Birdsboro to Delaware State line, 42 miles, 2775 ft of climbing

(part 4, Lehigh Gap to Birdsboro)

Here’s a map of Bike Route L on this segment, 41.7 miles:

View Larger Map

Elevation Profile

This is probably my favorite segment of Bike Route L. Starting out in Birdsboro you climb up into French Creek State Park, through beautiful forests. It is a climb but there was not much traffic either time I did this ride. The descent back down is nice, and then back down, along quiet back roads, and then onto the first of a series of Creek Roads, winding through forests alongside a small creek.

Bike Route L through French Creek State Park

At mile 28 you enter the town of Downington, with plenty of stores and restaurants; my stop has been the pizza place in town. Then out of Downington, onto Boot Rd and then 322.

This particular stretch, on 322, the Downington Pike, includes one of the worst parts of Route L: there is a segment that has lots of traffic, no shoulder because it’s right up next to a cliff, and a metal grate bridge.

Someone from the area suggested an alternate route to avoid this part; it involves turning left instead of right on Boot Rd, then turning at the first right onto Skelp Level Rd. This includes lots of hills — 200 feet of climbing over almost 3 miles — but it is very low traffic and a pleasant alternative to 322; just be careful, the very end includes a sharp turn and steep downhill that ends at 322.

The rest of this route is just beautiful, following Creek Road through forests, small towns, the picturesque village of Chadds Ford, over an old bridge and then right up to the Delaware State line.

This last segment of L is just a total pleasure, a wonderful way to end your time on Bike Route L.

Overall, L is a great route. My only concern would be if hydrofracking starts happening at the northern end, in which case truck traffic would probably make much of that part of L quite unpleasant.

At the Delaware State Line, end of Bike Route L

Lehigh Gap to Birdsboro, 53 miles, 2540 feet of climbing

(Part 3, White Haven to Lehigh Gap)

Here’s a map of Bike Route L on this segment, 52.8 miles:

View Larger Map

Elevation profile: Lehigh Gap to Birdsboro

Bike Rt L crosses the Lehigh River at Lehigh Gap. There’s not much of a shoulder on the bridge, but there are Bike Route signs so cars should know to watch for bikes. Once you cross the bridge to Lehigh Gap, Rt 873 veers to the left, while Bike Route L continues straight, onto Mountain Road, which immediately climbs 300 feet over a little less than a mile. The road has hardly any shoulder and there is some traffic, though not heavy.

Along Bike Rt L between Claussville Rd and Rt 222

From Clausville Rd on the route winds through rural areas, small towns, past suburban neighborhoods. There aren’t many shops in this area; I ran across a smoothies store at one point in a very small shopping center, it came at just the right time, excellent smoothies!

Hill on Farmington Rd

Taking a break in Lobachsville

One of the most enjoyable and beautiful parts of this segment is Lobachsville Rd, a winding road through forests and fields, some very nice downhills, very little traffic. You eventually end up on Boyertown Pike. At this point I left L to get to a hotel I was staying at; but L continues down Limekiln Rd and Monocacy Creek Road, taking you into the town of Birdsboro.

White Haven to Lehigh Gap, 48.3 miles on Bike Route L (see below for shorter alternate route), 3872 feet of vertical climbing

Here’s a map of Bike Route L on this segment, 48.3 miles:

This is the one section of Bike Route L that I haven’t done. I’ll describe the bits that I’ve driven, and then given an alternate route that uses the Jim Thorpe – Lehigh Valley rail trail.

My original plan last summer was to follow Bike Rt L into Hickory Run State Park and camp there overnight. But for a number of reasons — rain, heat, broken spokes — I ended up at a hotel outside of White Haven, and then was SAG’d down the road by my wife the next day.

We did drive part of this part of L, through Hickory Run. What struck me about the route is that it is a climb, there is some traffic, and there’s virtually no shoulder — not ideal. I didn’t drive or ride the part of L after the park, so can’t really comment on it other than looking at the elevation profile:

Elevation profile of Bike Rt L, White Haven to Lehigh Gap, 3872 ft of climbing

The route I took this year skips this part of L, and travels instead on the D&L Rail Trail from White Haven to Jim Thorpe, then on state highways to join up with L on Mountain Rd at the Lehigh Gap. This alternate is 35.7 miles, and 990 ft of vertical climbing — cutting 12 miles and more than 2900 feet of climbing from the ride between these two points.

