no-so-hilly ride with ed & rick

It's not clear whether it was because Snakehead Ed was tired from riding yesterday (he was on an old steel bike, with a narrow gear range, and had no cleats in the bottom of his snow boots)...

... or whether it was because there was still ice on the roads, and we were afraid of hitting a patch of ice on a speedy descent (that's my story, and I'm stickin' to it)...

...or whether we decided we didn't want to hassle with the traffic changes caused by the closing of 514/Amwell Rd in Millstone...

...but we decided to do a flatter ride than usual today. Just three of us came out; Rick W joined Ed and me to do this route. That includes my ride from home, as well as a ride to the Better World Market for some junk, and my ride from there home.

We went up through the Weston Causeway (open again; it seems like it was closed forever), taking advantage of the little traffic on 514 due to the closure, then down into Hillsborough, and towards Rocky Hill. We stopped at the Kaufman Center in Skillman for a quick break (Ed was feelin' a banana deficiency), and we heard some band or other practicing; they had left some drums an other paraphernalia out in the parking lot:

Snakehead and Rick enjoying (?) the music:

From there, we went down to 518. Rick suggested no break, so we zipped back to Six Mile Run/Blackwells Mills, where we started. I figured I'd earned some junk calories by that time, so I told 'em I was riding to Better World Market, and Ed met me there; we settled some family matters, explored the relative merits of old and new bicycle technology, and otherwise wasted some time before leaving.

I took my circuitous way back to avoid the construction at the dip on Route 27 below Cozzens Lane, and as I came out, I discovered a flat in my rear tire; I wasn't two miles from home. It was filthy, wet, and cold; the only break I caught was that when I took the tire off the rim, the tube was stuck where a huge construction staple had punctured both; I decided I didn't have to look any further for the hole (although my rear tire is beat up and gashed, possibly from riding over sharp salt crystals; it may need early replacement). I got home after the tire change without incident... but, all in all, I would have happily given up that bit of drama.