Cycling in Kenton Country
Just wanted to share a wonderful holiday I took in October exploring Central/Southern New Jersey. (Plus a little PA, DE, and MD). What a beautiful state! Seems like it's all forests, farmland, and seashore. With very few exceptions, the roads and highways have generous shoulders and no debris (although I swear NJ has more wildlife than Canada if the roadkill is anything to go by - several deer (looked pretty fresh, too), poor little cardinals, groundhogs, raccoons, opossum, skunk, plus a few cellphones). Oddly, although the fall weather was in the high 70's, I did not see one other cyclist touring, and saw almost no other cyclists period. (It could be my imagination but I'm sure I felt the presence of Miss Kenton as I cycled through Evesham Township along roads with genteel names like King's Grant, Crown Royal, Barton Run, Tomlinson and Tuckerton and past peaceful lakes named Taunton, Medford, Marlton and Mimosa).
Rented a Trek 7.2 from Danny's in Manhattan, spent a fun couple of hours playing in the traffic before heading down to Pier 11 to catch the Seastreak ferry to Atlantic Highlands. After a night in the Blue Bay Inn I ripped off a century the first day out on the way to Philadelphia. (Doing 100 miles on NJ terrain is hardly remarkable; the most difficult thing is trying to do it while staying within State lines). First thing I noticed was that miles are a lot harder to crank out than those diddly little french things we use in Canada - hectares or kilopascals or whatever. Second thing was what a nice ride you get from 700x35's. Third, I noted that it is possible to ride long distances without the use of spandex clothing or clipless pedals. Not a big fan of bike trails, but used the Henry Hudson for about 20 miles and it was very pleasant. Stayed with friends in Philadelphia and Marlton, then headed down to Cape May on Route 47. Only problem I have with the Shore (other than the yahoos from up north partying at my Wildwood motel 'til three am - Hey! it's OCTOBER!) is the outdated bike racks they still use, difficult to attach a U-lock and designed to twist your front wheel out of true as your bike inevitably topples to the ground. Cape May is very charming and worth a few days exploring. Even off-season, a car would be a headache - bike is the best way to get around.
(Wanted to add a couple of photos but 'insert image' button demands a URL)