PUMPING the Pedals Along the IRON Rails

   Cyclists always say, in regard to weight training, “Adding muscle means more to carry up the hills,” but

I wasn’t in York, Pennsylvania, to check out the barbells that have been manufactured there since 1932. I was taking a ride through the Heritage Rail Trail County Park, a true “rails with trail” route that runs 27 miles from the John C. Rudy Park, just north of the city, to the Maryland state line just south of New Freedom, PA.
   While only the first couple miles north out of York and the last ten into New Freedom are active, railroad tracks run parallel to the trail the whole length of the route. In fact, the trail crosses back and forth many times over the tracks in order to take advantage of space along the right-of-way, as there are several rock cuts and bridges on the route that needed to be considered when laying down the mostly cinder path.
   The history of this route involved the North Central Railway, a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The NCRY was an important supply line for the Union Army during the Civil War, and famously Abraham Lincoln traveled the railroad and switched trains at Hanover Junction (photo below) on his way to deliver his Gettysburg Address in November of 1863. Sadly, after his assassination, the president’s body travelled the same rails on the way from Washington, D.C., to Springfield, Illinois. The modern day Northern Central Railway of York operates as a tourist train between New Freedom and Hanover Junction, often running behind a replica of a Civil War-era steam locomotive.

   Most of the first four miles of the trail, from the large sports complex at Rudy Park to the bridge at Route 30 is paved, then the trail climbs a gentle switchback in order to cross the bridge over to the west bank of Codorus Creek. The trail runs atop the levee into downtown York, eventually crossing back over the creek at the George Street Bridge, right near WellSpan Park, home of minor league baseball’s York Revolution.

Some of the pleasant scenery just north of the Rt. 30 bridge

   I have to admit that the trail wasn’t particularly well-marked at the turn onto the bridge. Even though I had done some preliminary recon of the route online, I could see how someone new to the area could be confused about exactly where the trail goes at George Street.
   Now following the east bank of the creek, the trail crosses a few busy streets, and I was disappointed that most did not have a signal of any kind, leaving walkers and cyclists to fend for themselves against the traffic. When I was safely out of the city, the trail became a nicely-shaded path, and I was able to increase my pace.
   During some stretches out in the woods there wasn’t too much to see, but before too long I reached Brillhart Station (below), one of a handful of railroad structures still standing by the trail. During this ride I pushed my total to 703 railroad stations that I’ve “collected” all over the U.S.

   About a mile and a half later I passed through Howard Tunnel. Opened to rail traffic in 1838, the 275-feet-long, brick-lined structure is the second oldest active rail tunnel in the country:

   The trail had been following the south branch of Codorus Creek since leaving York, and it had been very gently climbing through the borough of Seven Valleys. Here was the headquarters for American Railbike Adventures, which was a bit of a misnomer, as “bi-” implies two wheels. These were more of a pedaling railcar, but I can see how that doesn’t quite roll off the tongue. In any case, the site featured self-propelled machines that can be used to explore an abandoned rail line. It was interesting to see that these vehicles could go off individually or be coupled together to form an actual train of railcars.

   After passing Hanover Junction and the borough of Glen Rock, the incline becomes noticeably steeper, though covering about 300 feet of elevation in five miles isn’t exactly unbearable to even the most casual cyclist! Soon I pedaled through the pretty little borough of (appropriately named) Railroad and was in the outskirts of New Freedom.
   The various railroad cars and locomotives on the storage tracks around the station (below) made it obvious this was the hub of the tourist railroad. About the size of Royersford, the borough was the longtime home of Summers Canning, now part of the Hanover Foods Corporation.

   A few blocks later, I reached the 880-foot summit of the ridge, just before the Mason-Dixon Line. This would be my turnaround point, though the NCR Trail (officially known as the Torry C. Brown Trail) does continue for another twenty miles into Maryland. Leaving that segment for another trip, I enjoyed a speedy descent, which involved a good amount of coasting, back towards York.

Giro del Jersey: Bonus Stage or Queen Stage?

   The queen stage of a multi-day bicycle race is traditionally the most difficult. That day's route usually involves the most mountains, but when talking about the Jersey shore, the bridges are the only challenging gain in elevation!
   In this case the real test would be the distance of the stage, as I was doing an unplanned (Giro-wise) ride from Stone Harbor, almost all the way home to Royersford. To avoid having to do the full 114 miles, my intent was to pedal the 81 miles to Temple University's Septa Station and take the regional rail train to Norristown, cutting out nearly 17 miles of cycling to make my day's final total of 97.

   I knew I was really in for a tough task, as by this time in the summer I would usually have done a handful of 63-mile (metric century) rides and maybe even another 100-miler, but the extreme heat this summer has had me doing consistently shorter distances of 30-50. I may have done these sessions at a higher intensity, but the necessary length of time in the saddle was definitely not part of my training.

   The reason for taking on this route was our annual family "Seafood Fest" and the idea that Sue might need to give one of our other relatives a ride home. Faced with crowding three people and our stuff into our Honda Fit, I decided to bring my Cannondale down with us and make my way home on my own. The weather forecast had called for dry, sunny weather with reasonable temperatures, so I was rather excited by the prospect!

