I'd like to give prospective riders a little preview of the route, so you have an idea what to expect on ride day...
Of course, the route starts and finishes at Mercer County Park in West Windsor. The park is centrally located in the state (more or less...) and offers access to many fine roads for cycling to the north, south and east. The park is a regular starting point for more than a few Princeton Free Wheeler rides, including most holiday "all paces" rides.
The route basically consists of two clockwise loops -the first going north into Hunterdon and Somerset counties, and the second heading deep into the pinelands of Burlington county. I said from the very beginning that I wanted to offer up a course that was not too severe, and I think I've done a pretty good job of meeting that goal. The northern loop is, of course, the hillier of the two, but it doesn't really traverse any major climbs. I'd describe the terrain as rolling to moderately hilly, with the most challenging portion being the road between Frenchtown and Whitehouse Station. When my wife Barb and I prerode the northern loop on our tandem we only needed to engage the assistance of the granny gear once or twice, as I recall. The southern loop can best be described as F-L-A-T - flat! Okay, okay, there probably are a few mild rollers along the way - which will likely sting the legs a bit at that point in the ride - but, it's possible that the biggest hill you'll face in the southern loop is a bridge over the Turnpike.
In order to give you a more detailed look at exactly where we'll be riding on Saturday the 20th, here is a list - in order - of some of the municipalities / locales we'll be riding through or near. If you follow along carefully on a map, you can get a pretty good idea of just where the route goes.
Northern Loop:
Of course, the route starts and finishes at Mercer County Park in West Windsor. The park is centrally located in the state (more or less...) and offers access to many fine roads for cycling to the north, south and east. The park is a regular starting point for more than a few Princeton Free Wheeler rides, including most holiday "all paces" rides.
The route basically consists of two clockwise loops -the first going north into Hunterdon and Somerset counties, and the second heading deep into the pinelands of Burlington county. I said from the very beginning that I wanted to offer up a course that was not too severe, and I think I've done a pretty good job of meeting that goal. The northern loop is, of course, the hillier of the two, but it doesn't really traverse any major climbs. I'd describe the terrain as rolling to moderately hilly, with the most challenging portion being the road between Frenchtown and Whitehouse Station. When my wife Barb and I prerode the northern loop on our tandem we only needed to engage the assistance of the granny gear once or twice, as I recall. The southern loop can best be described as F-L-A-T - flat! Okay, okay, there probably are a few mild rollers along the way - which will likely sting the legs a bit at that point in the ride - but, it's possible that the biggest hill you'll face in the southern loop is a bridge over the Turnpike.
In order to give you a more detailed look at exactly where we'll be riding on Saturday the 20th, here is a list - in order - of some of the municipalities / locales we'll be riding through or near. If you follow along carefully on a map, you can get a pretty good idea of just where the route goes.
Northern Loop:
Mercer County Park
Hamilton
Lawrenceville
Pennington
Harbourton / West Amwell
Mount Airy Village
Delaware Twp.
Stockton
Bull's Island Recreation Area / Kingwood Twp.
Frenchtown
Everittstown
Alexandria Twsp.
Mount Salem
Landsdowne
Allerton
Round Valley Recreation Area / Clinton Twp.
Whitehouse Station
Readington
Branchburg Twp.
Neshanic
Hillsborough Twp.
Harlingen
Griggstown
Rocky Hill
Kingston
Plainsboro
Grovers Mill
Dutch Neck
Edinburg
Southern Loop:
Edinburg
Windsor
East Windsor Twp.
Ely's Corner
Perrineville
Millstone Twp.
Clarksburg
Red Valley
Prospertown
Colliers Mills
Plumstead Twp.
Whiting
Manchester Twp
Woodland Twp.
Chatsworth
Southampton Twp.
Medford
Eayrestown
Newbolds Corner
Smithville
Jacksonville
Mansfield Twp.
Columbus
Georgetown
Chesterfield
Extonville
Allentown
Washington Twp.
Finish! - Mercer County Park
It has been a labor of love putting the route and corresponding cue sheet together, and I really must say that I'm quite pleased with the end result. I believe the GSDC '09 route does a very nice job of showcasing some of the great roads and terrain that we (the Princeton Free Wheelers) have available to ride here in Central Jersey. There really is quite a variety of geography right nearby our home turf. I hope everyone who comes out to join us to "do the double" finds the route as enjoyable as I do.
Finally, I owe a big thanks to fellow Free Wheelers John Powers and Neil Cherry for their help in the creation of the Garden State Double Century route. John assisted on the northern loop and provided me with some routing tips from the '97 Jersey Double. And Neil is simply the "King of the Pine Barrens." Neil is responsible for designing large portions of the southern loop, and transformed my first draft from an out-and-back course to a more aestetically pleasing loop passing through Whiting and Chatsworth. Neil's near-deserted roads through the pines are some true gems of the Garden State.
I hope this preview has piqued your interest in the GSDC. Come on out and join us on Saturday, June 20th for a full day of fun on the bicycle, and see for yourself why I enjoy talking about the route so much...
RSVP to rwanderson@optonline.net by Wed., June 17 if you plan to ride.
Hamilton
Lawrenceville
Pennington
Harbourton / West Amwell
Mount Airy Village
Delaware Twp.
Stockton
Bull's Island Recreation Area / Kingwood Twp.
Frenchtown
Everittstown
Alexandria Twsp.
Mount Salem
Landsdowne
Allerton
Round Valley Recreation Area / Clinton Twp.
Whitehouse Station
Readington
Branchburg Twp.
Neshanic
Hillsborough Twp.
Harlingen
Griggstown
Rocky Hill
Kingston
Plainsboro
Grovers Mill
Dutch Neck
Edinburg
Southern Loop:
Edinburg
Windsor
East Windsor Twp.
Ely's Corner
Perrineville
Millstone Twp.
Clarksburg
Red Valley
Prospertown
Colliers Mills
Plumstead Twp.
Whiting
Manchester Twp
Woodland Twp.
Chatsworth
Southampton Twp.
Medford
Eayrestown
Newbolds Corner
Smithville
Jacksonville
Mansfield Twp.
Columbus
Georgetown
Chesterfield
Extonville
Allentown
Washington Twp.
Finish! - Mercer County Park
It has been a labor of love putting the route and corresponding cue sheet together, and I really must say that I'm quite pleased with the end result. I believe the GSDC '09 route does a very nice job of showcasing some of the great roads and terrain that we (the Princeton Free Wheelers) have available to ride here in Central Jersey. There really is quite a variety of geography right nearby our home turf. I hope everyone who comes out to join us to "do the double" finds the route as enjoyable as I do.
Finally, I owe a big thanks to fellow Free Wheelers John Powers and Neil Cherry for their help in the creation of the Garden State Double Century route. John assisted on the northern loop and provided me with some routing tips from the '97 Jersey Double. And Neil is simply the "King of the Pine Barrens." Neil is responsible for designing large portions of the southern loop, and transformed my first draft from an out-and-back course to a more aestetically pleasing loop passing through Whiting and Chatsworth. Neil's near-deserted roads through the pines are some true gems of the Garden State.
I hope this preview has piqued your interest in the GSDC. Come on out and join us on Saturday, June 20th for a full day of fun on the bicycle, and see for yourself why I enjoy talking about the route so much...
RSVP to rwanderson@optonline.net by Wed., June 17 if you plan to ride.
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