Independence Day Ride - Dave Kagan

Independence Day Ride
By David Ira Kagan
I passed 3000 bicycling miles for the year during today’s July 4th rail-trail roundtrip ride of 47 miles from my Torbert Village home to Wolf’s General Store in Slate Run. It was a hot pedal from my 11 a.m. beginning through the afternoon, but a wonderful breeze was a saving grace. Not a great deal was in bloom along the trail, partly due to DCNR’s mowing and spraying, which eliminated the wildflowers that bloom so profusely at the trail’s borders. But I did pass much pinkish crown vetch, and white Queen Anne’s lace was abounding. Some patches of white, 5-petaled woodland phlox were also now in bloom. And yellow, mostly 12-petaled woodland sunflower greeted my passing eye at various locations in full sun. Finally, some beautiful, purple coneflowers were dancing by the gate at Doc’s Lane in Cammal.
I witnessed an example of a lack of trail courtesy at the gate just south of Waterville. A man and a woman were stopped directly by the gate to change a flat tire, making it difficult for other cyclists to safely go through. But this thoughtless act was countered immediately by one of great courtesy—I had stopped before the gate to allow a group of about a half dozen traveling south (myself headed north) to proceed carefully around the gate bars and past the couple changing the flat; the final member of this group, an elderly man, signaled for me to go through before him!
At McConnell’s, a very busy place this July 4th, I had a baby, twist ice cream cone for a buck. Then, before reaching Jersey Mills, I met Tom Smith, of Antes Fort, returning from his ride up to Cammal; he said that he had passed 3600 miles for the year! He also commented on the fact that Pine Creek had mostly tubers and swimmers in it this day, not many kayakers or canoeists, probably due to the heat and the low (and getting lower daily) water level.
Just above Ross Run a bumble bee flew directly in front of my nose, going in my direction for about 10 or 20 yards. At the Wolf Run bridge (along the mile-long, fenced-in stretch of rail trail before the Clark Farm/Utceter Access Area), someone had hung on one of the posts what I assumed was either a deserted or lost jacket, with the word “Badlands” on it.
Passing the Old Callahan (or Utceter) Cemetery right off the rail trail on the creek side, between Black Walnut Bottom Campground and the Day Use Area (the old Yoder Pine Creek Valley Campground), I noted that someone or persons had cleaned up the burial ground from the mess it was in a couple years ago when I wrote an article about it for the newspapers. At Wolf’s General Store I had my usual roast beef and Swiss cheese, Panini bread sandwich, with the side slice of dill pickle, washed down with an orange crush soda.
The highlight of my return trip back south was stopping in Cammal to visit a short while with George Durrwachter, a well-known, retired orthodontist, who had a long-time practice in Williamsport. He was outside his home by the banks of Pine Creek with his two daughters, Susan and Katy, who were visiting for the holiday weekend. He was proudly and happily carrying one of his grandsons.
A somewhat surprising—and really wonderful—part of my day’s ride was that I didn’t hear a single fireworks explosion during my entire ride up and down Pine Creek. It was just a day filled with the usual, quiet glory of this land that we in north central Pennsylvania are so fortunate to be able to enjoy.
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Biking The Pine Creek Trail With Dave Kagan

May 17 Ride

May 25th. Trail Ride

Trail Ride 05-26-2010

June 3rd. Pine Creek Trail - Dave Kagan


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