I broke my collarbone two years ago when my (t)rusty mountain bike chose to fall apart beneath me. Traveling along at a relatively speedy pace, I had just hopped a curb and my front wheel came loose, fully detaching itself in one immediate motion. The frame of the bike collapsed forward and my body flew up, over and out onto the unyielding pavement below. I didn’t hear a snap or break of any kind but the immediate pain was the worst I’ve ever felt in my life. After a trip to the hospital, some happy pills and about six weeks in a sling, I trashed the bike and opted to walk, run or drive to all further destinations. It didn’t take long for me to miss the bicycling experience.
I would have purchased a new bike last spring/summer but had too much else going on – got married, moved to Cape May County, got a job (thank you very much, Herald!). Before I knew it, the seasons changed again and it was too cold to consider it. Then, of course, we all knew what this past winter was like. I’m still not certain it’s over yet! At any rate, a couple weekends ago, I went out (to Algie’s Place in Wildwood Crest) and got myself a nice, new Cannondale Mountain Bike. Do I need a mountain bike in scenic Cape May County? Absolutely not. You’d be perfectly fine riding the flat streets and boardwalks with a hybrid or even one of those torpid tourist two-wheelers. But I’m used to the roughness of a mountain bike and working hard for the pay-off. Exertion piles on quickly from near-constant pedaling – any breezes generated are all the more exhilarating as you know they’ve been created by you and you alone.
For one of my first jaunts, I put my new toy to the test and went off-roading. I took it to Belleplain State Forest in Woodbine and rambled through the bramble along that windy, skinny, branch and leaf-strewn trail. That beast definitely got the best of me! Don’t be fooled, that trail is no joke. At one point, I took a sharp turn too fast, slammed into a weak tree and felt a large branch crash down onto my back from above. Ouch! I really ought to be more careful.
But I do wear a helmet. You just have to. It’s an absolute must. There’s a card on every bike at Algies’ Place that reads: “This bicycle is missing one part.” If you ask Victor, the owner, what the part is, he will tell you it’s a helmet. Smart.
I don’t know if I’ll be heading back to Belleplain anytime soon – the experience kept me sore for days – but I do relish the idea of riding the infamous Cape May County bike path all the way from the Zoo to the ferry. Wait, no, you can’t do that yet. Can you? You can take the bike path from the zoo to … where, Whitesboro? Then you have to get on Route 9 and ride through Rio Grande (careful! oh be careful!). I believe there are municipal paths you can ride on somewhere along the way, but only have a vague idea of where those might be. Then you pick up the true path again a little further down and… does anybody know how this thing works?
I ran on the path a bunch last year, starting from the zoo, but admittedly, I never ventured out far enough to see where the sidewalk ends. But it does end, before it starts again. Odd. Annoying. Truncated.
From a press release on the Herald’s web site Nov. 28, 2013: “Phase Four of the Middle Township bike path will be constructed in spring, 2014 and will extend the path from Indian Trail to Main Street in Whitesboro and the Martin Luther King Junior Center.”
Despite the wind and colder temperatures, it really is springtime. “The calendar says it’s spring so it must be spring!” Publisher Art Hall told me late last week. Good point. So then what’s going on with the bike path, Middle Township?
“We expect to have approval of our plan to connect our bike path with Lower Township’s any day,” said Mayor Timothy Donohue in an April 1 press release. Woot! Let’s cross our fingers that “any day” translates to “tomorrow” or at least “soon.” I’d love to know what the intended plan is for progress on the peddlers’ pathway.*
Bryon Cahill has a Twitter account @shakabry where the wheels keep on rollin’ along despite the casual crashes.
*Just prior to press time April 29, the Herald received a press release from Middle Township stating that both Middle and Lower will receive funding for a bike path connector from the Cape May County Open Space Board. How forturnate! Details to come in the weeks that follow. Happy riding!
