Pogwatigue Perambulations: South Jersey Bike Trails

The portion of the Philadelphia suburbs which I have explored the lease is Southern New Jersey. Last weekend, I filled in a little bit of that area with a ride that connected a couple bike trails I found while pursuing Google maps. I had a pretty good idea my route before I left, but I never calculated the distance, which with a little extra added the end exceed 100 miles.

I started crossing the Ben Franklin Bridge, the only way to get to New Jersey directly from Center City and always a enjoyable, unique ride. After crossing through Camden I found a trail that started at Haddon Lake in Audubon and led through a series of parks along a small stream. That trail didn't last long and soon I was working my way to a longer trail that passed through the town of Blackwood. My next destination was Glassboro where I picked up a nice trail that connected to Williamston, about five miles away.

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In Williamston, I stopped for lunch and for the first time I realized how long the ride would be. I thought about cutting it short by I had enough time and even though I hadn't been on my bike for two weeks wager I had enough energy. Plus, that extra miles gave me the chance to ride through part of the Pine Barrens, which I didn't get to last year. My next stop was Atsion Lake, once part of a bustling iron industry town, now a recreation area. Today, a hot day, a lot of people were swimming in the lake.

After Atsion, I started to head back to Philadelphia, I kept a pretty good, steady pace in to the wind for eleven miles until I stopped for provision at a Wawa convenience store. Refreshed and rehydrated I rode a mentally-shorter eleven miles to Haddonfield, which has a great downtown with shops and restaurants. From there it was a pretty easy ride back to Philadelphia. I rode a portion on bike trail that loops around the Cooper River. Once across the bridge, I realized I'd need another two miles to surpass 100. Those were easily obtained with a jaunt into South Philly. I managed to make it back to my apartment just after dark.

Trip Statistics
Length: 100.8 miles
Ride Time: 8 hours 33 minutes
Total Time: 10 hours 50 minutes
Avg. Speed: 11.8 MPH
Max. Speed: 24.7 MPH
Avg. Cadence: 54 RPM
Total Ascent: 2,300 ft.
Max Elev.: 373 ft.

Elevation Profile