A Long Weekend - Some Long Rides

Since it is Labor Day weekend I have an extra day to get a ride in. Since I have been traveling for the last several weeks I have not been able to get many rides in during the week and with fall approaching I am going to have to get used to only being able to ride on Saturday and Sundays. I am going to start going back to the gym during the week.

Friday's ride was short and sweet since I did not get out until late afternoon and the weather looked threatening as I made my first climb. I decided to just ride around the neighborhood and then do sprints around the lake in my neighborhood.

I rode on Saturday with the owner of the Smoothie King in Red Bank. However, the high winds caused us to shorten the planned length of the ride. Since I rode to the meeting spot (in front of the store) and I rode back I was able to log 47 miles all together. There were lots of other riders out as well which always makes the ride fun for me. I always wave and check out the bikes. If the riders are ahead of my I pickup the pace so that I can track them down.

For my Sunday ride I took off at about 9 AM and rode my usual route through Holmdel, Marlboro and Colts Neck. I have been taking Laird Road out to RT 537 and then head toward Shrewsbury and Little Silver. I made my way to Seven Bridges and then out to Long Branch. I took RT 36 up to the Highlands and climbed up Mt. Mitchell Scenic Overlook and down Ocean Blvd to Atlantic Highlands.

The ride started out as a hard training run but morphed into a fast sighting seeing tour by the time I got to Monmouth Beach. I started stopping to take pictures which is something I have not done in a while. The picture above is on the Boardwalk at the Pier in Long Branch.

These cars were lined up in front of the Avenue Restuarant and Beach Club. Pretty typical for this time of year on the Jersey shore. The red Ferrari in the back almost took out a woman on a beach cruiser. I guess she did not get out of the way quick enough.

This picture was taken at the Atlantic Highlands Marina. New York City is in the background but it does not really show up in the picture.

Red Bank was dead today. I think everyone decided to go to the shore since Long Branch and Sea Bright were crowded. I was planning on going back later for lunch but I never did.

This picture is from the south end of the Long Branch boardwalk. The weather was perfect even though the beachgoers might have wanted it to be a little warmer.

Lots of Pro Cycling action this weekend but no US TV coverage. US Pro Cycling Championships were in Greenville, South Carolina this weekend. Almost all of the US riders were there instead of at the Vuelta a España.