82 Miles (mostly) On the Lehigh Canal

   During part of the Turkey Trek, I was riding with my friend Lee, and I was telling him how I wanted to ride the length of the D&L Trail from Mountain Top (about 7 miles south of Wilkes-Barre) to Easton, where the Lehigh River meets the Delaware. I explained that I had been trying to organize the trip with another friend for a while and was getting nowhere.
   He mentioned that I should have done it weeks ago, when it was not only warmer, but there had been more color in the trees up north. "I know!" I replied and explained the circumstances were beyond my control. Not that he should ever consider himself a second choice, but I asked if it would be something he might be interested in doing, and he seemed enthusiastic.

   In the back of my mind I wondered how much time he might be able to tolerate with me, but Lee is always a good sport, as he had teamed-up for the epic NYC-Croton Aqueduct Trail trip in the spring of 2022. Although there wouldn't be quite as much driving together during this trip, there would still be a bit of car shuttling involved in this excursion, and I promised that I would leave him to some quiet riding out in nature!
   We met early in the morning at the Northern Terminus of the Delaware Canal Trail (part of the D&L network), where I left my car, and we took our bikes in his vehicle up into the mountains. It is difficult to judge what to wear in the early autumn, as the morning air can be near freezing, but you just know you are going to feel overdressed as it warms up into the afternoon.
   Turns out I didn't have to worry at all about the crisp air, as Lee set the early pace, and we blew through the first ten miles into White Haven. I already had my jacket front unzipped to let the heat escape, and Lee later informed me we had set the second fastest Strava time on that segment! I told him that pace had better not last, or we wouldn't be able to walk very well later.

   Although the trees up in the northern section of the gorge were pretty clear of leaves by this time in November, we were afforded plenty of beautiful views of the rocky upper Lehigh River. We had been mostly pedaling alone so far, but the cyclist and hiker traffic picked up noticeably the closer we got to Jim Thorpe. Along the way we were treated to a couple passes by the scenic railroad trains.

   We noticed there were more leaves on the trees the farther south we rode, though they certainly were not a the peak color that draws so many tourists during late October. We crossed the new bridge connection at Jim Thorpe over to the east bank of the river and were able to see a section of the Lehigh Canal that looked to be in excellent condition. We could easily imagine mules pulling barges of coal down the waterway towards Philadelphia.

Just north of Weissport

   We crossed back over to the west bank at Lehighton and made an extended stop for a "comfort break", clothes adjustments and snacks at a park that was in view of the north portal of the Turnpike tunnel through Blue Mountain. I pointed out the scar across the mountain that was once the Lehigh and New England Railroad and mentioned that this was, incredibly, one of FOUR railroads that once served this area.

   Without the coal mining and zinc processing gone, it certainly isn't hard to believe that there is only (and just barely) one railroad remaining, since there is really no industry up here to feed the trains. I pointed out the abutments for a bridge that once carried the L&NE trains high over Lehigh Gap and told Lee about the derailment at Slatington that destroyed the large brick Lehigh Valley Railroad station.

North of Cementon

   I found it a bit hard to believe it was nearly a year ago when I was out here exploring some of the area rail trails connecting to this stretch of the D&L Trail. I recalled the less-than-perfect paving conditions through Northampton, but I had not experienced the primitive state of the canal trail through Catasauqua. There were so many rocks and tree routes bouncing us around, I was actually looking forward to the bit of street riding that I knew we had coming in Allentown.

   I came to regret my thinking when we were met with an unanticipated nasty climb near Overlook Park. Mind you, this hill probably wouldn't have been overly challenging during the average ride with my crew, but we had over 60 miles in our legs at this point and had just been beaten down by the gnarly trail section in "Catty".

   We made a final extended stop at the Allentown Canal Park to make a couple more clothing adjustments and refuel for the homestretch into Easton. Along the way we skirted the historic district of my hometown, Bethlehem, and caught glimpses of the dormant blast furnaces across the river.

    As we passed through Freemansburg, Lee and I were glad that an ominous flock of birds in a tree above us was crows and not vultures, but we were soon crossing the Lehigh River for the last time on an old, one-lane truss bridge near Hugh Moore Park and the National Canal Museum.

   We passed by a couple more railroad relics, including the bridge to the Lehigh Valley's Easton and Northern Branch (would be an excellent connection to the trails on the opposite side of the river) and the lower portion of the Valley's Easton passenger station. At long last we were looping around the trailhead lot where I had parked my car that morning.

   Lee offered to snap a couple of finish line photos as "evidence of the trip", and I should have been more with-it and offered to do the same for him. I'll blame it on 82-miles-worth of cycling fatigue!

By the way...

   Bundle up, decorate your bike with lights (not required) and bring your holiday spirit on our partly 31-mile loop. Starting at the Cycle Tech shop in Royersford, we'll head out over back streets and bike paths to connect with the Perkiomen Trail in Schwenksville. We'll pedal through Collegeville and Oaks on gravel sections, and reach the Schuylkill Trail, eventually following the canal towpath into Mont Clare. We'll hop back on the SRT through Phoenixville and Spring City to return. Hope you can join us!

