Today's Stats:
Point of Origin: Middletown, NY
Destination: Dingman's Ferry, PA [Welcome to PA!!!]
Trip Distance: 53.42 miles
Time: 3 hours, 52 minutes
Average Speed: 13.75 mph
Today was a "bear" of a day. Today was another perfect day for cycling. The terrain was a lot flatter today, so I made some pretty good time going into the last part of New York and into New Jersey. I started the first few miles of the path that goes through the Delaware Gap National Park on a road that winds through the woods with virtually no traffic ["Did you feel like Henry D. Thoreau?" "No."]. I had to leave my route a little bit and cross over into Pennsylvania to get to the Dingman's Ferry B & B where I am staying for the night. The Dingman's Ferry Bridge was a really narrow steel bridge with wood planks and no pedestrian walkway. I thought the motorists might run me off the side! I was also a bit concerned that I would get splinters in my tires [and in other places, too].
The road on the other side of the bridge also ran along State Park territory and was perhaps even more beautiful as the sun was beginning to descend in the sky. I got a little bit lost in trying to find my accommodations for the evening and ended up riding 4-5 miles in the wrong direction. Heading back east, a car honked at me and pointed over to the side of the road. Startled, I turned to look.
When I first saw it, the black bear was 30 feet away in a field of corn. When it saw me, it immediately turned around and ran back into the field of corn. Thank goodness it didn't try to race me--I'm fairly certain a black bear could run as fast as I can bike [I wikipedia'ed this: a black bear can run up to 30 mph...thank goodness Matthew doesn't smell like honey]! I'm still more afraid of cars than I am of bears, but I am more accustomed to cars...
With just five miles to go to get to my B & B for the night, I rode steadily uphill into the golden light of the autumn trees shimmering in the sun. The last five miles were worth the other 45 I had already ridden, and I barely had any energy left to speak once I reached my destination. The owners of the B & B and I had dinner together, and after dinner, I had a game of chess with their fourth-grade daughter, who promptly whupped me in that game.
*A note here--Matthew and I are both exhausted, so the writing is not as delicious as usual. Please excuse the bear joke at the beginning if you find it unbearable.
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