it was closed

 

Making the most of a difficult situation.

After I'd posted the plan and route for this ride, I got a message that part of my route on Hollow Road between Camp Meeting and 518 would be closed for construction. So yesterday, after deciding not to do a group ride because I was recuperating from a vacation, I took a shorter ride to investigate. While I could see where the work was going to be done, the road was as open as open could be. So I decided to keep the same route plan.

But then I decided, just to be sure, to see if the Blawenburg Bistro, my planned stop was going to be open. After all, it was Mother's Day; I was sure a coffee-and-breakfast place would be rakin' in the cash from some of us negligent-and-feelin'-guilty children, trying to make up to our mothers on one day of the year.

But no. The Bistro was closed today! So after getting home, I changed the ride description and emailed the registrants to let them know that they would have to bring snacks and the stop would be at either Bessie Grover Park or Skillman Park.

Despite that, I had fifteen... no, make that sixteen... no, seventeen registrants for today's ride. And then we picked up two more en route. Nineteen! What is this, Cranbury?

Off we went. Faster folks would go off the front, and the rest of us would catch up, a turn or two later (several times, I thought the faster folks had just gone off, despite my pre-ride speech, but then we'd make another turn, and there they would be).

By the time we got to Bessie Grover Park, some of my morning coffee was petitioning for release with such vehemence that I could no longer ignore it, and I called for a stop. Apparently I was not alone in my distress: I was not the first into the tiny plastic structure, nor was I the last to use it.

Some of my associates decided to enjoy the playground equipment.

Some things work better as video:

While at the park, Peter G decided to go off home over Hollow Road... and shortly thereafter, returned to let us know that the construction had started since my ride the day before, and the road was impassable in the direction I wanted to go. I decided to head back the way we'd come, and dip down to Skillman Park and continue the route as planned.

And that, apparently was enough drama for the day. We made it back in good order. Some riders went off before the end to seek more challenges; the rest continued back to the start at Claremont. 

As I said in yesterday's post, I don't know if I'd upset Aperia, my newly-minted goddess of openings, or Janus, the Roman god of doorways, or St Peter of the keys, or whomever, but I hope I have made my penance.

At the end, a few riders were complaining that I no longer went to the bakery in Raritan, which I had not done because of the nature of the roads (partly milled, partly Main Street Somerville/Bound Brook)... but if that's a request, I'll fulfill it. Look for a ride there in the next few weeks.