A girl walked past my bike as I was taking this picture and noticed the sign on the back of my trailer. She gave me a fist pump of encouragement. Right next to where the sign was I caught this short trail that led me through this park. It was quite nice.
Just a few more miles and I had reached the Delaware River. There was a beautiful river walk and I noticed a brewery. I figured I'd check it out. They had just opened, but were willing to serve me a beer. I tried the Sasquatch. It was a barlywine with American hops. Sooo tasty.
The river walk along the Delaware with Wilmington in the background.
The Sasquatch!
Afterwards, I continued northward. I saw this ECG sign and had high hopes. ECG stands for East Coast Greenway. These signs usually make me happy.
I thought it would be a pretty ride along the Delaware, but I was wrong. I don't know if I missed the greenway, or it just wasn't so green. Almost the entire way up to Philly there were huge industries and refineries. Not a pretty sight, nor did it smell very nice. This was my view.
This was the closest thing I saw for a welcome to PA sign.
After finally making through the industrial district, I was looking forward to taking a trail that my route had me on. By far, the worst trail I've been on, maybe even one of the worst experiences of the trip. Maybe a little extreme, but I was miserable. The trail was all gravel which was super bumpy. The spots that weren't gravel were either grass, or mud with puddles. Not to mention it was right next to a major highway which was quite loud. The scenery was also all dead and dried up. I think what really made it the worst was that it was like 5 miles long. I felt like it would never end. Here is a snapshot of part of the trail.
After finally finishing the trail I rode up through South Philly to my friends place in West Philly. After a relaxing evening, my friend Nick and I had dinner at his place with two of his other friends. After dinner we played a friendly game of Jenga then went to be a bit early. Nick had to get to bed because he was running a half marathon the next morning.
Sorry you had such a slow, difficult trail. We are sooo proud of you. You are almost here!!!
ReplyDeleteTo anyone following Criag's blog, he is on his final push. He only has 3 days left. If you haven't donated to Camp Starfish yet, now is your oppurtunity. Thank you all sooo much for following him on his adventure and supporting and praying for him on his journey!