Here’s the route I actually took:

And the elevation profile for this route:

Elevation profile, alternate route, White Haven to Lehigh Gap, 989 feet

It starts out in White Haven on the D&L Rail Trail, which goes about 24 miles along the Lehigh River valley. This is an absolutely excellent trail — my bike had 1.18 inch slicks and I had no problem at all riding it. It winds southward along the Lehigh River, through forested areas. The last few miles are along old railroad tracks, over a bridge with a great view of the river, and then into Jim Thorpe. There are picnic benches and even restrooms along the trail. I highly recommend this route.

The D&H trail along the Lehigh River

The problem however is that even though technically the D&L trail goes all the way to Slatington (just south of the Lehigh Gap), there are enough gaps and closed sections between Jim Thorpe and Slatington, at least this summer (Summer 2011) that I decided not to risk taking that. Instead I took highways for the last 12 miles.

On the rail trail bridge outside Jim Thorpe

At Jim Thorpe the trail comes out into a parking lot; go maybe 1/3 mile to the exit, and then you go out into downtown Jim Thorpe, following Rt 209. There are lots of shops, restaurants and even a bike shop here. The climb out of Jim Thorpe and then the descent into Weissport on Rt 209 is okay, though the shoulder on the climb out of Jim Thorpe isn’t very big and when I rode it was covered with gravel in many places. The climb is only 200 ft over about a mile and a half, not bad.

At Weissport I then turned onto Rt 248 for the last 7 miles. This was not a very pleasant part of the ride — divided highway, 4 lanes, lots of fast traffic — but it was flat, and though there was a lot of debris, there were nice wide shoulders the entire way. I left the highway at the Slatington exit, and rejoined Bike Route L on the bridge across the river at the Lehigh Gap.

Lehigh River from D&H rail trail

Another time I may check out the finished trail from Bowmanstown to Slatington; and hopefully soon the connection between Jim Thorpe and the Weissport Trail will be built. In any event, sometime in the future this entire segment of the route, from White Haven to Lehigh Gap, will be able to be done on rail-trails. But for now, it’s 24 miles rail trail and 12 miles of highway.

Next section: Lehigh Gap to Birdsboro

(Go to Part 1, Lanesboro to Carbondale)

In Carbondale, Bike Route L leaves State Rt 171 and turns onto US Rt 6-Business. Here you’re riding into the city of Carbondale, no bike lane and some parked cars, but not too bad. At 8th Avenue, Business Rt 6 turns right, while the Route L kind of goes straight but then turns right-ish.

Here a bit about the Pennsylvania Bike Route signs. First I have to say that the signage on the routes I’ve done has been excellent. But there is occasionally a small problem. The PA DOT engineers have for each turn on the route placed three signs, and they are placed consistently at the same relative distance from each turn.

The first sign is maybe 150 feet before the turn, and indicates the upcoming turn with a short upward line and then a longer arrow pointing right or left.

Then, at the turn itself, there is a sign with simply an arrow; then after the turn there is just a Bike Rt sign to confirm you are still on the route.

The problem is when there is a turn between the bike route turn sign and the actual turn; this gets confusing, and I’ve made a few wrong turns in the past few years because of this.

Anyway, this is one such situation. The sign seems to indicate that you should turn to continue on Rt 6, but in fact, it is indicating the next turn, onto Pike St. Last year I missed that and eventually figured out the correct route by checking my map. But the good thing is that if you do stay on 6, there is a big Weis grocery store just after the turn. This is an excellent place to stop to refuel in preparation for the big 6 mile climb just down the road… To get back on the bike route, just backtrack.

At the start of the big climb on Rt 247, in Jessup

If you want to just continue on L, do not stay on 6; go straight past where 6 turns, and then take the next right, which is Pike St. Bike Rt L continues through back streets, pretty flat, through the little towns of Mayfield, Jermyn and Archbald. At Peckville the route turns left onto Bridge St, which turns into Hill St. It starts to climb here. When you get to the youth sports complex (after passing a regular sports field 1/2 mile earlier), the big climb begins. There is a porta-potty at the sports field, the last facility for about 6 miles and 1200 feet of vertical ascent.

