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Since I had the week off and being the weather was gorgeous today I decided to finally break out my trail bike and do a ride.I traveled to the NJ/PA border and rode the canal trail along the Delaware River.The ride was fun and scenery relaxing.Lots of people jet skiing or tubing down the river.I stayed out of the water and stuck to dry land.Here is a pic I took of myself by some old rusted out train car abandoned alongside the trail.Sorry about the messy hair but trail rides will do that:)Cheers
Mark
Cool!..Looks like you had a great time. Don't be sorry 'bout your hair and how it looks. Just part of livin' the day. Interesting about the railroad car. Must be a stretch of abandoned track or right of way. In Missouri, The KATY trail was created with abandoned right of way, you can hike or bike all the way across the state, following the Missouri River. Beautiful scenery and a lot of history. here in Phoenix is a network of canals, some based on canals dug 1000 years ago. Bike and hike paths along all of them as well.
Actually that train car was sitting on track that hasn't been used in who knows how long.It had all sorts of weeds and growth between the rails but was cool to see.I'm sure in the day it was a very active rail line being it was near a major waterway like the Delaware River.As for the ride it was a lot of fun and relaxing just to be away from the grind.Unfortunately can't keep the hair beautiful under such circumstances.LOL.Cheers my friend.
Mark
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It looks like you had fun, Mark. Hopefully your hair didn't tangle too much. (I always tie mine with up to 10 hair ties along the length of my tail.) I hope to see you in September.
Scott
Hi Scott,
No worries about hair tangling as I had it tied up under that baseball cap you can see dangling from my handlebars.I just removed it for the photo op:)I certainly didn't want my hair getting caught up in branches and such while riding.I'm sure we'll meet again in September and look forward to seeing you again Scott:)Cheers
Mark
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That is good. I use a segmented tail on mine and fold it in half, secured with a small hair claw to not sit on it.
That river is really wide. I looked on Google Earth and measured it at 250 meters wide.
Scott
Yes Scott, the Delaware River is quite wide and I even saw some rapids happening which makes sense due to the heavy rain we had here on Tuesday.Years ago a lot of the PA side trails were destroyed by the swollen Delaware which only recently were partially restored.At least the section that I like riding was in good shape but looking north before I turned back still was not good.
Mark
Mark, is it called the Delaware river gap off of interstate 80?
James / Tampa,Fl
The Delaware Water Gap is off I 80 like you stated but where I rode was much south of there near Trenton,NJ.
Hi Mark,
It really does sound as though you had an awesome time, and I am glad that you are enjoying your much deserved vacation. This is a great photo, and my hair actually behaves similarly to yours when exercising. Actually, your hair type and texture is quite similar to mine, although yours is straighter.(my hair's straightness varies with the humidity) Although our weather has not been as nice as yours, at least today, as well as the weekend look quite nice.
Spaeking of walking/biking trails, we have a very nice one, right in the heart of our city, which runs behind my condo building and runs for miles, out into the country. It used to be a railway line, but the tracks were torn up a few years back, and the trail was put in just over a year ago. It is great, since it is quite level, unlike the numerous hills on the streets of Halifax itself.
Take care, and enjoy your vacation!
David
Hi David,
Oh yes, I certainly like being on vacation and will be doing a followup next month but on location in California:)This week was just day trips locally and with the great weather we are having a bike ride was definately in order.That's cool about your trails as that seems to be happening in many places where old rail lines are being converted to trail use.The one I'm on is known as The D&R Canal Trail which runs along the Delaware both on the NJ and PA sides of the river.I've never rode the whole length as it is very long.I picked out a scenic section of the trail that I like which takes me around an hour to drive to.Anyway thank you also for your e mail as I'm sure you read my reply by now.Have a great weekend my friend.Cheers
Mark
mark, we have one of those bike trails that runs through our city and county, im not sure how long it is it may go thru two counties. nice thing to have for cycles and people on foot joggers etc.James/Tampa,Fl
The Delaware & Raritan Canal was built in the 1830s between Trenton and New Brunswick and it was used for the transport of bulk commodities (mainly coal from Pennsylvania) to New York City until around 1935. After the railroads took over and the canal was used only for water supply and flood control. Most of it was later converted to recreational use, only a short portion in Trenton is inaccessible as the water has been diverted through a mile-long culvert. The canal has towpaths along its banks, built originally for the mules and horses used to tow the barges laden with coal and grain before the advent of steam-powered boats. These towpaths allow biking and walking along the entire stretch (65 mi) of the canal from Trenton to New Brunswick. The canal had a feeder along the Delaware River going upstream from Trenton which has been filled up a long time ago. One of the old locks along the Raritan River in New Brunswick is still in use for water flow control.
