Saturday 8-11 Day 48

Start: Clarksburg, MD
End: Washington, DC
Scheduled Miles: 53
Actual Miles: Never even checked!

Woke up this morning and checked to see if anyone was chucking their tents, this was the last that many of us would be needing them.

After breakfast it was an easy ride. Soft rolling hills and good weather. It was all good. As we got closer to DC there were many other riders out. I assume doing local club rides. At one point this guy goes zooming past Jodi, Greg and Trish, and myself downhill! I just thought to myself......Oh no you do not! I just got done riding 3,400 miles across the country and no weekend warrior is going to pass me up! So as I'm taking off to catch this guy, I can hear Jodi going, Go Bob Go, get'em! So I catch up to him half way up the next hill, and just before pulling along side of him, I slow for just a second or so to catch my breath. Than as I pull up next to him I go "So, how ya doing?" He answerer's rather breathlessly, "Not bad, gotta another 10 miles to go, but I'll make it" So I says, "well, make 'em strong" and I take off leaving him climbing that hill in my dust! Oh that felt sooooo gooood.

Coming into DC proper we are on a multi use trail, and is it crowded. These must be the beautiful people of the city, all out jogging and running and biking. What struck me is the joggers and runners all had little containers of Guu and sports gels in bandelaros around their wasts. They looked like sweaty super hero's. But we zigged and zagged around them. It was the most congested traffic we had all trip.

In the heart of downtown DC we all gathered for lunch at the old National Postal Building. The Greek Restaurant in the mall their is owned by a former Big Rider, and lunch was on him. After posing for a group picture on the grand staircase we headed out in groups of 2's and 3's for the mall and the finish line. I went with Dan Scott and he had on his cheese and sausage necklace. The line was drawn in chalk on the sidewalk near the Vietnam Memorial.

It was such a cool thing to go through the crowd. Then I spotted my family; my wife, kids, sisters and friends! I gave such a big hug to my wife. For the most part I was able to keep my emotions under control until Marc came up to me wearing a T-shirt that had my brother Martin's picture on it. I gave him a hug, then I lost it and started crying. It was done. I had ridden Martins bike from Seattle, Washington to Washington D.C. And I couldn't have done it without the people who were now surrounding me.

So we spent some time in the park with all kinds of treats and then headed to the hotel to unload the truck one last time.

Friday 8-10 Day 47

Start: Gettysburg, PA
End: Clarksburg, MD
Scheduled Miles: 49.6
Actual Miles: 53.8

You would think with such a light day ahead of us we would sleep in, but nooooo. It's up at 5 am as usual. We are in such a routine!

This is a $5 dollar morning, and the collage kids, Helen and I go to Earnies in town for breakfast. I am introduced to scrapple with my eggs. Similar to spam in being a mystery meat, but tastes quite a bit like fresh fried liver sausage, so you know I liked it.

Heading through town we form a neat little line, going around turns, reminds me of coverage of the tour de France, but in slo mo. on the outskirts of town, we pass the visitors center, not having gotten there yesterday, I peel off to see it today. It is full of artifacts and information about those historic three days that set the course for our nation. The highlight of which was a large topographical map 30' x 30' set with LED lights. With seating in risers around in they give you an aireal view of the battles and troop movements. Seeing the battlefields yesterday, and now this,really brought it all together.

The roads are rolling hills and the scenery is easy on the eyes which makes it a very easy day. (that and only 50 miles) At about the halfway point while riding with Jodi, Greg and Trish we stop at the battle of Monocacy. Another significant fight in the civil war, which was a holding action that more than likely saved the Capitol from being captured by the South.

Just outside of camp, we stop at a local deli to rehydrate, (read local barley malt beverages) The final push into camp is with Mary, Margo and Adam. In camp the usual, set up tent and shower. Then we are bussed to the local Applebys for our last dinner together. It is very nice, the oldest, Bob Sr, and the youngest, Liz both get up and give a little speech. It is coming to an end.

