Jon's Journal (jon@3blooms.net)

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Thursday, Aug 26, 2010: Yellow House, PA to Lancaster, PA (56.1 mi)

I arose early thanks to being early to bed. I worked on my journal for a bit, then wandered down the street to a gas station/store for coffee and a large cinnamon roll. Sitting on the front porch of the hotel while having my breakfast, I watched the sun rise on a gorgeous day.

By 8 AM, I was on the road headed south toward Birdsboro. When I got to PA 442, I saw a detour sign for PA Bicycle Route L. I wondered what that was about, so I quickly Googled "PA Bicycle L detour" on my iPhone. (Having a smartphone on tour is so.... smart!) The returned results included a discussion from a bicycle discussion group where a poster said the detour was due to bridgework and should be finished by the end of August. I thought perhaps the work was done but they hadn't gotten around to removing the detour signs, so I went straight on instead of taking the detour. After about a quarter mile, I spied a couple of men power-washing a Bobcat. I stopped to ask if they knew if the bridge was still out. They did and it was. So, I turned around, went back and followed the detour.

The detour took me through downtown Birdsboro, where I stopped at a convenience store for a cold fruit punch. At the far end of the town, I rejoined route L south. But as I did so, the road I was to follow had a sign about another bridge being out 8 miles on. Still, assuming that the powers that be (PennDOT) wouldn't have routed me that way without a way through, I followed on route L with reasonable confidence.

The route entered French Creek State Park, and riding through the forest was wonderful. Knowing about the bridge outage, I was on the lookout for another detour sign, and sure enough, there was one. Bicycle route L detoured through the main part of the park, past the campground and day-use areas before rejoining the original route south of the bridge that was out.

Route L intersected the east-west Bicycle Route S at PA Route 23, and I turned west to start the bottom section of my loop tour. I stopped in the small town of Elverson for lunch (an "American hoagie") at a deli. Eventually, the bicycle route left PA 23 and cut through Amish farm country along various back roads. Although there were a few short, steep hills to negotiate, I found this fascinating. Although I grew up near Amish farm country, I had never really seen it from this perspective.

Finally, I came to Lancaster. I rode through the city to the western edge, where I found a motel. After getting cleaned up, I walked a couple of blocks (on a road not at all friendly to pedestrians) to Carlos and Charlies, a smalll restaurant where I enshrined myself in the bar. After treating my dehydration with a Yuengling's, I ordered a couple of beef burritos with black beans and a Corona. That hit the spot. Satisfied, I went back to the motel for the night.