , Wilson and Dicke that eventually lead to wide acceptance of the Big Bang theory and a Nobel Prize for Penzias and Wilson in 1978.

Its turns out that this microwave antenna known, as the Holmdel Horn Antenna, is at the highest point in Monmouth County. So as part of our ride today we visited this now national landmark. Unlike the last couple of highpoint rides where we got close but not really to the actual highpoint the plan today was to get to the actually highpoint. Also instead of a boring picture of some people standing on an nondescript piece of grass I wanted to get us all standing in front of the antenna. 

Unfortunately things didn't work out as planned. As Laura and I rode around the fence blocking the road to the antenna a guard in the building starting yelling at us with some urgency so we stopped. I suspect he would have called the police if we had gone any further. We tried to ask for permission to see the antenna but it is not allowed with out an appointment. Although the the antenna is open to the public you need to do it by appointment during the week. A fact that is not mentioned on any site I looked at regarding the antenna.   So instead of getting a picture of us in front of the antenna I got one just below looking at it through the woods. You really can't see the antenna but we got as close as we could. We also only got to around 340 ft which is 40 ft below the actual 380 ft high point. Oh well as least we got a good story to tell.

 

The rest of the ride was close to a normal Sandy Hook ride except for the fact that we came in to Sandy Hook from a slightly difference direction because of the detour to the antenna. This meant we missed doing the hills along the Navasink river. It was a clear day so we stopped at the top of the bridge on our way into Sandy Hook to get a couple of pictures of NY

We also stopped at the beach on Sandy Hook to see the beach and take a few more shots.

The ride back from Sandy Hook was made easier by a nice east wind and a newly paved Rumson Rd. At the end we go in just over 62 miles so we got our first metric in for the year.

Part of the fun of the highpoint rides is trying to find something interesting along the way. Although I had known the story of the Holmdel Horn Antenna I did not realize where it actually was so it was cool to kinda almost see it.

Mercer Highpoint

At 60 degrees to start and the promise of almost 80 degrees by noon we finally had good weather to ride in. Today's goal was to ride to the highpoint of Mercer county. Unlike Middlesex county the highest road you can ride on and the highest point of Mercer county are not very close to each other.

This was a typical Sourlands ride. We started from the parking lot in Rocky hill by the canal and worked our way up Hollow Rd to the ridge. The highest road we can ride in at the corner of Featherbed and Hopewell-Wertsville Rd (471 ft according to my GPS). To get there we had to zig-zag up and down the ridge which added some more climbing but also got us on some nice roads that I don't normally travel.

From there is was more or less the regular roads to Lamberville including Alexuken Rd which is a beautiful was to head down the hill to Lambertvile.

After our normal break in Rojo's we headed back. The way back was different than normal. This was because I wanted to get as close as I could to Baldplate Mountain where the real high of Mercer county is. This required us to first head up Goat Hill Rd which starts with a short but steep 10% grade. This turned out to not be the toughest climb. Our next climb was up Pleasant Valley Rd which I had never done. On paper it doesn't look too bad as it is  around a 6-7% grade. The problem is that its almost a 2 mile climb. I decided to ride the Feather today because it can handle anything under 10%.  However it was a struggle getting up the last bit of Pleasant Valley as my heart rate was close to max by the end of the climb.

When we got to Baldplate Mountain park some of us tried to ride into the park to see if we could get to the actual highpoint. We made it to the parking lot but could not get to the actual high point. According to my GPS we got to 463 ft which is 17ft below the official highpoint of 480 ft.

I took a picture anyway since just to show we were there. (Not sure what's up with Laura's neck)

From Baldplate Mountain we headed through Pennington and then through the backside of Princeton to get back to the starting point. These are roads I haven't taken in a while so it was a nice change of pace. By the time we got back to the start we had 54 miles and had checked off another highpoint.

Naked Legs

This past Saturday I went on a ride with the Philadelphia Bike Club (PBC). The ride was out of Lambertville so it was close by. I had planned to be on this ride a couple of months ago when Linda, president of PBC, asked me to help her with a route in the area.