I am living a few miles from the canal and I used to go often for walks there.
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A Linux Longhair
Thanks for that history of the canal as I knew it was a functional waterway in the day.You only mentioned the NJ canal as PA has one on their side of the Delaware too.I'd imagine much of what you said about NJ also applies to PA.I believe the PA side reaches as far north as Easton but can't recall where it ends in the south.Probably somewhere across from Trenton,NJ.I generally prefer riding the PA side because the stretch I use is a bit more scenic.Sadly the floods from a few years ago destroyed many of the PA side trails but they are working to restore them.
Mark
I enjoyed the history you noted about the canal trails. My thoughts turn to beast of burden that used to pull these heavily laden barges. there is no better animal than a healthy mule team for such tasks.I believe the american mule to be superior in strength and shear endurance even above many larger draft horses.
sincerely James/Tampa,Fl
Hi Mark, I'd called that a rugged, sporty look rather than messy. Whatever you call it, it looks great! Regards, Ian
Thanks Ian as I'll have to remember that.Looking at my pic just reminded me of a rats nest I probably saw on the trail during my ride!LOL.So do I look rugged there or ratty????LOL.
Mark
Nice picture! ;p Looks like a really nice day. Nice to see a picture from near where I was from. Nice to see the weeds in the background. Good picture of you.
- John C
Hi John,
Glad you liked the pic as the weather was picture perfect that day.Mid 80s,low humidity, sunny .......Ahhhh life is good:) Oh, and the weeds were very healthy indeed.Some were like little trees.Maybe you should return for a visit?Cheers
Mark
Mark, it would have been nice if some of those weeds you spoke of were of the sativa variety LOL sincerely James / Tampa,fl p.s. you have espired me to buy a trail bike to get into shape.
HA HA,who knows what may have been mixed in with all them weeds.Hard to tell at first glance.
You should get yourself a trail bike especially living in a warm weather state.True people do ride when its cold but you have the advantage down south.Cheers
Mark
Great picture Markie-babes, glad to hear that you are getting out on your bike and enjoying your holiday. Hair looks amazing of course ;)
Cheers buddy
Dave
Hi Dave, nice to hear from you as I figured you'd enjoy the bike pic.It's been awhile since I rode but I didn't miss a beat on the old mountainbike.Amazingly my legs weren't totally sore the next day:)Being I rode fo nearly four hours I thought I'd pay the price but all was good my friend.Cheers
Mark
Hi Mark, glad to hear the summer's been more kind to you over there lol, here in the UK the rain has been at it for the last week, seems to be clearing up now though. Always good to hear you enjoying the vacation, I haven't been on a bike ride in years, and I must say, that trail looks amazing, I find abandoned places tend to have that extra adventure character to them. :) I suppose I have plenty of time to do one myself, I'm only approaching 18 years of age! lol
Thanks for the interesting read Mark, the hair is looking great as well :)
Kind Regards, James
Hi James K.,
Thank you for your comments as well as hair compliments:)I have to admit when faced with such gorgeous weather its hard to pass up a good outdoor activity.Had the weather been less inviting I may have passed on the ride.That's a shame about all that rain you've had but hopefully it ends soon.You should take up biking especially if you are near good places to ride.I actually prefer the trail rides over road ones but they have their place too.BTW, I have to say you have an amazing ponytail as I'm sorry to have missed your thread until now.Take care my friend.Cheers
Mark