Day 7: Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Today's Stats:
Point of Origin: Dingman's Ferry, PA
Destination: Riverton, PA
Trip Distance: 60.66 miles
Time: 4 hours, 34 minutes
Average Speed: 13.28 mph (top speed: 42.47 [woot!!!])

Have I mentioned the Dingman's Ferry Bed & Breakfast? The owners were absolutely amazing. Not only did they offer to pick me up when I got lost in the area, but they also treated me to an incredible dinner of chicken, baked potato, and roasted bell peppers. When I awoke the next day, I was again treated to an omelet with sausage, mushroom, and cheese, and secret-recipe gingerbread cake [I am getting hungrier by the minute, but there is no food in the house right now]. Food aside, the kindness and generosity of these people really shone through.

I shared this amazing breakfast with a very nice couple, and we spent about an hour just chatting. They gave me a map of Pennsylvania as well as a map of Delaware Water Gap National Park. My hellacious climb up to Dingman's Ferry rewarded me with a quick descent back to the Dingman's Ferry Bridge, which I crossed back into the recreation area.

I started out making really good time today. Before I left Dingman's Ferry, I knew I was going to have a long ride through an area with little or no services, so I decided to stock up on food. I thought with all the cycling I was doing, I should probably eat some healthy food, so I got a pint of chocolate milk, a Snickers bar, a package of soft batch cookies, and a Hunneybun [ewww, God!]--all that I would need to make it to lunchtime.

Twenty miles later, I stopped on a bridge to eat the last of my "second breakfast." I did not realize the significance of this bridge at the time and set off again, racing through the woods. After going another 3-4 miles, the road seemed to curve 180 degrees to the north and suddenly I felt as though I was heading in the wrong direction. When after a few more miles, I still seemed to be traveling north, I realized I would have to turn around again, or else I would end up back in Dingman's Ferry.

There was hardly anyone out at all this afternoon, so during this time I only passed one or two cars. On my way back, there wasn't any apparent turn off to continue south, so finally I was able to flag down a driver who directed me back to the bridge where I had stopped earlier. This put me up to 30 miles, although I had only done 20 on my route. I wish I had saved that energy because after crossing the bridge, I climbed uphill for what seemed to be about 2 miles. For an idea of how steep the hill was, I hit my highest all-time speed of 42 mph going down the other side.

I reached the end of the national park, spent a quick and slightly harrowing jaunt on I-85 [silent scream], and crossed the Delaware River into Pennsylvania [like Washington!]. I was hoping to ride like the wind today and cover about 80 miles so I could finish up my trip on Thursday, but night began to fall, and I was about 20 miles short of my destination. As I came into Riverton, I scrambled to find someone who would take me in for the night.


Did he succeed? Stay tuned. Find out tomorrow as Boston to Philly continues...