AC Century!

So, what do you do if you want to ride your bike and the snow refuses to melt and/or stop? Go somewhere else, of course. It especially helps if it's spring break. That's just what we did: after some clutch free hotel rooms from Justin, we (me, Justin, and Rob), rode Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. No snow in AC... but there was another natural obstacle...

Boom. 100 miles. Caesars parking garage, Atlantic City. That ride went from the Caesars parking garage, down three flights, along ocean avenue in Ventnor, Margate, Ocean City, Strathmere, Sea Isle City, Wildwood, down all the way to the cape may point... and back! We were a little short of a hundred miles, so we raced up to the top of the parking garage at the end- 10 stories!

So, that natural obstacle: give you a hint- my eyes are burning right now, still. WIND. Epic, epic wind. In my face. For 6 hours. It was a WNW wind, so it buffeted us sideways the whole way. As we raced up each little bridge between the barrier islands on the shore, the wind showed us who was boss- and a truck allowed rob to be crowned "bridge champion," gaining 7 bridge wins, though three came from drafting off a conveniently placed NEMF truck. 6 wins for me, including two come from behind wins at the end. I'll obviously be applying that skill to the Rutgers race... oh, wait... no I won't, because there are no hills. Overall, a great ride, record braking for the three of us.

As a sidenote, people who winter down the shore are pretty darn nice. Wawa clerks, the Jackson Mountain Cafe staff- all very accommodating to our quest.

For good measure, here' s a grainy cell phone pic of Lucy the Elephant in Margate- a jersey icon.

Yesterday we rode around Hammonton, NJ in the Pine Barrens- also the blueberry capital of the USA. People say hills are disorienting; but I have to say, endless pines are crazy. We managed to get a good timetrial workout in at the end, as Rob had to rush back to Horsham to work... we smoked it. Ready for the Philadelphia TTT? I think so.

Looking forward to Rutgers this weekend- weather in the 50s? Heck yes.

And for fun's sake, here's a mapmyride: http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/nj//652126756571337238