Of course I didn't know what the weather would be a couple of months ago but it turned out to be a warmish day. At the start it was 55 and sunny so I debated for a few minutes whether to wear the tights or not. Most people were still bundling up in jackets and tights but I hate carrying discarded cloths so I ditched the jacket and tights.

As we headed up Alexauken Creek Rd I felt almost naked compared to the bike cloths I have been wearing for the past few months. I was also a little chilly but by the time I got to the top of the hill I was warming up.

Linda had a good crowd there were 11 of us including Joe and Dave who I persuaded to join the ride. The goal of the ride was to explore Hunterton County so we zig-zaged our way through the Sourlands towards Flemington and onwards towards Round Valley although we didn't go to the reservoir itself.

I was concerned with the hills since I have not done many this year but I actually didn't feel bad. The real problem was the wind which was gusting to over 20 mph. By the time we got to the stop in Flemington Dave and Joe decided to drop from the ride and take off on their own and make a shorter ride. The rest of us continued on and although the wind didn't stop we got into a rhythm and keep cranking the miles away.

Although I don't know a lot of people in PBC there were a couple on the ride that I knew so it was a good social ride. Jim had some deep thoughts on bike friends in his last blog post. The question is are the people we ride with week in and week out real friends or just people we like to bike with. The answer is they are real friends and in fact they feel like a family to me. When Jim had his accident last week we all responded like a family would and did what we could to help give him some emotional support.

This is partly because we all like Jim and partly because we are bikers and when anything happens to any biker we all feel the pain. Being an avid biker means entering into a larger community of shared experiences that all bikers have. I have met many bikers on the road who are total strangers but after a few minutes of exchanging stories we quickly build a connection.

The fact that I don't see my bike friends much outside of biking has more to do with everybody having our own busy family life which doesn't leave much free time for other social events. Still I spend 4 to 5 hours a week with riding and talking to my bike friends so I think I know more about them then most of the other people in my life. I'm sure like most friendships some will fade and disappear overtime and some may grow stronger as life and circumstances evolve. Although they say you can choose your friends the truth is you find some of them as you are riding along a road.

So even though I don't see Linda or some of the other people from PFW or PBC that often I still consider them to be friends and will always enjoy the social aspect of biking when our paths cross.

Twinkies vs Dreamies

Its Easter again which means we are hosting the family for the celebration. Besides all the good food my wife makes she also tries to make a visually interesting dessert with an Easter theme.

This year it took her a while to come up with an idea but finally settled on making cars with rabbits in them. The cars are Twinkies with a peep rabbit and a pretzel for the steering wheel. The wheels themselves are marshmallow. 

Actually the cars are not real Twinkies but the the Tastycake equivalent (Dreamies) We actually ended up buying both Twinkies and Dreamies while shopping because we wanted to make sure we had enough. This gave me a unique opportunity to compare the two. I know many people were concerned when Hostess announced they were shutting down in November 2012 that the Twinkie would be gone and for a while it was. This lead other bakeries like Tastycake to try and fill the void.

So here the verdict. The Dreamie is close but it is a little drier and not as sweet as the Twinkie. I also think the filling in the Twinkie is a little better. You would think that a bakery like Tastycake could make a perfect copy of a Twinkie but I guess the secret recipe is still safe. I don't eat this type of food a lot but given a choice I would stick with the Twinkie. 

Middlesex Highpoint

This Saturday I started my quest to ride to every high point to each county in NJ. I started with a close and easy one, Middlesex. Now the highest point in each county may not be on a road so we get as close as we can. To figure out that point I use a couple of different sources. The first is NJBikemap,com which has the highest point in each county as well as the highest rode in each county. I also used Peakbagger.com to verify where each counties high point is. Lastly I used my Delorme mapping software which has a detailed topographical map.

Still with all these resources it is still hard to find the exact highest road in any county. When all else fails I just rely on NJBikemap because I just need to get close. As always it is about the adventure not the actual goal. There are 21 counties NJ and even though some are close enough to do together in a single ride it will probably take the entire ride year to get to them all.

