Veg Festin' & Flagstaffin'

#31daysofbiking Mileage Counter: 363.4

Knowing that at least one day this past weekend would be kind weather-wise, I had some rather ambitious plans, most of which came to fruition.

Saturday, August 20th

I knew about Bethlehem's VegFest for several months, and when it just so happened that I had also planned to be up north this weekend for a gig, I decided to make it happen - via bicycle, of course.

Due to the late nights that usually occur after gigs, I didn't get started as early as I'd hoped. I wanted to bike there and back, but I knew I would be too late, so I commissioned my sister to pick me up at the end. At the beginning, I hit up 14 Acre Farm in Lehighton for a delicious farm-to-table lunch before setting out on my journey. Seemed appropriate:

That green is begging to be eaten...

I then headed for the Bowmanstown trail head of the D&L Trail, but owing to my zombie-ness and how I usually never get off that exit, I forgot to turn. Rather than backtracking and wasting another 15 minutes or so, I picked up the next trail head a couple miles down the road:

They all basically look the same, right?

The ride was nice for the first half, as the trail is mostly flat land, hard packed gravel and/or paved terrain. The D&L is mostly old railroad beds that have been stripped of their rails & ties, and sometimes you feel like you're literally riding through history with the ghosts of old industry. In case you haven't noticed, I've been focusing a lot more on riding lately than taking tons of pictures while on the ride, but trust me, there's a lot of unique scenery to be seen. It was...really nice, and I'll do it again.

Unfortunately, the trail is cut off somewhere near Northampton, so I had to detour through the suburbs. I don't mind the hills - it's the traffic and the related obstacles associated with it. Not really why I wanted to go on this ride. But I will say the weather was fantastic, and overall the ride was easier than I thought it would be despite the detours. I made it nearly 24 miles in less than 2 hours:

Your destination: an average parking lot

I arrived, dismounted and got ready to lock my bike, when I realized that I had left my key in the console of my car. I keep my bike & house keys on one chain, and my car keys on another because I don't use them on a day-to-day basis, so again, my zombie-ness tossed my house keys in the console thinking "Why the heck would I need these?" So...

I had to make an unexpected trip to a local bike shop:

Not sure about the name, but the service was good...

I picked up a combo lock for the interim. At the very least, it's more flexible than my u-lock, so when I throw my bike on the roof rack, I can use the new guy instead. Something positive comes out of everything, I suppose.

After a solid ride, sadly, the festival wasn't much to get excited about. I had a much better time meeting up with a friend at a nearby super-micro brewery. Hey, don't I do this stuff all the time after a long ride? I got a 5 for $7 flight at Bonn Place, highly recommended:

Gotta catch 'em all

The festival was held on this thing called the South Bethlehem Greenway, which is a converted old rail line, much like the D&L. It's not a very long trail, so after seeing what I wanted to see at VegFest, I decided to explore. I ended up at the end, near the Sands Casino:

I don't see any sand. WTF?

If you're not from the Lehigh Valley or surrounding area, the Sands was built on some of the land that used to house the former steel giant Bethlehem Steel (that produced the steel that built the Golden Gate Bridge, don'tcha know?), hence the girder overhead.

At this point, my sister let me know they were on their way down to pick me up, so I headed back to the downtown area (and dinner!). Solid day, even if I didn't go round trip.

Sunday, August 21st

Believe it or not, I had NO plans to ride today! I knew it was going to happen, because it kinda just does at this point, but nothing set in stone before, oh...10?

I had an afternoon engagement in the Philly 'burbs, but I decided I should do something "different" before heading back home:

The D&L Trail isn't different

I didn't actually ride the D&L Trail today. That's just where I decided to park, because it was just easier (and free!). On a whim, I did something I don't think I could have done a year ago. I biked up Flagstaff Mountain:

Notice the quotation marks

You may ask, "Why the hell would you do this for fun? Are you training for something?" Yes.

