East Coast Greenway Ride

  Leaving the forests and swamps of Connecticut, we crossed the Cape Cod cannel.  Sue and I have sailed through the cape cod canal with friends on a sailing trip from Block Island to Maine.  12 years ago we rode bicycles along the canal on a Cape Cod bicycle trip. Within a block of our camp spot was the Sailing Cow Restaurant that had tasty seafood and many signs on the wall to make us smile. One-legged seagulls made sure to let us know that the Atlantic was their playground. After lunch at the Sailing Cow and camp setup, we rode to the Chatham lighthouse taking in a pair of swans, lively wildlife, and dormant cranberry bogs. I discovered later that I have this same picture of the lighthouse from our ride 12 years ago!  The original lighthouse(s) were constructed in 1808.  Two were constructed to distinguish this site from other lighthouses along the coast.  When the ability to blink the lights in a distant pattern was invented, the single lighthouse remain...

  After our adventures at Jim Thorpe, we left Pennsylvania for Connecticut via New York City.  We crossed over the Hudson on the George Washington Bridge, a bridge I have crossed on my bike during the two "Escape NYC" rides I rode before Covid. Later in the day, we arrived at the Nelson Family Campground at a lovely spot next to their lake in East Hampton, CT. The next morning we rode the AirLine State park trail, with the first stop being at the Chandlers Ice Cream shop a short ways from our campground.  Fortunately, we arrived before the store opened and were saved from an early energy rush.  When we returned from our ride later in the day, they were open, and we enhanced our recovery from our ride.  :>) At the start of our ride, a cranberry bog supported many lily pads at this time of year.  Soon we are riding through the "Bishop's Cut," where the rocks were most difficult to cut during railroad installation being over 200 million years old, some of t...

  We awoke to a flurry of bird calls and one oriole stayed still long enough to get pixelated. We drove to the top of the D&L trail and 3 of us had a 35-mile ride down to the town of Jim Thorpe.  The slight downward trail made it an easy fun ride. I am always amused when the rail trail we are riding crosses a running railroad. Waterfalls and views were the order of the day along with lots of people on bikes.  The traffic was quite heavy at times occupying the whole width of the trail.  I don't have any camera shots since I was busy riding when around the large groups. At one point a few miles from Jim Thorp the rails diverged and Robert Frost's memorable statement graced the tracks going to a town that may be a ghost town now. A passenger train leaves Jim Thorpe a couple of times per day to take passengers and tourists up river so they can ride bikes or walk the trail.  We were interested but found the train fully booked for the time slot we wanted, hence ou...

We rode the D&L Trail northwest of Allentown, PA starting mid-trail after Beth fixed her flat.   The rail trail parallels the Lehigh River where an adjacent canal was built in the 1800s for moving anthracite coal downriver to the more populated areas and burgeoning steel industry. The ruins of the old canal locks are still visible in some places.  Today bridges take all the trucking and tourist load. After 20 miles, the rail-trail bridge into the town of Jim Thorpe is striking as well as the town.  It is known as the "Switzerland" of the USA.  It has always been touristy and the desired place to be because of the clear air.  This "Poconos" area is only about 100 miles from NYC. The town has its own opera house and the Marion Hose Company Restaurant was a great place for lunch right beside the Opera house. On the way back to camp, Beth stopped to admire the pink Lilacs along the trail. Here, Beth and Sandy herd a Northern Water Snake down the canal. After a p...