Day 44: From Confluence, PA to Bedford, PA: 87 miles

Top Of Mt Davis

Today we had two options: continue along the YRT (trail we were on yesterday) or climb Mt Davis. Mt Davis would entail climbing 3200 feet in 30 miles with an extremely steep headwall of 14% grade and a wild dog to look out for at the top. It was somewhat cloudy so we were not guaranteed great views. I had been battling this decision in my head but this morning, I decided to do it...mostly because of the challenge although the climb and descent were both truly beautiful. Laura is the only other female rider who did the climb so we stuck together most of the way. Luke, Tim, Kendall, and Jeff E also chose the climb and I think we are all very happy in our decision, but ask me again after tomorrow's century and a bajillion more climbs. The other group expressed that the YRT was rather muddy and hard to navigate this morning which meant that both groups arrived at the first checkpoint around the same time and my fear of being behind everyone was soon put to rest.

Check out that grade! Way to go Laura!

Tim and Kendall

Cows Crossing!

Perfecting the Selfie in front of signs

The afternoon involved more climbing and by the end of the day we had climbed over 7,000 ft, which is the most in one day on this ride so far. I absolutely loved it. My heartrate soared, the sweat poured, and my legs feel like jello. But strangely enough, I love each one of those things and I got what I wanted out of today. I also hit 42mph on the descent, breaking my own personal fastest (which is still slower than those brave souls who do not brake on the descent).

Descents!

Pretty much the entire group decided to do a 7 mile detour (the ride was only supposed to be 80 miles) to see the memorial sight for Flight 93 in Shanksville, PA. It was surreal to see the field where the place crashed and the nearby town. The memorial included a talk given by the ranger, several signs about the facts of the crash (many which I had not known before), the graves of all those who died, and a tribute to the remains of the plane.

Luke and Chip (guest rider for a week--neighbor of John's)

Burial place of those in 9/11 plane crash in Shanksville, PA

Remains of the plane and site of crash

We had dinner in Friendship Village Campgrounds today (steak, broccoli, and salad) and the days of sleeping in my B+B are over. Must admit, I am so sick of putting up and taking down my tent so tomorrow's night rest at a dorm in Gettysburg will be amazing.

Day 43: From Washington, PA to Confluence, PA: 87 miles

We left camp this morning and started off the day with multiple climbs and I got my sweat on for the first 30 miles, despite it being pretty chilly. I cannot believe it was in the 40s this morning. Usually, Big Ride groups experience terrible heat during the end of July in PA but like I said, we have been extremely lucky. We spent the next 57 miles on the YRT bike trail. It used to be a railroad that ran by Pittsburgh and even DC! We finally saw a sign to DC today (279 miles), how crazy is that? The trail was made from crushed limestone but was pretty easy to ride on and it was so nice to be away from the cars. The trail was lined with trees and we were treated to many miles of shade, with the river running alongside us the whole way. The trees would open up from time to time to give great views that were only beat by the views from the few bridges that we crossed.

We are staying at a Bed and Breakfast (The Parker House), THANK YOU LAURA. We ordered in from the Lucky Dog Cafe, which was surprisingly hip for such a small town. All the girls are watching the Bachelorette and it feels so nice to be cozy in a real house. The boys are back in the tents but the men can handle it.

Photo courtesy of Nelle

We take ourselves very seriously

But really

Day 42: From New Waterford, OH to Washington, PA: 61 miles

Another gorgeous morning

WOOO!! Back in the land of interesting! Today was amazing, 62 miles of many rolling hills, climbs, and steep grades, all rewarded by fun descents, twists and turns, and fast speeds. WE also crossed into State #11 today, Pennsylvania. Once again, no state sign but I did manage to take a picture of a sign about .2 miles from when we entered the state because it was the first evidence I found that I was in PA. We rolled through lunch and had McDonalds lunch in Burgettstown.

Olivia riding through the fog

"State Line"

The very scenic nuclear power plant

After that, we continued on and stopped at a bee farm to get come locally made goodies. Tonight, Laura has graciously bought the ladies a hotel for tomorrow night. This will be especially nice for Martha, seeing as she took a tumble a couple days ago and had to go to the hospital to get checked out. She is a bit sore and due to the combination of her muscle relaxer and the fact she hit her head, a bit out of it .I think her spirits are especially low because she has not rode the past two days and I can’t imagine how seeing us ride these landscapes while she is in the van is making her feel. I hope tomorrow she is feeling well rested and ready to rock it.

