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2010 Greenway Sojourn Itinerary

Daily Itinerary (PDF)
7-Day Bicycle Tour Through Southeast Pennsylvania & New Jersey
Ride with 350 other cyclists on this grand heritage loop!
- 250 miles, 80% on rail-trails and towpaths
- 17 meals & 7 nights of camping
- Adults: $795 / Under 18: $495
Details & Registration Form (PDF/978K)

SATURDAY, JULY 17, 2010
Miles: 0 Trails: n/a Highlights: Registration, orientation, dinner Overnight: Battleship New Jersey, Camden, N.J.
The adventure starts with sign-in at the Battleship New Jersey in Camden, New Jersey. There is no scheduled riding this day. We hope you plan to come early—even the night before—and stay in Philadelphia on Friday night. Once signed-in and your car and baggage is stowed you can enjoy the waterfront, Camden Aquarium and or go explore Philadelphia. Just be back that evening for dinner and the required orientation.

SUNDAY, JULY 18, 2010
Miles: 30 Trails: Schuykill River Trail Highlights: Ben Franklin Bridge, Philadelphia, museums Overnight: John James Audubon Homestead
Reveille at 6:30—it's a Battleship, after all! Then it's pancakes in the galley before we mount our bikes for a spectacular trip over the Ben Franklin Bridge into Philadelphia. We ride past the Liberty Bell and cut across town on the newly striped bike lanes to the Schuylkill River Trail. This is only a 30 mile day so enjoy the Schuylkill and museums (yes you can do the famous Rocky run as well up the Art Museum steps!). Lunch is on your own in historic in Manayunk. The ride is complete when you arrive at the John James Audubon Homestead. If you arrive early and would like a little more pedaling, you can visit Valley Forge, only a few miles away.

MONDAY, JULY 19, 2010
Miles: 40 Trails: Perkiomen Rail-Trail Highlights: Green Lane County Park, Pottstown Overnight: Laurel Locks
We hit the beautiful 20-mile Perkiomen Rail-Trail in the morning and it carries us from the suburbs into rural Pennsylvania. You'll have a chance to stop at little towns along the way until we come to lunch at Green Lane County Park. Here we rally and ride 20 miles on flat county backroads into Pottstown. In Pottstown, we have special permission to camp at the private estate, Laurel Locks, complete with old wooden canal lock gates and a swimming pool where the canal once was.

TUESDAY, JULY 20, 2010
Miles: 47 Trails: Schuylkill River Trail,Lehigh Gorge State Park Trail Highlights: Berks County Heritage Center, White Haven Overnight: Jim Thorpe
After breakfast we pick-up the completed section of the Schuylkill River Trail for a 20-mile ride just to just north of Reading. This stop at the Berks County Heritage Center includes tours of the village and lots of grass and trees to sit under. Since the trail north from here is incomplete—and the on-road option isn't much fun—we'll take a 75 minute bus ride to White Haven. Sit back and enjoy lunch in the air-conditioned bus until we arrive in White Haven, the western gateway to the Pocono Mountains. From here we access the spectacular Lehigh Gorge State Park Trail for 27 miles south into famous Jim Thorpe.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 21, 2010
Miles: 0-50 Trails: Two to choose from Highlights: The Switchback Trail to Mauch Chunk Lake, mansions and museums, shops and a coal mine tour, plus the Jim Thorpe Opera House. Overnight: Jim Thorpe
This will be the first day of our two overnight stays in Jim Thorpe. On this first day, you can choose a few of several options: sleep late, take a 10-mile trail ride out to Mauch Chunk Lake for a swim, take a coal car ride inside the No. 9 Mine (http://no9mine.tripod.com) in nearby Lansford (bus ride included), tour the historic Asa Packer Mansion (http://www.asapackermansion.com), visit the Old Jail (http://www.theoldjailmuseum.com) and/or see other small museums and shops. Lunch is on your own, and Jim Thorpe has lots of options in town. Or if you really enjoyed the ride through the Lehigh Gorge the day before, you can go back and walk some of the side trails. After all this, don't forget to save some energy for downtown evening entertainment and dinner at the Opera House. The band Greencards (http://www.thegreencards.com) has been booked exclusively for the Sojourn!

THURSDAY, JULY 22, 2010
Miles: 10 Trails: the Lehigh River Highlights: Rafting adventure Overnight: America on Wheels museum, Allentown
The float will be a 10-mile adventure with lunch halfway on a river island. Hopefully, the night before will see a heavy rain to make it more interesting and a bit longer ride! That night you get to see America's newest transportation museum (www.americaonwheels.org), and if you choose, sleep inside.

FRIDAY, JULY 23, 2010
Miles: 50 Trails: Delaware Canal Towpath,Delaware & Raritan Canal Towpath Highlights: Bull's Island, canal towpaths Overnight: Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park
This will be our highest mileage day. We will travel on canal towpaths both in Pennsylvania and New Jersey for a total of 50 miles. While similar to rail-trails in that they are flat, canal towpaths tend to be a bit more narrow and tree-lined. Along the way, you will see kids jumping into deep canal lock pools to cool off and bicycle through several small villages with buildings nearly 300 years old. We camp for the second time in New Jersey on Bull's Island part of the Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park. Situated in the middle of the river, we have the campground all to ourselves.

SATURDAY, JULY 24, 2010
Miles: 22 Trails: Highlights: Trenton, historic sites Overnight:
On the last day of our sojourn, we bicycle for 22 miles more into the capital city of Trenton. Here we eat lunch at the capitol complex and enjoy the state museum and historic sites like the Old Barracks where George Washington defeated the Hessians on Christmas Day in 1776 for his army's first victory in the Revolutionary War. After lunch we load your bikes into trucks at this location and then you walk several blocks to our chartered ride on the RiverLINE railroad for a 65-minute back to the Battleship New Jersey—the end of a wonderful week.

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