Today we go our separate ways, Paulie by plane to Norfolk VA to continue the class he is taking, Meredith and Beth to DC and me to NJ by ferry from NYC to Sandy Hook NJ and then down the Jersey shore. All the riding today was easy; flat and unscary. It is a little confusing as the shore road is forced inland from time to time and it is not always clear which way to go. At one point a guy riding a Serotta (a very fine, and expensive bike) caught up to me and offered local knowledge. That is exactly what I needed and he not only marked my map he also rode with me for half an hour. He has done the northern route across the country with Adventure Cycling, so he knew what I was speaking of when I told of my own partial trip across. He lives in the town of Ocean Grove which, like Oak Bluff on Martha's Vineyard was a Methodist camp town. In fact Ocean Grove is still owned by the Methodists and it has just the same look as the camp portion of Oak Bluff. Some of the buildings even remain as tents.
After giving me detailed instructions on how to go Jim realized that there were Dan Henry's (road markers) for an MS bike ride to Cape May done just a couple of weeks ago. He suggested I just follow them which I was happy to do. Unfortunately, although the signs were very well done and easy to follow, it turns out that the MS route to Cape may, at the south end of the Jersey coast, is not direct, but winds around and backtracks some. It did get me through the worst spot, but after an hour I abandoned the signage and just followed the highway.
Around 6:00 when I started looking for a campground, one of my panniers broke. Since the nearest camping seemed to be about 10 miles away and involved some back tracking to the north I bailed and took a cheap motel. The bag has been repaired and I think it will work just fine.
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