Believe me, even as a cycling enthusiast, it was anything but fun, hence the quotation marks. You can see the 935 ft. gain in elevation, most of which was on the trek up the mountain (there's a small hill near the trail head). This was easily the most difficult 7 miles of cycling I've ever endured, and once again, I was humbled. People think that because I tow 300 lbs. of laundry on a bike that I'd be able to do pretty much anything, but it's totally different when you're moving consistently uphill as opposed to several short bursts (like I do on my route). Thankfully, the road isn't frequently traveled, because I needed to go serpentine to avoid stopping. I came close several times, and I won't lie, I paused for about a minute at the bottom of the hill before starting, maybe longer, I don't know. In any case, I made it up safe and sound, and this was quite the reward:

What? A fence? Psh...

That's the town of Jim Thorpe in the background, for those who don't know from where I hail. Let's just say, the ride down was much easier, but it was a little scary. I hate having to rely on my brakes so heavily. On that note, it may be time for a tune-up.

It's a good thing I did this (or any riding) when I did, because the rains moved in for the remainder of the day, and despite the sweaty mess I became after this, it sure beats riding in the rain.

Onward to the home stretch: just 10 more days...already? Jeez.

Go East, Young Man

Summer is winding down and my schedule is about to get very busy due to football season, so adventure days will be limited for the next few months. That said, I was granted a beautiful and schedule-free Saturday yesterday, and I made the most of it by crossing a few more miles off the D&L Trail:

I parked my car at Canal Park in Allentown with the intent of riding the trail all the way east until I hit the Delaware River in Easton. Unlike most of my random adventures, there's a bit of backstory behind my location choice this time: Canal Park is, near as I can tell, the closest trail head south of Northampton, which is where the trail is cut off due to obstructions and the like. I've wanted to do the whole trail from Palmerton to the Delaware for some time, but until they decide to fix it, that's not possible. This'll do for now.

The D&L Trail, for those of you who are unaware, follows the remnants of the Lehigh Canal for a large portion of its length. The trails in this area are mostly old towpaths that were previously used by workers and/or horses to pull coal barges up and down the canal. Even though they're no longer used for that, they're still quite valuable for walkers, runners, and cyclists:

It's a little blurry because I didn't feel like stopping to take the picture. Case in point, this action shot too:

This area of the trail is an absolute joy to ride on even on my rigid commuter bike, because you can see how well it's been maintained. Even in areas where nature has been left to grow a little, it's still in pretty good shape:

This route was supposed to be easy - basically head east until you hit water! Ha...but there was another trail closure somewhere closer to Easton just after Hugh Moore Park, so I was forced to detour through the city. However, I spotted this neat little bike park before veering off to the left:

My 17-mile trek out eventually resulted in me reaching my destination. Of course, I rarely choose a destination without some sort of ulterior motive. In this case, it was yet another brewery (and one of my favorites beer-wise) that I've been wanting to visit for some time, Søle Artisan Ales:

I rode right past it due to the lack of signage. It's a beautiful old building, but honestly, not much to write home about other than that. The building itself sits very close to the Delaware River, and this cool old bridge to Philipsburg, NJ:

It's funny to see these signs when you haven't actually left PA before seeing them:

As for the place it self, the beer was great, as expected, but my experience wasn't all that great. They didn't appear to have a food menu, so I pulled out the sandwich I'd packed and started eating. A waitress came over and told me they don't allow outside food, and that they did offer snacks (listed on the reverse side of the menu - whoops). Snacks were croissants and soft pretzels - not really what I was looking for, but I was hungry from the ride so I had to eat something.

So, feeling a bit unsatisfied and also in a bit of a "When in Rome" kinda mood, I decided to make a small half mile detour to yet another brewery, Two Rivers Brewing:

I probably should have gone here first. They boast a full menu including vegan-friendly options, and their beer was more modestly priced (and they offer flights):

That was a good little detour. It also enabled me to find a better/faster way back to the trail by going through Wilson borough, which is notable as the former home of the Dixie Cup Factory:

You can sort of see the cup on top of the factory in the background. Anyway, I got back to the trail and experienced a hard-to-believe first on my trail rides, DEER!

I've seen plenty of deer in my life growing up in Northeast PA, but this is the first time that I can remember seeing one while riding my bike. Neat. She wasn't phased by me in the least.

