Rotary 100

Burlington, NJ. Rotary 100. New Jersey deems itself the Garden State, and I had often heard that beyond the I-95 corridor and urban sprawl they have much to back this up. There were peach orchards, cranberry bogs, tree farms, and more horses than I saw in Kentucky! Most of central New Jersey is a bicyclist's playground: well-paved, uncrowded roads with gently-rising and dropping terrain. The drivers were models of courtesy. It was no wonder that I saw numerous cyclists and cycling groups riding around on this cloudy -- and eventually rainy -- Saturday.

The Rotary 100 is put on by the local Rotary club. Rotary sponsors several nice centuries across the country and uses them as fundraisers. They have been running the Rotary 100 for several years, and it shows. The roads were particularly quiet. I remember several road segments in which I had seen no cars. After a while, my instincts normally tell me that this is just a lull, and I should expect a platoon of vehicles soon. But, as I looked in the mirror I found, instead, that I had the road to myself.

In fact, there were 'too many' cyclists on the road. As I approached one intersection, a person with a Stop sign on a stick had me wait for a bike race to blow through. I asked him how far they were racing, and he said, "Nine miles!" I pedaled off to do the rest of my 102 with a big grin on my face.

My weather luck would not hold forever, however, and so I had to ride in the rain. At about mile 60 the forecast showers began in earnest, and continued -- on and off -- until the end. Of the handful of century riders (it's early season, and few people choose the 100-mile option), I was the only one who brought any rain gear. The rain was light (at first), and I considered toughing it out. But, I eventually realized there was no reason to carry a gore-tex jacket in the rain. (When you are concentrating on finding the next turn, sometimes common sense takes a back seat.)

This is one ride in which I lived my motto, "Start first; finish last; have the best time." I passed a few of the faster riders, but they eventually pushed past me. One very nice local rider, Dave, rode with me for quite a while and gave me much of the local lore. He called this "spandex country" because of all the cyclists around, and insisted that this affected driver behavior. New Jersey allows cyclists to ride two-abreast on low-traffic roads. We did just this for many miles as the occasional vehicle flowed around us without objection. Dave also told me about the upcoming terrain (flat!), the cranberry bogs, and the need to save some energy for the hills at the end. It was nice to feel welcome and to share bicycling stories. Unlike golf, one has to work at making cycling a social enterprise.

This was such a pleasant ride, that I'll keep my eye out for New Jersey cycling events in the future. (After I finish state #50!)