We set off from Vinedale with full stomachs and anticipation for the day's ride to Sam's family's place on the New Jersey shore. With promises of me getting lost thanks to the intricate network of backroads which involved lots of turning and twisting (and the fact that I had failed to pick up a New Jersey map, whoops), it was a beautiful day of riding. The roads were fairly quiet, well-paved, and went through some beautiful countryside. At one point, I thought I was in the middle of quiet farmland and started to get confused by the train of cars headed in the same direction as me. It turns out I stumbled across a giant soccer tournament! As a soccer player and having attended many a tournament, it struck me how weird of a sport it seemed when seen from the back of my bicycle. It was really neat though, and I stuck around to watch most of a game while having something to eat.
I rode on, periodically asking for directions and road advice whenever I saw someone out in their yard, and had a lovely lunch break with some fellow bicycle riders (OK, they might have identified as "cyclists"). When I pulled up to a sandwich spot after seeing one of Nancy's long lost carbon fibre cousins, I was greeted with a "Where'd you come from, California?" When I replied with my actual state of cycling origin, there was a bit of silence and then some sheepish laughter. I got some great lunchtime company and route advice for the afternoon and left feeling rejuvenated. Sure enough, the roads continued to be bicycle-friendly and, with a slight stop to help a spandex-clad roadie with his flat tire and an unplanned extra 10 miles due to me doubting my directions and trusting road signs, I was simply enjoying the sunshine. The last few dozen miles to that day's destination were rather busy as I got closer to the Jersey Shore on a Friday afternoon of Easter weekend. Despite an oddly recurrent tendency that NJ drivers seem to have that involves driving half in their lane and half on the shoulder, I survived unscathed.
I was happy to arrive at Bay Head to the smiling faces of Sam and his family, a welcome sight after what turned out to be a 100-ish mile day thanks to my creative sense of direction. I was quickly ushered in and made to feel like part of the family as I got to partake in a memorable evening of basket-ball-score-monitoring, dinner-feasting, late-night-ice-cream-seeking, and a lively game of Apples to Apples. Ready to hit the hay in my luxurious accommodations, I was looking forward to a mellow couple of days to hopefully kick the last of my cold.
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