Shortly after that, I got back into the most woodsy section of the trail, which was still in pretty great shape for riding:

I made one short stop for a water break on the ride home, ultimately resulting in an 18-mile trip back to the car. Overall I'd say this section of the trail is my favorite, other than that closure between Bethlehem and Easton. What's up with all these closures?

At any rate, the bike's finally gotten his break-in adventure post tune-up. Feels good, because I won't have many more days like these for a while...

Stop, Drop, and Trail

I ventured up north this weekend to pick up some side work, visit my nephew, and to commission my Dad to help me with an oil change. I had some free time this morning, so I sneaked in a quick 10 miles on the D&L Trail beginning in Lehighton and heading south to Bowmanstown and back.

I'd previously explored this section of the trail last year. Sort of. The D&L Trail has several sections where trails run parallel to the Lehigh River on both sides. This happens to be one of them. Last year, I rode the north section, and crossed off the south section today. As you can see, it was a gray and overcast morning, perfect for riding if you don't mind the humidity (I didn't):

That's a pretty nice trail head crossing at PA route 895, complete with a crosswalk and warning lights. I don't remember those being there the last time I rode or drove through here. This actually was the southern end of my trip out and back. I didn't stop to take any pictures along the way because I wanted to see if I could beat Google. It said it would take me 28 minutes to get there. Let's check the tape:

I mean, new bike designed for more speed, how could I not accept the challenge? I had to make use of the drops at least once, right? Truth be told, I still didn't open the new girl to full throttle yet. Anywho, had it been a nicer day, I might have locked the bike up and eaten lunch in Marvin Gardens, not of Atlantic City:

After a brief rest, I began to head back to Lehighton. I love seeing signs like these:

At this point, the trail turns from pavement to fine gravel, which is only a minor detriment to speed. Makes for some interesting bike sounds, too (trust me). Unfortunately, this section isn't the most scenic, with the main highlight being two relatively new bridges built for the Pennsylvania Turnpike:

Eh. At least the bench provides an overlook of the river:

And I guess there are some neat rock formations too. You can also see a better view of the trail:

I briefly went up to high gear on the ride home. Like I said, not much in the way of scenery here, so I didn't mind cruising by as fast as possible. Lehighton has no shortage of hills, so I got to see how she handled the uphill battles, too. Even though the bike was more than up to the task, I was more than ready for a shower by the time I got back.

Some trails, some speed, some hills, not bad for 10 miles. I think I can officially say my new bike is "broken in."

Black Friday in C-Bus

I took a road trip to Columbus, OH to visit my girlfriend and celebrate Thanksgiving with her family last week. Among other things, I convinced her to take a rather lengthy (well, lengthy for her anyway) ride on Black Friday.

Columbus is a relatively bike-friendly city, but my girlfriend lives in this strange cycling black hole of sorts, whereby every bike route near her house is rated as "moderate" or "poor" (denoted by yellow or red lines on the previous link). Despite this, I convinced her to ride with me to a much more friendly area along the Olentangy River, the trail that bears its name. As in, we actually rode our bikes to the trail rather than trying to jam them in the car and driving there. I maintain that doing the latter would have taken us just as much time as the former. It might have been safer, but it certainly wouldn't have been as much fun. In any case, we survived:

If the foliage looks a little out of place, it's because that pic is actually from September, the previous time I was in Columbus. I didn't pause to take any pics on the actual trail this time around, but you can see from that pic and the link above that it's a really nice, easy-going trail. It's a rail trail that bears a striking resemblance to a lot of the trails I'm accustomed to back home, including the D&L Trail. Despite temps in the lower 40's, we'd dressed warmly enough to make it a relatively pleasant ride on an otherwise beautiful late Autumn day:

Our bikes are both made by Specialized. How cute. What's really awesome though is that I got my girlfriend to ride more than 10 miles on a random Friday morning:

Of course, this was only a very short portion of the trail. The Greater Columbus Area (and Ohio in general) are flush with rail trails due to the region's industrial heritage, one that I look forward to exploring more and more as we ride on...

