The longest bike path in Eastern Pennsylvania is the forever in progress Schuylkill River Trail. The SRT, when complete, will run from the Delaware River in Philadelphia 130 miles to Pottsville, headwaters of the Schuylkill and home of Yuengling, America’s oldest brewery. (I expect ultracyclists will complete the ride in a single day and then have a Yuenling as a recovery beverage. But I digress….) But its far from complete at the moment. The biggest chunk, the paved trail from Philadelphia to Mont Clare, is 26 miles or so. From Mont Clare the trail skips and jumps between gaps and sections on roads. One day the trail will be complete; perhaps my grandchildren will see it happen.
The most recently opened stretch of trail was between Cromby, outside of Phoenixville, and Parkersford, passing through Spring City. I rode a stretch of it in 2011, as one of my last rides before surgery. But I’d never done the whole segment, and now I had a bike that fit me. Chris joined me at the trailhead in Parkersford, and we set out.
Well, Chris set out. I had my usual small problem. Years of moving a crooked leg onto the right pedal gave me a set of muscles and a mind that is adjusting to a new pedal stroke. It took me a minute to get my foot onto the pedal. But once underway, I felt like myself again.