Fourth of July : Old Cranks Rule ...

So, on the anniversary (more or less) of when those freedom loving English (largely) guys (totally), signed the Declaration of Independence, two Old Cranks, Gene and myself rode our own independent route across the Sourlands towards Lambertville, north along the Delaware to Stockton and then return across the Sourlands.

I'd sort of planned a route, but despite the Garmin bleeping at me to take a right turn - it looked like someone's driveway to me - we took a little detour after stopping for coffee and blueberry scones in Lambertville and ended up with a knee-cracking ascent of County 523 out of Stockton.

There was some relief when we turned into Grafton Road although that was tempered when the descent towards Brookville Hollow Road became a steep, loose gravel track for half a mile around mile marker 24.5. This put us pretty much back on course on a moderate climb alongside the stream towards Sandy Ridge/Mt Airy Road.

Bike route 574167 - powered by Bikemap 

The only other incident was that a couple of bridges are out for rebuilding on the Wertsville Road. We felt a little like cyclo-crossers as we negotiated the first bridge, but obviously the troll who normally lives under the bridge had taken temporary accommodation in a house beside the road and proceeded to complain about law-breakers ignoring traffic signs and what the Queen could do with her country, etc ... seemed somehow appropriate on this day of all days ...

The second bridge looked more of an obstacle and we also didn't want the troll to prove his NRA membership, so we took a diversion north and then parallel to the Wertsville Road rejoining it just before we took Rileyville Road back up into the Sourlands on the basis that it's an easier hill than Lindberg, which it is, but not in the blazing hot sun ... but we made it back; a very nice 47 miles before noon.