herardine, joanne, and scott (and tew)

 

I really like that one of Joanne.

The Excellent Wife (TEW) went on last year's Farmland Ride and was so smitten by the route that she saved it and had us adjust it so it starts at a municipal park, and then after Hurricane Ida laid waste to a substantial part of the route (which has, a year later, still not been substantially rebuilt), she had us adjust it again so we could still do it.

Today, she and I went out with two of her work associates (and the partner of one of them) to do the route.

Scott, below, has a lovely old Bianchi, above, with all Campagnolo Veloce.

 It's a hilly route, mostly in Hunterdon county. We were in no hurry, and stopped frequently for prettiness, curiosity, wardrobe adjustments, and photo ops, some of which are below.

Above: Yard Road, one of my favorites.

 At one of the many stables along the route. 

 There was a dog outside that side fence, and we noticed the horses kept moving to where they could see, and be close to, the dog. We think they're all pals.

The route goes past the Carousel in Ringoes, and then we turn onto Wertsville... but just beyond the turn is this other deli we wanted to try. I've been on a gazillion rides up this way, and never stopped at this Ringoes Country Deli.

It was FAR cleaner and more pleasant than the Carousel. And while there was an "out of order" sign on the toilet, the proprietor allowed us to use it (we made a few purchases; it may be that the sign is a defense against riff-raff). Even though this place doesn't have the front porch that the Carousel does, I'm planning to start lobbying for stops here instead.

We continued meandering through the rest of the route, and afterwards, we went into Flemington to review to offerings; there's a sort of farmer's market (where I got a completely acceptable empanada) near the Factory Fuel, where TEW and I got latte's. 

Ride page.

On the way home, we found a place where the local eggs are cheaper than most of the factory-produced eggs in the supermarkets, so a couple dozen found their way into our fridge. A good day.