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to East| ROUTE: Pottstown PA to Lancaster PA | DISTANCE: 58 miles | WINDS: Light until mid afternoon then they were in our face about 10 |
| WEATHER: Mostly cloudy with brief periods of light rain...sunny at times. | TERRAIN: Don't think there were any flat areas today...anywhere. | TOTAL CLIMBING: 4050 feet |
DAY'S OVERVIEW: What
a day for a bike ride! If today could be bottled up and ridden again, I'd
take it in a minute. Today's route was well into the "Spectacular" setting
on my fun meter...if you liked hills that is. The climbing aside, the
scenery all day was absolutely filled with scenes that should be on a calendar
or on a painting somewhere. You'll get an idea from the photos today that
we were "out in the country" most all day on big rolling terrain winding our way
through Amish farm lots with an occasional small town thrown in for variety.
Each farm lot would be immaculately manicured usually with a small garden to one
side and a colorful flower arrangement adorning the front yard. Many times
we would see horse drawn buggies clomping along the highway that would remind
you of a time much less complicated as today.
On
the altitude side, at mile 24 we had a published 15% grade to traverse. It
started out fairly tame and lulled the riders into a sense that I was
exaggerating when I told them about it, but when they rounded a corner about 300
yards from the top, the slope pushed upward. Actually, there was only one
grade that steep that we had on the route sheets, but there were several more
short ones scattered out throughout the day that were pretty close to
15%...well, we are in Pennsylvania. If they'd flatten out this state, it
would be bigger than Alaska.
I
was in the van again today so Jim could ride with a couple of visiting alumni
that live in the area plus I owed him a day since I rode two days in a row
earlier this week...boy, what was I thinking. All morning long I was
drooling as I passed through the riders as they pumped up the inclines and sped
down the backsides. Even though it was a shortish day mileage wise, the
last riders didn't finish until sometime after 3:00. I tried to tell them
it was only about a 25 mile ride because the other 25 miles were downhill, but
they wouldn't buy it. That's the problem with having a lot of returning
riders, they know me too well.
Basically, today went off without a hitch as far as support went. I think we are finally getting into a rhythm and so are the riders. Everyone pretty much enjoyed the scenery today and some of them even "enjoyed" more scenery than others. To say today's route was a bit on the challenging side would be an understatement...lots of turns out in the country and as usual, several got bonus miles somewhere along the way...we don't charge any extra for those as I've said before.
Everything
was going pretty smoothly so I spent the afternoon bouncing around checking on
riders and taking lots of photos of the rolling terrain. Where ever I was
I could see several possibilities for a great shot and at one point a couple was
walking past where I was lining up a shot and she said she was a professional
photographer and every day she walks on the roads she just goes, "Ooooooh, Ahhhh."
I don't know how she can stand it living in such a scenic rich environment...why
go anywhere else to get good photos?
Well, another day is in the bag. We have rap and a group photo tonight so I'd better close out this page and get ready for the evening's activities. Tomorrow we go to Hunt Valley...I think that's still in Pennsylvania...can you spell "more hills" ladies and gentlemen? See you tomorrow, hopefully Jim will let me ride. Bye.
HEARD ON THE ROAD: "I think I'm going to puke!" "Not yet, you're not to the top!!!"
"Wasn't there a horse with his head out of that window of that barn the last time we passed by here?"
"Boy, this looks familiar." Marty and xxxxx after going in circles around Harmonyville a couple of times.
"I scraped my nose on that last climb!"
"Glad I had my handlebar bag filled with weight so I wouldn't fall backwards on that hill."
"Never saw a hill that was paved that I couldn't walk up."
"I was riding up that hill at 2 MPH, but when I walked I was going 3½."
"In
Pennsylvania, 'hill' is a 4 letter word!"
"Going up?"
"You could tell a military man laid out this route today...left, right, left, right."
"Today's ride should be titled, the bear went over the mountain."
"I know I heard Mike say, it's all down hill from here." "Yeah but it depended on where you were standing and which direction you wanted to go."
"Those oranges at the SAG were jam up and jelly tight."
DUH! OF THE DAY: Seems Marty and Craig spent some time riding circles around Harmonyville this morning and didn't notice they were off course until they saw the same barn for the third time. Seems she was waiting for Craig to arrive at the turn after he took a photo (probably of that barn). She had read the cue sheet and it said take a right at that turn. Well, it took so long for Craig to get there that by the time he arrived, her brain had scrambled the right to a left...oops. One good thing about all this was the road they were on eventually doubled back and gave them another crack at making the correct turn...albeit 10 miles later. Life is just an adventure...and out here it's just one after another.
| PHOTOS OF THE DAY | |
 Craig demonstrates what happens when you spend too much time in the saddle. It took us 20 minutes to straighten him out.
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Gary wore his tobacco camouflage jersey today...I lost him several times in the Burley.
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Always nice to know you can find a "Good" one when you need it.
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Shane was missing most of the afternoon too...he spent most of the day "going against the grain."
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