All of 'em - Tom H, Laura OLPH, Ricky G - all of 'em were doing something else this morning. The B ride out of Cranbury, normally led by Dave H, was to be led by an unnamed volunteer (I thought for a short time of showing up with a ride sheet and a 40-mile route, but them boys [and girls] generally go faster than I wanna go]). And the news was that the construction on the bridges at 518 near Aunt Molly Rd was complete - so I decided to head out alone on one of my routes that crosses there, and see for myself.
One of the advantages of going out on my own is that I can start when I want to, and I was on the road before 8 am. I made a detour to a local bagelry (there was a committee outside the laundrette next door, some of whom looked a bit shady, so I took the front wheel off the bike to dissuade any of 'em from just jumpin' on the Yellow Maserati and making for some unknown destination). After the purchase, I headed over towards the Blackwells Mills/6 Mile lot, and did the latest version of my route to the Pig.
Yes, the construction at the bridge appears complete; the bridges are passable to any kind of traffic, with the possible exception of Mr Trump's tanks.
(These two bridges are right next to each other - the only thing separating them is a [possibly man-made] island in the creek they pass over. How are they numbered 252.2 and 252.8? Where are 252.3 through 252.7?)
I also noted that the milled sections of Harlingen-Dutchtown near Veteran's Park in Montgomery, and Camp Meeting Road in Skillman, have also been repaved.
Life is good at the Pig; it wasn't busy, and the barista woman let me ask questions about her interestingly-colored hair (apparently, I haven't risked a "Me Too" outing by so doing). I had my usual decaf Americano and the double chocolate cookie, for strength for the ride home.
And back. Go see the ride page. I'm not that fast, so it's pretty clear I had a tailwind pretty much the whole way.
OK. My ride for tomorrow is also planned to go across 518, but in the other direction. I feel better knowing that there will actually be road under my tires.
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In other news: my rear shifter setup has been falling out of adjustment for many months. I haven't been able to determine what the problem was, until I had the suspicion that the barrel adjuster on the rear derailleur might not be holding its position. But the part is small, and one section of the turn collar looks like the next. I had put some beeswax on the doings, but that didn't seem to make a difference. I finally had the idea of making distinctive marks on the turnbuckle to see if I could see that it had loosened... and, after a ride across some particularly rough road, I could see it had.
I opened up the barrel adjuster, and put in some teflon packing usually sold for plumbing applications (it's usually sold for about 99¢, so it's not worth remembering if I have any at home, and now I have two or three rolls). And that seems to be holding; I haven't had to re-adjust the adjustment in a few dozen miles, where I used to have to do it after every rough stretch of road. The marks on the rear derailleur look a bit dodgy (done freehand with a silver-paint Sharpie), but I'm glad to know what the problem is and to (apparently) have a fix for it. (The "proper" fix is, apparently, to use Loc-tite Purple, but that's not easy to find, and while you can get it for $7.95 for a bottle that holds about ten drops, the $15 shipping charge makes it seem less desirable of an idea.)
Also have a new mirror; I'll post about THAT debacle another time. Maybe.
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