She's "Turkey Trek Tough"

   Although we were disappointed that the temperatures were not what had been predicted earlier in the week (mid-60s, but ended up around 38 degrees at the start), a magnificent seven of us set off from Riverfront Park in Norristown early Saturday morning. Because I am slightly compulsive, I did a quick double-check-click to remotely  lock the doors on our Honda Fit, only to turn around and find Sue down on the pavement.
   Apparently, she was considerate enough to yell out to everyone else to watch out for the dangerous storm grate that stretched completely across Haws Avenue as it ducks under the Schuylkill River Trail, but didn't take her own safety into account. Her front wheel lodged right into one of the perfect-width-of-a-bike-tire slots in the grate and sent her catapulting over the bars.
   Maybe because she was just 100 meters from the start and not going particularly fast, it seemed she had gotten off pretty lightly. Most of the pain was in her upper chest, where she was impaled by her right shift lever. Although we all would have understood if she had decided to bail, there was no way she was having any of that, insisting, "I'll be fine." It now seemed the biggest obstacle to her continuing was the lever, which was twisted into a position that would make braking very difficult.
   Mind you, several of us had tools that would normally help in minor repair situations, but nothing we had would fit into the semi-concealed position of the hex nut on the side of the lever. It then occurred to me that her need to brake on the trail would be minimal until we reached Manayunk and that there were a couple of bike shop options along the way.

   With the Cannondale sorted out by a borrowed long-handle hex wrench at the Tricycle Café & Bicycle Shop in Conshohocken, we were back on the trail, spinning along at a comfortable, social pace. Although she didn't quite seem at 100% to me, Sue certainly didn't let it affect her performance among a crew that probably averaged a few miles per hour more than she would regularly ride on her own.

   She pointed out later that it had been about five years since she had tackled the nasty little climbs in and out of Manayunk up Umbria Street, since we had been taking the low route along the canal towpath during recent Turkey Treks. She was rightly proud not be lagging behind much, and she credited it to regularly riding the hilly terrain on her commute between our house and school.

   Although I prefer not to double back on the same route, we regretted the decision to ride along Kelly Drive on the way in, as it was mobbed with joggers who seemed to be amused by being an obstacle to our group. They really needed to stay out of the center of the trail and then consistently decide which direction and on which side they were going to be running!

   It turns out we soon had to come to a complete stop at Boathouse Row when a crew team blocked the entire trail. They must have been inexperience with loading/unloading their boats, because they had parked too closely to the door and couldn't swing their shell (I checked the correct term - a scull is a boat propelled by rowers with an oar in each hand) through the tight space between the boathouse and their trailer.

   In the photo below, you can see the woman on the left, in the white sweatshirt and dark vest, who had to duck the tip of the shell between the racks of the trailer in order to swing it clear. The operation was complicated by the fin sticking up in front of the guy in black.

   After a quick bathroom and water refill break at Lloyd Hall Rec Center, we continued on past the Art Museum, around Eakins Oval and east, down the bike lane on Spring Garden Street. The stop/start routine at traffic lights across to Old City was a bit frustrating, but the destination of the wonderful dedicated bike path along Penn's Landing was well worth it!

   I pointed out a few points of interest, as we rode under the Ben Franklin Bridge, past the River Rink, Great Plaza and the Seaport Museum. We talked about the in-progress project to cap I-95 with a park to improve access between the waterfront and center city. We eventually reached Spruce Street and briefly rode on the gentler brick-surfaced sidewalks, instead of the brutal cobbled streets around Foglietta Plaza.

   I wanted to show the gang some of the pretty neighborhoods that I discovered during my City Cycling rides a few years ago, so before pedaling out of Society Hill, we made a left at American Street, which is barely the width of a compact car. We then posed for a photo at the corner of Delancey and Philip Streets:

American Street

   Back on the bike lane at Spruce Street, we passed near Washington Square and crossed the Avenue of the Arts (Broad Street), right by the Kimmel Center. Within a stone's throw of Rittenhouse Square, we turned left on 19th Street, passing General George Mead's home to reach Panama Street. This pretty lane has long been the home of musicians, artists and writers:

   We returned to Spruce, soon reaching 25th Street and the link back to the SRT at Locust Street. The bridge at Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive is undergoing a major repair process, so we followed the detour over the Spring Garden Bridge and north on 31st Street/Mantua Avenue.

   After turning right on 34th Street, we were doing a fast, slightly downhill run past the zoo to the intersection with Girard Avenue. From here it was an easy coast down Lansdowne and Sweetbriar Drives to reach the trail on the west bank of the Schuylkill. We laughed to ourselves to see a handful of people riding in the street, since the newly-laid asphalt on this trail was super-smooth and completely free of traffic!

   The rest of the route was very familiar and, thankfully, free of any further incidents. Sue was expectedly sore the next morning, but not unbearably so. Unfortunately, her injuries seemed to be aggravated by a massage that she had scheduled ahead of time, so much so that the next morning she was wincing when taking deep breaths. 

   She decided to pay a visit to an Urgent Care facility near home, from which she returned with a sling for her sprained shoulder. A bruised chest wall also had her prescribed one of those little blowing (in her case, inhaling) exercise machines to help ward off pneumonia.

   A couple of the guys called or sent emails to check up on her and were only more impressed that she had dug in and finished off the four hours or so in the saddle.

   "Whoa, she's hardcore!" ...indeed!