South Jersey Sojourn

   Because we were having the first decent spell of spring-like weather this year, I put my Cannondale in the back of my car last Wednesday and headed out across the Delaware River to the Salem area of New Jersey. I used to go down there for an annual metric century ride organized by the South Jersey Wheelmen cycling club, but they ceased holding the event years ago.

   I still had the route they used among my MapMyRide files, and I altered it slightly to form a 50-mile course consisting of 28- and 22-mile lobes that intersect at the community of Hancocks Bridge, where I started the ride. Looking ahead to possibly doing this ride again with friends, the sports complex there, right near the Lower Alloways Creek Township Building, would provide a convenient midway (well, close enough) point to leave cars for a food, water or nature stop.

   I didn't see the legendary Jersey Devil during my ride, but I was bedeviled once again by the New Jersey road markings, or the lack of them. You've heard me complain in the past that often only the side streets are marked with signs, which is fine when you are going down a county highway looking for a smaller road, but you are left guessing if you are coming from a side road onto a major one! I had to occasionally double-check my cue sheet with someone doing yard work or out taking a stroll.

   The map below is large file, so it probably won't be too clear, even if clicked-on. You can make out Salem's boundaries in the upper left, and my starting point marked by a small red star near the creek at the bottom of the image. If you would like this detailed map and/or printed directions, feel free to contact me!

   The whole area is very flat, except for some rolling hills around Mannington Township and one sustained climb just east of Quinton. The breezes do tend to kick up out there while pedaling through the farmland and marsh areas, particularly at this time of year when there are no leaves on the trees to create a significant wind break. The first part of my route was to the northeast, roughly following the south bank of Alloway Creek.

   From past experience I knew that the traffic is usually pretty sparse, and maybe it was even lighter because of COVID or the fact that I was there on a weekday afternoon, but I was only passed by ten cars in the first 28 miles of the ride! Most of that traffic was near Alloway Lake and the community nearby, then I was back on my own again for quite a while.

   A few miles past Alloway I was climbing up Burden Hill Road, which wasn't anything extreme compared to what I regularly ride in and out of the Schuylkill Valley, but after so much flat land, it was a bit of a jolt. The sun was just off to the left, causing the pavement, which had crushed glass and shells within the asphalt mix, to absolutely sparkle as I grinded my way to the top. 

   I was fortunate to be in the shelter of the woods during the southerly leg of the first loop, because I definitely felt the breezes picking up when I reemerged into the marsh areas near Hancocks Bridge. I was glad I'd be turning north soon but also knew I was eventually going to get hammered by the wind on the final stretch back to the car.

   I pushed that fact to the back of my mind as I passed the historic Hancock House (above), site of the Hancock's Bridge Massacre in 1778. Soon after crossing Alloway Creek, I made a righthand turn to follow the north bank of the creek back to the northeast. It was almost entirely flat farmland out this way, with (again) very few cars in sight.

   Route 45 probably wouldn't be anyone's favorite place to ride for scenery, but as always with New Jersey roads, it had a wide shoulder for security. Traffic was picking up noticeably on this main artery directly into Salem. Once through the attractive brick sidewalk historic district, I was making my way along the sketchier side of town, which was unfortunately right along the city's namesake river.

   

   Once out on Sinnickson Landing Road, the surroundings improved greatly. I pedaled along a causeway that weaved through the marshlands that lie where the Salem River flows into the Delaware. From there I continued onto Fort Elfsborg Road, a name which eventually led me on a fascinating internet search about the Dutch and Swedish rivalry when colonizing this segment of the eastern seaboard. You may not want to dig as deeply as I did, but let's just say the Swedes made a bad choice with this location, nicknamed "Fort Myggenborgh" (fort mosquito).

   The rest of the ride was a real slog directly into a head wind, and not being in tip-top shape, I was really hanging at the end of a 50-miler! Maybe next time I'll have some company to help share the work.

   I'll sign off with some photos of a recent build for a friend. This Guerciotti (gwehr-chee-OH-tee) carbon bicycle was assembled with Shimano Ultegra components, super-light RavX wheels and an FSA cockpit.