September 6
Today I rode in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, the Delaware Water Gap national park, and a thunderstorm that took down a big tree across my path (long before I got there). This begins a portion of the ride that retraces (in opposite direction) a portion of my 2013 ride from Boston to DC on the ACA Atlantic Coast route, so it felt a bit familiar from here on homeward. The thunderstorm was fierce enough that back in the Water Gap backroads, a passing motorist stopped to ask if I was OK. I was. An epic day that I remember fondly.
Due to rain I had the Water Gap roads mostly to myself. On one rough asphalt stretch a pannier fell off the bike at low speed (no damage) and then my Garmin GPS, which I had probably mis-assembled after a battery change, came apart from its mount on my handlebar but miraculously jumped into my hand instead of falling off and smashing. After that I took the potholes slower. Sleeping tonight in Matamoras, PA. The final photos show the last of the twilight, during a beautiful segment of riding that had a sacred feel to it. My rear tire flatted after my arrival at the motel, which was so much more convenient than had it flatted earlier.