New Jersey!

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Day 52: Phoenixville, PA to Roosevelt, NJ
Total Miles: 77.2
Miles to date: 3723.5

We’ve been dodging the rain since probably Ohio. We were beginning to think that Zeus or Jupiter or whomever’s in charge of the rain really liked us … this morning we were finally forced into rain gear (on the brighter side I’m glad to have a reason to have carried all this rain gear) - jackets, pants, booties, the works. It’s getting harder and harder to make the inconspicuous side of the road pee stop as the traffic increases (for some reason this really hit home this morning, perhaps the rain was encouraging frequent urination). We enjoyed a morning pit stop at Rita’s for some ice and pretzels (mmm, those were the best hot pretzels ever … I suppose my days of acceptably eating ice cream at 10 AM are coming to a close) and made our way to Washington’s Crossing. As we got closer and closer to the NJ border we really started to think about the immensity of this journey, wondering how we would feel at its conclusion. We were really excited to be entering Jersey having traveled all this way on our bicycles - what a journey to have behind us in all respects (mentally, physically, etc.).

As we got close to the bridge crossing the Delaware we were surprised to see my parents … for me that was it, I was home. At the bridge we found our friends Muffin (who was prepared to ride with us to the ocean), Jeff and Jessie. It was so nice to have people come and meet us as we finally crossed the river into New Jersey. We had to walk our bikes across (our first bout of walking eastward yet) - they even have someone sitting there patrolling the bridge. After a photo shoot and hugs all around, we had a nice lunch in the park and began on our way toward Roosevelt. Having Muffin ride with us and share the many stories from the past couple of years made the twenty some miles to Roosevelt fly by. It was pretty fitting to have Muffin with us. Although my parents ultimately planted the seed at an early age (yes, you are partially responsible that I like to do the things I do whether you like it or not), the exposure I got through Rutgers Outdoor Rec really sparked the outdoor adventurer in me. Ever since I saw that slide show at Rutgers, hmm, was it 5 years ago, about the guy who rode his bike across the Mexico-US border I’ve wanted to do something like this … and here I am, almost done. It was pretty strange to see familiar roads, to know that home was right around the corner, that the adventure was about to come full circle - for me it was indeed bittersweet, Arthur may have a different take on this.

We got to Roosevelt pretty early and were able to relax and shower before going to dinner. We enjoyed all you can eat Chinese Buffet, beers, wine and good conversation all around. That evening we slept soundly knowing we only had about 30 miles left to the ocean the next day.

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