Bee Farm

The queen bee has the red dot

Day 41: From Burton, OH to New Waterford,OH: 59 miles

So today was a short ride, although I did rank up some bonus miles by missing a turn and taking a wrong turn so I ended up cycling around 65. Not a whole lot to report, lots of rolling hills and we should start some serious climbing tomorrow as we enter Pennsylvania. We had to do a short ride because we are getting into more remote areas with less places to stay so it was either ride 120 miles or do 2 60 mile days. I'll take the latter. The whole group stopped 5 miles outside of camp in Columbiana and enjoyed a second breakfast at a small diner--oatmeal for me and chili, mac n cheese, and chili dogs for some of the others. We are camping at Terrace Lake campgrounds which are less than luxurious and I am currently at Horst's Deli, an Amish run sub and pizza shop with friendly workers willing to let me use their wireless. I am 0.8 mi from camp but it started to pour so now I am figuring out how to get back and not get wet in time for dinner which is in 45 minutes. Maybe it will stop raining in the next 10 minutes.

Since today's post is short and it was rainy all day so I didn't take my camera out (didn't miss anything) I figured I'd show you guys some pics regarding our daily routine.

This is the cue sheet—has mileage, directions, and most importantly fun places to stop

This is the white board—has the quote of the day, the weather forecast, the destination, the mileage, and any extra notes.

Day 40: From Sandusky. OH to Burton, OH: 93 miles

Today was such an enjoyable ride. We rode into Cleveland and I experienced the most urban riding that I ever have. It was quite fun navigating around the city surrounded by tall buildings, sports centers, and Lake Erie off by the side. We stopped in Little Italy for some coffee and pastries. John Grotto lucked out because I didn’t like the piece of cake I bought, so I donated it to him and purchased some yummy gelato instead.  After we left Cleveland, we finally hit some hills!!! Oh how I’ve missed them! Jenny and I had such a blast gaining as much speed as possible on the downhill and chugging up the hill in front. It was truly a blast and although I have been scared and anxious for the hills of Pennsylvania, today got me excited. We are staying at Burton Fairgrounds and on the way to town, I stopped into a store that sold things from Estates Sales. The owner told me her relative had just passed from Lung Cancer and she asked for my website information so that she could donate! In town, I went to a few Amish gift shops and checked off another person from my souvenir list. Still need to get things for about 6 people sooo if y’all get things that are all Gettysburg related, my apologies.

Downtown Cleveland

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Day 38: From Napoleon, OH to Sandusky, OH: 87 miles

So the road to Sandusky was rough, mostly because it was flat and all I could focus on was the cross/head wind that really continued the entire time. I rode most of the day with Nelle and she truly was my Savior that day with our conversation, which distracted me from what I was doing, and with her pull for the last stretch of the ride. We talked about everything from future bachelorette parties, to names we’d like to name our children, to how this ride has changed us. She said one thing that I didn’t realize until she said it but completely am in agreement with. This ride has taught me what my mom tells me every day, to take one day at a time. We started in Seattle, we need to get to DC, and that thought on Day 1 scared me shitless. But if I thought about it in a better way, such as we start in Napoleon and we need to get to Sandusky, both cities in Ohio, I seem way more relaxed. I guess I have always just had a bigger picture in mind.

Medical school lays out your undergrad, your grad, and your residency…a for the most part planned 10+ years with the end goal of becoming an MD. While I know the bigger picture, I am forced to focus on each step at a time. But what I didn’t realize is that I can break down those steps even further. I should not be concerned with where I go for residency during my first or second year of medical school. I should be concerned with the present,, .and not even how I am going to pass my next upcoming test because let’s face it, that test again is in the future and not in the ‘now.’ I will always be studious; I have no problem in preparing for a test in time. I have a problem taking each day as its own entity. I need to find the beauty in each day, each moment, each second. That’s easy when I am riding and have mountains and lakes in front of me but what about when things are not so pretty and are not so scenic. That’s the challenge, finding good in what I am doing right now, despite what it is, and I think I am slowly getting to this point.

My rest day in Cedar point was spent on coasters, water slides, and thrill rides at Cedar point. For those of you unfamiliar, here are some photos of the super steep, super fast, super crazy rides. I convinced Melanie to go on the Dragster (we were the only 2 who went) and like I said, she did not regret it and I even heard her talking about how awesome it was on the phone to a friend/family member. Guess my days of persuading people to try new things are not over. The group left somewhat early but I stuck around for another 2 hours to check out the swings (which are 400 feet high and much faster than your average theme park swing) and the new roller coaster The Gatekeeper. Definitely worth staying and I kind of liked exploring alone. It’s funny how I used to scream on coasters and while I still do, I find myself mostly laughing. It’s pure childlike joy and I hope I never lose that.

The Dragster (420 ft 120mph)

Ali and Olivia on the Millenium

Showing Ali quality American food---Chick-fil-A

Waterpark

The Gatekeeper (new this year)