The Meander 13

Another beautiful scenic ride through parts of Louden and Atco. We "meandered" our way through zig-sags of quiet streets. We only clocked 13 and decided to make it a pleasant lunchtime ride. Next time i'd like to hit some back streets of Shamong since we are so close. Mental note.

Riders: Christy Blanda, Rob Blanda

Evesham 32

Did 32. Evesham / Medford Lakes. Very much the same course as last time, but I did 12 miles before Jeff got here :)

The Woodstreamers Evesham 23

We had wonderful weather for our ride today. There was little wind and abundant sunshine. We began on the "road to nowhere" and continued into Evesham. We paced slow for our first ten miles, but increased after we dropped the girls. Jeff, James "Waldo" and I did another 12 through parts of Evesham, hitting Kings Grant area and tips of Medford Lakes. Coming back from the ride, I realized that we probably need to start doing 30+ miles - 23 is nice, but we certainly had more in us.

Riders: Jen Druce, Jeff Druce, James Wilson, Rob Blanda, Christy Blanda

Lousy Rain!

Thankfully, I was busy at work today. I wanted to ride, but it was really lousy out there today. Not even a break in the ugliness! But on the plus side, looks like the weather is going to be awesome tomorrow! Maybe I deserve a half day and will take a nice long ride.

Stay tuned!

Energy Burst: RariMapleCooper 13

I really don't know where it came from, but there were bursts of energy that came out during my ride today. In all fairness, I can say i had a fantastic night sleep with the help of a little Tylenol PM. But that's all i can attribute it to.

We varied from the norm today, taking Maple instead of Raritan, down to Cooper Folley, then on to Tansboro Road and double backing into Hayes Mill. Christy's pace is dramatically improving and the road fear is diminishing. She's keeping a nicer pace now.

Our new rider James was spotted AFTER our trip on Woodvale.

Riders: Jeff, Christy, Rob

Too Darn Cold

We're not riding today, sorry. We'll catch up after the weather warms up again. The wind is really bad also, so that may take a bit to calm down.

Atco / Chesilhurst 22.5

I really want to be a weatherman. That's all I can say. The wind reported was definetly off. Really off. Anyway, took a trip through some places that i have never been, such as behind the Multiplex and it's surrounding areas, plus a nice trip to the Vinyard (which, by the way has really nice pavement in that area.)

Ended up doing 22.5 and I really didn't rush today. This was a relaxing solo trip.

Retiring the Giant Perigee

After about 19 years of good service, Im retiring the Giant. She was really good to me! It made it's way into the basement on the trainer for rainy days. Boy, they just don't make bikes like this anymore. Although it's a little heavier than the Specialized, it did really well for many many tours.

Jackson/Raritan 16.5 with Jeff and Christy

Nice ride today! We take Atco Rd. till the end, plow into Jackson, past the raceway until Atsion Road. Make a U-bee then double back to Tremont. Tremont to Raritan and back to Atco Ave. We then hit a pretty stiff head wind till we got back to Cooper Folley. Im really impressed with Christy's new pace - WOW!

Most of the way through was great, and right before we hit Cooper Folley, my seat POPPED! The threads gave out on the seat clamp. I ignored it until i got back. Tightened it up and now it seems fine. Oh well!

Raritan 10 at Slow Pace

After buying the new trek for the Mrs., i figured i'd take her out for a trial run. It's not her speed that bothers me the most, its her fear of the road. Im sure she'll do better on future rides, so im hanging in there. Her uphill pace decreased, but that will come in time. Signaling and etiquette is something we're both learning, so that's taking time as well.

I'll report back after today's ride.

Springtime is Cold and Windy - When does it stop?

It's really hard to get on the bike when all this wind is hitting you in the face and you can't even break 19 on a flat surface. When will this weather break?

Im sure in about two months im going to wish there was a cool breeze to ride into, but for now, Give me some heat and some flat roads!

Toms River and Seaside Heights

Hey guys,


The four of us took a winding ride through downtown Toms River on Saturday, including a nice ride to the Beachwood Bike Shop (about 13 miles). We all looked at potential new rides, even Jen. However, it was me that ended up with the new bike ('08 Specialized Allez).


On Sunday, Jeff and I took a chilly morning ride over the Rt. 37 bridge into Seaside Heights on the boardwalk and back. We only clocked about 15 miles, but it was nice to get home and shake off the cold.

Atco and Shamong 27.5

Did 27.5, feels great. Endorphans are really kicking in. I have to say it's time to get another seat. My bum is killing me even after all these rides. Anyway, paced at ~16~ covered Shomong, Atsion, Atco, etc. Waiting for Jeff to send me the map.

The Sweetwater 14

What a fantastic ride. If you ride a bike and only want to do 14 miles, this is a really pleasant trip. The traffic was very minimal and the roads were pretty flat, making for a nice pace. We followed the map to the T and finished relatively quick, even though we stopped to take photos.

The Sweetwater 12

Since the weather is breaking, we'll be throwing the bikes into the truck and trucking down to Batsto to land the truck and break out the bikes. We'll continue on Rt 542 past Crowleys Landing, the Mullica River Boat Basin then crossing over the new Green Bank Bridge. We'll then follow Green Bank Rd into Weekstown - passing the Ocean Yachts factory. We'll continue on Pleasant Mill Road - along the river, then make a right onto 542 and back to Batsto.

Anticipating the IBSP 32 from Island Heights

UPDATE: After checking the weather for Saturday the 14th, we're not sure we're actually going to be able to make this bike trip. We'll still go to the cottage, but 35 and snowy doesn't really sound like optimum riding conditions.

As I was anticipating our weekend in Island Heights, NJ, i drew out our Saturday morning ride from the cottage to the end of Island Beach State Park at the far southern end of Seaside Heights. It's a 32 mile truck with the beginning and ending of the ride on the ever-so-busy Route 37. We'll have to hit that bridge twice. To be honest, it's like the Manayunk Wall. At the end of the trek, we're certainly going to need a cold one, that's for sure.

Im not sure how the pace is going to end up here, since the 12 mile trek from the bridge to the end of the island is downhill one way, and uphill the other. Most times there headwind on the way back. Can you feel the burn?

The Raritan 10 Complete With Roostertail

According to Jeff's telltale computer we only did 10 miles today, but our pace was much improved. We reached a pace of 17 when our last 23 miler was only 12-14 depending on the leg of the ride. It was a nice ride even though it was pretty cold.

I caught a nasty rooster-tail from Jeff's rear tire. Im not sure about how to get stains out of the jersey, but I sure know how fast i tried to get that crap out of my mouth. Blah. Thats what i get from drafting in the wet.

The Raritan 10 runs from the Woodstream Development, up Atco Ave, across the White Horse Pike. It continues until you hit Jackson road. You then make a right on Jackson, continue past raceway and make a right on Waverly. From Waverly, make a right on to Raritan and follow back to Atco Ave. Very nice ride indeed.