October 18, 2023 - Tannersville, PA loop

Start: Tannersville, PA
End: Tannersville, PA
Miles: 33.0
Feet climbing per mile: 74
Record of the day's ride: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/137616726

I began the day by revising the route I would ride that day. I had planned to ride a loop of about 45 miles, but instead decided to follow a shortcut across the loop in order to shorten my ride. I saw that my left cleat needed to be replaced so I installed a new cleat.

The previous day I noticed that the handle on the door to my patio was loose.

So this morning I tightened it.

I took a walk around the property of the hotel and enjoyed looking at the pond.

The map below shows my path from the hotel to the restaurant. I wondered whether there might be a shortcut that would allow me to go directly to Resort Drive without taking Ski Side Drive and Camelback Road. The big blue dot on the map shows where I was when I took the video above. From there I could see that the shortcut I wanted would take me through the woods. Two men who worked at the hotel both advised me against taking the shortcut, saying it was dangerous because a bear lived in the woods.

The temperature had risen to 57 by the time I departed for my ride. I was soon on Route 715, a portion of which I needed to walk the previous day due to traffic and the lack of a shoulder, but this day's route did not include that portion so I did not need to walk. After leaving Route 715 I was on a beautiful backroad.

Possinger Drive

At mile 12.8 I thought I might have to walk the climb ahead. Somehow the picture below does not capture how steep the climb looked. I was pleased that I was able to ride the challenging short climb.

State Road

When I stopped to take the picture above I stood just to the right of the white line on the road. As I was taking the picture a car came by and surprised me by how close it was. I've added the following item to Aphorisms and Exhortations.

When pulling off to the side of the road, be sure to get away from the road.

At mile 13.9 I entered Route 115. There was a lot of fast and therefore noisy traffic, but after having just encountered a fair amount of traffic on two-lane roads without a shoulder, I was glad to be on Route 115 with its wide shoulder.

Route 115

But sometimes the shoulder was narrower and contained debris.

Other times it disappeared.

At mile 15.9 I walked for five minutes because there was no shoulder.

At mile 17 I stopped at La Roma Pizza and had a slice of pizza. Following my request the slice was made plenty hot but the crust was soggy, probably because it was reheated in a microwave oven rather than a pizza oven. I enjoyed it anyway.

At mile 17.4 I entered Kuhenbreaker Road which was the beginning of the cutting across my previous loop route in order to shorten it. At mile 20.3 I stopped to watch some chickens.

At mile 20.7 I saw some goats.

At mile 25.5 I completed the shortcut across my previous loop route in order to shorten it. I had expected the shortcut to consist of country roads with little traffic and was surprised by how much traffic and how fast it was. The roads were often paved with that horrible chipseal.

While riding the 8-mile shortcut I sometimes found myself singing in my imagination They'll Know We Are Christians By Our Love. I hadn't sung that hymn since I played for guitar masses around 1970. Weird, right?

I was happy to see the sign in the picture below at mile 28.7, although the descent extended only three miles and the grade was usually substantially not as steep as 13%. Nevertheless I enjoyed the fast descent, with a top speed of 38 miles per hour.

As I had done the previous day, I succeeded in riding up the short but steep climb half a mile before my hotel, a good way to finish my ride.

From my balcony I saw a deer and the deer saw me.

While walking to dinner I saw a deer, perhaps the same one I had seen from my balcony.

The previous night I had used Google Maps to guide me to the restaurant, but this night I forwent using that guidance since I felt confident that I remembered the route. After a while things seemed unfamiliar, and checking Google Maps I realized that I had missed a turn, walking a quarter mile beyond it. I retraced my steps, made the turn, and was soon at the restaurant.

Instead of ordering steak has I had the night before, I had planned to order meatloaf. When I was told they were out of meatloaf I considered having steak but my waitress suggested another main course, which I then ordered. As I had done the night before, I forwent having starch with the main course so that I could have a dessert. Instead of the chocolate dessert I had the night before, I chose to have a slice of pumpkin pie. I figured the pumpkin pie was less likely to interfere with the good night's sleep I needed in preparation for my 50-mile ride the next day.

I haven't told you what I had as my main course, but maybe you can guess based on the picture below showing something I had my waitress wrap so that I could bring it home. Please write in the comments what you think I had as my main course and what you think I took home.

While returning to my hotel I wondered how I had missed the turn while walking to the restaurant. When I got to that turn I took the video below while standing where I would have been walking before making the turn. The turn I needed to take is to the left at the beginning of the video. Can you see why I missed it?

Previous day: October 17, 2023 - Hackettstown, NJ, to Tannersville, PA
Next day: October 19, 2023 - Tannersville, PA, to Hackettstown, NJ

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