Day 22-The Pennsylvania Wilds Region-full of caterpillars!

Day 22 Sunday May 30, 2010 Distance 94.87 km. Time 5 hr. 27 min. Total so far 1509.98 km. Elevation climb today 7335 ft. Gary and Sue were going to treat us to breakfast at a restaurant 4 miles down the road so we got going at 7 am and they went there ahead of us but found that it didn't open until later so they drove back and told us. Since it was cool and early, we said our thank you, and good byes. On our right we passed the Susqhehannock State forest, a beautiful outdoor area in this region of the state and a small pretty place called Sweden Valley. Then we headed toward the dreaded Denton hill. It was a long slow climb but we both didn't need to use gear 1. On these long slow uphills, I pass Dave and go ahead. We stopped at the summit and had our breakfast, and I shed some clothes and put on suntan lotion as it promised to be another scorcher. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous. The only problem is that when you are blasting downhill or when you are laboring uphill, it is most inconvenient to stop for photos. In Galeton, we had a snack and filled up with water. So far every town's water has agreed with our systems. Soon after Galeton we passed mile 200 of Hwy. 6 . The area past here has the Pine Creek trail system for biking and horseback riding and the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. Here we took our hourly break and met Larry, a cyclist just getting back in the saddle after a shoulder injury suffered by being cut off during a criterium. The cars and motorcycles and tourists were everywhere. At lunchtime in the park of Wellsboro, the trees were just infested with caterpillars and the big flies in this area are everywhere. Apparently this is the second year of this and you can see the damage visibly as you look up at the hills. It was only noon and we had done 4 hrs. so we decided to do the next 12 miles to Mansfield. Well, that took and hour and a half as there were several hills. We were planning to go to the campground but the downhill into town was 6% grade for two miles and we flew right past it without noticing. No way were we going to climb up again as it was now about 94 degrees so we crossed the Tioga River and are at the Mansfield Inn. I for one am not complaining. Tomorrow we head into the third part of the north of Pennsylvania called Northeast Pennsylvania Mountains. Ouch!

Day 21-Nancy, Gary and Sue

Day 21 Saturday May 29, 2010 Distance 72.34 km. Time 4 hrs. 4 min. Total so far 1415.11 km. Elevation climb today 3120 ft. We were off before 8 and it was overcast in the morning. We had a wonderful DOWN, DOWN ride for a couple of hours. It's a shame about all the pop bottles people throw out along the road and half of them are not even empty. I guess if we ever run out of water we can use them. We went past Mount Jewett. The road is going between two rows of big hills. In Smethport the mail lady told us of the upcoming hills which we took in our second lowest gears. I caught the Allegheny river on film and we had lunch in the town park in Port Allegheny. The post office was right there so we mailed a small parcel of items to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Just past Roulette, we saw another huge turtle on the road but since they are so stubborn we didn't stop to move it. In Coudersport, we asked various people at the grocery store (our favorite place in each town) about accommodation. The Lord provided an angel for us in the form of Nancy. She took the time to leave and go a few blocks to ask her brother about the town park as he works for the borough. Well instead, he invited us to stay in his backyard. Nancy led us in her car a couple of blocks to his house. There we were the guests of Gary and Sue. They were just leaving for a birthday party for their three year old grandson, Dustin but let us go ahead and set up and put our bicycles in the garage and use the couch and TV that were in the garage. We could go in the house to use the washroom. Their teenage grandson, Dillon was visiting for the weekend. We spent a few hours at MacDonald's doing blogs and I took a photo of the neatest three wheel motorcycle there and met Dan and his partner who owned it. It only costs $38,000 so it's not in our future plans. In the evening, I made a noodle supper and we had a lovely visit with Gary and Sue and Nancy and her husband Tom also came over. We exchanged many funny stories. Gary met Sue many years ago because he needed someone to sew on a button. They have also been on some cruises where the weather turned bad and everyone got sick. He got rammed in the back of his town snow removal vehicle by a drunk driver who didn't want to be caught by the police.---and so on---a lovely visit with wonderful people!!!

Day 20- Dave's BAD day

Day 20 Friday May 28, 2010 Distance 61.99 km. Time 3 hrs. 48 min. Total so far 1342.77 km. Elevation today 3434 ft. We loaded up with food from the continental breakfast at the Super 8 , called our daughter, Melissa and had a chat, left a message with our son, Matthew and away we went. The day was warm again and the terrain was up and down. Most of the uphills required the second lowest gear. In the morning we passed through Sheffield and Ludlow. Just as we were really getting into the swing of things, Blackie's back rim broke two spokes and one of them went through the tube and caused a flat tire. Dave was so patient while we turned the bike over and he is getting really good at changing the spokes. I patched the small hole in the tube and the whole process took a little over a half hour. We had lunch at the grocery store in Kane. It was so nice that they had a garden table and chair set up. During the third hour of riding, I listened to my music which I find inspiring at times. We came to a place called Kantz Corners and saw a sign for a campground so we decided since it was so close and the sky was menacing we would stop. As we pulled into the Foote Rest campground, Dave couldn't get his foot out of the clip on his peddle. We finally had to take his stocking foot out. Well his clip on the bottom of his shoe had lost a screw and turned side ways. When we paid, the lady let us look through her screw container but there were really none that fit. We put one in that Dave could feel right through the shoe. We set up way in the back 40 about 600 meters from the road. It rained a little but then stopped. Luckily for Dave, I have a little peanut butter jar repair kit with various supplies in it and I had some extra screws for my pannier racks and one of them fit although we have to tighten it a couple times a day. We had showers and had a rest, then our first really cooked supper of rice and tuna and then a fairly good sleep.

