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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