Northern Delaware Greenway Trail - Delaware

May 24, 2018
14 miles

Washington Bridge, Wilmington, Delaware

When I picked this Delaware Trail to ride I chose the filter to only give me the Rail Trail options, which are usually mostly level. While we were in New Jersey we started looking more closely at the trail and reading comments about it. Many people talked about how hilly it was and that there was even a 9% grade on one of the climbs. So we debated about changing to a different trail in a different city. We had our minds made up to switch. Then, this morning on our way to Delaware we decided to go back to our original choice. We weren't going to end our vacation riding a wimpy trail - we would go out in a blaze of glory riding a challenging trail!

Found a great parking spot in Brandywine Park close to the Wilmington Zoo. We enjoyed a picnic lunch, provide by Ben and Linda Novick, under the shade trees. The weather was perfect for a picnic and a ride.

Less than a mile after beginning our ride we encountered the first hill, which was just a taste of what was ahead. Later, as we started up the 9% grade, we were pedaling in a standing position and kept feeling the back tire slip. I was feeling unsafe, plus I could hardly breathe, so we stopped and walked the rest of the way up. After riding up and down, and round and round, through the woods and into a neighborhood, we decided we were lost. Stopped to check the computer and sure enough we had missed our turn so we had to backtrack. It makes things exciting, right? This trail was so curvy and had lots of off shoots that we got lost several times today. It's hard when you are visiting a trail and your not familiar with with the path and the signage is not good.

One interesting thing we found today was the historic Blue Ball Barn. We stopped for a break and to read the history about the barn, which really doesn't look like a barn. The farmhouse, now gone, was once the Blue Ball Tavern, so named because it hoisted a blue wooden ball to tell passing stagecoach drivers that passengers were waiting. The later dairy and this barn were named for the tavern.

We were pretty proud of ourselves, after walking up the big hill, known to locals as "Death Hill", we did not walk up any other ones. Delaware was our 48th state to ride in. The only two states left now are Alaska and Hawaii and our beloved and trusty Cannondale tandem will not make those trips with us. We plan to ride those states on a rented tandem. It won't be the same but we look forward to the last two states.