tew's farmland route ride

 Earlier this year, The Excellent Wife (TEW) did the Farmland Ride, and was smitten enough with the 30-mile route that:

1. she kept it; and
2. had us drive it to make sure she had it right, and
3. made a date so the two of us could ride it together.

We did it yesterday. It's a great route. Given that it's 30 miles (and not long enough that may of my regular co-riders would want to do just this ride), it includes some great roads (including Yard Road, one of my three favorites in NJ), a decent amount of climb which was satisfying to me without being off-putting to TEW (that demanding switchback on Covered Bridge Road notwithstanding), and the Carousel Deli is just about where you would want a stop. It starts and ends at Mine Brook Park in Flemington, with porta-potties. (They're in wretched condition; nonetheless, they're there.)

It was a great day. We went through the Sergeantsville bridge just because we could. I rode ahead on some of the hills, and let her catch up on the flats and downhills.

(And yes, you may have recognized the bike in the pic as the Krakow Monster, the 30#-plus gravel bike. It's heavy, but it's geared way low. And I use flat pedals and regular shoes on it. We did fine.)

After, we went to dinner to celebrate the 27th anniversary of our first date. Twenty-seven years? How the hell did that happen?

I'm blaming her.