delaware day one

Tom H invited a number of his Insane Bike Posse (and their hangers-on) for an overnighter with rides in Delaware and Pennsylvania for this Columbus Day weekend. I came along; The Excellent Wife (TEW) decided that she would utilize the time with a well-earned break from my whininess and pomposity.

We are seven on the trip as I write this at stupid:30 AM Monday morning. A few of us met for a caravan at one of Tom's starting points in Bordentown (Ricky G was kind enough to offer me a ride); the others met us at the ride start at Valley Garden Park near Greenville, DE.

It's a hilly, demanding route, for which I really wasn't ready for the first few miles; I used gears that were too tall, and was surprised at every "turn and climb" for several miles. I finally found my legs...

... and spent the next several miles (and off-and-on throughout the ride) being perplexed and dismayed by driver behavior. By that time in the ride, we'd ridden into Pennsylvania, and drivers would come up behind us on those no-shoulder roads... and just stay there, for long distances. No honks, no passing on blind hills or curves, no come-close when they finally did pass. I kept listening for the ca-chick of the shotgun being cocked, but none came. I'm used to the behavior of Central Jersey drivers, which is different; this politeness is eerie. 

I hadn't eaten enough in the morning, and was grateful when we got to the stop at the Northbrook MarketPlace.

For Central NJ readers, it's similar to the Battleview Orchards to which we go. I got a supply of carbs on which to finish the ride; they were certainly satisfactory. I recommend the stop if you're in the neighborhood (they treated us like folks, too, which is important to me).

On we went to finish the ride. It was a delightful, cool day.

... and, of course, this being a Tom H ride, there was this:

...but we didn't even need to dismount, so it barely counts.

After the ride, we repaired to the hotel, a Comfort Inn in Newark, DE, which was not-too-expensive and decent. We went to a local brew pub for snacks, then I came back to the hotel and tried to nap until dinner (the bed wasn't great for my back; I was hobbling along on a cane last night).

Dinner was at a local diner, where the waitress complained that she, as the only experienced staff, was overworked, and then proceeded to treat us with such efficiency and deference that we swamped her with a tip.

Ride page. Tom thought today's ride might be flatter, but made no promises. One hopes...