About the first 1/3 of the climb on 247 has these shoulders

The climb starts out with no shoulder, which is somewhat worrisome, but after about maybe 100 feet a nice, wide — 10-12 feet — shoulder appears. This is all newly paved, and even though in this first bit you hit grades of 10 percent it wasn’t a problem, even on a recumbent. The climb goes under a highway interchange and keeps climbing. After about 2 miles of climbing the route joins another road, which doesn’t have as big of a shoulder, but that shoulder is plenty big. The overall climb isn’t that steep, there are even some flat-ish parts; on the climbs it averages maybe 6-7 percent. The first time I did it it was 99 degrees and sunny, and I was fully loaded with camping gear. It was definitely a schlep but doable. The second time it was cloudy, temp in the upper 70s, and I had less gear though I was on a recumbent, and it was no problem at all. Just take it slow and steady and you’ll be fine.

The remaining 2/3 of this climb has shoulders like this.

At Rt 348 Bike Rt L turns right at the stop light. Unfortunately I think the turn signs are missing; in any case I didn’t see them either time. The first time I kept going straight, and stopped at a gas station/convenience store to refill water and rest after the climb; looking at maps I figured out the route had turned.

After going along Rt 348 about 1/2 mile, Rt L turns left onto Golf Club Rd, under a little underpass beneath Interstate 84. From here the route goes along back roads, past the Scranton Municipal Golf Course, through wooded neighborhoods, all with very little traffic, then turns onto Rt 435, which though having traffic has a decent shoulder. After about 6 miles on 435 the route turns off to the right, and the remaining 34 miles to White Haven are along beautiful very low-traffic roads mostly through forests in the Bear Creek Preserve.

Along Bear Lake Rd, in the Bear Creek Preserve

This section is really a pleasure to ride. About 20 miles in there is a short, 2 mile stretch on Rt 115, which does have some traffic — but again a very nice shoulder — but then you turn left onto White Haven Rd, and the last 11 miles are just beautiful, lots of downhill, alongside Bear Creek. A bit of an uphill and then downhill into the little town of White Haven.

Along White Haven Rd

Just a warning: After the town of Moscow on Rt 435, there is literally nothing for the 20 miles after you turn off of 435; when you get to Rt 115 there is a convenience store; then the last 11 miles into White Haven also have no stores or services.

Coming into White Haven, Bike Rt L turns left. On your right before the bridge is a small shopping plaza with a drugstore and grocery store. Just beyond it is a bike shop, Pocono Bikes, which is mainly aimed at people biking the Jim Thorpe Trail (which starts right at the bike shop) and has limited hours.

Lehigh River at White Haven

As I found out last year, there are no motels/hotels in White Haven itself; the closest ones are 4 miles out of town at the Interstate 476 interchange, which also involves 470 ft of climbing. The Hickory Run State Park campground is further along Rt L, out of town. But more on that in the next post.

Next section: White Haven to Lehigh Gap, 48 miles (or alternate route, 35 miles)

From Lanesboro to Thompson, Route L follows State Route 1009, which goes by the name of Viaduct St out of Lanesboro and then Starrucca Creek Rd into Thompson. It goes right under the Viaduct at Lanesboro, a very cool sight. This is a very low-traffic road, gently rolling, winding alongside Starrucca Creek, about 13 miles with a very gentle uphill 1000 feet of ascent.

Viaduct at Lanesboro from Bike Rt L

At Thompson Rt L joins State Route 171. There’s a small convenience store / deli in Thompson which makes great sandwiches, and is the last place before the big climb on 171 (the next place is 6½ miles past Thompson).

On Rt 171, Bike Route L, south of Thompson

Out of Thompson L follows Rt 171 all the way to Carbondale. The first 4 miles is uphill, about 480 feet, but not too steep, I’d say maximum of 8 percent grade or so. It is a climb though. Rt 171 at this point has virtually no shoulder, and is not in the best shape, though they have repaved a bike-lane’s width of the edge of the road for much of the way, so it is at least smooth. Fortunately there was very little traffic both times I rode it, both on weekdays, once in the morning, once in the later afternoon. And it goes through a forested area which makes it a really beautiful and enjoyable climb.

The climb tops out at about 2120 ft of elevation, and then it’s pretty much downhill, with a few rollers, all the way to Carbondale — 1500 feet in descent, and about 580 feet in ascent. There are some smaller roads to the west, alongside a creek, and I’d thought of taking them for a bit, but it turns out they are dirt roads, not paved, so I stuck with Rt L.

