Bishop Hollow Road

Ridley Creek

This morning at 07:30 it was bright and blue, 52 degrees, and windy so perfect time for a run at a new ride down Bishop Hollow Road.  By the time I had geared up and warmed up the Bullet it was a little after 08:00 but conditions hadn't changed much.  I decided to layer up and wear my glove liners for which I was glad towards the end of the ride.

Last winter I had done a recon on Bishop Hollow Road in the truck and thought it would be a nice bike ride.  The route planned was to take 252 to West Chester Pike and make the left onto Bishop Hollow, then follow that until it merged with Ridley Creek Road and all the way out to Rose Tree Rd.  From there a right to Rose Tree and follow that until it T'd out at 352.  I didn't have plan beyond that having several options for a return from 352.

Bishop Hollow gets twisty and hilly from the beginning.  There are several snake turns on the way and very easy rolling hills.  Shortly after turning onto it, I passed a farm with llamas in the pasture.  I should have stopped for a pic but I was just getting onto the roll so I kept going.  I did stop and turned into Ridley Creek Park to get a shot of the creek from the road.  The park was full of people already and I could not find a safe place to park the Bullet so I just pulled over to the side and snapped a couple of shots.  There is a big place in ruins across from the park and, had I had a parking spot, I would have taken some shots of it.  I guess I'll have to come back for that.

From the park I continued on Ridley Creek Road which maintains the same character as Bishop Hollow, twisty and hilly.  The road surface is not in the best condition after the winter but a lot of the potholes had beet patched already so it wasn't to bad.  Nonetheless, even despite the patches the surface on either road is not very good.

Old Barn on Barren Rd. and 352

Rose Tree Rd is in better shape, it's also wider and while still twisty it doesn't roll as much as Bishop Hollow or Ridley Creek.  Once on 352 I really began to notice the wind.  That road doesn't have as much wooded cover as the other two and the wind was buffeting me around pretty good.  I pulled over at Barren Rd to get a picture of an old barn and I formulated a plan for the return.

I decided on the quickest way back, down 352 to 926, across the Pike to Garret Mill, and then to Goshen for the run home.  The wind was really bad in spots from there on and I really began to feel the cold in my hands.  I rolled the right onto 926 on the red without stopping and I was hoping for a red at the Pike to stop and put my hands around the engine for warmth.  This has never happened before but, of course, today I got to the Pike on the green and rolled right across it with no stop.

Garret Mill was deserted but the road surface was still pretty damp from the rain yesterday.  No worries or issues but I took it easy nonetheless.  Once on Goshen the wind picked up again because of the open areas by the horse farms.  The sky look great, it was blue and covered with layered clouds.  If my hands hadn't been numb, I might have been tempted to stop for a shot.  Luckily, I did get the red at 252 and was able to wrap my hands around the engine for a couple of seconds.

I left the house shortly after 08:00 and returned at 09:00.  On the way out the odo read 2744.9 and on return 2771.2 for a total of 26.3 miles on the run.  A great ride.  The twists and hill on Bishop Hollow and Ridley Creek are very satisfying without being too technically challenging.   A nice alternative to running the Chester Dragon (or here, or here, or here) because it doesn't take as long to get there.  A good plan would be to run it out to 352, turn around at the Granite Run Mall parking lot and head right back on the reverse run.  I may try that next time out.

Ridley Creek

Big Old Bus in the way of my shot

Shot without the Big Old Bus