I went for a bike ride this morning with Chris and our friend Marty. There’s nothing out of the ordinary with that fact. I’ve been riding pretty regularly since my last surgery.
What was out of the ordinary for today’s ride was that we headed for Sourland Mountain (yeah, I know maybe not a mountain to anyone who lives in Vermont, Colorado, or Europe, but for us here in central Jersey, it counts). I used to be able to ride over the mountain (bc) but since then, I have yet to get to the top. I came pretty close, but of course I had to stop to rest half-way up our chosen roads of ascent (once Dutchtown Zion and the other Hopewell Amwell – sight of my first fall). Last week, in that heat, with the air advisory I couldn’t even get to the top of Dutchtown Zion with a rest. About 1/2 way up, I turned around and coasted down to the bottom in defeat (worst ride ever).
But today … yes, I made it to the top, no rest. Then I climbed Long Hill Road and made it to the top of mountain too. Then, for good measure, we threw a couple of more hills in. All in all, we climbed about 2000 feet today (depending whose numbers you use; I go with the highest). Marty and Chris did more because they threw another hill in but I was satisfied with what I already had accomplished.
Here’s the elevation profile for today’s ride:
Sourland Mountain Elevation.
And here’s a link to the route: Sourlands Loop in case anyone in the vicinity would like to use it.