May 23, 2023
Shawnee PA to Easton PA
Another beautiful day. I bought coffee and a pre-made egg sandwich and ate on the expansive porch, watching the golfers practice on the putting green. The morning started with hills as I went south toward the Delaware Water Gap.
Today's plan called for road riding into Easton, PA. When I rode into the Pennsylvania Welcome Center, the woman behind the counter informed me that Rt 611 was closed due to a landslide. She suggested crossing the Delaware, going to the New Jersey side, riding to Columbia and recrossing the Delaware at Portland, PA. I took the bridge and realized there was no safe way to get to Columbia. I would have had to ride on Interstate 80.
While I was trying to work out my options in the closed Kittatinny Point Visitors Center parking lot, I explained my dilemma to some men transporting canoes. One of the men said he had seen some dirt bike riders ride through Rt 611 the other day. I walked my bike back over the Delaware, obeying the signage–motivated by the State Trooper parked at the end. I pedaled past the barricades and enjoyed the “closed” Rt 611. I did not see a landslide, workers, guards, tourists, cars or a reason for the closed road. Just me, my bicycle and the view.
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I rode 611 and River Road most of the day. Hills and forests, hills and farmland, and light traffic. My route, at one point, inexplicably put me through a working quarry. I exited by lifting my bicycle through a barricade.
I was back on the sidewalk as I approached Easton. There, I nabbed a huge room in the Grand Eastonian and negotiated a better price by showing a Google price quote. The room had a jacuzzi bathtub, a big plus for my aching legs.
Easton was a nice, small city with a main drag that had a variety of restaurants within walking distance of the hotel. I stopped at the Chamber of Commerce and asked about a self-guided walking tour or bicycle route that might show off the splendors of the city. The nice lady had nothing. I ate a fried chicken dinner at the Bayou on Centre-Square Circle (go figure) across from the Crayola Experience. Dollar Beignet Night made for a nice desert.
Today's ride: 40 miles (64 km)
Total: 142 miles (229 km)
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