This weekend I completed the Mud room project by painting the door and installing the casing. The room is completely done with the exception of any decorating. On Saturday I road with my group leaving out of Oldwick. We did the stock Round Valley Reservoir loop which starts out with a big climb, then a couple of more climbs, then mostly flat. Nice weather, felt great, nice friends, 34 miles.
Today there was short ride planned, however, I wanted to work on mileage and hills so I decided to go it alone. There are many possible routes I can ride from the house, so I decided I would start with the stock long Asbury route, and attempt a climb up Iron Bridge Road. IBR is legendary amongst cyclists as one of the steepest climbs in the area. I have never tried, nor, have I ever driven it by car, so I had no idea what to expect (other than stories from those who have tried it). To get to IBR, you turn right off of the road that leads into Asbury. To give you some feel for the nature of this climb, the picture below shows the warning painted on the road before the turn:
I should have heeded the warning and gone straight. The road starts out very flat and buecolic, then it turns towards the ridge. The first section climbs to the Iron Bridge which crosses over the rail road tracks. Then it continues up from there. Up, Up, Up at over a 20% grade. I thought my heart would explode from my chest. All I can say is I was riding up at the bottom, and I was riding at the top, and thats all I going to say about it. Check out the elevation profile starting at about mile 18 on the Garmin link below.
After catching my breath at the top, I continued on over the ridge and down into the town of Glen Gardner. This really a quaint old New Jersey town that is bypassed by Rt. 31. From in town, I climbed up Red Hill Road, which is a climb that never seemed to end. Red Hill Road climbs up to Woodglen which has a general store that dates back into the mid 1800's. I stopped there hoping to score a snapple, however, they were closed for the day, so I rested for couple of minutes. As I was leaving, I met John Kennedy who was out on his MTB for an early season ride. We stopped to chit chat and about 10 seconds later, Sue Moore road up. Sue was also on a ride. What are the chances of 3 friends, all on separate bike rides, running into each other at the same place and time?
After few minutes of catching up (I hadn't ridden with Sue for 24 hours), we all continued on our own ways.
Nothing meaningful happened after that, so I worked my way home. I was tired, but not exhausted, however, I didn't have the strength for a fast finish. 42 miles, 3600 feet of climbing, 3500 calories burned.
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