Here’s another great thing about being able to do this bicycle tour: I’ve finally learned to how to spell Pennsylvania without having to look it up.

Leaving Newark early this morning was a good idea. It took me two and a half hours to ride 21 miles from Newark to the Pennsylvania border where I picked up Bicycle Route L, an official bicycle route in the state of Pennsylvania.

It took me that long because all I had for navigation was a Delaware bicycle route map that I picked up at a bicycle shop in Newark. I would ride for a mile or so, stop and check the map, then ride some more. This kind of navigation tends to slow you down. In Pennsylvania, route L is well-marked, but I had printed the map and stuffed it in my rear rack bag, just in case.

Also along the road this morning were a couple covered bridges. Neither of them had a spot where you could get a good view of them. Nevertheless, I couldn’t pass them without taking a photo to share:

Bicycling route L is mostly country roads, but it does occasionally pass through towns. Invariably the traffic picks up and the shoulder narrows, but at least the route is well-marked and there are regular “Share the Road” signs to remind drivers that there are bicyclists on the road. One thing I didn’t expect is a “discontinuity” in the route. I was passing through a town, following the route L signs, enjoying the scenery. I rounded a right-hand turn and ran straight into one of these discontinuities. They had run a gully, complete with a flowing stream, through the road and failed to build a bridge over it.

I could see a route L sign on the far side of the gully, but no information about how to get there. The stream in the gully was deep enough that walking across wasn’t an option. I went back to the main road through town and found the spot where route L crossed it and I was on my way again.

I saw two other cyclists on route L. One of them was stopped at an intersection, so I decided I would stop too. It was great to see and talk with another cyclist. The man’s name was Ken and we chatted briefly about Pennsylvania cycling and where each of us was headed. I was really hoping he was headed my direction because I haven’t ridden with another cyclist since Fayetteville, Arkansas. But, unfortunately, I’ll have to wait for another day. I told him all about The Dream Tour, of course, and gave him a business card.

One final noteworthy event today. On a road near Pleasantville, Pennsylvania, there’s a short road about 50 yards long named Peters Road.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 15th, 2006 at 6:01 pm and is filed under The Dream Tour, Bicycling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.