Ken's 2019 Charity Ride Blog- 800 Miles in a Three Week Span

Sorry for the late post. It's Sunday evening, and I write this from the comfort of a soft couch (ah...) after finishing the ride, driving back to Massachusetts to my honey, and catching up on weekend chores in both Somerville and Rockport.  Now for a quick reflection on Saturday, the last day of the Anchor House Ride for the Runaways... We kept getting these pesky weather alerts on our Garmin bike computers. Heat, what heat? We were happy to be on our bikes, creating our own breeze, riding the final 65 miles of our 500 mile ride, all while raising money for a worthy cause.  We rode out of Bethlehem at 7 AM and before long we were crossing the Delaware River back to NJ, at Phillipsburg. Sure, it was getting toasty and certainly humid, but it was still early in the day.  Who are these professional looking riders?? Photo by Jeanne Imbrigiotta We rode through familiar roads along the Delaware River, through lovely river towns: Riegelsville, Milfo...

It was how hot today for Grandpa's ride?? Yes Anaca, it was really hot. I just checked and its way hotter in Bethlehem, PA than in Bethlehem, Israel (it hit 92 F today). And people in Bethlehem, Israel are probably not biking 73 miles with 4300 feet of climbing. Oy Vey!  Some temperature-related photos from today! Believe me, we were watching for ice all day! Gotta love the heavy hand of the messaging here... I much prefer the messaging at this church SAG stop "Welcome to Heaven"  We got out at our usual early start time, this right around 6:20 AM. Here's a shot of us as the sun was coming up. And here's our buddy George Desser warning us that we need a permit to peddle in a small town on the route. Today was the toughest day of the week. It was in the high 80's by 9AM, and we completed half our climbing in the first 25 miles of the ride. Luckily we did have shade for a good part of those miles, especially as we biked t...

Well, this day worked out well, despite a foreboding forecast of storms in the early afternoon. We had an 80 mile day with a lot of climbing (4300 feet) ahead of us, and it turned out to be a great, albeit challenging day. But first a word from our riders...Below are two riders separated by 30 rides. Amanda is 21 and a first year rider. She is a truly amazing person and has brought such light and fun to the ride. Next to her is Ken Sharples, who is in his 70's (albeit a very youthful 70's) and is completing his 31st ride. Ken is one of my favorite people on the ride. So cool to introduce them this morning before the ride. Below is our buddy Dave Robinson, decked out in a fine floral kit, which served as great camouflage among the flora at the start. Below Dave, is a photo of Ken and Jim, two great guys who have been riding together for 14 (?) Anchor House rides. They have been riding together so long they are starting to look alike! Okay, today's ride. The ...

No bears today! Today was a planned loop day- starting and finishing from our hotel in Williamsport with two riding options- a short 38 mile loop and a long 63 mile loop. That was until a flash flood warning for the afternoon resulted in just the short loop being supported. It was a good call as we have been pounded by rain for most of the afternoon and evening. Jack and I set out at the leisurely hour of 7:30 AM (which is late by Anchor House ride standards). We got out of the city via a trail. Williamsport has a fantastic network of bike trails- this bike advocate is impressed. We came in on a trail yesterday, and the trail today took us close to the Susquehanna River, which was stunning to view in the morning. The ride took us into the foothills east of Williamsport- farms and lovely countryside. As always in PA, there were plenty of good climbs. At the top of one of them we were welcomed by a sign at a local church.  Jack was a gamer despite waking up wit...