Thursday 8-09 Day 46

Rest day; Gettysburg, PA
No Scheduled miles

In was hot in the school last night I did not sleep too well, in the middle of the night I got up and turned on my little battery operated fan and that helped a lot. (thank you Sully)

For Breakfast, I went for a coffee and paper with Liz and Anne. Anne had had a tough day yesterday but was feeling a bit better this morning. After the coffee, I went to the local library and logged onto my blog just to gave a brief update on the happenings the past week.

Then it was tourist time. I hopped on one of the tour buses and took a two hour tour of the battlefields in, and surrounding Gettysburg. The tour was complete with an "audio dramatization" which was actually kind of nice. It rained most of the tour, so it was nice to be in the bus. Simply amazing how many men died here, and the number of monuments raised in their honor.

Afterward it was domestic stuff, laundry, banking, and cleaning the bike. For dinner we had a nice meal in one of the hotels, Brack Sr. and Jean Anne were in town and acted as hosts. Brack is still using crutches, but you can tell he is getting better. Than a bit more of walking around downtown Gettysburg, judging by the number of psychic and haunted tours available after dark, Gettysburg has got to be the most alive ghost town in the world.

Than back to the school and hit the sack. David our mechanic has decided for some reason to set up the bike stand at the foot of my bed roll, and he and Toronto David are working on bikes! Oh well, tomorrow is only 50 some miles!

This is an area I would very much love to come back and explore a little more in depth. I think to take the same route as the tour bus, but only by bike would be outstanding. I'm sure it would take a whole day, but it would be very moving.

Wenesday 8-08 Day 45

Start: Bedford, PA
End: Gettysburg, PA
Scheduled Miles: 100.4
Actual Miles: 103.65

The day starts out like any other day on the ride. David from Toronto and I head out together and with some big hills we are pretty evenly matched, he's a better climber, but I am quicker on the downhill, the extra 50 pounds I have over him probably explains that. The terrain is fairly hilly and with a bit of light rain, we do the descents a little more cautiously. Then the weather clears up and we make great time, and catch up to Iron Mike, Jerome and Rodney.

Due to the length and challenge of the day I make sure that every hour I am downing a power bar or something else nutritious. Sometimes I stop for this, sometimes I eat while rolling. I also make sure I drink plenty of sports drink. I have had a lot of the Gatorade on this trip, but I always drink it at half strenght, otherwise it is just too sweet. I do the same with any of the juices that I pick up at the connivance stores too.

We are rolling along real nice and for the first time in a while, we are at the front of the pack. So, I gotta have some fun! I spot a dead opossum on the road side, a few yards away, someone has dumped their beer bottles. I quickly get off the bike and set up a little tableau with the 'possem and beer bottles put caption on it with my trusty chalk and we have a public service announcement. David, thinks I'm off my rocker, but in camp that night many riders tell me they had a good laugh.

We are getting to some history rich areas, and David (being the hobby historian that he is)and I stop at a lot of the places to read up on them.

Just before a water stop in the Cowan state park, I find an unusual merry-go-round. Four beams project from a central axis and on the end of each is a bench seat. Soon I have Tom, Kari, and Alison joining me for some great fun.

The middle third of the ride becomes relatively flat and I am now riding with David the younger. Most of our riding today has been on great roads on some very well thought out routes, all set up by the PA Department of Transportation. They are well marked which makes it so easy to follow; Thank you Governor Tom Ridge!

The last 10 miles into Gettysburg is downhill, nothing to steep, but it still goes very quickly. At first you come across one of the battlefields, then you enter a section that is very new, before getting into the city proper which has changed very little since the war. You kind of get whiplash from the seaming time travel.

Camp is at the Gettysburg Middle school just a block from the main drag of town. I find a hallway to call home for the next two days. Most of the riders have found hotel rooms to spend the next two nights, there are plenty of them! Tonight is $10 night and I have dinner with Iron Mike and Rodney, followed by some walking around and then an Ice Cream. I have the strawberry phosphate. That's living.

