I haven’t done any rides of major distance for a while. It’s been hot, and I have been busy with other things. The other night I decided to get out, in the evening, and explore some rail-trails. Most of the ride was in areas where I’ve ridden before, but I haven’t explored a lot of them in depth. Given the heat, a relatively flat, easy cruise sounded good.

Within minutes, I was looking at scenery like this.

The photos above were all on the more familiar (to me), gravel Bloomington Rail Trail. I also spent some time on the paved Clear Creek Trail, where I’ve only ridden a couple of times before.

There were some huge homes right along the trail.

A side excursion on a gravel trail yielded some interesting finds.

I climbed up the gravel trail, and found it intersected with a road. I need to figure out where that road goes. For this ride, once I reached the end of the trail, I turned around. Here, I’m about to bomb back down the hill.

I’m not sure what all the fuzzy stuff is in the photo below, but it captured my attention.

I’m not normally a fan of rail-trails, but it was great to get out for an easier ride for a change, without having to worry about traffic too much. Actually, I was more in riding mode than exploration mode, and didn’t stop too often. I should ride the same trails and stop more to explore. Sometimes it’s amazing what’s right outside your front door, if you take the time to look around.

I’ve been riding, but I have not found time to write about some of my shorter rides. I am still commuting by bicycle every day, and it has been wonderful to get to watch the leaves change each day. It’s been chillier this past week, with mornings in the low 30s.

This speed sign always amuses me in the mornings. It frequently registers up to 35 mph for cars (and sometimes higher), but for me, on my bicycle, on a slight uphill, it ranges from about 12-16. I have discovered that I have to ride in a certain lane position, with no cars going by, to trigger it. It’s a fun game to try to see if I can get it to show my speed.

Here is one particularly colorful tree, taken on October 21.

We had a couple of very windy days this past week, and now many trees are completely bare. It was a rather abrupt transition, from colorful to bare, in some cases.

Here are some shots from a road ride last week.

Finally, here are some shots from the Bloomington Rail-Trail, which is near where I live. I don’t really ride it much, as it’s not very long, but I wanted a rather short, easy evening ride on a cold dreary day and it fit the bill perfectly. I think this will be a great option in the winter.

On Sunday, I decided to check out another local rail trail, the Susquehanna Warrior Trail. I’ve been wanting to explore this trail since we saw it on our return trip from Indiana back in March, and later, found its Web site. I found conflicting information online, but I expected the trail to be 10-16 miles, one way. I had to drive about 20 minutes to reach this trail. It’s within biking distance, but there’s no good way to get there by bicycle that I could see. Here’s a map of my ride.

View Susquehanna Warrior Trail 06/28/2009 in a larger map

I parked by the Garden Drive-In movie theater near West Nanticoke, PA, and got ready to ride. There were some rather ominous clouds, so I braced myself for possible rain.

The trail runs between US Route 11 (a fairly busy highway), and the Susquehanna River. At times, it runs right alongside the road, but at times, it goes into the woods and closer to the river. I was hoping for some nice river views.

The scenery from the trail varies but can be generalized as similar to many scenes here in Pennsylvania: a strange combination of run-down industrial buildings and wonderful mountains. It’s sad and beautiful, all at the same time.

The wildflowers were in full effect.

UGI Power Plant

Some less-than-friendly signs had me wondering if this was a safe area. First were the STAY ON TRAIL. KEEP MOVING signs. (Why?)

This strange sign reads, “Stay On Trail / Keep Moving”

Next, we have, thanks to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, the S.C.I. Retreat (medium security correctional institution).

Pennsylvania Department of Corrections – S.C.I. Retreat

Bridge to the “retreat”

And finally, a firing range.

Firing Range – Keep Out

Views of the river were few and far between. I’m sure there would be some nice views during winter or early spring, when the leaves are off the trees. I did enjoy some nice wooded areas and clearings.

After a while, I reached the town of Shickshinny. This is a small, run-down town. I arrived and caught a glimpse of a military funeral, just in time to have the 21-gun salute startle me. Around this time, it started raining.

Soon, I came to the PPL Riverlands Park. I had only gone 7 or 8 miles at this point. I saw a small trail down to the river and rode down to look around.

I got back on the Susquehanna Warrior Trail, but reached an impasse in just a couple of minutes. The trail continued, but it was waterlogged. I rode a little bit to see if it would dry out. No such luck.

Not convinced the trail ended here, I rode around a bit on some gravel roads until I reached US Route 11. I rode down the road to a bridge to see if the Susquehanna Warrior Trail continued beyond the bridge. I could see the trail below, but it was in worse shape than the last section I looked at. Alas. I took in some nice views before heading back.

I was a little disappointed that I wouldn’t get to ride as many miles as I’d hoped. And I just wasn’t that impressed with the trail. There were a few beautiful areas, but most of it was nothing special. It started raining harder, so I put the camera away for a while … until I took a side road I discovered to a boating access point that was very pretty.

It was an enjoyable ride, and the rail-trail provided a pleasant way of riding some easy miles. But I only got to ride a little over 17 miles. I was hoping for closer to 25. Was it worth driving to this trail? Yes, it was worthwhile to ride it once, but I’m not sure I need to do it again.