Day 22
October 25, 2021:
Having stayed up a bit too late the night before talking, I slept in a bit. When I eventually woke up, the house was still and quiet. I checked on my laundry and packed a few of my bags, then went upstairs looking for the shower. Calliope greeted me at the top of the stairs, and I may have accidentally woken Camille up (so sorry!). After the shower, I played another two games of chess with Alexi downstairs, had leftovers for dinner, and packed up. It was a slow, sleepy morning, and I only left around 11 am.
It was a late start, but given the flat ground between Lawrenceville and Westfield, shouldn’t have given me much trouble. I gave the host family there an approximate ETA of around 5 pm and set off. I followed Princeton Pike past the Battle of Princeton. Following General George Washington’s surprise attack against the Hessians at Trenton (the famous Crossing the Delaware painting), Washington crossed back into New Jersey and marched the Continental Army north along a back road following a map supplied by a spy. The battle at Princeton resulted in a colonial victory, but Washington had to retreat when the British sent for reinforcements.
I passed through Princeton, the college town famous for its world-class university. I followed Nassau St along a beautiful avenue of old churches, quaint houses, and hip restaurants and bars. I’ll have to add Princeton to one of the gems of small towns I have found along the way.
From Princeton, I followed the Delaware Canal Trail again north towards Bound Brook. The trail was rugged, met on both sides by canals. Roads were sparse, so the only way was either forward or backward for miles. Certain sections of the trail must have been damaged or too muddy, so trail workers must have filled them in. But the gravel in these sections made the trail nearly impassable, like a bed of thorns over which to cross. I cycled around them when I could, but often found myself dismounting to walk the bike over them. The canal also occasionally has spillways and locks, which brought with them cobblestone sections of the trail, and riding over these sections was especially bumpy. I started to feel the front tire get flat as I went, and figured I’d have to repair or replace it. I wanted to get to the end of the canal trail first though, so that any additional punctures wouldn’t ruin a new inner tube until I got back onto actual streets where the probability of that is far lower. I was still pretty careful though, looking out for gravel, big roots, and buckeyes, steering carefully between them. Out of nowhere, I heard a hissing noise, and slowed to a halt, watching my back tire fully deflate. It was a discouraging moment.
I pulled the bike to the side of the road, removed all my bike panniers, got the tools I needed out, and flipped the bike over. I replaced the rear tire, which I found had a hole too large to be patched, but was able to successfully patch the front tire. I’ll need to purchase new spare inner tubes next I get the chance. I also ate lunch there, eating two red bell peppers and whole thing of supremely spicy hummus. I updated my ETA, filling in the host family about the delays given my flat tires. At last, I continued, and soon I made it under interstate 287 to Bound Brook. The last parts of the trail were extremely rough, and I exited it the first chance I could get.
Checking the map, I only had another 8 or so miles to go until Westfield, and that motivated me to keep going. I pulled up at the house, and Casey and her husband Carl were enjoying the afternoon on their porch. They waved, and Casey came down to show me the way into the backyard to stow my bicycle. I got a few things off of it, and Casey brought out a big cup of ice water which hit the spot. I was introduced to their black dog Laska and their black cat Yorick. Laska is a sweet dog, and she’s training to be a Seeing-Eye dog for the blind.
Casey offered me a beer and I hung out with her and Carl on the porch, talking about my background and my journey so far. Carl had some work to do and Casey started cooking dinner, so I went inside to keep Casey company while she worked. I offered to help out preparing dinner, but she was just boiling water for pasta, so there wouldn’t have been much to do. After a while, I got out my computer to work on my blog, then went upstairs to wash my hands ahead of the meal. Their daughter Jill arrived later that evening, back from work in Manhattan. We came together at the dinner table for pasta, chicken salad, toast, and apple tart with ice cream for dessert. They’re a really kind, generous family. I learned that Carl has his pilot’s license and used to own a Cessna 172. Jill has also been working on her pilot’s license, but like me, hasn’t flown the check ride yet. We played Good/Bad, where we each talked about elements of our day that was either positive or negative. I mentioned my two flat tires as my bad, but thanked them all for hosting me as the good.
After dinner, Jill was visibly tired after a long day at work, and I was tired after a long day cycling. We each retired upstairs. The guest room they had me stay in is very nice, with two beds and a good view from the second story. It was raining very hard, and flashes of lightning followed by crashes of thunder kept me up for a while. I checked the radar and saw that it was a huge ‘NorEaster’ storm, and was especially thankful to have a warm bed and a roof over my head. A flash flood warning was issued, and I saw big pools of water forming on the lawn and rivers of water rushing by into the gutters on the street. Definitely a good night not to have camped, especially since it would otherwise likely have been along the marshy sections of the Delaware Canal Trail to the south. I turned off the lights, sucked on a bonbon, and went to sleep.
