Delaware's Gorgeous Greenways

   I have been putting in so many miles this year (nearing 5000!) that I’ve been regularly seeking out new places to ride. During a couple drives earlier this year along I-95, I had noticed a newly-developed trail sweeping across the marshlands south of Wilmington, and I had planned to get back to the area with a bike to explore the area.

   On a particularly beautiful day a couple of weeks ago, I left my car in New Castle County’s River Road Park and set off south along Governor Printz Boulevard (U.S. 13) towards the city. I immediately noticed, what would be a continuing occurrence all day long, wide road shoulders marked as bike lanes, which were clean of stones and debris! Unfortunately, after a couple miles of pedaling into the city, I had to take to the sidewalk to avoid the repair work on the bridge over the Brandywine Creek.

   Wilmington isn’t a huge metropolis, and traffic was rather sparse during midday as I zigzagged down Spruce, 4th and Poplar Streets to reach the Riverwalk, right near the train station designed for the Pennsylvania Railroad by Frank Furness.

   The station is still served by Amtrak and Septa passenger trains, but having been through this area before many times, I didn’t hang around too long to see one come through. The Riverwalk is now officially designated part of the Jack A. Markell Trail to honor the man who served as Delaware’s governor from 2009-2017 and strongly supported the path's development. There were many restaurants and offices, as well as the Blue Rocks’ baseball stadium nearby as I followed the route along the Christiana River.

   The wooden planks of the boardwalk rumbled under my tires as I finally entered the more remote areas of the Peterson Wildlife Refuge. From the Dupont Environmental Education Center, the boardwalk bridge sweeps down over the wetlands out towards I-95, where it bends south to cross the river. After a couple miles of cycling, a connection is made with the (former) New Castle Industrial Track Trail.

   I can imagine this 2.5-mile route is a particularly nice place to ride on hot summer days, as it is set low in a tree-shaded trench through suburban neighborhoods, with only a couple road crossings. I made a right-hand turn onto 7th Street when the trail ended, and was heading along another wide on-road bike lane on Route 9, along the Delaware River.

   I picked a particularly great day to ride, as there was almost no wind – a rarity in this very flat terrain! The first few miles were enjoyable, skirting the wetlands along the river and eventually pedaled into some farmlands. The view changed significantly as I crossed Red Lion Creek. Much like my ride into Northeast Philadelphia, I wouldn’t say this area was scenic, but along the state’s chemical coast, there was plenty to see, if you like refineries and tank farms.

   Luckily, it didn’t last long, and I made a turn east toward the pretty little community of Delaware City. Just before reaching the access channel to the marina, I headed right onto the Michael N. Castle Trail which runs west along the bank of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. The waterway serves as an important commercial shipping shortcut between its namesake bays, allowing boats travelling between the ports of Baltimore and Philadelphia to avoid the long journey south around the Delmarva Peninsula.

   I only saw a couple of pleasure craft and a push-boat/barge, but the views along the canal were very pleasant, and I always enjoy the company of a few gulls! When in this area, I always think of wonderful trips had on my father’s sailboat, but I also remember the work/money involved in marine maintenance, so I have no unrealistic aspirations to get back into that lifestyle.

   I followed the trail for about 4.5 miles to the St. Georges trailhead, which sits in the shadow of the high U.S. 13 bridge that spans the canal. I then weaved my way through town to reach the highway, which has much of its traffic diverted onto the newer Dupont Highway (Delaware Rt. 1) which parallels a bit to the west. Again, the clean, car-width bike lane/shoulder provided relaxing conditions for travel.

   The road becomes Route 7, and I continued for about six miles, through the communities of Red Lion and Bear, then turned onto Route 273. This probably wasn’t my favorite part of the ride, as traffic picked up on this busy commercial four-lane boulevard, but the wide shoulder was still there, and as long as I paid attention to the cars going in and out of the strip malls and other businesses along the way, it wasn’t too bothersome.

   I actually crossed over the Industrial Track Trail after four miles, but not wanting to repeat parts of the day’s course, I pedaled on into New Castle then veered north on 6th Street to reach Route 9. This was probably the most unpleasant riding I encountered, as the four-lane boulevard was older concrete slab with almost no shoulder and high curbs, but it thankfully lasted only a few hundred yards when an almost empty residential parking lane (at this time of day) began, giving me some welcome breathing room.

   There was another slightly intimidating area at the junction of I-295, but I pushed through and was soon returning to the land of wide-shouldered, Wilmington-area streets. Now on New Castle Avenue, I soon turned on A Street over to Walnut to cross back over the Christiana River and into the downtown area.

   I have to admit that I become ultra-focused when riding in cities, and I don’t really remember if there was a bike lane or sharrows through here, and there was some power line maintenance here that I had to weave around, but traffic wasn’t bad, so I had some freedom to maneuver. It didn’t seem long before I was turning left onto 16th Street and making my way across the Brandywine Creek at the King Street bridge.

   I headed left on Park Drive and rode past the Brandywine Zoo to join the winding, up and down trail that leads into Alapocas Run State Park. At a triangular intersection of trails, I turned right and headed up a nasty steep climb that weaves up the cliff side of the creek gorge. My day’s route hadn’t included much climbing, so I had plenty left and actually enjoyed powering up the narrow path into the thick forest.

   Not that I would have wanted to be coasting out of control anyway down an unfamiliar trail, but I had to take caution on the descents because leaves had been falling and I didn’t want to slide out in any of the turns. I passed a few inconsiderate corporate types who were walking three or four across during their end-of-the-day strolls in the park, but otherwise the variety in scenery and riding conditions was very enjoyable.

   I will warn anyone trying to find their way along this wonderful (roughly) five-mile trail that connects Alapocas, Rockwood and Bringhurst Woods with Bellevue State Park, that you can get misdirected. Paying attention to the East Coast Greenway signs makes the journey fairly simple. There is a brief transition area along Weldin Ridge and Talley Roads, as the trail ducks under I-95, but it is still road-separated, and you are soon heading back into the wooded hills.

   I ended my trail ride at Bellevue Parkway, which became Cauffiel Parkway, which heads downhill towards the Delaware River. I made a right at the bottom, back onto Governor Printz Boulevard to return to my car. There are probably some little tweaks I’d make to this route to eliminate some of the hectic sections, but this was a ride I definitely would like to do again!

   I’m getting to the point again where I need to move some of my completed bikes out before working on others – I only have so much room for storage! I did finish up the Chesini Olimpiade, and was quite pleased with the way the pantografia (engraving) painting turned out, although I was disappointed that the fork engraving wasn’t deep enough to hold paint. Every time I tried to wipe the surrounding area, the rest of the fill would be removed.

   Above are shots of the headtube and the Olympic rings on the drive side seat stay, and following are photos of the built bike, which is now listed among the others I currently have for sale.

   I’ll wrap up with shots of my completed Claude Criquielion tribute bike. The Eddy Merckx Century would have had Mavic components, but my Mavic Mania has calmed considerably after the Vitus 992 travails. I’ve always wanted a bicycle equipped with Campagnolo Corsa Record components, and they are definitely era-appropriate on this machine.

   I did include a Cinelli stem and Criterium bars, a Selle San Marco Rolls saddle and a set of first-generation Look pedals just like the Belgian legend used at that time. I’m looking forward to riding the Merckx during this Saturday’s Tech Turkey Trek – hope to see you there!