Philadelphia to North East, MD - 66 miles - 2621 ft of elevation gain

This ride was scheduled for 3 different dates, and because of rain it was changed 3 times. With the impending rain for Saturday, October 14, I decided to grab a mid-week ride on a beautiful Thursday (October 12) instead of waiting to see how Saturday panned out. This meant that I was riding alone and had to ask the parental units if they would mind driving me to Philadelphia and meeting me along the route to my sister’s house in North East, MD. Thankfully they agreed, and thus, the 4th attempt at completing this route was a success.

I did some Hill work in the morning, so we pulled out just after 8:30am to drive to the Lloyd Hall Recreation Center along the Schuylkill River and hoped to miss most of the commuter traffic going into the city. The plan worked because we didn’t get hung up on the Schuylkill and found good parking at the Lloyd Hall. After the pre-ride routine of checking tire pressure, filling the pockets with food, and such, I pulled away at 10:25am to begin my ride to North East, MD.

The route started behind the Philadelphia Museum of art on a bike path along the river, then I went to street level to head south out of the city. This route had me on a combination of roads, trails, and even a brief single track. The navigation was going well until I encountered a new airport parking lot that was fenced off on what my route had as a road, so a minor detour had me back on the route. I met the ‘rentals at mile 22 in the parking lot of a Food Lion grocery store. I actually beat them to the stop, they had a bit of a “Big Ben” situation in Philly (if you don’t know the reference, it’s from National Lampoon’s European Vacation). After a refilling of the water bottles, eating some of my stash, and using the c-store restroom, I was back on the road.

The next section had some really nice bike trails through the trees, which was so pretty. I did wonder when it had me turn into a single track gravel path, but it was short-lived and gave way to a paved path. I loved the variety of these rides that keeps me guessing as to what I will encounter next. I even discovered an area that I’d like to return to for dinner sometime, it was along the River Walk in Wilmington, biking through I smelled something really good (it could just be that I was hungry for lunch).

In studying the route, I knew there was one section where I was going to be on a sidewalk/bike path on the left-hand side of the road, but I wasn’t exactly sure when that part was beginning. Sometimes on my bike computer it’s hard to tell which side of the road it wants me on as the line just seems to go straight. So when I approached this bridge with a really wide shoulder I decided to stay straight instead of crossing the road like the computer seemed to want me to do, as the line after the bridge seemed to indicate I was staying straight. Well as I approached the end of the bridge, I realized the bike lane disappeared and it was a multi-lane commercial shopping/eating area, not meant for cyclists. I pulled a U-turn, and returned to the path on the left side of the road that took me for a few miles through the busy road section. It was on this stretch that I met the parents at a Chick Fil-A for an alfresco dinning experience. I was ready for the food!

I had 21 miles to my sister’s house left, and I could already feel the legs starting to twinge with muscle spasms. I guess I should have consumed more salt earlier in the day. When I reached Newark, I was directed to another trail that followed the commuter rail line. Most of the day I was following signs for the ECG (East Coast Greenway). When I exited the trail I was led to some nice rural winding roads, which was lovely. I did have 2 hills in the last 4 miles of the route, these set my muscle cramps at bay, and I managed to finish without a full-on revolt.

When I pulled into my sister’s drive way, I noticed my dad and niece holding balloons. Turns out the end of my ride was an early birthday party, complete with balloons, Indian food (bring on the naan), dessert, tea, and singing children. It was a beautiful day to be on a bicycle, and I’m so glad it worked out to alter the ride date, because Saturday does not look promising.

The next portion of the ride will commence on October 18, and will be a “come-what-may” ride. All of the hotels are booked, time off of work is scheduled, and meet-ups are already planned. So here is to hoping for rain-free days with leaves showing off their changing colors!

Riding to support Summer Challenge rides with Lifecycles, a non-profit mentoring teens through cycling. To learn more and support the cause, click on the link below.