Back to Day 10

11 AM

In a deli in Milford, NJ, eating bagels and drinking soda. There’s no guilt in soda on this trip. And soda hasn’t tasted this good to me in years.

The ACA route had us going down the NJ side of the Delaware today, but various people have given us other advice. So last night as we ate (and drank) at the bar at the River Grille in Easton, someone suggested staying on the PA side, riding the tow path. Which sounded like a great idea, until someone else commented that the tow path is not paved. Someone else had suggested riding rte. 611, but most people felt that was tempting death. So this morning we crossed back over the river, back into Phillipsburg, NJ. Note that we are actually cross 2 rivers here – the Delaware and the Lehigh.

We met 2 cyclists who gave us directions around a big hill going into Carpentersville, and we chatted with them for a while. One them has done 2 cross-country bike tours, more miles per day and camping every night, of course. After that encounter, Dana and I  had a long discussions about whether we are doing a wimp ride.

Note: We have to keep talking. If we don’t talk for more than about a minute, the headsets timeout and we we have to start them up again. Even I can’t talk enough to keep these things happy! Dana wants to read the manual and figure out how to fix that, but we’re both too tired every night to remember.

Multiple choice question: What is the definition of a 2400 mile wimp ride to Key West?

1. Staying in hotels instead of camping
2. Riding  less than 70 miles everyday
3. Walking up every hill in Connecticut
4. Eating in nice restaurants along the way.
5. All of the above.

Answer: None of the above. Just do it. If you get demoralized because other people do it better, or faster, or with more pain, then you will never do anything.

So anyway, we were riding from Holland, NJ to Milford, NJ, and three women passed us going the opposite direction. “You must be the Key West people!”, they yelled as we went by.

Wow! Local fame. Cool.

8 PM

Today was the easiest day yet – riding along the Delaware was basically flat. Rode through Frenchtown, NJ – a really nice, picturesque town.Kept going another 15 miles to Lambertville, stopped for ice cream. There is always ice cream.

Rode across the Delaware for the last time 😦 into New Hope, PA. Both Lamertville and New Hope have lovely antique shops and cafes and art galleries, but we were too tired and lazy to really stop. Got a room at a motel with a pool. My cousin Andrea came to visit with her 2 boys, Zachary and William. The kids enjoyed the pool, especially when Dana got in and played with them. They think he’s just awesome, and that I’m kind of boring. I tried explaining that I’m actually their real cousin, but they still like him better.

The five of us went out for Thai food in Lambertville. Andrea drove us there and back. After being on bikes for so long, cars seem very fast. On a sad note, now that we have left the Delaware, the ride is going to get hilly again for another 240 miles or so. On a good note, the Bark-O-Lounger feels pretty good.

On to Day 12