It's the End of the World... or Not

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As some of you may have hear today, May 21st, was suppose to be the beginning of the End of Days according to predictions made by American Christian radio host Harold Camping. These type of predictions aren't new and are usually made by some megalomaniac crack pot who thinks they knows the mind of God. Although there are a few hours left until May 22 I'll go out on a limb and say this one is as bogus as all the other ones.

Even though I didn't get swept up in the Rapture today I did find a small piece of heaven on my ride today. I was down in the Brandywine region of PA checking out some rides for the book. This is a beautiful area just north of Delaware on Rt 1 that was the sight of one of the battles of the revolutionary war and still has a lot of its rural charm. There is a lot of preserved land and farms in this area so it is not real built up except along Rt 1. There are also plenty of quiet roads, rolling hills and nice vistas that make this a popular place to ride. This is a hilly area. There are no real tough climbs but there are also is not a lot of flat spots so you are going up hill or down hill for the most part.

I have not biked much in this area before so I didn't know what to expect. I was lucky to have a nice clear sunny day so when I was on the top of the hills I was able to see the valley below and beyond. Although I did this ride on my own I was never really alone as there were plenty of other bikers around. There was a nice combination of forested and open land I would go climb up a hill to a clearing with a nice view then descend through a forest along a stream. The Brandywine river winds around this area and it seemed like I crossed it 5 or 6 times on my ride. It kinda reminded me of the Raritan river.

The 40 miles of my ride went by quick and when I was done I actually wished the ride was longer. The Brandywine area is a bit of a hike to get to but I will try to get back here again when I can.

After the ride I went to Longwood Gardens which is probably one of the best botanical gardens in the country. I had been to Longwood Gardens a few times before in the winter during Christmas so since it was so close to where I started the ride I wanted to check it out during the spring. Longwood Gardens is a massive place with numerious well maintain gardens, many different fountains and a large conservatory filled with any kind of plant you can imagine. It took me a couple of hours to work my way through the gardens and snap a few pictures. It was Lilytopia week so the main room of the conservatory was filled with hundreds of varieties of lily's. It not only looked good but also smelled great. If you have any interest in flowers or gardens you owe it to yourself to make a visit here.