The weekend after the PPP Century it was time to get down to more serious business and focus attention to the required R-12 ride. My friends Paul and Al both needed thier monthy 200k as well. We settled on the Princeton-Belmar-Princeton 200k Permanent deciding to ride it on the Columbus Day Holiday, which fell on Monday. The flat route uses many of the same roads as the prior weeks century. I decided to give the Sputnik fixed gear another tour of the countryside.
The first leg of the ride covers 45 miles to the shore town of Belmar. The weather was picture perfect as we rode past the beach on Ocean Boulevard. With no crowds this time of year it was a peacful setting.
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| Yours truly on Ocean Boulevard at the shore town of Belmar. Photo by Al. |
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| Al working his way through the sunshine at Belmar. Photo by Joe. |
Once through Belmar we head north to New Egypt and the Wawa market at the 80 mile point in the ride. A relaxing lunch is enjoyed before moving on to Pemberton (another Wawa), near the military base.
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| Paul and Al at the Pemberton Wawa |
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The miles continue to tick off smoothly for us as we depart Pemperton (mile 95) for points further north. The next control is in Cranbury where we utilize an ATM to minimize down time. Al's wife, Sue, thought she would surprize him by meeting him in Cranbury. Since we opted for the ATM rather than a food establishment the meeting was brief. Al still came out a winner as Sue rushed home to bake a lasagne for him to eat after the ride.
A brief seven miles to the finish would have us done before 6pm (10hrs 55min). We all made it home in time for dinner.
It was a great day of accomplishment. Al completed his 10th R-12 ride (2 to go). Paul's count is at 8 for this year (working on his second R-12). I collected my 7th towards my second time at the award, and my longest ever distance on a fixed gear bike.
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| My first 200k fixed gear ride. Feeling kinda crazy! |
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