I haven’t actually ridden Rt L between Herrick Center and Forest City. Instead, both times I’ve ridden Rt L I got onto the D&H rail-trail. The trail, an old railroad bed, actually goes from the NY State border down to Simpson, but only the section between Herrick Center and Forest City, about 8 miles, is in good enough shape to ride a road bike. To get onto it, from Rt 171 you turn right onto Rt 374/Old Newburg Turnpike. It’s a bit of a climb, 90 feet over less than a mile, but well worth it. You pass Creek Rd on your right, and a bit further on the left you’ll see the trail gate.

The trail is hard packed dirt, pretty good shape, though some sand in a few places, it goes through forests almost the entire way, and it’s great to get out of traffic. It’s a very gentle downhill grade headed south.

D&H rail trail

At Union Dale, there’s a small store, Cable’s Deli, to the right just off the trail, worth a stop for breakfast, sandwich or snacks.

The trail is finished beyond Forest City but ends suddenly a couple miles past there, and the only option to proceed the two miles to Simpson is to switch over to the O&W trail to the left, which is very very rough, so it’s best to get back onto Rt 171 at the Forest City trailhead.

At Forest City, to get back onto Bike Rt L / Rt 171, go left from the trail onto the access road. This access road is not on google maps, though you can see it if you look at the satellite view — it is about 1/4 of a mile after the trail goes under the Main Street overpass; you’ll see a parking lot which is the trail head. After turning left onto the access road, turn left again onto Main St, and then and you’ll see the signs for Rt 171 S, which is the next left turn.

Bike Rt L follows 171 through Vandling and Simpson into Carbondale; this section has more traffic, and goes through some small towns. The roads are okay, though once in Carbondale there are a few rollers and traffic is city traffic.

Next section: Carbondale to White Haven, 59 miles.

Pennsylvania Bike Routes (click for link to PA DOT maps)

Here’s the link to a PDF file that shows the details of Bike Route L.

Overall it’s a very good route, better I think than J in avoiding high-traffic roads (J goes along Rt 11/15 for a stretch, with an interchange to Rt 322).  The climbing is reasonable, a few very steep but short bits, one very long but not that steep part, lots of beautiful flattish parts at the end.

Bike Route L sign, Viaduct St, Lanesboro

Unlike J and G, there are no rail-trails incorporated into L, though when I rode it I did take the 8-mile D&H rail trail from Herrick Center to Forest City, which parallels Rt L (state Route 171 at that point), as well as the 25 mile D&L trail from White Haven to Jim Thorpe along the Lehigh River.

The last part of Route L, south of Birdsboro, through French Creek State Park, and then along various Creek Roads through Downington and then to Chadds Ford, up to the Delaware state line, is, with one minor exception, especially nice.

I’ve broken L down into a few parts, and at the links below have descriptions of L, as well as alternates that I’ve taken.

Part 1: Lanesboro to Carbondale

Part 2: Carbondale to White Haven

Part 3: White Haven to Lehigh Gap

Part 4: Lehigh Gap to Birdsboro

Part 5: Birdsboro to Delaware State line

This is the longest tour I’ve done on a recumbent, and it was great. I got lots of positive reactions, thumbs up from cars, motorcycles, pedestrians, lots of interest from people.

I was stopped behind a small motorcycle outside of Salisbury, waiting to turn, and the guy on the cycle looked back and asked me what I was on, that he’d never seen anything like that before. I have a feeling that this was the first sight of a ‘bent for a lot of people who saw me ride by.

The ‘bent was great on the flats, a much better experience biking those hundreds of miles of flatlands on the Eastern Shore on the recumbent than on an upright, especially going into a headwind. Rather than that last day being a real grind, with leaden legs, it was a pleasant experience. The Voyager in particular proved to be real comfortable for me. I had a sore foot every once in a while, but just unclipped or stopped for a few minutes and that went away.

Parts of the route were not recumbent friendly. The problem is when uphills start to get steeper than 5-6 percent or so, especially since I have panniers, I need more room to maneuver. There were a few places on the route where uphills were 5-10% with small or no shoulders, plus traffic. If there’s no traffic it’s not bad, but with traffic, and especially heavy traffic, it’s very hard and can be nerve-wracking.

