June 10, 2019
Day One: Glen Summit PA to Jim Thorpe PA
Great Weather If You Are a Frog
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Monday morning we put the bikes back on the car and drove up to the Pocono Bikes center a bit outside of town, where they packed ten of us and our bikes into a van/trailer and drove further north to Lehigh Gorge State Park - and the rain started.
The first 9 miles was mostly on Lehigh Gorge State Park trails, starting at the Black Diamond area, which were mostly rain filled double-track dirt trails. It was pouring and the route was a steady downhill through the puddles and mud - I didn't take my camera out during that section. At 9 miles we reached the Pocono Biking Whitehaven shop as a lunch stop, where we could wash as much mud off as possible, refuel and warm up a bit.
It was too early in the ride for me for a lunch stop, and the rain appeared to have slowed, so I took off ahead of the group. Once you are wet and muddy, you can't really get any wetter or muddier, I just wanted to keep moving. The next 15 miles or so were very enjoyable riding, mostly on crushed limestone trail surface with easily avoidable puddles and light to non-existent rain. Due to all the rain, there were many scenic waterfalls along the way on the right-hand side where they had blasted through rock, with the river on the left.
After Buttermilk Falls there was about 15 miles remaining and the trail moved away from the river to follow the rail tracks to Jim Thorpe. The surface changed from a well-graded and draining crushed limestone surface to more of a soft, randomly graded coal/stone dust mixture that was liking biking on oatmeal- and the skies opened up and let loose.
I just kept slogging (the good news was that mud had covered my bike computer screen so I couldn't see the lower and lower MPH reading) and reached Jim Thorpe and the Pocono Biking shop. I hosed off the bike and myself, and squished back to the hotel up the street, leaving a trail of mud up the sidewalk. I spent an hour in the shower cleaning my clothes and myself, then another hour trying to clean the bathroom up. Later, Carole melted the hotel blow dryer trying to dry out her sneakers...
It continued to rain that evening, so we just had dinner in the hotel and zonked. The weather forecast for the next days was sunny and dry!
Today's ride: 36 miles (58 km)
Total: 36 miles (58 km)
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