miss kenton

The Mister, my sister, and I rode the Tour des Farms yesterday. The ride had stops at about 10 farms, including an alpaca farm. For those that think NJ is all turnpikes and refineries, it's not. They don't call us the Garden State for nothing!

We got a late start on the 55 mile ride (it was raining and Miss Kenton does not ride rain). The rain stopped and it became sunny and humid. We met up with one of the guys from our Bike Share program and rode much of the ride with him. We also picked up a guy from Long Island who was totally lost on the farm roads and was quite relieved to come across our group.

It was a nice ride, but a storm was moving in during the last 20 miles. The headwinds were awful! It took every effort to ride at 9 mph. Even the young guys riding with us were suffering! This was unfortunate as it was my sister's first long distance ride, but she hung in for the whole 55 - on a heavy hybrid! I am quite proud of her and I hope she doesn't develop a bad taste for distance rides! We made it back to the car just minutes before the rains came.

I was .5 miles short of riding my age, but by the time I finished, I could not have given a rat's patootie about meeting that goal. I'll get that at the MS ride at the end of the month.

I wore my 50+ jersey hoping to encounter another member, but no luck. However, I did get a compliment on the jersey from another rider.

bruce19

Congrats to all, especially your sister. That was impressive. Anyone who knows anything knows that Jersey tomatoes are the best in the world. (Hackensack HS....class of '64)

Bikey Mikey

Looks nice. Wish I'd seen the better side of Jersey when we traveled through it on a trip up north to relatives. In the late 80s we went over one bridge in Jersey and between what the water looked like, the air/sky, and the urban landscape, I was afraid to breath in and also feared the paint was going to melt off the car.

miss kenton

Thanks, Bruce! What with all the fervor about my touting the merits of NJ blueberries, I didn't want to mention how wonderful our tomatoes are, but now that you've put it out there, I will concur. None can compare to NJ tomatoes and congratulations for being from NJ!

bruce19

Once a Jersey boy always a Jersey boy.

miss kenton

Trenton maybe? That's just a facade we've created to keep the tourists at bay.

rdtompki

Nice Ride. (River Dell HS, Class of 63)

miss kenton

NOS88

Miss K. Nice report. But I'm so disappointed with the produce sign. Jersey has some of the best sweet corn that can be had. But then again maybe the empty spot at the top of the post is where the "Corn" sign was before it went out of season?

jdon

You couldn't squeeze out another .5 to make an even 35?

Nice report!

missjean

What a wonderful idea for a ride! I'm assuming it is an organized ride, put together to promote local farms? If so, how long has it been going on & who organized it?
Nice photos & good for your sister for hanging in there.

buckwheat987

Thanks for the update and pixs.

miss kenton

Why jdon, you silver-tongued devil!

miss kenton

Hi Missjean,
I copied this from the home page:
"The South Jersey Resource Conservation and Development Council invites you to get to "Know Your Farmer and Know your Food" while having fun and improving your health by participating in the Sixth Annual SJRC&D Tour des Farms."

It was a fun ride. Each farm gave out water and fruit. There were lots of fresh, crisp apples. The really neat part was that one could purchase goods at the various markets and the farmer's would bag it, with ice packs if necessary, and truck it back to the starting/ending point of the ride. I bought a lot of things, including a strawberry rhubarb pie. That would not be my preference, but it's a favorite of my husband. He agreed to go on the ride with me, so I comprised on the pie purchase.

As an update on my sister: I rode a quick 16 miles alone today, and didn't ask her to come along as I thought she would throttle me if I did. When I got home, I checked my facebook to find she had taken a six mile ride herself!

bruce19

Played baseball up at your HS somewhere around 1964-65.

Beverly

Congrats to all for the ride!

What a great idea for a ride. Wish we had something similar in our area but corn and soybeans aren't as exciting as blueberries.

Phil_gretz

Way to go! Finishing a ride into a headwind isn't fun. Looks like you had a great time together.

Phil G. (Cherry Hill HS, Class '77; spouse: Marlboro HS, Class '77)

leob1

Facade or not, it works well. I keeps out most natives too!

jdon

I was once at Trentons airport and we were asking for restaurant recommendations. A local helicopter pilot said " when you hit the end of 95 you can turn right and go to PA or left into Trenton. If you turn left, you better be packin!' No wonder Jersey has a reputation!

I have actually spent a lot of time all over NJ and really do love the state. A lot of beauty, a little industry (along I95), great beaches and so so fruit and veggies. Jersey City is making leaps and bounds improvements as well. The people... once you get past that hard outer shell they are amongst the nicest I have met.

miss kenton

Awwww, jdon, that's nice! You have really mellowed in your old age...or have you been toking up on the ganja again?

miss kenton

East or West?

Phil_gretz

East. My older sister was West, class of '68.

Bob Nichols

My wife and I visited NJ 2 years ago. My grandfather was a Methodist minister and his first church in 1918 was in Hope, NJ (near the Delaware Water Gap). The church is still there and we spent the night at a bed & breakfast in the old grist mill. The town was built by the Moravians and is s a beautiful area. Went from there to Ocean Grove and spent a few days. My wife and I love Ocean Grove. From there we went to Mullica Hill and visited an old fraternity brother. He and his wife have a farm there. It used to be a dairy farm but now they raise vegetables, mums, pumpkins, and etc. As you said, most people who have never been there think of NJ as turnpikes and suburbs of NYC. It is a beautiful state and I love it.

ThatBritBloke

When I first knew I'd be moving to NJ I had in my mind's eye a vista of chemical works sprawled around the Turnpike and Soprano 'burbs.

In reality, although it is possible to find the above, large parts of the state verge on the perfect for pleasant cycling; quiet roads, pleasant farmland and woodland scenery, and hills that aren't too challenging.

On my regular Sunday morning ride I might see half-a-dozen moving cars in 40 miles.

Phil_gretz

I come to NJ frequently to visit my aging mother and older brother. I like to re-visit all of the spots that were meaningful to me during my childhood, although they're closer together than I remembered...

I always bring a bike with me for riding out toward the pine barrens and the open South Jersey roads. Very pleasant - as others have said. I ride east against the morning commuters and it only takes 30 minutes to break free of most development and commerce, other than farms and an occasional roadside stand.

I did get lost in the Wharton state forest a few weeks ago and spent the better part of an hour trying to find a road leading out. Panic had not yet set in, though...