Setting out
I started off at a brisk pace to avoid riding in the dark. After riding down Shawnee Road, I headed over to Central Road, and from there to Tower Road. I rode past the Lionsgate development to Neufer Hill Road and took in the hills across the river before going on. A fog was rising from the hills, but I couldn't quite capture it with my camera. There was a bit of a drizzle, but it let off before I got very far.
Hills
Neufer Hill Road at the beginning of the descent
After flying down Neufer Hill Road, I took a sharp left onto Shaffer Road, which quickly began climbing. It was longer than Neufer Hill Road, but also less steep, so the vertical rise was about the same. The road paralleled an unnamed stream and eventually entered the woods.. Even while in the woods, it wasn't really in the middle of nowhere; I could see houses in the distance for most of the way up. After several tenths of a mile, I came to open fields, and soon after that, I reached the top of the hill.
Shaffer Road
Field
After crossing under Interstate 80, I turned onto Horse Farm Road and began heading past open fields on rolling hills. There were some nice views of Summer Hill to the north. After a while, I came to the radio tower that marked the halfway point of the old 12.2 mile course. Soon afterwards, Horse Farm Road began to descend. It was nice not to have to go up that hill for once.
Horse Farm Road
Summer Hill
At the bottom of Horse Farm Road, I took another sharp turn, this one onto Hidlay Church Road, where I had ridden a few times last year in May and June. It promptly began rising again, but leveled off after about a third of a mile. I stopped for the view, which was even better than the one on Horse Farm Road. I could see Summer Hill, but also Knob Mountain, in the distance.
Meadow and mountains
Hidlay Church Road rose and fell a couple more times before I turned onto a gravel road called Short Road. Remarkably, it actually was short, going for only about a quarter of a mile before dead-ending into School House Road. Another few tenths of a mile of rolling hills took me to gravel again, this time on Shaffer Hollow Road. Shaffer Hollow Road started out in the open, but soon turned and went deep into the woods.
Shaffer Hollow Road
Having seen a bear casually crossing a road the other day, I was on the lookout for bears on the way down Shaffer Hollow Road. I shouted out a few warnings about how I eat bears for breakfast, but soon realized that the noise my tires were making on the pavement was far louder. I didn't see any bears and eventually reached pavement. Soon afterwards, I returned to civilization and rode through a residential neighborhood after passing a small, muddy pond. While in the residential neighborhood, I consulted the map once and was on my way. A short downhill took me to US Route 11, where I cut through a gravel parking lot to avoid the busy highway. After a few hundred feet, I crossed Route 11 and rode through an industrial neighborhood, with lots of warehouses and whatnot.
Railroad tracks
Smoke and warehouses
Industrial structures
After about half a mile, the road through the industrial neighborhood dumped me onto Old Berwick Road in Lime Ridge. I began riding east, towards Espy. The next few miles were flat and quiet and I was mostly lost in my own thoughts. My Garmin died just after I reached 9 miles. Stupid Garmin. It started getting darker while I was on Old Berwick Road. I passed into Almedia uneventfully, and then into Espy.
Columbia Park, in Lime Ridge
Getting darker on Old Berwick Road
Leaves
After a while, I began to wonder if I had missed the turn for Edgar Ave and continued on towards Bloomsburg. Apparently I hadn't: the turn came a few hundred yards further on. It started to rain again and the light was really beginning to get low.
Edgar Ave. The funny glowing balls are raindrops.
Handy reflective thing
From the end of Edgar Ave, I crossed US Route 11 and began the long, dark ascent up Neufer Hill Road. From there, I retraced my steps along Tower Road, to Central Road, to Fifth Street Hollow Road, and finally back to Shawnee Road. It was almost dark by the time I got home.
Climbing Neufer Hill Road
Almost dark on Neufer Hill Road
Dark on Central Road
It was nice to ride in the evening for a change. I don't know my exact time or pace for the whole ride, but for the first nine miles, my time was 39:48 and my pace was 4:25/mile.
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