July 31, 2016
Day 59 - Flemington to Hazlet
Never, never say, “It can’t get any worse.”
It will.
It rained all night. No. It poured all night.
Torrential. Biblical.
I woke up to a sodden parking lot landscape -
But it seemed that the rain had stopped.
I cycled to the McDs for breakfast and internet.
Both were poor, but at least I beat the rain getting back.
The parking lot flooded. Water poured down from the highway.
The sewer grates popped off as water started gushing out of the sewers.
Hmmmmmmm. Cholera anyone?
And still the rain poured down.
I went over to the lobby building to see if they had internet.
They did. Poor, but enough.
It looked like it might clear by 11:00.
I was all packed up, so I dashed over to a Starbucks.
Lo and behold! Decent internet.
So I had cake and coffee and got caught up.
When I finally did get out on the road it was soaked.
Between the drizzle and the spray, I was soaked, too.
But after a while, you cannot get more soaked.
So - - I just kept going.
Water was everywhere.
Little streams were Mississippis.
I though taking back roads would be better.
Not more scenic - because I couldn’t see thru foggy glasses -
But less traffic and a bit easier.
But the Glistening Road Is Still Super Slick
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Nope. I got three detours - which added more wet miles.
And got me caught in another torrential downpour.
Middle of nowhere - no shelter - a foot of water on the road.
And cars zooming by belting me with fountains of spray.
Are we having fun yet?
I saw a Masonic Lodge with a portico and dashed under it.
Really - I was at the point of utter insanity.
When the rain let up, the road was almost impassable.
And drivers were angry that they had to slow down for me.
Because - when I had to - I would take any part of the road.
Too.Bad.
I crossed the Millstone River at Kingston - site of a colonial bridge.
The water was only a couple of feet below the tops of the arches.
If it had rained any more, the bridge would have been swept away.
I found out that Flemington got 7.50 inches of rain.
And Princeton got 7.25 - possibly before the last storm was added.
Those are 1000-year events.
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Whadda birthday, eh?
I had a reservation at the Best Western in Hazlet.
I kept pushing on - just to get there.
When I got to Keyport, I decided to head out to the bay.
And there was yet another detour onto a busy 4-lane highway.
Finally I got to the motel.
Everything was perfect. Friendly staff. Clean.
Took a nice, long, warm shower.
I don’t know why my feet were so prune-like.
Then it was off to Yesterdays - a great Italian restaurant.
I had pasta alla rosa and a huge piece of chocolate cake.
A day that had started so horribly ended sweet.
Today's ride: 47 miles (76 km)
Total: 3,342 miles (5,378 km)
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