Going to every high point in each county of the state should lead to some interesting rides as it may take me to roads I have not seen before and will allow me to explore some weirdness that is spread through out the state.

On today's ride we hit the high point of Middlesex county on Sand Hill Rd just west of Rt 1. At the point on the road where NJBikemap says the highpoint is my GPS said 282 ft which is close to the actually 300 ft official high point which is just south of the roads in the woods. As we road up Major Rd up to Rt 1 it seemed like road was actually a little higher on the east side of Rt 1 but according to my GPS it was about the same. Where the actual high point was doesn't matter we rode through it at some point.

The plan for each high point is to stop for a group picture to record the moment. I also take a picture of my GPS to record the height. So in the picture above you see the group that came along with me as well as the reading from my GPS. One down 20 more to go.

For this ride the weirdness was to see a giant cow. Animals have been used since the beginning of advertising to help sell products. One of the original animal spokes creatures was Elise the cow who helped Borden sell their milk and other diary products. She was one of the most popular animals and although she started out as a drawing Borden eventually had a real cow making public appearances at county fairs, baseball games and even the worlds fair. Elise was actually a NJ cow and is buried just off Plainsboro Rd. You can see a brief history of Elise here.

On Middlebush Rd there is a remnant of Elise. A 12 ft high statue of here that was used as a parade float. So after we  got to the Middlesex high point we headed to the farm where the statue of Elise is before heading down to the canal on our way home.

I threw in one other surprise before the rest stop, a climb up Coppermine. At the top of Coppermine we were at 344 ft which is higher than the Middlesex high point but Coppermine is in Somerset county. From there we made a stop in at the bakery in Kingston before heading back to Cranbury.

The weather is still on the cold side but we go over 40 miles in and have started the official season. I have posted the tentative dates for my other high point rides so you can see what is ahead.

April 18 - Mercer County high point
April 26 - To Infinity and Beyond (Monmouth  County high point)
May 16 - Ocean Burlington high points.
May 30 - Southern Safari (Salem and Cumberland high points)
June 6 -  Somerset high point
July 11 - Schooley's Mountain (Hunterdon high point)
July 25 - Greenwood Lake (Passaic Bergen high points)
Aug 8 - Cape May high point
Aug 22 - Top of the state (Sussex,Warren high points)
Aug 23 - Morris high point
Sept 19 - Basto Roundabout (Camden, Atlantic, Gloucester high points)

* Union, Essex, and Hudson high points are on roads too busy to ride on so we may visit them by car

More Snow

Since the theme of the day seems to be posting pictures of the snowy landscape of our yards here are a few from my neck of the woods. The beauty of the snow almost make you forget that this is going to make it hard to ride any where this week end

The front of my house

Some scenes from my back yard

Frozen

Click Here for More Pictures

To continue my rant from last week.....

I hate those Disney douchebags. Unless you are one of those reclusive cat ladies (Laura) you are probably sick and tired of the movie Frozen and it's Let it Go theme song that is constantly being sung on some TV show. The movie Frozen made icy winter landscapes look fun and magical (and as we all know from this winter that is certainly not the case). I get that its a fantasy world meant to be the background for the story but kids, and some adults, get so wrapped up in it that they can't tell fantasy from reality. In fact some police departments have gone so far as to put out an arrest warrant for Elisa for causing this winter's massive cold and snow. All this does of course is just to feed the Disney marketing machine causing them to put more subliminal mind control voodoo in their movies to subvert our youth. 

Although it was still cold this weekend it was just warn enough to ride on Saturday. There was too much snow to try the roads so I headed back to Tyler State Park. This time I was joined by Laura, Ron and Chris.Although I had done Tyler park a couple weeks ago I didn't mind doing it again since it meant enjoying the usual disrepectful banter with each other as we ride.

We did an outer and inner loop through the park and probably ended up with around 15 miles. This past week has been very cold so all the rivers and creeks were mostly frozen over. By the end of the second loop it was still below freezing and my feet were getting cold so I decided to call it a day. We did spend some time taking about future rides and trips so I can't wait until it gets a little warmer so we can get back to our normal bike ride schedule.