Delco & Darby Creek = 100

With about 19 miles to go to reach the century mark before yesterday's official deadline, I combined two more solo rides down the stretch. First another commute into Calvary on Friday (10 miles round-trip), and then a jaunt through Delaware County (Lansdowne and Drexel Hill) yesterday - including a couple of different short trails along Darby Creek (11.5 miles in all). The entire Darby Creek Watershed, which ultimately flows into the Delaware River, includes portions of Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties - though it's mostly located within Delco.

The first trail was the center segment of the Darby Creek Trail, within Haverford Township's Darby Creek Valley Park greenway. It's only two miles round-trip, better for a hike than a bike, but provides a scenic and shady run right along Darby Creek (see pictures below).

The second trail was in Lansdowne, via the brand-new Gateway Slope between Eldon and Scottsdale Roads along Baltimore Avenue - connecting the multi-purpose Hoffman Park with neighborhoods in Lansdowne (again, see pictures below). The trail ends at Hoffman on the east side, but you can continue following Darby Creek along the low-traffic Scottsdale Road to Lansdowne Avenue - and then connect with the official bike routes that take you into Philly via Yeadon, or west out to Swarthmore.

For more information about the Darby Creek Watershed, or to get involved in clean-up and restoration efforts, check out the Darby Creek Valley Association.

Thanks again to all of you who supported my participation in this year's Bike/Hike - and especially for your support of PA Interfaith Power & Light! I'm grateful for the opportunity to engage in ongoing work for climate justice in this way, and for the major motivation to get back on my bike.

I look forward to exploring much more of Southeastern PA (and beyond) on two wheels!