The Year That's Been: 2017

Every December I find myself saying, "I can't believe it's already December." It's that time of year when most of us are looking ahead to next year, or looking back on the year that was, for better or worse. Very anti-Jedi of us not to focus on the present, but I think reflection can be healthy. Acknowledging achievements and shortcomings is how we move forward, right?

One thing I personally almost never say is, "I wish I'd done more." There's always the feeling that I could have done more, but in hindsight, I usually look at all that I have done and realize that it was more than enough. According to Strava, it's been over 3,300 miles of "enough" this year. Sometimes I think it's actually too much, but maybe that's why it's fun? Who knows?

In any case, 2017 has been quite a ride (pun intended). As per my tradition, some highlights from this year, starting with the top 5 moments all of you enjoyed (according to readership):

1. The Naked Miles - Scenes from the 2017 Philly Naked Bike Ride
• A lot of people seem to mention how disgusted or wierded out they are by this event, and every single year this post wins the readership award. What does that say?
2. Prudente 3,000 - I bailed out my friend and crossed 3,000 miles for the year
3. "It Could Have Been Any One of Us" - Thoughts on a tough day for Philly cyclists after an unfortunate death. I'm happy this is high up on the list, but ultimately it could be higher...
4. Will Food for Bike - Moonlighting as a courier in a delicious barter
5. Bike Lame - An uninspiring update on the status of bike lanes in Center City Philly (which was updated a day later)

My top 5 favorites:

1. 600 - Riding more than 50 miles with friends to finish out 30 Days of Biking
2. The Abandoned Blog - An adventure to the Abandoned PA Turnpike, which was fun despite the lackluster weather
3. DCing is Believing - Work related adventures in the nation's capital
4. Go East, Young Man - Crossing off another lengthy section of the D&L Trail, and visiting 2 microbreweries on the way
5. Tricentennial Cycloblog - The blog turns 300! And I bought a bike for my girlfriend.

Miles and statistics are easy to quantify. What's not so easy to label is the enthusiasm I feel from all of you who ride and join in, and from cycling in general. Words and pictures can't tell the entire story, and that's awesome. You know, the journey is its own reward and all that. But hey, here are some pictures (and intermediary commentary) anyway!

Believe it or not, this was the first time The Bike With No Name experienced snow

 Women's March in January

To ensure I didn't miss out on the first day of 30 Days of Biking, I borrowed my girlfriend's daughter's bike for a lap around the block 

 Later that same day, we rented CoGo bikeshare bikes and rode around Ohio State Campus in Columbus

Next week, my friend Amy and I biked to not one... 

Not two... 

Not three... 

 Not four...

 But FIVE breweries in one weekend down the Eastern Shore of Delaware/Maryland

 I borrowed Mom's bike to ride to Easter Sunday brunch

 ...and occasionally got called into active Wash Cyclist duty away from my office job

Drexel Park became one of my favorite random stops, if you couldn't tell from all the pictures above

 Some friends and I rode more than 50 miles in celebration of my friend Todd's birthday, which also happened to be on day 30 of 30 Days of Biking

 I visited DC in May and rode the Capital Bikeshare from the train station

I returned home the same day, having traveled more than 300 miles door-to-door without ever stepping foot inside a car 

My girlfriend and I took to some trails in Western PA on a camping trip in June 

A rally in support of safer streets after a pedestrian fatality in early July

 Trail riding in Delaware with my girlfriend

 

32 miles on the D&L Trail to visit two breweries in Easton... 

...and finding some wildlife on the way home. 

I braved the elements to ride approximately half of the Abandoned PA Turnpike in September 

First ride with my newest addition to the fleet, My Therapist! 

My message at the Philly Naked Bike Ride 

Black Friday ride in Columbus with my girlfriend

Standing in solidarity with the Philadelphia cycling community to create a protected bike lane just a few weeks ago

 And finally, 'tis the season

The year is far from over. With just over two weeks remaining in my #bikeyourbirthmonth challenge, you know I still have a couple things up my sleeve. I guess that could include the unexpected snow cycling adventure from yesterday.

As always, I'm looking forward to making many more memories with all of you in 2018. Thanks for riding along!