Offhand I can think of a few places that I wouldn’t ride my recumbent again, or would walk it.

First is Rt 171 between Hallstead and Susquehanna.  If I ride Rt L again, I’ll take NY Bike Rt 17 all the way east to where I can get down to the start of Rt L; Rt 17 has some climbs, but at least the roads have shoulders. I’ll have to check out that part of the route sometime.

Bike Rt L from Lanesboro to White Haven is great.  What turned out not to be a problem at all was the big 6 mile climb; the very start has no shoulder for maybe 50 feet, but after that there is a very wide newly paved shoulder for the next several miles, the steepest parts,and traffic actually isn’t too bad.

Another place I’d maybe walk my recumbent is Rt 248 at Jim Thorpe headed to Weissport.  It has a climb that’s not too steep, probably 7-8 percent, 185 ft over ½ mile, and there is a shoulder of maybe 4 feet or so, but when I rode this it had lots of gravel on it. There are two lanes of traffic going uphill, but cars stayed in the right hand lane and didn’t slow down, coming in pretty close. I ended up walking the last 50 feet or so because of those conditions.

Another bad place for a ‘bent is Mountain Road after getting off of Rt 248, crossing the bridge on 873, just over the bridge.  It is a 230 ft rise over .7 miles, 10%+ at steepest. If there were no traffic it would be a challenging uphill. But there was traffic, and hardly any shoulder. I did ride to the top but if I do this on a ‘bent again I’d try to find either an alternate route (and there does seem to be some that are a bit longer but without a steep section) or I’d walk it up this hill.

Another iffy place is Farmington Rd, near Kutztown, just south of Rt 222, there’s a curvy hill, not very long but no shoulder, steep and curving, with lots of traffic.

Another place to avoid is Old Airport Rd, not part of PA Bike Rt L, but the route to the hotel I stayed at. Very steep though brief uphill, no shoulder, and traffic. If I stay there again I’ll have to find an alternate route – the problem being that the hotel is on a divided highway and I have to approach it from the east.

After Douglassville, the route was fine for a recumbent. The only part I probably wouldn’t do again is Downington Pike/Rt 322. While it is flat, for a bit there’s no shoulder, a couple of metal grate bridges, and lots of traffic. Last year I rode an alternate route, Skelp Level Rd, which is pretty hilly but beautiful and very little traffic, a very nice alternative to Bike Rt L, though it ends in a pretty steep downhill into 322 That’s what I’d do if I do this route again, even on a recumbent I think it’s worth the extra climbing to avoid the traffic.

The Bike Rt 1 in Delaware had some rollers in the northern part, but traffic was low enough that it wasn’t a problem, and once I got past those hills it was fine. The entire route I took through Delaware, Maryland and Virginia was really nice for recumbent riding, and in fact I enjoyed the long flat ride down the Eastern Shore much more on my recumbent; on my upright it got very tedious and saddle comfort was an issue.

On the recumbent I feel like I spent less effort to go faster – my average speed the last day was 3 miles per hour faster this year than last — though to be fair I was carrying about ½ the load I carried in the past, and the temperatures this year were probably about 10 degrees cooler (upper 80s) than last year.

My average speed for the entire tour was almost one mile per hour faster than last year, which surprised me as I assumed I’d be slower overall, especially with all the climbing in Pennsylvania. I am glad I packed much lighter than in the past; riding down to State College on my ‘bent loaded with camping gear made me realize I needed to go lighter. And staying in hotel rooms every night wasn’t really so bad.

All in all a great ride, great route, great weather.

Along Riverside Dr, Salisbury

Day 6 Route: Salisbury to Kiptopeke.

Saturday, July 2. I got an early start, left the hotel at 6:15, through the empty Salisbury streets, on Riverside Drive for several miles alongside the river, mist rising from its surface, the sun a bit above the horizon. The ride through Salisbury and then out of town is along quiet roads lined with very tall pines, shaded, which was nice, the temperature in that shade was in the lower 60s – in the sun it was at least 10 degrees warmer.

Road out of Salisbury

A few road bikers went by, but other than that I had the roads to myself. The route out of Salisbury goes down to Pokomoke City for many miles along Old Pokomoke Rd and Whitesburg Road, a winding, pretty flat road, with lots of shade. After about 24 miles, it turns onto Dividing Creek Rd, over the bridge and into Pokomoke City.

I went to the place I had breakfast last year, The Lighthouse Café, but it had closed down, so I asked the guy at the River Market if there were any other breakfast places, there was a diner called “Our Place” about a mile down the road. It was great: French toast, eggs, bacon, grits.

The bridge entering Pokomoke City

Then back on the road, crossing over into Virginia, and following back roads through the Eastern Shore. For maybe 10 miles I was on a very straight, flat road alongside a railroad track, then I turned off and took back roads the rest of the way. I stopped for fried chicken for lunch, and took a few breaks. The roads are very flat, with occasional slight dips where creeks crossed the roads.

At the Virginia State line, on Wagram Rd

Last year, on my upright touring bike, my legs felt like lead by the middle of the day, and I went very slow. This year they felt great, these are perfect roads for recumbent riding. The temperature was in the upper 80s but there was a cool headwind which, while it slowed me down a bit, also kept me cool.

Tidal marsh near Watchapreague

As I was pedaling away, at one point I met a cyclist on a fully loaded upright bike heading north. He’d left San Diego a while ago, had ridden the southern tier, then the midwest and Appalachians, and was headed to Boston. He was using a regional AAA auto map to navigate the Eastern Shore, which isn’t much help. So I gave him my copies of my detailed Eastern Shore map, and the Sussex County Delaware biking map. He was stealth camping his way up the coast, I gave him a few pointers based on my rides through the area.

Seaside Rd

I got lots of interest in the recumbent and my ride; at lunch two guys from NY who were working fixing something at the convenience store asked me about the bike and the ride; while I was riding on Seaside Rd, a pickup truck pulled alongside and drove along, the driver asked me where I was headed. When I said Norfolk, she asked me if I needed a place to camp. Plus all the usual waves and thumbs up signs.

More Seaside Rd

By mile 55 or so I was still feeling great, my legs felt fine, so I decided to take a bit of a detour and check out the little water-side town of Watchapreague, the roads are nice, through tidal marsh, only added about 4 miles to my total. I stopped at a little store for some ice-cream, and headed back down the road, rejoining Seaside Rd.

Finished! Tollbooths in background

The last stretch went by fast, my legs felt great, the headwind kept me cool, and I got to the toll booths of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel at 5:30 — on the road for 11 hours, 15 minutes. Ten minutes later Lisa and her dad arrived to drive me across the Bay.

At the end of the trip

Saturday July 2

111.35 miles
ride time 09:03:20
avg speed 12.3mph
climbed 875 ft / avg climb 7.9 ft/mile

Elevation profile, Salisbury to Kiptopeke

Total stats:
6 days
560.38 miles
ride time: 49 hours, 33 minutes
Avg speed for the entire tour: 11.37 mph
climbed 19, 276 feet
avg climb: 34.40 ft/mile

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/513148/embed

Day 5 Route: Smyrna to Salisbury

Friday July 1. Another beautiful sunny day with temps in the 70s and 80s! I got going by 8am and headed down Rt 13 towards Dover. There was traffic, but it has a very wide shoulder and is very flat, so I cruised.

The cockpit: cue sheet clipped to cables on right, biking map in Arkel map case velcroed to stem

The sun had started bothering my eyes, even with my sunglasses, so I pulled into a dollar store to see if I could find a visor. No visor, but I got a cap, put it under my helmet, and though it looked a bit goofy, it did the trick!

Goofy but effective!

Just before Dover I turned and joined back with Delaware Bike Rt 1 which winds around Dover on some pleasant rodes, into Wyoming/Camden and then southward. I took that alternate to Rt 1 for much of the way.  The roads are very flat, several of them following railroad lines for miles.

Cornfields outside of Dover

The roads were flat, a very small bit of a wave, a couple of smallish rollers, a couple of bridges, but really flat.  I did make a couple of wrong turns, adding about 3 miles to the route.

Bike route 1 outside of Dover

At Bridgeville I stopped at a Royal Farms convenience/gas station for some fried chicken, which was very good. I continued on through Seaford (one of the missed turns), crossing the Nanticoke River, then missed another turn and just got on 13 for about 8 miles, to the Maryland border.

