The Schuylkill River Trail has had lots of upgrades since I biked from Conshohocken to Reading seven years ago. This time I started in Philadelphia. Here’s what I found.
Actually, make that two solid metric centuries — 62-plus miles each time — since we — my sister and I — biked back the next day.
Continue reading “Schuylkill River Trail: A metric century from Philadelphia to Reading”The Schuylkill River Trail could be eastern Pennsylvania’s version of the Great Allegheny Passage.
Pennsylvania is one lucky state.
It already has the amazing Great Allegheny Passage, that 150-mile rail-trail from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Md., where it links up to the C&O Canal for those wanting to bike to Washington D.C.
After two days on the Schuylkill River Trail, I think this could be eastern Pennsylvania’s response. Admittedly, the trail isn’t completed and some completed sections are on quiet roads, rather than on paths. Nor will it be as long as the GAP. But even on the stretch we did — just over 50 miles from Conshohocken northwest to Reading, and then back — we had urban and rural, one-time industrial towns, some doing better than others, wide open and tree-covered paths, paved and crushed-stone surfaces, glimpses of river and a detour to history at Valley Forge. We even saw a row of four smokestacks, all that remains from an old factory. It could have been on the GAP.
Continue reading “A bike overnight on Pennsylvania’s Schuylkill River Trail”
Exploring by bicycle 