June 7, Tunkhannock, PA

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 of the valley below. After these climbs we dropped back down to the river and cycled for a while on country roads.  The last 4 climbs were also on the highway.  While these assents were similar to the earlier ones, their shoulders were in poor condition.  Besides being in need of repair, they had lots of debris on them, making the climbs and descents challenging. Nor did these last climbs provide a scenic overlook to compensate for the efforts to reach their top.  Luckily, we had a nice descent into Tunkhannock for our hotel.

Today's pictures

Map Today 59 miles

Map - Total Trip to date - 353 Miles (up to Tunkhannock, PA)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

June 11 Havre de Grace, MD

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
Read more

June 06, Sayre, PA

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...
Read more

June 8 Berwick

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...
Read more