Crossing the Delaware (January 18th - January 21st)

On January 18th, I rode into Rocky Hill, NJ, which is just a hop, skip, and a jump from Princeton University. Rocky Hill was once known as Devil's Featherbed due to the rocky terrain, so I was happy to be riding in the times of riverside bike paths. When I started this ride back in Montauk, one of the things that crossed my mind was that I would probably end up in a good number of towns with "George Washington slept here" houses. As far as I can tell, Rocky Hill was my first. Not only did GW sleep at Rockingham (the name of the house), but it was actually his last headquarters during the Revolutionary War.

I rode out of Rocky Hill on the 19th and stopped after a few miles to check out the Princeton University campus. Princeton is the alma mater of two deceased US Presidents, our current First Lady, and three current Supreme Court Justices. I asked around campus for a good place to eat and get a drink, which led me to Triumph Brewing Company. I had to try the Brown Tiger India Brown Ale, simply because I had never tried an India Brown Ale. It was worth the trip.

C - Rocky Hill, NJ
D - Lawrence Township, NJ

After tallying 11.6 miles for the day, I stopped in Lawrence Township, NJ. Nearby, in Lawrenceville, I checked out the Lawrenceville School. Lawrenceville is known as one of the most elite prep schools in the country, which makes sense since it is so close to Princeton. My brother-in-law attended the school during the 90s, and if anyone has time for some additional reading, I'd suggest reading this Deadspin article about the schools recent intramural football controversy. It's fascinating.

11.4 miles of riding on January 20th took me to Levittown, PA. While I had never been to the Pennsylvania version, I was already very familiar with the name Levittown. This is because there is also a Levittown, NY. One can also find a Levittown, Puerto Rico and a town that was formerly known as Levittown in New Jersey. All of these Levittowns were the brainchild of William Levitt. Levitt applied the assembly line ideas of Henry Ford to housing, which allowed him to produce a large number of homes quickly and inexpensively. A large number of these homes were purchased by recently returned World War II vets, who were able to buy the homes at a significant discount. One of these homes in Levittown, NY was purchased by my grandparents, Cyril and Pat Hebrank. You can see some great photos and read more about Levittown here. I recommend reading the piece on race in Levittown.

After another 10.4 miles on the 21st, I was now on the outskirts of Philadelphia, in an area called Bensalam, PA. I spent the evening watching horses run in an oval and playing some slots at Parx Casino and Racing. I lost some money, but it's not really losing if you're having fun. Plus, I knew that the next day had a delicious cheesesteak (or two) in store for me.

C - Levittown, PA
D - Bensalem, PA

Real Life: It was mostly just regular work commutes with a little detour on Tuesday to buy some flowers and meet my beautiful wife at Five Guys for a celebration of the five year anniversary of our first date. We also celebrated our three year wedding anniversary the next night. Daily mileage: January 18th - 16 miles, January 19th - 11.6 miles, January 20th - 11.4 miles, January 21st - 10.4 miles. Total annual mileage: 225.2 miles (16 miles ahead of target pace).