The NJ crime of the 19th century seems to have been the 1843 'Changewater / Castner / axe' murders. For some background, ... The three Castner victims, John and Mary Castner and their infant daughter Maria were killed at May 1, 1843 at the home of John B. Parke, Mary Castner's brother, in Changewater NJ. John's brother Peter W. Parke and his alleged accomplice Joseph Carter were tried and found not guilty. Public outcry, led by my great-great-great (some number of greats) grandfather, Jacob Randolph Castner, led to a second trial, at which double jeopardy somehow seemed not to apply, where the two accused were then found guilty and hanged in Belvidere, NJ. Thousands attended the hanging.
This ride passes all of the major spots- the murder house, the cemeteries of the victims and alleged perpetrators, the jail, courthouse, and hanging sites.
Well, how could you not do that?
As far as this being a killer ride, the elevation is predicted to be only about 4,000 feet- a goodly number, but not as bad as Jack Palis' 'Billy Goat 2.0' last Sat. (5,134 ft) or Tom Hammell's Schooleys Mt. ride (about 4,900 ft). However, we need to be ready for the killer descent on Iron Bridge Rd, starting at 5.2 miles with a -15.5% grade listed at 5.7 mi. About 500 feet of descent in 1.2 miles; this is one of the scary descents in NJ.
Iron Bridge Rd, eh? That one has a reputation. When I told Laura OLPH that we were going to do this, the one specific direction I got was to report back about Iron Bridge Road.
Here's the route and the stats. We went fast for a ride with this much elevation, and Ed, a better descender than I'll ever be, went much faster than I; his top speed was over 49mph.
But it wasn't on Iron Bridge. That road was a bit much for either of us. Ed didn't get above 39, and I didn't get above 35 – and both of us only did that at the bottom end, where we could see the terminus and where the grade flattened a bit. I don't have an inclinometer, but I'll bet many of those grades were over 20% (the 15.5% Ed showed is an average). Many times, I couldn't see where the road dropped away as the grade suddenly increased. And there is a short, one-lane bridge in the road.
Iron Bridge, though, was only a brief part of the ride. Before you get to it, there's a demanding uphill... and after Iron Bridge, there's a neat ride into Washington, and then into Belvidere (Ed showed me the road where the cemetery in question can be found). In Belvidere, we stopped at the Thissildous Eatery for breakfast, where we had the most delightful young waitress (she seemed genuine, not with the underlying antipathy I've come to associate with Dixie politesse), and where the restroom has to be seen: between the door and the toilet is a wall-to-wall trap door that leads to the basement storage, so attending to the plumbing has to be coordinated with food delivery! It's my new favorite rest stop.
As we were paying, Ed showed that he kept his cash in his cell phone. I pulled out the sweat-resistant wallet my sister had bought for me as a gift, and told the staff I didn't ever want to be passing sweaty bills: “Can you imagine anything skankier than that?” Well, Ed just thought that was the best phrase ever; I'm sure, if he has anything to do with it, either the phrase or the initials CYIASTT will appear on my tombstone. We got miles of conversation out of that.
Washington and Belvidere both have Victorian buildings that have been well-preserved. There must have been money there once. Ed thinks it might be because the Morris Canal ran through that area.
On we went, faster than I've ever taken a ride with that much elevation. We did not do a formal rest stop after Belvidere, but we had to pull over to eat, drink, and rest, about 16 miles from the end. Ed got some pictures, and I took one of him; I'll post them when he sends them to me. (I haven't ridden these roads much, if ever, and they're beautiful. Demanding, but beautiful.)
We knew there was a tough climb before the end... what we had not counted on were what Laura would have called the “short, sharp shocks” in the last couple of miles before the parking lot. We were tired, and relieved, when we turned in.
Ed is going to agitate to make this a Hill Slug ride this fall. It's a great fall ride, partly because of the reduced heat (this would be wicked in the heat), and partly because the parking, which is expensive during the summer, is free after Labor Day. If the Slugs go, I'll definitely do it again. But we gotta plan a stop after Belvidere. (And can we stop at the Thisildous, please?)
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