Chadds Ford and Delaware

This is the longest run the Bullet has ever made.   I left the house at about 14:45 on Friday afternoon with the intention of doing the Chester County Dragon and headed out towards Goshen.  When I reached there, found Goshen closed to traffic headed towards 252 so I made a left and headed towards Malin Rd.  At Malin I made a right turn to reach Bryn Mawr Rd and from there to the West Chester Pike.  I followed the Pike to 926 and that all they way to Creek Rd (Rt 100) for a hard left.  Keeping the exotic car tally, there was a silver Ferrari headed east on the Pike at 926.  Later on in the ride I saw a silver Maserati at the intersection of Smiths Bridge Road and 100 in Delaware.

Creek Rd is the first leg of the Chester County Dragon Loop or The Loop so once I reached that on 926 I followed it to Chadds Ford, across US 1, over the Brandywine, and across the Delaware border.  This route, 926 and 100 runs mostly across wooded country with scattered farms along the way.  It is full of good turns and some nice hills making for a really fun run.  Rt 100 is a double road with no marked divider and the surface can be sketchy in areas but overall it's not a bad road.  Just before getting to US 1 at Chadd's Ford I pulled into the parking lot of the Chadds Ford Historical Society.  The Society is in what looks like and old converted barn that made for a really nice photo.  It would have been nice to pose the Bullet in front of it but the lot is made up of loose gravel and the idea of the Bullet taking a nose dive did not appeal to me.

After that brief stop I crossed over US 1, this is a dog leg left because 100 does not cross it straight and the road directly across, Station Way Rd, is a one way in the opposite direction.  From there 100 continues its twists and turns along the Brandywine and at one point crosses over it by way of a nice looking old bridge, almost Roman in character.  Shortly after that it crosses the Delaware border; I caught a glimpse of the Delaware sign and it kind of threw me because I did not expect it that soon.

In Delaware Creek Rd turns into Montchanin Rd and continues on with its country road character.  At the Smiths Bridge Rd four way stop I realized that it was taking more time than I thought and if I didn't turn back soon, Friday afternoon rush hour traffic would be upon me.  This is where the silver Maserati came from my left on Smiths Bridge.  Less than five hundred yards beyond Smith's Bridge I saw a long driveway on the left and I turned into that to make the return.  Thank the gods I had the presence of mind to check my six before making the turn.  I had a couple on a Mercedes Benz 360 SL with Delaware plates on my tail since crossing US1 and at this point the genius decided that he was either following to close or that he couldn't wait for me to make the turn so we would pass me on the left.  If I hadn't checked my six and slowed the turn he would have blindsided me and probably done me serious harm.  There was one second in which I intended to cancel the turn and give him chase but I am trying to give up road rage and my Seny overcame the Rauxa.  To give the good with the bad, as I pulled into the log driveway to check get my bearings on Waze, and older gentleman in a pick-up truck pulled in behind me to check if I was OK.  I gave him the thumbs up and we were both on our way.

I made the return on 100 in the opposite direction, overshooting Station Way Rd and having to make a quick turn around on the empty road before a force right on US 1.  Rt 100 in the opposite direction seemed a little more fun and faster because, it appeared to me, the most challenging twists are on the downhill.  I had previously decided not to make the blind merge onto the West Chester Pike from 926 so I cut across the Pike to Garrett Mill Rd.  This road cuts across Garret Mill Park and Okehocking Preserve along Ridley Creek and is designated a scenic route.  It is short but it is well worth the ride because of the feel of the road and the great scenery.  There is one spot that where a single lane bridge crosses over Turtle Rock Run with a big red barn serving as backdrop that would make an excellent photo.  No place to pull over but I might have to figure something out to get that shot.

Garret Mill Rd comes out on Goshen just yards above Sugartown Rd.  I made a quick change on the fly to take Sugartown avoiding all the construction drama going on at Goshen and 252.  This meant taking the Sugartown - Paoli Pike loop to Church and home.

This was a great ride, the longest the Bullet has ever since in terms of miles, 55 miles, and time, an hour and 45 minutes.  It is too bad that the timing required an abort on the flight plan and an early return.  The new plan is to leave directly form work next Friday with the same plan.  I am considering reversing the route by going 926 to 82 and then to 100 but we'll see what next Friday brings.

On leaving the house the odo was reading 1159 miles and on return 1214 miles.  The exotic car tally stands at two Ferraris, one Lamborghini, and one Maserati.  (I saw a blue Maserati later that evening but I was not on the Bullet so it doesn't count.)

My editor, Lucifer, "helping" with this post