Day 35: Philadelphia to Princeton, NJ

Daniel leading us on the Delaware and Raritan Canal Trail

Today we had the privilege of riding out of Philadelphia with Daniel, the Greenway coordinator for Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Washington DC. He handled all of the navigation but he also gave us a preview of the Greenway route of the future, some years away. We loved the beautiful new stretches of greenway along the Delaware River that need a few more connectors. We rode a loop through Bristol Township, where we stopped at a nice coffee shop, and our first taste of the Delaware & Raritan Canal Trail, a hard-packed dirt path beside a sleepy canal.

It was a great tour and a fun day, 56 miles. As Dee told Daniel at one point, “You must know every small patch of greenway in eastern Pennsylvania.” Morning clouds burned off to bright sun just after our first coffee stop, and the air was cool and dry like fall. For the first time in a long while, we didn’t have to ride on a single highway shoulder — that’s a good day!

We ran into John Jensen, stewardship manager for Riverfront North Partnership, as we stopped to enjoy the view. John is responsible for the native plants, wildflowers and other landscaping along a new stretch of greenway along the Delaware River. He and Daniel had just celebrated the ribbon-cutting for another greenway segment the day before.

Thanks again for the tour and sneak peek, Daniel!

Sadly, Daniel left us in Trenton, where he caught a commuter train back to Philly. Some people have jobs to do, I guess. We had 10 miles of canal trail to go to reach Princeton, where we were meeting Silvia. A member of the Greenway’s Advisory Board, Silvia is a Greenway champion: she leads local rides, serves on the New Jersey committee, and advocates for greenways on social media. She met us on the trail and led us on a little tour of Princeton University before we headed on to her home, our stay for the night. She is also a foodie. I loved watching her effortlessly whip up dinner for us while we talked. This evening she and Clive hosted a dessert party for a dozen or so of their cycling friends to talk about our trip and the Greenway — lots of fun and laughs along with a table full of dessert, what’s not to love?

Silvia, our host and ride leader for the afternoon

Silvia and Clive (far right) hosted a dessert party at their home tonight for their local cycling friends to meet the two crazy women biking up the East Coast Greenway.