   I had plotted out on my queue sheet the same route (only in reverse) that I had done back in 2016, when I rode from Philadelphia to the shore. I modified my course slightly by, instead of heading out the Stone Harbor causeway and turning north to connect Route 9 to Route 50, cutting out some mileage with a ride up through Avalon, out the causeway there and taking some back roads up to meet 50 in Tuckahoe.

   It was humid in the morning, as it always is at the shore, and I was sweating profusely, so I made sure to replenish fluids early in the ride. I decided to stop at the Tuckahoe Bike Shop for water refills and to wipe off my sweat-dripped sunglass lenses. I had an amusing incident there, when an impatient customer tired of waiting for service and asked me some questions about bicycle fitting. There was no way he could know that I actually had experience with providing customers properly-sized bicycles, but maybe I just had a look about me that I may know a thing or two?

   The air was getting noticeably dryer as I moved inland, and I enjoyed the advantage of starting out in the morning, when the sun was at a lower angle, and the trees lining the roads provided plenty of shade. I was well-fueled along the way, with a couple fruit/nut bars, a half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich made on Sue's wonderful homemade gluten-free cheesy bread and some packages of "Sport Beans", essentially an electrolyte/vitamin-fortified candy.

   Just outside of Mays Landing, I veered west around Lake Lenape on Weymouth Road, and I was soon about half-way to Philadelphia when I reached U.S. Route 322. I suppose most people wouldn't enjoy riding on this four-lane, undivided highway, but it was an early Monday afternoon, so traffic was relatively light, and the road shoulder is super-wide, so you can stay safely away from the driving lane.

   I was moving along at a good clip - holding around 17 mph - and became very aware of some monotonous stretches of straight road. A particularly boring slog was the section between Weymouth and Blue Anchor, where except for a slight right-hand turn onto Mays Landing Road (Rt. 73) and a long bend at the interchange with the Atlantic City Expressway, the streets were poker-straight for 14 miles!

   There were a sufficient number of Wawa stores along the way, where I could refill my water bottles (I went through about eight), but the best spot was Mr. Bill's in Winslow Township. The huge, Alfred E. Neuman-like statue is a well-known landmark for the restaurant. The young woman there filled a large cup with water and ice, and after I distributed the frozen cubes between my two bottles, I was treated to an hour or so of wonderfully cool sips!

   After a left on Blue Anchor Road and an eventual right on Erial Road, I was heading toward the only real hilly area in this part of New Jersey, appropriately called Pine Hill. It actually was a pleasure to use some different leg muscles for a few minutes.

   Near Clementon Park I hooked up with Atlantic Avenue, which parallels the old Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines railroad grade. A few nicely-maintained passenger stations still stand along the route, breaking up another stretch of about 10 miles of relatively straight road. 

   I had mixed feelings about someone pulling up next to me on Route 30, hitting a water-filled pothole and giving me a good soaking. It was startling and unpleasant at first, but because the water was runoff from a nearby car wash, at least it was fairly clean, and as I pedaled along and was drying out, the evaporation on my skin and clothes felt fantastic!
   The definite lowlight of the trip was the last couple of miles into Camden on Haddon Avenue, as the surface was old concrete slab with very badly-repaired joints. Every ten feet or so was an abusive blow to my arms and shoulders, as the shock transferred directly up my handlebars. I didn't remember it being so bad during previous trips the other direction, and I glanced across the road to notice the eastbound lane did indeed appear to be in better condition. Perhaps people are being encouraged to head out of Camden, instead of into the city?

   The new bicycle ramp connection to the Ben Franklin Bridge at 5th Street near the Rutgers-Camden University campus, where one was previously required to haul a bike up a flight of stairs, was wonderful. However, with over 70 miles of pedaling already in my legs, I became accutely aware of the steepness of the bridge climb, not only the incline necessary to provide 135 feet of clearance over the Delaware River, but also the additional 15 feet or so to clear the PATCO train tracks that run across the bridge, below the walkway surface.

   At the base of the bridge, I used the sidewalk crossings to safely negotiate my way over to 7th Street, so I could work my way north the last couple miles of this part of my journey. At Berks Street, I again took to the sidewalk for a brief shortcut against the one-way flow of traffic to meet the station at Temple.

   I really appreciated the mileage that the trainride helped me to avoid out to Norristown, but in the long run, the half-hour off of the bike was not great for my body or my morale. I was sweating heavily and wanted to replenish my fluids, but my water supply timing was poor at this point, and I had to wait until I reached a refill spot along the Schuylkill, between Norristown and Valley Forge.

   Bicycle racing commentators always say, "If you are feeling thirsty, it's too late," and I was definitely making a case for this statement. I was TOAST - that last sixteen miles was brutal! I enjoyed the pleasant shade through the well-known "tree tunnel" at Valley Forge, but think I was in a daze through Phoenixville, because I don't remember the nasty climb up to Fillmore Street at all.

  ...and the only reason I recall heading up Main Street in Royersford - the slowest I've ever done that ascent - was because I was looking forward to a supply of Italian ice I knew was in our home freezer!