Lackluster 20-miler

I did a 20-mile ride on Wednesday. I was at an interview at Swarthmore College (one of four colleges where I'll be applying to in the fall/winter) for most of the day, so I haven't got time to make a detailed post. The first 15 miles were kind of fun, but it deteriorated after that. I took the shortcut to Upper Campus and headed from there into Bloomsburg, then over onto the knees of Montour Ridge via (what else?) Ridge Road.

 Wheat and Queen Anne's Lace

 The absolute highest point on Turkey Hill is somewhere in this picture, probably near the center.

 Looking southeast

Giant headstone with a beer can on it. I wonder if the size of one's headstone means anything?

Steeply-sloping meadow

After climbing for a while on Ridge Road, I followed the ridgeline up and down to Quarry Drive, which took me past a quarry and to Old Bloom Road. I followed that for a while to Tower Drive, which climbed up. It wasn't too steep, but it took a lot out of me. Then I came to the woods and turned onto Brobst Road, an unpaved road where I ran four-ish years ago. It went up hideously steeply, then down. It was so steep and rocky that I wasn't going all that fast. It eventually mellowed out, though, and I came to Frosty Valley Road.

 Corn and dark clouds

 Looking east

 An enticing, but sadly private, dirt road.

 

The eponymous quarry on Quarry Drive

 Two roads diverged in the wood...and I took the unpaved one

 Looking downhill

 Looking uphill

Very steep and bumpy descent

From Frosty Valley Road, I rode back into Bloomsburg, then up the Bloomsburg Rail Trail. I walked along a couple of paths that went down to Fishing Creek from the trail, but they were too narrow, rocky, and bushy to bike down. From the end of the trail, I tried to check out the Steve Shannon Path, which supposedly goes to Papermill Road, but it turned out to be private. Oh well. I slogged up Millville Road to Arbutus Park Road and then did yet more climbing, through the closed part, and back out onto a real road. From there, I just rode straight home.

 Wild meadow

 Construction site on Irondale Road

 Bloomsburg Rail Trail

 A view of Fishing Creek

 Ew

 Small, rocky path that I walked down

 The main trail again

 Millville Road

Arbutus Park Road

My time was about 1:38:40 and my pace was somewhere in the neighborhood of 4:55/mile.

1673 feet of elevation gain and 3335 feet of elevation change

Route map. (source)(license)