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It has taken quite a bit of time for me to sit down and write about our journey -- almost a whole month has passed since Dan and I set out on the longest bike ride I've ever been on.
Our original goal was to ride our bikes from my house in South Plainfield, all the way down to Point Pleasant. I spent several days mapping and re-mapping the route, doing my best to avoid traffic-heavy roads but still keep our trip under 50 miles.
We both had our doubts about the journey. We practiced for a mere two weeks, going no more than 20 miles in a single outing. Some days were easy, the weather was warm and my legs felt great. Other days were torture, freezing cold and legs stiff as boards.
On Monday, April 5th, we were off of work thanks to the Passover holiday. We woke up early and prepared our muscles for a long ride. We loaded our back packs with water, snacks, maps and clothes. Our last preparation involved two salty bagels from the Bagel Pantry, to keep our legs from cramping.
Just after 10 AM, we were off. Cycling through South Plainfield was a breeze. Metuchen was a bit more hilly and a little strenuous. Approaching the Fair Lawn/Edison area, we were rewarded with some downward sloping roads. We crossed over the Raritan River via Route 35, "Convery Boulevard". At the top of the bridge, we rested and applied more sunblock.
After the bridge, things got a bit more difficult. My directions took us up 35 North to avoid the perils of 35 South -- but at the time, this didn't seem right. We back tracked down 35 South, but soon realized I had avoided this route for a reason. We went back up north and found our way.
As we made our way through Sayreville, we missed a turn and went a bit too far. Luckily, a hot dog vendor was able to redirect us and cut down our lost time. We continued riding until we hit Starland Ballroom, a familiar spot from my high school years. Low on water, we decided to stop for some lunch.
This is where things started to fall apart. After finishing our pizza, we asked around for directions -- we hadn't seen the turn we were supposed to make, but figured we were close. That wasn't the case. Apparently, we had gone a few extra miles and completely missed our turn. We asked half a dozen people for directions before finally accepting our fate.
Things went from bad to worse pretty quickly when we discovered Dan's bike had a completely flat tire. We opted against bringing a hand pump -- and I'm not sure why. I believe there had been intentions of mapping out gas stations along our trail, but that essential detail was overlooked. We pondered giving up there, but our rescuer (Terri) wasn't able to get us for a few more hours.
So we were left with no other choice than to back track again, following the directions we received from various shop owners. I pedaled slowly to keep pace as Dan walked his deflated bike. Oh, and did I mention? It was hot. Around 80 degrees hot. The sun beat down on our necks and we struggled on, passing great mounds of dirt and minerals along Water Works Road.
We decided to go back to a gas station we had passed quite some time earlier, before continuing on the turn we had initially missed. With air pumped back in the tire, we were revitalized and kept riding. This time, we stayed on course all the way into Matawan.
The next stretch of our journey would have taken us along a massive bike trail through Marlboro and into Freehold. Dan's tire was losing air and we decided to call it quits. If we got another flat along the trail, we would have been stuck. So we ended up at an ice cream shop, eating Italian ices and reflecting upon the day. Terri eventually made it to us and we drove the remaining miles of our journey to Point Pleasant.
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We spent the night on the boardwalk, eating over priced seafood and fried Oreos, then back in our hotel room. We drank beer and cranberry vodkas in the comfort of our creepy, in-room jacuzzi tub and could barely stay awake past midnight.
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The next morning we pulled ourselves out of bed early for the crappy, complimentary breakfast and bid Terri (and our bikes) farewell. We made plans to take the train back home, but soon learned that my parents would be in the area and could drive us back.
Dan and I walked the perimeter of Point Pleasant until we were close to starvation; a hunger that could only be subdued by Jersey Mike's. One enormous sub later, I was fit as a fiddle and ready for more adventure.
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We made our way back to the beach where we lounged for a few hours. Relaxation isn't the right word, because there were children shouting a few feet from us. But it was still nice to lie in the warm Summer-like sun. As I began to burn, we pealed ourselves from the sand and bought lemonade to pass the time. My parents eventually arrived, treated us to some drinks and took us back to central New Jersey.
In total, our trip was about 33 miles, zig-zagging around central and southern NJ. Despite the heat and exhaustion, I could have easily gone another five or ten miles. I'm convinced that if we hadn't missed our turns and hadn't had bike problems, we would have made it the entire 50 miles. But I'm certainly not ashamed of our "failure". Just more eager to go out and ride again!
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