I went out this afternoon on my bike with one aim in mind: Ride until I saw a horse, then turn around and loop home. How far would I have to go? My guess was 15 miles.
Knowing where to look, that’s the direction I took. Of course, settling for something as easy as the stables in the park wasn’t going to do. I wanted horse country, where I could see them in their natural habitat.
Not really, but you know what I mean.
At about 12 miles I took a little detour here:
It’s that close, though this is the least-interesting section. From here the trails take you through more typical hardwood forest than lake, stream and wetlands. Still, it beats Rt. 24 (see below).
At just past 16 miles I smelled them, then I circled back through the intersection in Green Village and found them:
Pretty close to my original estimate. Coming back, despite my efforts to avoid it, I ended up on the access road to Rt. 24. I think of this stretch between Chatham and Millburn as the “unholy trinity.” Don’t let the surrounding golf course on the map fool you. It’s three consecutive hills on highway access roads, dodging merging traffic, with no shade and lots of noise. Each hill is longer and steeper than the one before.
Though the good news is that the left turn on Hobart right after where this was shot is a 3/4 mile downhill along a winding road through the heart of Short Hills. It’s a narrow two-lane road, but you can do over the speed limit without even pedalling, so take up a whole lane and don’t stress yourself trying to stay out of the way of the cars.
All told, a little over 30 miles. Not bad for a workday afternoon. Here’s the whole route: