best-laid plans ride

Well, it was SUPPOSED to be a canal-towpath ride... but when we got to New Brunswick, there were roads closed everywhere, and the closer we got to Johnson Park, the worse it got. We couldn't get to Grove 5 at all; the best we could do was park at Grove 4.

It turned out that today was the day of the UNITE half-marathon (d-mn runners!). We wouldn't be able to get to the entrance to the canal towpath until after noon. What to do?

What to do, after thinking about it for a minute, was to head up to Piscataway on the roads. We wound up doing about 14 miles around Piscataway and the Rutgers campus (and, because I'm lost all the time, I got a lot of input from the local kids - yes, they're mostly kids; students at the Bloustein School), and then we made our way to Highland Park to PJ's for coffee.

From there, a short hop back to the park. The Excellent Wife (TEW), who was along for the ride, wanted a few extra miles, so we got onto the towpath (open, by this time), where we ran into Zach and a few others who had started from the other side of the ride. And then back home.

Next D ride will be the weekend of Rutgers graduation, so I'll probably avoid New Brunswick completely. And maybe after that, we'll try the towpath again.

A few pictures:

Edit: I understand some riders got to Grove 5, and were waiting for us there. I apologize for the missed communication and confusion.