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Epic Thankfulness!

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People made this trip happen and people along the way contributed to the epic-ness of the adventure!  These are the ones that I remember, but so many others contributed as well. I am thankful for my co-conspirator and love of my life, Pete for agreeing to this epic adventure and going the extra mile (pun intended) to plan, direct, map-out, cook, and otherwise support the entire undertaking.   Thankful for: Sue and Lesli for giving up a great portion of their summer to drive, ride, cook, play cards, and otherwise support us along the way. The riders, Stephanie, Lisa, Lauran, and Sue B. for the laughter, support, companionship, cooking, laughter, perseverance, individual strengths and gifts, and did I mention laughter? Friends and family who prayed for our safety. Georgena Terry, who created the beautiful bicycle. Noah, an organic farmer at Rainshadow Organics outside of Sisters Oregon who explained his work and offered to take a group photo. The guy delivering 3 Redbulls to a ranch in e
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DAY 67 THE FINAL DAY!!

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The moment I opened my eyes this morning I sensed that something was different. I felt different.  I felt unsettled. I felt emotional, deeply emotional. The problem was I couldn't discern what emotion I was feeling. Was it sadness? Or relief? Anxiety? Or joy? A sense of completion? Or a sense of loss?? All of these were true and yet none of them described how I was feeling. Then it hit me.  This was the last day of our epic adventure;  67 days, 2,900 miles, 14 states, 4 continental divides, 12 mountain passes, hundreds of hills, and untold thousands of pedal cranks were all coming to an end today, in Washington DC. I went down to breakfast at our last AirBnB to hear that everyone felt the same way. Fortunately, we did not have the time to sit and ponder the world and our existential reality.  Rain was moving in later that day and we needed to get a move on to avoid getting soaked. First order of business was to change riding plans (several times!). We were still over 100 miles from
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Day 66: Old Town to Williamsport, 43 miles. An Epic Day all Around!

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Pete's Epic Malfunction: he survived to tell the tale! One more day!   Stephanie agreed to SAG today.  Lance, Lisa, Pete and I set off on a crisp sunny morning after a leisurely morning at the school house.  We had heard from cyclist Mitch that there was a paved trail paralleling the C&O that we could pick up in Little Orleans.  Since we needed to SAG around the Paw Paw Tunnel anyways, Stephanie drove us over the mountain on a gravel road to the trailhead.  We were thrilled to see a black bear cross the road in front of us while enroute.  Lisa remarked that she was glad that we were in the car as opposed to on bikes. The Western Maryland rail trail was smooth and easy to navigate.  We enjoyed the fall air and ease of travel.  At Hancock we left the trail to look for lunch.  ONE restaurant was open and they had a 30 minute wait due to not having enough waitstaff and cooks.  We're retired, we have time!  And how could you not want to eat at a restaurant named "Buddylou&#
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Riding Days 64 & 65 : Meyersdale PA to Cumberland MD; 32.5 miles and Cumberland to Old Town MD; 35 miles

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The end is near, 4 more riding days! .  We had started the blog by numbering the days, then the number seemed to get lost in the flurry or towns, airbnbs, and trails.  We resorted to dates, because those were easy to look up when we were lost!  Yesterday I figured out the number of days that were actually spent riding.   Lisa and I headed out for the last stretch of the GAP trail on day 64.  The rain had cleared leaving us a bright brisk morning with some clouds and puddles.  We had one last incline before reaching the eastern continental divide where we took some great photos and met up with our fellow bikers from San Diego.   From the top, we were greeted with a beautiful view over Pennsylvania and Mt. Savage.  Then we cruised downhill at about 19 mph.  We were able to fly down the trail with little bike traffic.  While cruising through one of the trail heads, a retired teacher and her former student wanted to know all about our travels.  She was inspired to try out her own bike agai
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September 25 and 26: AND THEN THERE WAS ONE (rain dodger ); 36 miles

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 Some things in life are hard to explain. Sue and David Bladek, Betsy and I have been taking bike trips together for over 10 years and we have never been rained on. On many occasions we have arrived into our motel or a planned lunch spot under a pavilion only to have the sky open up moments later, but never on us.  We are the Rain Dodgers! This epic adventure was unfortunately made without Dave. (and then we were three). But the magic held. All through the west and the mid west we had no rain on planned ride days. Sadly Sue had to leave us in St Louis. (and then we were two). But Betsy and I were able to carry the magic through Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.  This morning we awoke to cloudy skies in Dawson Pennsylvania and the threat of thundershowers .Betsy had to sag, so would not be riding today (and then we were one). But Lisa and I set out undaunted on the GAP trail because I was there to keep the rain at bay.  Well, clearly one rain dodger is not enough because 3 minutes into our ri
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September 24: Hendersonville to Dawson via Montour, Steel Valley and Great Allegheny Passage trails; 63.5 miles

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What? Only 336 miles left??   Another seemingly important milestone.  The end is in sight. What then.  Pete and I have spent several rides along the trails discussing what life might be like after BEBA?  Will it be like postpartum depression?  Will we have to revisit retirement?  What will we do with ourselves when we don't have to plan a route, reserve lodging and repack the car.....again?   Today the three of us set off together on the Montour trail heading toward the connector with the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) trail.  Pete wanted to go through the tunnels (boy stuff).  He turned around prior to the finish of the Montour.  Lisa and I forged ahead.  Pete moved the car to Dawson, our end destination. At the end of the Montour we hooked in with yet a new trail, the Steel Valley trail.  It wound us through the towns of Clairton, Glassport and McKeesport.  These towns are similar to so many small towns we have driven through.  Empty storefronts, boarded up windows, homes with roo
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September 23: Steubensville OH through West Virginia to Pittsburgh PA; 33 miles

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View from our hotel in Steubensville Today we started on our 4 trail to finish stretch. And we crossed 2 state borders!  We started on the Panhandle Trail in West Virginia which hooked into the Montour trail that circles around Pittsburgh and eventually connects with the Great Allegheny Passage and lastly the C&O into Washington.  Both the Panhandle and Montour are lovely.   The Panhandle was flat and paved making for excellent riding at top cruising speeds (20 mph)!  The Montour was crushed limestone but smooth.  We traveled across a long trestle bridge and through a 600 ft long tunnel.  Great fun!  Tomorrow we will connect with the GAP for 3 days.  This phase seems like a huge turning point, no more road riding, and.......Pete gave up his noodle! Pete sadly removes his noodle, it seems to be too old to be of use! It was a COLD 🥶morning, temperatures did not get above mid 60s until lunchtime.  The frigid temperature necessitated a stop at the Walden Restaurant in Burgettstown PA.
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