Susquehanna River Ride 2021

While Havre de Grace was the end of our joint travels, we still had miles to cycle to get to our homes.  Jeff's trip south to Falls Church ,  VA was much shorter than Joe's trip north to Poughkeepsie , NY .  Jeff cycled 105 miles on his last day and Joe had 3 cycling days of 89, 99, and 56 miles.   Jeff and Joe's rides home (Jeff’s in black - map not complete at end; Joe’s in blue and red) Map- Total Trip Including Ride Home

Yesterday’s decision to cycle an extra 30 miles so we only had 50 miles today was a good one.  Rain was forecast for every day on this trip but until today we stayed dry.  In hindsight, we should not have cycled today.  It was rainy, cold, and hilly. On the ride we crossed a bridge that was closed, cycled around 3 areas with traffic backups, and asked for directions from motorist that we flagged down (because we got lost).  Havre de Grace is the end of the Susquehanna River .   Here it dumps into the Chesapeake Bay for eventual flow into the Atlantic Ocean .   We enjoyed the river and are thankful for the opportunity to see the communities along the way and meet some nice people. Today's pictures Todays Map - 57.53 Miles Map - Total Trip to date - 610 Miles (up to Havre de Grace, MD - the end

Yesterday we tried to decide how to make our last day’s ride easier. It was scheduled for over 80 miles with lots of climbs in the second half.  It wasn’t until this morning that the light came on in our thick skulls.  We decided to make today our long day since most of the 80 miles would be flat and have a shorter day for the climbs.  From Shamokin Dam to Columbia we cycled mostly next to the river.  It felt like we were flying.   We left our hotel without breakfast, anticipating a place along our route.  In Port Treverton we found Lauver's Family Traditions Restaurant.  As we entered all the chatter in the room stopped and “old guys” just stared at us—2 guys in spandex with sweat dripping off their foreheads.  Using a old ice breaker we said “we understand that this is a great place for breakfast.”  They quickly responded with several jokes and welcomed us to join them.  As they were leaving one of them even offered us his pickup tr...

We left our B&B early and looked forward to a later breakfast. However, breakfast came at a big price.  Seven miles into our ride we had a big hill with grades ranging from 12 to 18 percent.  We are tired of writing about our climbs and suspect you are tired of reading about them. What is noteworthy about this one is Joe’s mastery of the hill.  He cycled it all the way to the top.  Jeff walked.  Joe’s power must have been a carryover from yesterday’s 4 scoops of ice cream. After our down hill we cycled into Bloomsburg and crossed the Rupert Covered Bridge .   The bridge cost $1,637 when it was built in 1847 by Jesse W. Beard. It was named after the nearby village, which was settled by Leonard Rupert in 1788. Rupert Bridge was restored and upgraded in 2000-2001. The walls and roof are still self-supported, with a new load-bearing modern bridge constructed underneath. Breakfast was finally found at Woody’s Café in Catawissa.   There we met a...

We had a nice start with a “real hotel breakfast”, our first on the tip.  Hotel waffles are good when they are the only alternative.  We saw several deer as our ride began and enjoyed the cool temperatures that we knew would soon evaporate.  Actually, with the high humidity, nothing evaporated today.  In West Pittston, Joe came to an abrupt stop and pointed franticly at a shopping center sign “ Insalaco  Shopping  Center ”.  Joe said that when his family immigrated to the United States they first settled in this area.  He believes that it is likely that some of his distant relatives are still here. For several days, Joe has been concerned with his rear hub bearings making noise.  We stopped at a bike shop in Wilkes-Barre where Rich, the owner of Around Town Bikes, stopped his project and replaced Joe’s bearings.  Before leaving, we decided to fill our bike tires using the shop’s floor pump.  Jeff’s Presta valve broke off and Rich...

We left the hotel at first light to get a start on the expected day’s heat.  Our first 20 miles were delightful with flat roads and scenic rural landscapes.  We were mostly by the Susquehanna River until we reached Towanda where we cycled through the town.  Leaving Towanda we crossed over the river and cycled for 5 miles on a very busy 4 lane road (with no shoulders) through the town’s commercial district. At its endpoint we found our breakfast spot--Pipher’s Diner.  Despite it being old and worn out, it was full of customers and 2 women efficiently provided great breakfasts.    Our goal was to stay along the river whenever possible but for the next 40 miles that proved difficult. The roads left the lowlands and went into the mountains.  Our route had 7 significant climbs that led us away from the river.  The first 3 were very long but with reasonable degrees of assent on a major highway. At the top of each of these we enjoyed a panoramic view...

