Season 2 Episode 12 (9/22): Amanda Settles the Debate. Princeton, NJ to West Chester, PA

Season 2 Episode 12 (9/22): Amanda Settles the Debate. Princeton, NJ to West Chester, PA – 

72 miles. 3,016’ climbing. 

I woke up at 5:50 a.m., about an hour before sunrise, and immediately checked the weather app on my phone. I was elated to see lightning bolts gone from the forecast. It showed no rain for the first 3 hours, and then near certain rain for 3 hours before a chance to finish in sunshine in the late afternoon. I felt vindicated for advocating for a wait-and-see approach. While we’d almost certainly get wet today, we would get to ride forward to PA, our 8th state. It’s also much harder to start in rain than to endure it once underway. 

From Princeton, to the Delaware River, we enjoyed cycling on smooth roads with respectful, deferential drivers. 

I had gone to bed last night wondering would I have my Washingtonian moment crossing the Delaware in terrible weather like General George back on that Christmas Day in 1776 that bent the arc of history. Or would we be retreating back to NY by rail or car?  

It’s written that it took Washington 11 hours for the full Continental Army to cross the Delaware for the attack on Trenton. It took us 11 minutes to walk across the span, passing over completely calm waters, in the opposite direction to what is now Pennsylvania. 

Cyclists must walk.

Crossing the Delaware

Heather started riding across the bridge oblivious to the sign that cyclists must walk across. A guard ran out of his booth to stop her just as I was calling out to her anyhow to stop as I wanted to read the plaque about Washington Crossing. She is getting much more accepting of my desire to read many historical markers. Accepting but at the same time I know that each plaque that I slow down to read and soak in the historical significance tests her patience. [Editor’s note: I’m told the issue is that we are going full speed ahead and I just stop suddenly, breaking the riding rhythm.]

Once In Pennsylvania, we rode through horse country in Bucks County. We enjoyed seeing some spectacular homes that were renovated barns.

Around 11 it started to pour! You could see the sheets of rain from the wind. Had we been near a place where we could take cover, we’d have pulled over until the worst of it passed and it was “only” rain. But we were open and exposed. I still don’t know if it was hailing or it just felt like hail; we experience the combination of the wind driving it into in our faces, plus our own speed which was now about 5 mph vs. our average of 10-11 mph. 

After about 20 minutes it was just heavy rain, not quite a deluge. I could hear the pitter patter on my helmet and against my jacket sleeves as if they were window panes. My handlebar extenders don’t have grips or tape on them, and when I went to hold them my hands slid right off as if they were greased. 

It was both miserable and exhilarating. Joy and pain coexisting. Feeling fully alive. I was thinking of the late, great sportscaster Jim McKay announcing the Wide World of Sports and ringing in my ears was “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat”.

After a few hours of rain, we hit our low of the trip. We were soaked and cold. My fingertips were shriveled, and could not even swipe the screen on my phone. My phone was getting wet and died and I could not navigate. My toes were soaked and I could feel them squishing in my shoes and that was after me wearing plastic bags on each foot. (I’d read the tip of saving my newspaper home delivery bags to wrap my feet in when biking in the rain. I realize home delivery is antiquated.) My teeth were chattering and I was thinking about hypothermia. I hadn’t felt this cold since I flipped my kayak in Long Island Sound when winter paddling in March one year. 

Newspaper bags recycled to good use.

Heather started navigating. We made some wrong turns that we’d then backtrack to reverse. I was snapping at Heather who did her best to ignore me. We were in Norristown Farm Park and felt lost trying to make our way out in the right direction. We saw a huge pavilion with roof covering so decided to seek cover and dry off and check our phones. It was a silent and tense 15 minute break. 

The smartest thing I did was strip out of my wet tee and rain jacket and put on a warm merino wool sweater and my dry windbreaker underneath my jacket. And just then the rain lightened. The wardrobe change was a game changer for the one of us who did so. 

We got back on track and found our way out of the park to follow the Schuylkill  River Trail for a portion to Valley Forge. 

By 2 p.m. the rain had pretty much stopped as we rode thorough Valley Forge National Historic Park. I never knew of the incredible National Memorial Arch here akin to the Arch of Titus in Rome and was amazed with this discovery. I was now dry and Heather remained in her wet clothes. It was a silent 15 minute snack and site visit. 

Valley Forge National Memorial Arch

Soaking (pun intended) in the history

Soon the sun shone as we finished our final 10 miles on the paved and protected Chester Valley trail from King of Prussia to West Chester. But in the ongoing theme of how lows and highs keep changing, with a mile to go we left the trail to face a daunting steep climb up Ship Road. I don’t know how Heather conquered it as she did. I stopped midway and amped up with a GU (quick energy packet) to make the final ascent. 

We arrived at the home of old friends Vik and Joan. Vik was another of Heather’s grad school classmates. We were thrilled to see them and never so happy to have a hot shower. We had a delightful evening with tons of laughter.

West Chester has a wonderful town center with many restaurants to choose from. We throughly enjoyed Limoncello and would definitely return. The complimentary delicious bruschetta was a sure sign of good things ahead. Rigatoni alla Norma with Sicilian eggplant was one of those amazing meals so good that I’d lick the plate if it were socially acceptable. So I did the next best thing and used bread to mop up every last drop of sauce. Dessert of Bananas Foster was good, but not the best I’ve had, though the sea salt caramel ice cream was elite. Insider secret from Vik and Joan: you need to ask for the complimentary Limoncello shots that use to be brought automatically. 👍🏻

Vik and Joan were happy to discover that I took even more time and ask more questions than Joan when ordering my meal. That led to a friendly debate as to whether food servers prefer customers who ask no questions and just order or whether they prefer questions to increase the likelihood of customer satisfaction and banter to build personal rapport making it enjoyable for them? Is it a relationship business (Joan and Mark’s view) or a transactional one just getting to the next table (Heather and Vik’s efficiency model)? Well, not only was our waitress Amanda incredible - she settled the debate clearly in favor of the relationship rapport builders. 

Amanda settled the debate.

After an amazing night, we wondered how have 30 years already passed since Vik and Heather graduated? We must see them more often. 

Our original plan was to stay the night and drive a rental car in the morning back to NY for a 4 day family and holiday break. After today’s very early wake up, demanding ride in heavy rain, and my post meal food coma, I looked forward to slumber. Heather, on the other hand, got the idea she needed to sleep in our bed so in her superhuman way, she then drove us home to NY from 9:30 p.m. to past midnight.

© Copyright Mark Segal 2022