Day One

Leaving New York City

The alarm sounded at 6AM, signaling our departure. We sank a few final pets into the fur of our white SF SPCA rescue cat Nimh while she yawned on a tufted blanket at our knees. We dawned our shammies and headed for the door.

But before leaving — Sophie! Our resident posthumanist doctorate soon peered at us with a grin as we drudged through our final checks in early dawn stupor. Sophie had bused in from Ithaca the night prior with tales of an outrageous schism at her Utopia After the Human conference, whereby the inspired divided themselves apart from the entitled (note to conference financiers: if you feel the need to explain to a community of interested individuals that you “paid for them to be there,” you probably have no business being there yourself.)

Nimh, once fed, of course, did not leave the bed to say goodbye.

And we were off! Familiar ride through Prospect Park and the Hipster Silk Road across Manhattan Bridge and a swooping turn into Chinatown. Check the time, it’s 7:22AM! The ferry is set to leave at 7:40AM! Hustle through Chinatown bustle ‘skipping’ a few red lights, make it to Pier 11 with handful of minutes to spare. Ziggy and Emma had outpaced us, were already there!

(Thank you, Emma, for rising on so few hours of sleep to see us off!)

Ferry man takes our toll and we hit what Ziggy tells me is “The Greatest Natural Harbor in the World.” (Ziggy none too pleased to be cited with this proclaimation.)

Ferry operator was glad to have three eager bikers on board…Liz and I substantially overpacked, Ziggy offsetting us with two half-full panniers on his Long Haul Trucker.

New Jersey

Touch down a few towns over from Sandy Hook, an impressive arm of sand jutting north from the Jersey Shore. Passing Cape homes vaulted cliffside beside a few narrow boulevards. Ziggy remarks on the sudden sense of quiet as we push our first few miles away from home:

Down, down the cliffs after recovering from a slight error winding us westward into Hartshorne Woods Park. Over the bridge to Sandy Hook, evidence of Hurricane Sandy no longer abounds but remains present in the disproportion between old, quaint homes and the newly fabricated shoreline. Hit Ocean Blvd and it’s a straight 20 mile shot through Belmar into Sea Girt. We stop for a coffee in a beautiful arcade dotted on the Asbury Park boardwalk.

Time to hit the campsite! Lizzie guides us to a fortuitous path, the Freehold and Jamesburg Railroad Trail, we ride side-by-side-by-side all the way to Allaire State Park!

• Walk the Green Nature Trail
• Find a mountain trail behind the campground, follow it a few turns to the primary vein trail running through Allaire, a few more turns and we stumble upon groceries, beer, and a breakfast nook for Day Two!