Today we woke up at 6:15, planning to leave at 6:45. However, we ended up leaving at 7:15. To start off the day, we had a 17 mile stint to Conellsville, PA on a very nice bike path. On the very first bump we hit, one of Max’s panniers fell off and slid on the bridge. Then, a few miles later, the whole rack of Wyatt’s bike fell off and dragged a while before we stopped and fixed them. We ate breakfast at a diner that provided cheap, good calories. We then biked 25 miles to West Newton where we stopped at a Rite Aid. After this break, we were then presented with 2 options: to go 11 miles on the bike path, or go 9 miles a much hillier way. Despite being outnumbered, the group advocating for the hillier way prevailed. The hills were tough, but hilarious, as Blake was sharing his thoughts about Max, the main advocate for the hilly way. At the end of the hills, we went onto a state highway. As we were trying not to get doomed by an 18 wheeler, we had to avoid roadkill and other tire popping obstacles.
After we went uphill for a while, we had the pleasure of going down a mile long 8° grade. It was fun, but there were lots of obstacles to dodge, mainly rumble strips and a ton of roadkill. Then we had to ride through an under construction state highway. This was quite sketchy, as a couple times we had to merge into traffic, or sprint across a bridge when there was no traffic.
For lunch, we pulled into Elizabethtown, at an interesting place called the Rum Monkey. It had mostly American food, and the food took forever to arrive. Two of the patrons gave us $40 dollars.
Dining with the locals at the Rum Monkey
The way to the campsite involved a 3 mile road ride to another bike trail. However, these 3 miles were very uphill. Wyatt was put in charge of navigating us toward path. The first hill was very long and steep. When we reached the top, a man on a bright yellow moped stopped us and told us we missed the turn. However, Wyatt and both Daniels didn’t hear this message, so they continued the long descent. Max, Blake and I went back down to meet the adults, and the rest continued. The man in the moped then chased that group down, and told them where to meet the rest of the group. Both groups had a very tough climb to the top of Knight Road. We then descended to the Montour Bike Trail, which was very confusing and busy, making it a tough finish to the day.
Big portions at Vincent’s!
Currently we are eating at Vincent’s restaurant, which has huge portions perfect for recovery.