I knew to prepare for a cold morning, so I bundled up. Wheels hit the road at 8:15, and it was... cold! Lots of frozen puddles. When I was out here last week, maybe every third horse had a blanket. Today... EVERY horse had a blanket. If I were a horse, I'd demand two blankets!
Early in the ride, I cut through Trump National. Today it was bleak and windswept - actually seemed kinda bleak last week, too. The road was being graded; fortunately there was plenty of old, bumpy road for me to ride on.
A few miles later, I was not so lucky. One stretch of Hacklebarney Road had a fresh layer of soft dirt gutter-to-gutter, with just a few tire tracks for me to navigate. Wish I had the Michelin Jets mounted...
I checked out Pickle Road - mainly because it sounded cool! I also had some intel that there would be some dirt and a climb involved.
The sign indicates the attitude of the first (paved - boo!) half-mile of the road. Up top, it's scenic, hardpack flat & rollers.
At Mile 48, I got to the creatures of Trimmer Road. Emu! Who knew? Last time, I missed these guys; there were three or four of 'em. They made a funny sound - kind of a low-pitched, hollow-sounding burp.
Across the street from the emus were some really small donkeys.
They were very interested in the Red Bike. 
I think they may never have seen downtube shifters - imagine?
The goats, donkey and llama I visited last week were just up the way - doing fine, all munching on fresh heaps of hay.
I made my way into the village center of Califon. Had to check out the bananas at Rambo's. Lookin' good!
Downstream from Califon, the Raritan River was raging (as were all the rivers I saw on the ride). Last week, along this stretch I probably passed a couple dozen anglers; today, just two.
I turned east and finally had the wind at my back! Wrapped up the ride in Gladstone; grabbed a sandwich & beer for the train at the New Gladstone Market. Good times.
Burping emus? It seems you never know what you'll find, but it's always an adventure!
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