(The ascendance of will) Depart from the ghost-in-ruins of Union Furnace, echoes of the 1742 Iron Works- Climbing right up Norton Church, ascending along to the ridges of Hunterdon, then down into the Valley of Musconetcong. Past the lush cornfields and quiet graveyards, as the warm August air and the smell of cut grass linger- these are the days of Golden Summer, though they are soon fading fast... Onward the aero wheels lead me. The quiet solitude of the road now belies the struggle within- Between machine & man and the essence of all, which is flesh and blood. Now the valley relents, surrendering to the long and winding, steep ascension towards deep-blue skies and the Musconetcong Mountains. A slow, steady cadence carry's me upward, with labored breath and burning legs. Bethlehem and Hunterdon Plateau signal the closing stages of this rural, historic tour. A final rolling descent back into the reservoir as the sun-drenched day comes to an end...