We were out the door by 8:15 and it was fairly chilly - in the upper 40's, but we were dressed for it. We stopped at Perkins for their Tremendous 12 breakfast which we always share. I can't imagine one person eating all that food. It was delicious like it always is!!!
By 10:15 we were parking the car in downtown Jim Thorpe and then rode our bikes across the street to the bike shop that provides shuttle service to different locations on the Lehigh Valley Gorge Trail. I had told Ken when we left home that I would like to take the shuttle to White Haven, which is the last access point on the trail - 25 miles from downtown Jim Thorpe. We have ridden out about 9 miles and then returned to town, but have never been on the upper portion of the trail. Ken was surprised that I would want to bike that far, but being the good sport he is he was more than happy to see my wish come true! We left the area at 11 and made a stop at Rockport, 15 miles up the trail, to drop off some of the bikers, and by 12 we were in White Haven. Both of us thought it would be relatively warm for our ride back to town (supposed to get in the 70's), but we were in the shade most of the time and it was cool. I was thankful for long sleeves, a sweatshirt, and a lightweight vest.
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| The bus that took us to White Haven! |
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| Ken and I had never ridden the 1st 12 or so miles of this trail that we rode today! |
It was a beautiful ride on an exceptional, well-maintained trail. We stopped numerous times for Ken to take pictures and also enjoyed our packed lunch at a picnic table along the ride. Still the leaf change is not extremely dramatic, but I believe that will be the trend this year. A lot of the leaves have already fallen and the ones that are still on the trees do not have a lot of color. Maybe a week or 2 will make a difference, but I still think it will be an off year for beautiful fall foliage! Just enjoy the photos - not much I can say except it was lovely!
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| I should mention that I was surprised by all the huge rhododendron that were along the path. I need to see them in bloom! |
We enjoyed taking a break to check-out Buttermilk Falls -
and then we did stop at the place where Ken had put 3 coins on the railroad track on Sunday but a train had never passed that day to "flatten" them. We were able to find 2 of them which was rather amazing. The other one is there for someone else to claim!
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| Here comes the train! |
Here are a few additional photos Ken took while we were riding the trail. We love seeing reflections in the water from the trees and bushes on the edge of the water -
We returned to the parking lot in Jim Thorpe around 4:15 after riding 25 miles - quite a ride for these older folks and our derrieres, but what a sense of accomplishment!
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| We made it and arrived at the parking lot in Jim Thorpe! Hallelujah!!! |
For some reason the drive to Jim Thorpe has gone so smoothly both times we went there on this trip, but coming back to the CG has been "painful". Both times there was an accident on Interstate 80 and Goggle tried to take us on some crazy detour that made no sense. We had to use our own judgment on the return trips or we would still be driving - Really!!!!!!
We stopped at Subway on the way home, for we felt too tired to have to make dinner. We arrived at the CG just in time for the World News. After showers, we played two rounds of Hand and Foot - Ken won the game we finished and is leading in the next game - I just can't seem to beat him at this game!
I downloaded photos and worked on this blog while Ken did more reading.
It has been a wonderful day and it was a great weather day for riding on the trail!
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