Tuesday 8-07 Day 44

Start: Confluence, PA
End: Bedford, PA

Scheduled Miles: 81.3
Actual Miles: 81.5

This morning I wake up early for KP duty, It is still dark as I break camp and pack everything into the truck. My little headlamp really comes in handy. After breakfast it is another 31 miles of the fine gravel trail. After spending most of the day yesterday on the trail it is more of the same and dare I say, somewhat boring. We do go over some high bridges that cross the valleys, which is the only scenic views.

Our first rest stop is in Meyersdale, at a little train museum. They open up just for us, and they are just about done with a major renovation. they have added a lot of graphics some of which are backlit. The museum lady is really proud of this latest technology. They also have a small gift shop with the old fashioned wooden train whistles. I buy one with the intention to annoy my fellow campers at night, when they are trying to sleep. (What a great grinchy trick that would be)

Taking off from the musuem, Jodi and I ride togehter for a spell, than we come to some steep hills, and we loose each other. The terrian here reminds me a lot of WI with the hardwood forests and farm fields, but the hills are more severe, not having had glaciers beat them down. Our route takes us to the crash site of Flight 93, one of the planes hijacked on 9-11. We have a water/rest stop in the parking lot. There are a lot of memorials that people have sent in, stone, T-shirts, crosses and other pieces of personal possisions. Some of them are a little too self-promoting in my mind and after hearing about the obsticles to putting up a dignified permament memorial, I leave with a bad feeling and heavy heart.

From there we have more climbing to do. There is one "staircase" climb in particular that goes from 2,400 feet in elevation to 2,900 feet in seven miles. Once you creast that though it is downhill for 6 miles. At times I hit 40 MPH and have to break for turns that have a 25 MPH speed limit. Yee Haw!!!!

We are at a commercial camp tonight, and there is free ice cream at the camp general store. Life is good! We have a pizza dinner with all the fixins tonight and there is way too much food! Most of the riders go to the Cannondale factory for a tour which is right next to our camp. I stay behind to clean up after dinner. Tomorrow is the ride into Gettysburg, 100 plus miles and lots of hills. This is to be our final "exam". I also set up a little repair shop to change the cleats on my shoes, glue some cracks in the foam of Alisons helmut and glue Seans sunglass back together. The ride is almost over and he doesn't want to have to buy new ones.

It's dark our now and I'm in the tent writing this all down. About this time, the folks who took the tour are just getting back. It's a "late" night for them and it's not even 9:00!

Monday 8-06 Day 43

Start: Washington, PA
End: Confluence, PA
Scheduled Miles: 88.4
Actual Miles: 89.3


Well it did rain hard last night and I only had a little water come in. Note to self, make sure both zipper pulls are at the top of the door, that's where the water came in! So we break camp packing all our gear wet, not the best thing to do, but we have to be on the road.
This morning I head out with Jodi and young David. It is very foggy and misty and the road is pretty heavily trafficked, so I have my lights on. We go through a bunch of quaint little towns, some of the places do look a bit rundown, and even abandoned. We do some really steep climbs, 15% grade at times. We gain 400 feet in two miles. Almost wish I had a triple crank. After a bit we turn onto the Youghiagheny Trail(YRT) (spelling?). This is a rails to trail path that is paved with crushed stone. It is not a bad surface even for my tires, but with the rain and dampness, I do get a build up between the frame and tire that I have to stop and clean out occasionally. The path as befits a a railroad bed is flat, but we are climbing. A total of 600 feet in 52 miles. There is no coasting here and the pace never changes, so we have to change up the speed and effort consciously. The trail is deep in hardwoods forest and all you see is a green tunnel effect in front of you. We are riding alongside the Youghiagheny River but almost never see it because of the dense foliage. Lunch today is provided by Fred, a past rider. He has put out a spread of sub sandwich's, chips, fruit and birch beer. Delicious and Generous! After lunch, it is more of the same trail. We pass by an old rail station, that has been coverted to a store, I stop but it's pretty rustic inside and nothing strikes my fancy. Getting back on the bike I realize the back tire is going flat. So, at a nice picnic spot, I stop and replace the tube and tire. The tire is the one I replaced back in South Dakota, before heading up to Mt Rushmore, so it has served me well. As I getting back on the trail, Alison, Tom and Scott go by, so I hook up with them for a while. They are so funny, Because of the storms, there are a number of trees that have fallen across the path, some I had "portaged" over, but these two guys have been stopping and clearing many of them as they go. So I join in.

