Today was all about the Delaware River. Our hotel last night was a few hundred feet above the river in Port Jervis, and tonight in Easton we are just about a half mile away from the river, and we weren't much further away from the river at any point during the day.
We spent most of the morning in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, where there were fewer cars than cyclists -- at least today. It was foggy and moist all morning, so we had few great views of the surrounding highlands, but it was relatively cool and pleasant riding.
We swung away from the river a few times, and that always involved at least a bit of a climb, as the terrain pitched up sharply on both sides of the river, as shown here. We didn't have to climb this particular escarpment, but there was one climb that felt almost like it!
For a good part of the morning, Chris and I rode out ahead until we caught Cindy Holthouse -- who's always leading out ahead -- and then rode with her until lunch. She's shown here, resting comfortably after the morning's hills.
We stopped for lunch at a standard road-side sandwich and ice cream place, which had great wraps, shakes and fruit smoothies. Chris and I were with the first group to arrive at lunch, but left last, and took up the rear in the afternoon. Though it was fun to let ourselves go and put in some quick and hard miles in the morning, I'm taking care to enjoy the trip and not try to "win" it. Unlike this video (thanks Ellen!) it's NOT all about performance, at least on this trip.
After lunch, we rode on quiet roads that ran right
alongside the river on both the Pennsylvania and New Jersey sides. The riding was generally on even grades along the river (with just enough exceptions to remind us what climbing was like). The dampness of the morning had dissipated somewhat, but it was still cloudy enough to avoid being hot, though the air was still close whenever we stopped or slowed for a hill.Here's today's route: 74.2 miles, 2,310 feet of climbing.
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