Pedal Power
My sister-in-law Vicki probably started to worry when she asked me if I had toeclips and I didn’t know what they were. It was the day before she was to take me on a 36-mile ride with her biking group, and my level of road-bike experience (zero) was not adding to her confidence in the wisdom of letting me tag along.
“It’ll be an easy one for you,” Vicki (Benz, from Madison) assured me. “And I’ll stay with you the whole time.”
The next day, the “easy” ride kicked my butt—but Vicki was my guardian angel. Pedaling just ahead of me, she alerted me to every pothole and pebble pile, warned me of cars looming in her mirror, and made the hand signals I was too scared to take my palms off the handlebars to make myself.
The transition from my customary (and comfy) hybrid to a knife-thin road bike was awkward at first, but soon it became as easy as, well, riding a bike. Vicki’s group, the Morris Area Freewheelers (mafw.org), showed me a fun time, and the Loantaka–Far Hills loop (detailed on page 81) showed me some of the best views the Garden State has to offer, leading me down tree-lined streets, along babbling brooks, into quaint downtowns, and past historic sites.
The Freewheelers started 25 years ago at the Morris Center YMCA. They now have more than 650 adult members and organize 1,400 rides a year.
I admired their zeal and zest. “The fitness aspect is good, but it’s an internal wellness thing that keeps me biking,” said Jane Banfield, 60, of Bernardsville. “Here’s this beautiful sunny day, the air is fresh, the scenery is perfect, and I’m with friends. It feels good.”
“When I first started commuting on a bike in ’62, you never saw grown-ups biking,” Morris Plains resident Tony Fanelli, 72, told me as we sat on the porch at Copper Kettle in Basking Ridge for a lunch break. “People used to offer me rides because they assumed my car broke down.”
The cycle scene has changed, and it accommodates all ages and capabilities. Another Freewheeler, Murial Mota, took up serious biking 32 years ago, and is still going strong at age 80. Riders are divided into speed groups, so the thirteen in our speed group moved at about the same pace. Two were on recumbent bikes, which are more accommodating for riders with osteoporosis or back, neck, or prostate problems.
Those with children have options, too. The Princeton Freewheelers (princetonfreewheelers.com), for example, offer a family membership, and they schedule outings that accommodate younger riders.
Biking does not have to be social—or even road-oriented. The state is rich in parkland packed with trails that take riders through rugged hills, along old railroad beds, or even on smooth pavement (state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests).
“There’s no age limit to biking,” says Pompton Plains’s Joyce Lorusso, 50. “You can take your kids, your grandkids, or go out on your own at any point in your life.”
Take it from this 36-mile survivor. You don’t need to own toeclips. Or even know what they are.
More Bicycling:
Loantanka–Far Hills Loop
Any segment of this 36-mile road ride (see p. 84) provides great views, though there are some challenging hills. Start by making a left out of Loantanka Park’s South Street lot in Morris Township, then right at the Northern Telecom access road, left on Southgate Parkway, left on James Street, right on Blue Mill Road, right on Glen Alpin Road (becomes Tempe Wick Road), left on Cory Lane, right on Talmage Road. Left onto Hilltop Road, right on Pleasant Valley Road. Take a right on Union Schoolhouse Road, left on Roxiticus Road, which will take you through Peapack and Gladstone and then Far Hills. Left onto Route 202, right on Liberty Corner Road, left on Valley Road/Lyons Road, which becomes S. Finley Avenue. Right on W. Oak Street, left on S. Maple Avenue, right on Madisonville Road/Lee’s Hill Road, left on James Street, right on Southgate Parkway, right at 475 South Street entrance, left on South Street, back to Loantanka Park.
Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park
The 70-mile-long park has trails that run alongside the feeder canal from Milford down to Trenton, and then up the main canal to New Brunswick. In addition to riparian views, there are plenty of potential stops in Frenchtown, Lambertville, Kingston, and other small towns along the way. All of it on flat, easy, family-friendly terrain.
Pine Barrens
A 22-mile loop, starting at the parking lot in Batsto Village (a historic, picturesque fall getaway of its own), eight miles east of Hammonton. Ride southeast onto Route 542/Carranza Road, left onto Route 563, right onto Route 679/Chatsworth Road, right onto Leektown Road, then right onto Route 542 back to Batsto Village. Along the way, you’ll pass the Mullica River and zip through Wharton State Forest.
Ringwood State Park
This 7.5-mile mountain-bike loop is rated difficult and begins in the Shepherd Lake section of the park. Several multi-use trails of varying lengths wind through the park’s 4,044 acres (but who’s counting), which also feature formal gardens, two historic manor homes, and picnic areas.
See also: