Our friends will remember that the Explorers started an East Coast bicycling tour in 2019. They rode from their home in Lincoln, NH to their older son’s (Mike’s) house in Phoenixville, PA. They had intended to do the next leg in 2020, but then…. Covid happened…… and their plans got put on hold, while their tandem bike took up space in Mike’s basement for three years.
Finally, three years later, they are resuming their trip…. this time traveling from Phoenixville to Sidekick Sue’s sister’s (Cathy’s) house in Columbia, SC.
On September 25, 2022, the Explorers left Phoenixville under an overcast sky and jumped on the Schuylkill (the native Pennsylvanians say it is pronounced skoo-kul) River Trail. They had already traveled part of this trail on their trip into Phoenixville back in 2019. It was very green and beautiful, taking them through Valley Forge and along the river. There is a brief ugly, stinky part of the trail that goes through the industrial part of Norristown, and right past the water treatment plant. Once they reached Conshohocken, they were on a part of the trail they had not seen before. It was lovely, lush, and green with lots of folks out for Sunday recreation. It reminded them a great deal of the path along the Charles River in Boston, with the university boat houses dotting the shore and the sculling teams out practicing on the water.
The trail popped out behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art. There was a long line of people waiting to take pictures with the Rocky statue, so they didn’t stop for the traditional photo opportunity. In front of the museum, they stumbled onto the Puerto Rican Day Parade. They looked around for some good lunch food, but failed to find any food trucks so they moved on.
At this point, they were looking for the main trail that they will be following out of Philly. They get their maps (and GPX files for the bike GPS) from the Adventure Cycling Association and the route that they will be following starts in Center City Philly. It took a little time and a few false starts to get on the trail because of the closed roads and the crowds at the parade, but they finally got on track and got the bike computer working. They crossed over the Schuylkill River and the route brought them through the UPenn campus. They had to dismount and walk for awhile because UPenn has a gorgeous pedestrian walkway through their very beautiful campus. After that, they rode out through West Philadelphia and then on to the suburbs.
All day, the Explorers were keeping an eye on the weather as there was a “severe storm warning” predicted for Philadelphia. They expected the bad weather to hit at about 4:00, and hoped to be safely tucked into their hotel by then. Unfortunately, a look at the sky (and the lightning on the horizon) told the Explorers that the weather system was coming earlier. At about 3:00, with about 40 minutes of riding ahead, the Explorers pulled into a small, local pizza place, Secane Pizza in Upper Darby, PA just in time to avoid a huge downpour. After finishing their late lunch/early dinner, the Explorers decided to set out, even though it was still drizzling, because the radar showed another band of heavy rain coming in the next hour and a half.
The Explorers plan to spend most of their nights at campgrounds, but since they are still not out of the greater Philadelphia area, their only option for the night was a hotel. They arrived, only a little wet, at the Best Western, west of the Philadelphia Airport. The hotel was generous enough to let them bring the bike inside and store it in the valet room to keep it safe and dry. The Explorers enjoyed a quiet, comfortable night (hot showers, electricity and internet…oh my) knowing that many nights on this trip will be far more challenging. 🙂
