A bike ride to one of those 50 must-eat New Jersey dishes for 2023

Posted on March 26, 2023 by alliumstozinnias
Pistachio donuts on top, that chocolate hazelnut baklava below
The chocolate hazelnut baklava is on the bottom.

Spring is here, the sun is out — and I was prepared with a new destination for a bike ride!

I’ve been entertaining myself with some of these “best” foodie lists on NJ.com, and the Baklava Lady in Englishtown popped up on the list of the 50 New Jersey dishes you need to eat in 2023 — specifically the chocolate hazelnut baklava. It also made the list of around the world in 23 New Jersey bakeries (that baklava again plus the spinach and cheese borek got shout-outs). It’s all vegan, if that matters to you. Yeah, sorry about the paywall on those articles, but trust me on this. (Well, the burger on a bagel entry closer to home didn’t sound persuasive…)

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Schuylkill River Trail: A metric century from Philadelphia to Reading

Posted on November 18, 2022 by alliumstozinnias

Actually, make that two solid metric centuries — 62-plus miles each time — since we — my sister and I — biked back the next day.

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Arney’s Mount: another stunning Burlington County trail

Posted on November 1, 2022 by alliumstozinnias
Yup, that’s Arney’s Mount.

The climbing starts as soon as you leave the parking lot and hit the Arney’s Mount Trail. Climbing is a relative term, though, because this is flat, flat Burlington County, and the highest point is … Arney’s Mount. It’s all of maybe 249 feet, and that’s standing on tip-toes.

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Explore Burlington County’s new Rancocas Creek Greenway

Posted on October 16, 2022 by alliumstozinnias

Burlington County formally opened the 4-mile Rancocas Creek Greenway in September. This trail stretches from Amico Island where the Rancocas Creek meets the Delaware River into Riverside, then across a bridge spanning the Rancocas Creek and into Delanco, then along the creek and past an over-55 neighborhood to beautiful Pennington Park.

How cool would it be to have this trail behind your neighborhood?

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E-biking in Piedmont’s wine country around Alba

Posted on September 19, 2022 by alliumstozinnias

Yup, an e-bike. Why not?

The hills south of Alba, vines dripping with purple Nebbiolo grapes that will be turned into Barolo wine, are steep. Why make this day hard on ourselves?

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Day 3 on Eurovelo 8 in France: We reach Narbonne

Posted on September 9, 2022 by alliumstozinnias

The first question of the day: how do we get back to the Canal du Midi?

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Day 2 on Eurovelo 8 in France: Sete to Beziers

Posted on September 8, 2022 by alliumstozinnias

The goal on this day is to meet friends for dinner in Beziers. Along the way, though, my goal is to reflexively say Bonjour Madame/Monsieur every time I enter a shop or otherwise approach someone. After all, one of these friends has explained, not doing this is considered the height of rudeness (and why perhaps Americans in France are seen as rude, not the other way around.) I know I was a bit remiss on Day 1.

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Eurovelo 8: Montpellier to Narbonne in 3 days

Posted on September 7, 2022 by alliumstozinnias

It’s hot, the sun is beating down, we’re maybe halfway through our first day on Eurovelo 8, and I’m sick of the taste of Isostar (Europe’s Gatorade) in my water bottle. All three of us are looking for water.

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How to bike to Duke Farms (with a detour to the new Flounder Brewing)

Posted on August 8, 2022 by alliumstozinnias

Biking to Duke Farms has been on the list for a while.

But if we wanted to benefit from the calmness of the D&R Canal towpath for much of the ride, the trade-off would be some stretches of busy road. Would it be worth it?

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Lawrence Hopewell Trail’s Full Moon Ride is back!

Posted on June 26, 2022 by alliumstozinnias

I love the Lawrence Hopewell Trail but haven’t been on its Full Moon Ride in – gulp! – five years. Time to go back!

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