Wounded Weekend Warrior

Sunday, April 13, was a beautiful day here in the northern Piedmont - sunny, a nice breeze, and temperatures in the upper 70s - too nice to stay inside.  So Kali and decided to take our first bike ride of the year on the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park towpath trail that parallels the Delaware Rive in New Jersey north of Trenton.

The day was perfect and the ride was great until just before the end.  This winter's ice storms had brought down a lot of woody debris alongside the path that the state park folks had not yet had a chance to clear.

Because the day was so nice, there were a lot of riders.  I was following closely behind Kali, who moved toward the verge of the path to give oncoming riders room to pass.  Kali's bike caught the end of a branch alongside the trail, but didn't interfere with her ride.  However, the branch snapped back and became entangled in my front wheel's spokes.

The bike (and I) went down unceremoniously and I slid, mostly face-first, toward the Delaware River over a steep embankment with a thick growth of multiflora roses.  Fortunately, I was wearing my helmet (as I always do) and only got scratches and scrapes.  Oh, and I jarred my neck a bit, too, which is still stiff today.  But, all in all, it could have been worse.

Ouch!

Kali took these pictures after we got back home.  I look more and more like my father (now deceased) every day.

Looks worse than it is

Wild Turkeys vs.Great Blue Heron

Harper's Run, Summer

Last evening, I went for a bicycle ride in the large city park downstream of "my" natural area. My wife had to work late, and I'd had a large lunch and didn't need another meal, so I took advantage of this alignment of the stars to get some exercise. The only downside was that yesterday was among the hottest days of the year, with the temperature when I began at 5:30 p.m. still at 91 degrees!

Before setting off, I photographed Harper's Run, the third in my seasonal series of images of this stream taken from a footbridge over the creek. The lack of recent rains is reflected in the stream, which has dwindled to a trickle. However, if Hurricane Earl approaches the East Coast tomorrow, Harper's Run could become a raging torrent in a matter of minutes.

The bike trail through the city park is 10 miles long; I rode 7.5 miles of it for a total of 15 miles. The trail is paved and parallels the creek, so it's shaded. Most of the ride last night was relatively cool, but every once in a while--because of the topography, the wind, the orientation of the trail, or some other unknown reason--I'd puncture a mass of stifling hot air. Then, a few hundred yards later, I'd re-enter the cooler air. Ahh, relief!

On my return trip up the path, I came around a corner and had a view out over the creek where I captured this image. A group of three Wild Turkeys is on the sandbar on the left, and a Great Blue Heron is fishing the shallows on the right side of the creek. It suggested to me that the gang of turkey bullies had cornered the heron and driven it into the water. Of course, I know that's not the case, but I liked the juxtaposition. I made three images of the scene, and by the time I took the third shot the heron had flown away; the herons are skittish in this park, and I don't blame them because the park is very heavily used.

Delaware Canal Towpath Bicycling

Though I love to ride my bicycle, many things conspired this summer to limit my rides--especially the relentless string of humid, 90+ days. My wife had to work all day last Saturday (August 21), so she suggested that I go for a long ride that day. Just recently, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced that it had repaired and reopened the towpath paralleling the Delaware Canal following devastating flooding in 2006. The ride along the towpath had been among our favorite rides before the flooding destroyed the trail, so I took advantage of the fact that the towpath had just reopened to take a 36-mile ride on Saturday morning (18 miles out and back). The entire trail runs from Bristol, Pennsylvania on the south to Easton, Pennsylvania on the north, a distance of 59 miles. For most of its route, the Delaware Canal closely parallels the Delaware River.

A view across the Delaware River to a knob on the New Jersey side.

The canal was severely damaged by flooding in June 2006. The Delaware River rose up out of its banks, inundated the canal, and scoured away the towpath in many places. The state vowed to repair the trail, and they finally came through after four years. How long will it last, though? There are "high water marks" on buildings, rocks, and bridge abutments all along the towpath, and all of the marks are above the level of the canal.

The canal and towpath traverse some pretty scenic landscapes. Nowadays, of course, the properties are among the most expensive in Pennsylvania because of the corridor's rural character, its proximity to New York City and Philadelphia, and the spectacular views across the canal and the river.

A private residence abutting a reach of the (temporarily dewatered) canal

There are quite a few historic structures still extant, dating from the canal's heyday (1832-1931). The following are views of the Uhlerstown Covered Bridge spanning the canal.

A rebuilt wooden lock gate

A red-girt bridge spanning the canal; there are literally hundreds of of these ubiquitous bridges along the towpath

The canal also supported plenty of inns along its route; many are still bed-and-breakfasts and restaurants.

Indian Rock InnLumberville Inn

The canal was largely built on the floodplain of the Delaware River, so it intersected with many riparian features. Much of the canal corridor is wooded and semi-natural, making for a very pleasant bike ride. Of course, with the area so frequently disturbed, invasives are a big problem.

Cabbage Whites (Artogeia rapae)enjoying purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) flowers

Purple loosestrife and Japanese hops (Humulus japonicus) along the bank of the canal

But many areas are more natural, especially where the canal cuts through backwater swamps.

Duck-potato or wapato (Sagittaria latifolia) growing alongside the canal

While the canal was dewatered for four years for repairs, sycamore seedlings established themselves. Now that the canal has been reflooded, I wonder if these trees will be able to persist, even though they can tolerate some wet feet.


At Mile 46 (north of the southern terminus), sheer 300-foot cliffs rise up above the south side of the canal and the Delaware River. These are the Nockamixon Cliffs (also sometimes called the Delaware River Palisades). The red shales and sandstones that were originally deposited here were cooked into hard metamorphic hornfels by a nearby magmatic intrusion, making the rock extremely resistant to erosion.

Fifteen thousand years ago, when glacial ice dominated the landscape just a few miles north, arctic conditions prevailed on the cliffs. Today, a remnant of those times persists on these north-facing, cooler, and moister rock walls. Roseroot sedum (Sedum rosea), a plant usually found in arctic or high mountain areas, is an endangered species in Pennsylvania known only from two sites along the Delaware River. it was discovered growing on the Nockamixon Cliffs in 1867. Since then, the cliffs have been regarded as one of the most important botanical areas in southeastern Pennsylvania. The cliffs are off-limits to the public, and are virtually inaccessible without technical climbing gear.

Nockamixon Cliffs (a.k.a Delaware River Palisades)

Delaware River opposite the Nockamixon Cliffs

Bicycle Diaries

David Byrne, founder of the Talking Heads, has compiled a series of short essays about bicycling in cities around the world. The bicycling essays are accompanied by additional essays about music, friendship, city planning, and the scale of human communities that were inspired by thoughts that sprang into Mr. Bryne's head while he was riding his bicycle, visiting with colleagues, and performing. Mr. Byrne is an unabashed liberal, and he doesn't suffer fools lightly; I got the impression that he's of an age (mid-50s) and financially comfortable enough that he doesn't have to take any guff from anyone. His perspective is refreshing.

Having enjoyed the book, I have to point out that there's not much here that hasn't been said before, especially about city planning. I enjoyed the bicycling essays the most, and especially enjoyed his reflections about bicycling in New York (where Mr. Byrne lives), in other American cities, and in Berlin; the essays about other world cities were not as fully developed. The recollections of interactions with musical colleagues might be interesting to fans of world music, but I hurried through most of them. A good (but not great) read, and a gentle introduction to city planning for those not already familiar with the basics. The book is 291 pages long, but the pages are small and there are lots of photographs.