After a while, I pull over and walk down a set of stairs on the side of the path that leads down to the river. After only catching glimpses of the river I decide it is time to see it and soak my feet. On the side I'm on there is what I presume to be a fishing guide, teaching a father and son to fly fish. On the other bank is a group of High School kids, being taught to kayak. I find a nice rock and take it all in. The water is like ice cold, but it is nice to sit and soak it all in. Putting my shoes back on, I turn around and can't see the stairs! It takes me 15 minutes to find it, boy do I feel dopey!. I find my way all across the country, but can't find a set of stairs that's less the 20 yards away!

Rolling into Confluence, we are at a state park. The area we can camp is very limited in size and to make matters worse, the area is covered in goose poop! Yeech! There are some areas which has very little poop, but the park rangers are adamant, that we cannot set up there, which is very frustrating. Also, we are camping beneath a huge "earthen" dam. We are below a huge pile of what is called rip rap when used for shore erosion. It looks like it is just piled there, and you know that there is a giant wall of water behind it, just wanting to wash over us. I would feel a lot better if there were some concrete in the thing. Also, because we are in a valley cell phone reception is very bad. It takes me walking around the park to get even a weak signal, so my conversation with Barbara is very short. "Hello, hello, done with the day, call you tomorrow."

Sunday 8-05 Day 42

Start: New Waterford, OH
End: Washington, PA
Scheduled Miles: 66
Actual Miles: 58

It is completely dark when I wake up. It is still dark as a get dressed and take down the tent. This morning along with breakfast I have a double hot cocoa as it is a bit chilly.

When the cue sheets are handed out, Polly tells us the first page is completely wrong and she gives us verbal instructions to the first stop and assures us that Dan Henry's will be marking the way. Kathy is doing this and has already left to keep ahead of the riders. I start out the morning with Andy, Steve and young David. It rains a little bit, but nothing too hard. Part of the course takes us on a busy highway, but compared to I-90 in Washington, it is no big deal.

The terrain is rolling hills, and as we get into PA they get steeper and longer, just as it was foretold. We still have a slight rain but with temps in the mid 80's it is fine. We stop in Midland for breakfast at this cafe where a bunch of bikes are already crowding the front sidewalk. The daily special is 2 eggs, 2 slices of bacon and 2 slices of toast for 2 bucks. Does life get any better? Just outside of town we cross the Ohio river and past two nuclear power plants. We were warned in town not to stop and take pictures of the facilities as they would stop us and confiscate our cameras. National security you know.

With the hills getting steeper, they get scarier, especially wet, so we take it easy. Lunch is in Burgetts town. I eat too much, but it is nice to be out of rain. Rolling into camp it is still raining, but there is a nice surprise. Nora, from our Pittsburgh office is there. We just missed each other by minutes in the badlands, so she came down to visit. We stand around and talk about the office and such and our adventures. A really nice visit. The rain lets up a bit, and she even helps me set up my tent. Both of my bags got wet from the rain, but the Big Ride bag is pretty water proof, and all my cloths are in Ziploc bags so they are OK. Some of my past maps and my atlas are soaking wet though.

After dinner, I pack it in fairly early to catch up on my journal, plus to keep an eye on the tent as it is still raining, and the forecast is for rain all night.