Pogwatigue Perambulations: Five Counties

I should probably start by acknowledging that the weather this week was the complete inverse of the prior week. After five weekdays of iffy weather, Saturday provide ideal weather for biking. The forecast did call for 25% of a late afternoon thunderstorm, but that wasn't going to keep me in.

Last week, I rode to as far as Bucks County, the most distant of the five counties that make up the Philly region in Pennsylvania, which got me considering if it might be feasible to string together a route that would touch on all five. Three would be a cinch; four's a challenge; five would be a real accomplishment.

Starting naturally in Philadelphia County, I rode through Fairmount Park toward the Mainline. Crossing City Avenue I entered--for the first of four times--Montgomery County. Zig-zagging through Lower Merion Township, I quickly reached County Line Road, a name I would see a couple more times on my ride, which marks the border with Delaware County. My route-finding skills lacked a little in guiding me through Delco, as it's locally known, but after a few extra hills, I eventually found the Radnor Trail, which took me all the way to the Chester County's doorstep. By 1:00 PM, about 2.5 hours after departing, I had conquered four out of five and yet the ride was barely a quarter over.

Full Screen Version

The hard slog to Bucks County started pleasantly enough in Valley Forge. After crossing the Schuylkill River along an improvised portion on the US-422 Expressway bridge, I made my way relatively directly across the width of Montgomery County. Fairview Village (elev. 470) surprised me with distant view of Center City's tallest skyscrapers. Entering North Wales, I thought I was much close to county number five, that I really was. With my energy was waning, I eventually reached another County Line road. Triumphantly entering Bucks County, I took the first right and promptly re-entered Montgomery. All I had to do was ride another 27 miles--roughly one-third of trip--back to my apartment. I did so mostly along the same route as the week before, Limekiln Pike. I even stopped for a much needed rest and refueling at Maple Glen Pizza. I hate repetition in my rides, so once I got close enough to the city to feel assured of success I made couple slight deviations.

County Map

Trip Statistics
Length: 77.1 miles
Ride Time: 7 hours 41 minutes
Total Time: 9 hours
Avg. Speed: 10.0 MPH
Max. Speed: 31.6 MPH
Avg. Cadence: 53 RPM
Total Ascent: 3850 ft.
Max Elev.: 556 ft.

Elevation Profile