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Saturday, July 31: St. Clairsville OH to 7 miles
east of Monongahela PA on PA-136 - 80 miles ridden before dark Lunch behind McDonald's, Washington PA The weather cleared enough for us to leave behind
our jackets. Coming back onto the route, Houston PA, after two-mile
wild goose chase We were riding a "marked"
Pennsylvania bike route. We realized we were lost in Cannonsville, and had to
backtrack to this unmarked turn in Houston PA. Mingo Creek Park, Washington County PA A few sheltered miles between Houston and
Monongahela PA Unscheduled flat fix east of Monongahela PA Our one flat on the
trip occurred inexplicably. Long Hollow PA (PA-136, just north of Rostraver Airport) With the late start due to weather, we ran out of
daylight after 80 miles of riding. We rode 40 miles in the car to our hotel,
knowing that we would have to make up the distance over the next two days. Sunday, August 1 - 7 miles East of Monongahela PA
on PA-136 to Bald Eagle PA - 114 miles Hotel Breakfast - 7am Atkins nothing, dammit - give me carbohydrates Back at Long Hollow Carl rolled with his
helmet off to keep cool during two nasty climbs that started the day. Just West of Greensburg PA Not Again!! Penn View Mountain About 45 miles into our day, the climbs got long
(follow red line (US-22) from west to east). From the topographic markings,
we climbed about 1,000' in elevation to a 2,000' summit, and didn't even get
a sign to photograph. Our First Signed Peak This was after about 60 miles of grueling up and
down on PA-136, US-119 and US-22. You know you're high up when the state sees the need
to put in a weather station across from the sign. When maps show roads that aren't marked (US-422(?) east
of Ebensburg)... "Come back to the interchange with the Chrysler
dealership, turn left, and you'll find us somewhere on the way to
Altoona." You know you're lost when ... Theoretically a few miles east of Ebensburg PA on US-422,
but the signage suggests otherwise. From the arrangement of the letters on
the lower sign, it appears the elves need to lay off the eggnog. Our Second Signed Summit Adding insult to injury, this was our greeting about
80 miles into our day. By dusk we were in Bald Eagle PA (a little north of
Tyrone) with 114 miles in for the day. 28 miles by car to Milesburg for the
night. Monday, August 2 - Bald Eagle to Milesburg PA -
28 miles Ready to get back on schedule Our "off" day turned into a ride day to
get back on schedule. After a crisp 1-1/2 hours in the saddle, we had 440
miles under our wheels since Thursday, and began planning for the next six
days to Provincetown. Carl's jersey is from Blue Sky Bicycles, a
cool bike shop in Saratoga Springs NY. David's jersey reflects his mental
status after too much time in the sun. Off Day Bike Maintenance Carl took responsibility for keeping our two-wheel
transport in good running order. No, we have no idea how the hand towels got
all the grease on them ... Tuesday, August 3 - Milesburg to Wyalusing PA -
111 miles Trying to go east to Williamsport You'd think we were in Massachusetts, at Rte 128 (south)
/ I-95 (north). Just east of here we had to portage a mile by car on limited
access US-220. US-220, just west of Hughesville PA - lunch stop Carl found this pastoral
spot in front of a church for a lunch break. Entering the Endless Mountains of North Central PA Some things are too
gruesome to photograph, but between Sonestown and Laporte PA we did another
1,000' climb in the scorching afternoon sun. The vultures thought they were
going to get a feast, but we persevered. Topographic map link here,
for those with a strong stomach. Arrival at Wyalusing Hotel, Wyalusing PA Lydia found a reasonably
flat back route from Dushore to Wyalusing, which we gratefully took, and also
arranged an interview with the Wyalusing Rocket-Courier.
Five minutes after our arrival it was storming, so we had to consider
ourselves quite lucky again. Wednesday, August 4 - Wyalusing PA to Oneonta NY
- 101/111 Miles New Milford Bike Shop, New Milford PA Just southwest of
Montrose PA, David blew a spoke on his rear wheel, putting his bike out of
commission. A local cyclist miraculously appeared a moment later (the first
we had seen in days!) to
tell us about this bike shop, just
10 miles away, which quickly made the repair and got us on our way. Just north of New Milford
we crossed into New York. Afton NY - Lunch Stop Eastward-moving showers
caught up with us at our lunch stop in Afton. Carl rides sockless in the
rain, leading to their removal here. We were able to outrun the weather and
arrived in Oneonta dry. The PMC arranged an
interview with the Oneonta Daily
Star and David signed autographs for the front desk staff at the Holiday
Inn (some day those will be valuable, ladies, honest!). Photos continue on our New York page. |
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