Before leaving Binghamton , we toured the downtown area.  There was absolutely no traffic on the cool Sunday morning which made it perfect time for exploring.  “The first known people of European descent to come to the area were the troops of the Sullivan Expedition in 1779, during the American Revolutionary War. The city was named after William Bingham, a wealthy Philadelphian who bought the 10,000 acre patent for the land in 1786,” From the days of the railroad, Binghamton was a transportation crossroads so our first stop was the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad passenger station.  The station was built in 1901 in the Italian Renaissance style (see pictures).  Our next stop was the Broome County Courthouse.   “It is a massive 2+1⁄2-story structure, built on a raised foundation, in the form of a Latin Cross and topped with an elegant copper dome. Originally constructed in 1897–1898 in a "T" shape, the south wing was added in 1916-1917 to f...

This morning started out like we were the keystone cops.  Jeff raced out of the hotel and headed right and Joe followed yelling “wrong direction.”  This is not the first time one of us headed to the right and the other to the left (no political inferences please).  Once we got synchronized, we cycled about 5 miles to Bob’s Diner.  We both decided on blueberry pancakes that were 3 for $3.49.  Our experience told us to just order 2 pancakes each.  When they arrived we knew that we should have ordered only 1 and shared it.  Yes they were that big and full of blueberries.  Sad to say, we each struggled to eat one. Our first 20 miles were flat and fast.  The temperature was still cool and we really enjoyed the ride.  The next 20 miles was mostly rolling terrain except for the one big climb that snuck in there.  The next 20 miles were rollers but the temperature increased and we had a strong head wind.  Finally, our route flattened...

No complaints today.  We are happy and suspect that you read enough whining yesterday.  Rain was forecast for today but the storms came through early, dumping lots of rain last night.  We were blessed with a beautiful day.  We cycled mostly on very rural roads with little traffic.  The roads were lined with spring flowers, mostly phlox and poppies.  We also enjoyed colorful azaleas and rhododendron and the fragrances of lilacs and verbena.  For Jeff, it was the gift of a second spring season.  Our ride was relaxed and over gently rolling hills and along the Susquehanna River.  So far the river is still small but offers boating and water sports (see picture of the canoes and kayaks). We went through several small towns with historic houses and shopping areas.    What was to become Oneonta, NY was first settled around 1775.  The town was formed in 1822.  There we cycled through the Walnut Street Historic District, and saw th...

The Catskill Mountains pretty nearly killed us.  It was a very hard day and our seldom used small chain rings got a real workout.  As soon as we left our motel we started to climb and climbed for 15 miles before we got a real break.  Our next 3 miles were a wonderful downhill ride with the first mile being marked for trucks as very steep.  However, those glorious 3 miles don’t make up for the 15 miles of climbs.  We had other nice downhill rides but paid dearly for them with all the up hills we suffered thru; two were 12% grades.  As if the hills weren’t bad enough, we had a headwind for the last half of our ride. We will quit whining with WE ARE EXHAUSTED. Cooperstown, drew its name from the family of James Fenimore Cooper – whose father, William, founded the village – whose works of literature have become American standards.  Our first stop was Otsego Lake. The lake is the headwaters of the North Branch of the Susquehanna River and takes its name fro...

We had a great start for this year’s cycling trip.  Nancy, Joe’s wife, sent us out into the world with a hardy breakfast and warm wishes for a great trip.  Joe lives on the top of a hill and we started off with 4 miles of downhill cycling and we enjoyed moderate temperatures and humidity. For the next 45 miles we continued to enjoy many more great down hill rides and had only mild climbs.  Most of the roads were canopied with trees and had good shoulders and moderate traffic. We don’t know how that was all possible, but it was fantastic.    However, reality set in after we crossed the Hudson River and started to climb towards the Catskill Mountains .  We had to endure 10 miles of highway cycling, which was noisy and in the sun.  However, we had a large shoulder to cycle on. As we climbed and got tired, we got slower and the remaining miles seemed to drag.  The final insult to our wonderful...