Rain delay and rolling terrain

I got up in the morning at my friend Wendell's parents home and got ready to pedal towards New Jersey. I was all dressed and had my bags locked on to the bike when I felt a few drops on my arm. I figured it would be a good idea to take a minute to look at the forecast. While I was inside, it started to pour as I read that most of eastern Pennsylvania was in a flood watch or warning. There were parts of the storm that were dumping almost 2" in less than an hour. I had gotten out of bed early in hopes of making a long day, but the rain delayed my start time to 1:00pm.

As I left Pennsylvania I found a welcome to PA sign to take my picture by, since I had missed it on my way in. On the other side of the bridge, New Jersey did not welcome me. I was following the Delaware River, which makes up the border between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, for most of the day and I couldn't find a sign welcoming me to New Jersey. I took a break for supper in Phillipsburg, NJ, and talked with a traffic officer for a while. He gave me lodging suggestions for the area, ranging from squatting under the bridge to a Holiday Inn Express on the edge of town. I didn't think I had covered enough ground for the day, so I ended up pushing on. He also told me that the hotels in the area might be priced a little higher than usual because Thomas the Tank Engine was in town. I didn't know that would draw a crowd. And I didn't know that Thomas the Tank Engine made special appearances.

I pressed onward to Belvidere, NJ, and stayed at a little hotel above a restaurant just across the river on the Pennsylvania side. It has 6 rooms, and I don't know when the last time anyone slept in this one would have been. It was a nice little room, but definitely felt as though it had been dormant for quite some time. I think the owners' primary source of income is the restaurant, not the hotel.

This morning I got off to a pretty early start, but made a wrong turn within the first 5 miles that didn't add any mileage on to my ride (may have even made it a little bit shorter), but it sure did add some elevation change. I was a little bit displeased with myself for that one.

From there things went pretty smoothly until I got to Delaware Water Gap, PA. I was supposed to cross the river, but it took me forever to figure out how. The only bridge I saw was I-80. After some riding in circles (up and down the same hills), I asked some locals, and they told me that there was a footpath along side the interstate that is apparently part of the Appalachian Trail. On the bridge I caught up to a hiker who was traveling with his dog. I was impressed at how well the dog was trained, but a language barrier prevented me from expressing that to the owner.

The stretch of road through Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area was probably my favorite part of the day. The whole time I was riding I was in the shade because the road was very narrow and the trees connected above me. There was very little traffic and several other bikers, though none with touring gear on their bikes.

A particularly long lunch break in Layton (understaffed diner) set me back a little further. When I did get back on the bike, I was seriously lacking motivation. I was sick of the constant rise and fall of the road that prevented me from getting into any kind of rhythm and it was getting hot. I kept thinking about how many miles behind schedule I am and pressed onward. Near Montague, NJ, I made a brief wrong turn that actually led me to a "welcome to New Jersey" sign, so it wasn't a total loss.

A stop in Port Jervis, NY, for a strawberry milkshake and one more in Cuddebackville, NY, to check the weather (ominous clouds and a change in the wind ended up being nothing) and I was on towards Middletown, NY, where I have settled in at a Super 8. The man checking me into my room and two bystanders were pretty shocked/impressed to hear about my cycling endeavor. It was good to have that kind of reaction, as it's been several days since I've talked to anyone that really seems to care much about the idea of cycling around the country. I mean, people have generally said, "Huh, that's pretty neat" and then stopped talking. It's motivating to meet new people that really think I'm doing something interesting enough that they want to ask more questions.

Tomorrow I should be at least close to the Connecticut border, if not in the state. I didn't get a picture with a sign welcoming me to New York, so I'll have to make sure to find one on the way out.