Day 6- Stroudsburg PA to Clinton, NJ

"It's gotta be the shoes" was the mantra of the day. My roomie Jack had been using borrowed biking shoes all week since he did what we all have done at one time or another- forgotten a vital part of his biking equipment. He finally got his own shoes this morning (sent via someone who drove up to Stroudsburg). Jack, his shoes, and the rest of the group left Stroudsburg in the early morning through lovely back roads, and we made our way to the Delaware Water Gap. As we were pedaling along the river, I was feeling my oats and took off, passing people as I went along. Someone was on my tail and soon passed me, and it was no other than Jack with the biggest grin on his face. As I fell in behind him, we passed our biking buddies, and Jack screamed out to each one "it's gotta be the shoes"!! It was the funniest part of the day and we were laughing about it all day long. Jack felt so much stronger in his own shoes all day. It was a gorgeous day of cycling as we explored lovely backroads of Pennsylvania that we had never seen before, with amazing views of the Blue Ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. Lots of short, steep climbs today.

As it turns out, there are many "Kens" on this ride. So many (6 in total) that we have begun to number them. The photo shows "Ken1" (Ken Gordon), "Ken2" (Ken Naglak) and "Ken3" (yours truly). We crossed into New Jersey at Belvidere, and powered along to Milford where we had a long anticipated lunch. From Milford, it was only 15 miles to Clinton, but they seemed to go by slowly as we cycled through molasses-like humidity and drizzle (but no pouring rain so my streak continues!). We finally got in to Clinton (after putting in 73 miles for the day) where the first thing I did after I showered was climb into bed (Jack and I did not want to get out of bed this morning and I couldn't wait to get back). Everyone is in good spirits, and there are no major injuries among us, short of tired riders (see "Ken2" napping at a SAG), sore quads and saddle sores (I'll spare you the details of mine). Tomorrow is a short day as we cycle 48 miles to our picnic in Hopewell, and then take the 10 mile processional to Quakerbridge Mall. See you at the mall (around 4PM).