So long Ohio, hello Pennsylvania. We've made it to state number 11!
It pains me to say, but Ohio has been the least bike friendly state so far. The drivers were incredibly aggressive, we were yelled at out car windows, had rude gestures made at us, got passed at high rates of speed without providing adequate distance, we'd signal to get over to make a turn and drivers would speed up so we couldn't get over, drivers cut us off, and the list goes on and on. And this happened from the moment we entered the state until we left. The only time we were able to let our guard down a bit was when we were on dedicated bike paths.
Despite the cars on the road, today was a good day on the bike. We rode through Amish country, saw horses pulling buggies, and rode over the Pymatuning Reservoir, which is when we crossed in PA. The temperature was in the low to mid 50s the entire ride and it was overcast, often with dark storm clouds, but we only experienced a few sprinkles. There was some wind, but it was more in our favor. We rode well, but didn't push too hard because we're returning to some long miles and climbing tomorrow.
The only hiccup was that I got my first flat of the trip. I ride tubeless tires, which often helps to prevent flats because the sealant fills in small holes as I ride. However, that didn't happen today and we couldn't find a hole to even try plugging it, so I tossed a tube in and off we went. We still don't know what caused the flat, but I decided to put on a new tire after the ride. One flat in 3000 miles isn't so bad.
As we stood outside a gas station shortly before reaching PA we were discussing when it would really sink in what we're doing. Day after day we get on our bikes and pedal mile after mile moving from one town to another, sometimes we can't remember our room number because we've stayed in so many different hotels. We joke that it's groundhog day. And looking at a map of where we've traveled makes it seems even less believable. Eight more rides and we'll be Portland, ME.
Oh, and one of the guides and I had a little fun after the ride. Our hotel is next to a Dunkin' so we wanted some donut holes. I walked over to get some, but their dining room was closed because of Covid. So we walked through the drive thru. It was funny and the people running the drive thru were super nice about it.
Day 37 stats:
distance: 63.99 miles
elevation gain: 2595 ft
nutrition:
breakfast: eggs, potatoes, biscuit, fruit, NuGo protein bar
lunch: 1 recovery drink; english muffin with egg, cheese, and beyond patty; chips; dunkin' donut holes; 1 small coke
post-ride: same as lunch (short ride so we opted to wait for lunch until after the ride)
gels: 2
bloks: 0.5
26 oz skratch superfuel, 26 oz zym
Day 38 details - Meadville to Bradford
planned distance: 101 miles
planned elevation gain: 5453 ft