Hank – the night was cool and we both slept pretty well. We had breakfast and got all packed up just as it was warming up and the mosquitoes wanted to have their breakfast. After putting her panniers on her bike Kathy found her front tire was flat. That’s number eleven. Still none for me.
I couldn’t find anything punching through the tire so I swapped out the tube and got her ready to roll. We had some busy roads at first but plenty of shoulder so the noise was the only downside. We stopped at another Wawa convenience store and got a cold drink and a snack. From there we had country and county roads and a very pleasant ride with little traffic and lots of shade.
Coming into Chatsworth we had one food option before getting to our campground, which, by the way, only has primitive sites. We stopped by Hot Diggity Dog hoping to score a hot dog and a cold drink. It didn’t look open but it was hard to spot the sign showing their hours among the many signs. A older man came out of the back door along with his pit bull who barked at us continuously. He talked to us with all the wariness one would have in an FBI agent came to you door and wanted to “talk”.ย He told Kathy to come closer and she asked if the dog, who was very displeased at our presence, was okay. “No,” he says in a serious tone. I got the hint right away. Kathy told the guy we were riding our bikes around the country.
“Okay,” he says.
“We’ll just continue on our way.”
“Okay.”
On the way out we saw the sign that says he’s open Friday through Sunday. I guess the rest of the time he doesn’t want to be bothered.
As we made the last turn towards the campground we saw a sign for a private campground. I didn’t see that one show up on my map so we decided to check it out. If the price was right and they had showers then we wouldn’t mind losing the $15.00 we spent on the primitive state park site. They wanted $60.00 just to tent because it’s a holiday weekend. Today is Thursday and Monday is Columbus Day. We declined that “generous” offer.
Entering the Godfrey Bridge Campground the road got a bit sandy. I was just going to tell Kathy to watch the sand when her front tire caught a soft spot and washed out from under her. Down she went into her second crash in two days. More scrapes and bruises.
After setting up camp I went to the park entrance to fill up our water containers. That’s the only water spigot. It didn’t work. I went to the $60 site campground and the lady there let me fill up.
We cleaned up with baby wipes and changed into clean clothes. We got here in plenty of time to get a good rest. Tomorrow we ride into Atlantic City.
Kathy – Well last night I slept eight hours which is very unusual for me, so it must have been the half of muscle relaxer. Other than being sore from my fall yesterday all was good.
The campground we stayed at said it was a “Luxury” place so our expectations were just a tad bit elevated. No worries, they quickly declined. This was a campground full of old RV’s that people were permanently living in. There was a small section for tents that was just some sandy land near the woods with a few fire pits. One plus–I was happy for the warm shower in the bathroom area. Just so you know, everything in the bathroom/shower area is painted different shades of blue. It almost looks like they either ran out of paint, or couldn’t remember the paint color they used before so they got something close to it. They did paint the ceiling metal where it holds the square drywall panels a brown color. They did not do a very good job painting those – see pic. I guess what I’m saying is it worked for us but it really wasn’t that luxury.
Our 37-mile ride today was much better than we’ve had recently. Traffic was much lighter on the back roads so it was very peaceful. I still have to work on paying attention to my speed when I’m listening to music at a low volume (so I can still hear traffic and Hank). I focus on the music and when the beat is fast it causes me to pedal harder, next thing you know my legs are getting tired and I’m breathing heavy. I will work on it. ๐
Overall our ride was good. The temps were in the low 80’s but with the humidity made it close to 90 degrees. We were both soaked. We did have a little breeze that helped out some. I also planted my New Jersey flowers today near a memorial on the side of the country road for a motorcyclist that passed away. It looks like Edward was well loved. I really hope the flowers grow every year near this memorial for this stranger to me, but most likely a wonderful man to those who knew him. For those new to the blog, I have one packet of flower seeds for each state to help make America more beautiful.
So, as Hank said I took another tumble today. On the road into our campsite the sand got me. I got tossed off the bike and my pedals managed to hit both my legs. Just added more bruising to my knees and elbows. I will be really careful tomorrow, because you know how they say it comes in threes. Hank says I need to learn how to crash. I said I need to NOT crash. Regardless, I am fine. The bruises and abrasions go nicely with all the mosquito and black fly bites. Yes, we are livin the dream! ๐
You’re gonna end up killing or disabling taking Kathy on this trip Hank. Lol