I have been putting in some long early
season rides to prepare for the distance of the event, and I have been mixing in as
many hilly routes as possible, knowing that the Brandywine course is going to
be a constant series of ups and downs. I understand what the organizers were
thinking when they named the event and the connection they were trying to make with the rugged pro race known as
the “Hell of the North”, but the cobbled classic held in France is practically
pan flat. This will definitely not be Roubaix!
A few of us have been training together regularly,
and we discussed long ago the idea to wait and register the day of the event.
It can be cold and rainy in April, and although we certainly support fundraiser
rides and understand fees to organize these types of rides, we also reserve the
right to bail on the event, as none of us want to pay to punish ourselves through
4-5 hours of lousy weather conditions! The ride is scheduled for this coming
Sunday, and we’re keeping an eye on the forecast to make a final call on
participation later in the week.
A couple weeks ago I did a loop of about 43
miles, down the towpath trail in Delaware Canal State Park to its southern
terminus and then cutting back across the farmlands of Bucks County. It was
supposed to get up to the mid-60s, but the sun never poked through the clouds
to warm up the air, and I was glad that I had started off wearing my long
sleeves, as I ended up never taking them off. The temperature never got out of
the mid-50s and even a little drizzle fell on me at times!
My starting point was the Thompson-Neely
House at Washington Crossing Historical Park. The homestead served as a
regimental army hospital during the Revolutionary War winter campaign of
1776/1777.
The Thompson-Neely House sits on River Road,
right at the end of Aquetong Road. Classic rock fans will understand why a
certain guitar riff
always runs through my head whenever I see that road’s name.
A distinctive reddish crushed stone
comprises the surface for the majority of the park, and the early part of the
route was quite beautiful. I was a bit envious of some of the homes that sat up
on high ground overlooking the canal. These homes enjoyed the additional view
of the Delaware River during the winter months when the trees were clear of
their leaves!
Just north of Yardley, there was some
construction near the overpass of Interstate 295, and the trail was closed with
no real indication of a detour route. These moments make you happy to be
familiar with your surroundings, or at least glad that you had reviewed a map
before heading out on the ride. I headed toward the river and followed Route 32
south for a couple of miles until I could find a small road that cuts back
toward the trail.
A short section of the towpath in Yardley becomes
a paved residential road, North Edgewater Avenue, and there were some neat
little homes practically right on the canal. Unfortunately, the design and
quality of the individual homes is not consistent, and the neighborhood suffers
a bit because of this.
The trail swings away from the river a bit for
a while, and it seems much more rural along the trail, though you realize you
are just a couple blocks either direction from a fairly well-populated area.
Soon I reached Calhoun Street in Morrisville, a spot with which I am quite
familiar. I often cross the bridge here to Trenton, New Jersey, when I do a big
loop ride west from the state capital, out towards Flemington and then east to
meet the Delaware and Raritan Canal area to make my return.
A short distance from here the towpath is
not rideable, and there is a short detour on road – not marked at all, of
course. I took a set of steps down off of West Bridge Street in Morrisville to
return to the canal trail. The conditions here are quite disappointing, with
plenty of garbage dumped along the pathway.
After ducking under Route 1, things
improved, and I enjoyed riding along the rails of the Northeast Corridor. I saw
a couple of local freight trains, and several Amtrak passenger trains flew by.
Again, I was a very short distance from civilization, but the surroundings were
very quiet and felt secluded as I passed along the north end of Van Sciver
Lake, just outside of Levittown.
Unfortunately, the canal itself is severed
near the intersection of Bristol Pike and the Levittown Parkway, but the trail
is nicely weaved under the roadways to continue without interruption. Running
parallel to a heavy commercial route, the atmosphere of riding the towpath had
completely changed, although the crushed stone surface appeared to be
maintained well enough. Remnants of the original canal were still to my right,
though they were not always containing water.
The canal is again severed where Bristol
Pike heads under the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and although the trail does
continue of the opposite side of the pike and skipping the bike across the
short, grassy median strip looked like an option, it seemed like a much smarter
decision not to risk crossing the busy four-lane highway. I continued a few
hundred yards south, crossed with the traffic light at the Green Lane intersection
and worked my way back to the towpath.
There was a wooded section here before the
trail ducked under the Northeast Corridor tracks and emerged to reveal an
attractive scene overlooking the lagoon near the Grundy Mill Complex and Clock
Tower.
The mill is currently being redeveloped as a
multi-tenant commercial complex, but it is on the National Register of Historic
Places and once consisted of thirteen textile manufacturing buildings constructed
between 1876-1930. During the 1920s, the Bristol Worsted Mills, as it was
officially titled, was the largest employer in the county.
I received a special bonus here at the mill,
as the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Bristol Station, was conveniently nearby.
Regular readers will know of my interest in railroads, and I have a collection
of over 600 stations/depots all over the country that I have visited and
photographed. Because of the raised railroad right-of-way and platforms, this
older building now serves as a day care center.
I made a turn on Bath Road and headed north
onto Bristol Oxford Valley Road. I can’t say the first couple of miles onto Woodbourne Road were too enjoyable, as it was a four-lane commercial road, but
conditions improved after that, and I was soon weaving my way into the heart of
Bucks County. I crossed the northern tip of Lake Luxembourg and continued on roads
such as Twining, that had a nice, wide shoulder, and Lindenhurst, which
actually had a section of parallel paved trail.
Highland and Slack Roads were probably the
riding highlight since I had left the early part of the canal towpath, as I pedaled
past the Washington Crossing National Cemetery and through acres of rolling
farmland. I eventually met up again with River Road, just about a mile south of
my starting point.
I was pleased to find that, despite the cool weather, my left leg was feeling pretty good while I was changing into some drier/warmer clothes for the drive home. Perhaps I was finally turning the corner to complete recovery from this nagging injury!
No comments :
Post a Comment