Roads made for recumbents: Railroad street between Bridgeville and Seaford

There I stopped at a McDonalds for a coke, shake and fries, continued on a back road a few miles, then back on 13.  Unlike last year, this year I did not miss the turnoff as I entered Salisbury.  Fortunately from the satellite images of google maps, I knew I had to cut through a mall parking lot to avoid a long section of 13 that has no shoulder. From the parking lot I got onto back streets, came out on 13 to cross a bridge, then again didn’t miss the turn to get off the main drag, continuing through picturesque neighborhoods until I got to my hotel, in the middle of downtown Salisbury.

Nanticoke River in Seaford DE

I’ve been very lucky with the weather, only in the 80s with some breezes — last year I think it was in the 90s most of the ride.  And the recumbent is making good time on these flat roads – today I averaged 12.2mph, against last year for pretty much the same route done on my upright touring bike, 11.3mph.  And unlike last year, no saddle sores!

Tomorrow’s the last day, forecast to be beautiful, I’m hoping to finish up feeling better than I did last year.

Friday July 1

77.7 miles
ride time 06:21:57
average speed 12.2mph
climbed 500 ft / avg climb 6.4 ft/mile

Elevation profile Smyrna to Salisbury

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/513690/embed

Day 5 route: Smyrna to Salisbury

Bike Route L through French Creek State Park

Day 4 route, Douglassville to Smyrna.

Thursday June 30. What a beautiful day! 105 miles with some climbs, some beautiful roads, and perfect weather.

I got going at about 7:30 and headed out of town toward French Creek State Park.  Bike Route L goes through the park, and it’s somewhat of a climb to get to the top, though only a couple of places greater than 10%. Once in the park it’s beautiful, very little traffic and a winding road through forests.  Last year when I rode this it was raining, so I got to appreciate it more this year.

As I was stopped at one point, the line-painting truck went by, and suddenly there was a clearly marked shoulder! That did help on the climbs.

Line painting truck in French Creek SP

Then a nice downhill, and the rest of the route in Pennsylvania was mostly beautiful winding roads alongside creeks, with a few connecting busier roads thrown in.  This is my favorite part of Bike Route L, absolutely beautiful and very enjoyable.  You leave PA via the little hamlet of Chad’s Chadds Ford, and enter Delaware.

mid-morning break

Route L in Chad's Chadds Ford

I decided to follow Delaware’s Bike Route 1 this time. Signage is not very consistent, so I had my great bike maps of Delaware (free from Delaware DOT!) and a cue sheet.

at the Delaware state line

Northern Delaware is pretty hilly, and while the route starts own heading south, it turns and goes west for a while and there are some big rollers.

Bamboo in northern Delaware

The route through the Newark area is very nice, much better than what I did last year — looking at the map and guessing, bushwacking my way through and ending up in lots of traffic situations.  Route 1 today was either low traffic roads, or roads that had traffic but that also had a clearly marked bike lane — a shoulder of maybe 5-6 feet on smaller roads, and an entire lane for bikes on larger roads.

Stopped for a break at Lums Pond State Park in Delaware

I did miss one turn but managed to find my way back to the route. At Bethel Church Road I joined up with the route that my son Lucas and I took into Delaware two summers ago (we were coming from the west in Maryland).  Then into Middletown, and following Rt 71 over the canal.

View from the bridge of the canal

Fortunately the bridge is being worked on, so one of the lanes was closed for traffic, though it was not obstructed.  So while traffic whizzed by in the single lane, I had an entire lane to myself on the bridge, which was good — the shoulder is pretty small, maybe 4 feet, which was fine for my upright but would have been somewhat harrowing on my recumbent, the climb part anyway.  I stopped for a picture and continued on.

On the bridge - I get a whole lane to myself!

Bike Rt 1 turns after the bridge and meanders a bit, but like last year, I stayed on 71, then got onto 13. These are highways, but the shoulders are huge, and 13 has much less traffic now than it used to because of Delaware’s Route 1 highway.  This was a great way to end the ride into Smyrna.

When I got to my hotel, the parking lot of the strip mall next door was packed with hundreds of motorcylces! There must be some kind of rally going on.

Overall this was a great day, I feel really good, though sunburned — I picked up some SPF 80 sunblock, and now I know I need to put it on my chest and stomach, they got sunburned through my jersey…

Thursday June 30

105.7 miles
ride time 09:20:43
avg speed 11.3mph
climbed 4544 ft /  43.0 ft/mile

Elevation profile Douglassville to Smyrna