Day 19- Happy 11th Birthday, Amy

Day 19 Thursday May 27, 2010 Distance 77.17 km. Time 4 hrs. 27 min. Total so far 1569.6 km. Today we were fortunate enough to be at Darryl and Heidi's home in Union City so we were able to call our oldest granddaughter, Amy, to wish her a happy birthday. How time flies as she is now a beautiful young girl of 11 years old. After, we took photos with Darryl's family and said goodbye. After about 10 min. we were back because I couldn't find our sun tan lotion and bum cream. No luck so we also checked at the grocery store and came up empty. It was another hot day. Most of the day we were cycling downhill between two rows of hills. Along the road were farm buildings and businesses. In Youngstown at the grocery store, Tate and Chris, had a lot of questions for us. I also found our missing items in the bag between my lunch bag and it's silnylon outer bag. That was after we purchased more suntan lotion as I was burnt from the morning. My bottom was glad for an application of butt cream.We finally arrived in Warren and went to the visitor center. I took a photo of a statue of a boy which was in memory of the thousands of young boys brought here during the great depression to work in the Allegheny National Forest. I also picked up a brochure on Timber Rattlesnakes which are found in the bush here. That makes stealth camping sound a little less attractive and from now on I will pee on or near the road and not down in the ditches. There were photos of turkeys on the wall and they had a computer that had a huge screen on the wall so I clicked in to the blog and saw the photos really big in size. The nearest campground was 16 miles away and it was about 94 degrees so we decided to get a room a the Super 8. I did laundry and spent the evening doing 4 blogs. Sarah called and we talked to her on Skype and saw our granddaughter, Tryne.

Day 18- Darryl and Heidi

Day 18 Wednesday May 26, 2010 Distance 76.81 km. Time 4 hrs. 56 min. Total so far 1203.61 km
.Elevation climb today 7000 ft. Shortly after leaving Pymatuning State Park, a group of Amish men stopped us and asked us some questions and gave us their business card. They had seen us yestersay. We finally met some other tourers. Marty and Elie are returning to Cleveland, Ohio from a wedding in Buffalo,New York. We had a long chat. They have been to Algonquin Park and Quetico and have a lot of outdoor interests. See , we are not the only crazy ones out there! Today along the highway , we see houses , businesses and farms. In Saegerville at lunchtime, I had a chat with Cliff who is unemployed but helps his mother on the farm. They have 30 horses and 6 stallions and sheep. They also breed Doberman Pinchers. A horse now sells for $500 and a Doberman $1000. Today was hill, after hill, after hill!!! We are following the East Bicycle Y Route through the north of Pennslyvania and the signs led us to Union City for the night. Dave asked permission at the borough office to stay at the park and they said YES. WOW When we arrived at the park, we said hello to a young man who was sitting at the picnic table with a lot of books. Dave and I noticed his study bibles and Greek books. HIs name was Darryl and he is a pastor. After talking for a while and taking his photo, we headed to a pavilion on the other side of the park. In a little while, Darryl came over and invited us to stay at his home for the night. He had checked with his wife, Heidi and warned us that they have four children under 6 and also a Bible study tonight. It sounded good to us so we bicycled two more blocks to his home where we met Andrea 6, Landon 5, lucas 2and a half and 13 month old Zachary. They let us shower and shared their supper of Stromboni and pizza and cupcakes. About 20 people came to the bible study where they discussed the beginning of Matthew 5- The beatitudes. Toward the end of the evening , they broke up into smaller groups for discussion and prayer requests and then we had snacks and fellowship time. It was a very enjoyable evening and I even got to hold 3 week old Andrew. Late to bed but very content! In only three short days, we have met two wonderful couples that have welcomed us strangers into their homes and lives.

Day 17-Good-bye Ohio--Hello Pennsylvania

Day 17 Tuesday May 25, 2010 Distance 103.63 km. Time 5 hrs. 56 min. Total so far 1126.80 km. After a prayer, we said our goodbyes to Tony and Laura. One of the roads in the morning was all huge Amish farms and on the road we dodged the horse droppings. We saw three buggies driven by ladies. We stopped for our breakfast bars in the town park of West Farmington. It consists of one picnic table. At the end of one road a truck driver commented to me on how well marked we are. He said the Amish buggies should have the small safety triangles which mark vehicles moving at a slow speed. We had lunch at the gazebo in the middle of the roundabout in Mecca. Andover was our last town in Ohio and we had a break from the heat under a pavilion by the church. It was 85 degrees again today. Hwy 6 took us across the Pymatuning Reservoir into Pennsylvania. It used to be the largest Reservoir in the USA until they built the Hoover dam. We met a motorcycle couple half way across and suggested we trade vehicles and he said it would have to be yellow. I told him my bike was very yellow but he wouldn't go for it. The first town in our new state was Espyville and we were disappointed there after our long day as the sign said camping and we rode one mile out of the way and found it closed due to lack of funds. Then it was a long mile back. The marina wouldn't let us stay there at some unused picnic tables so we landed up going 7 miles farther to the state park in Linesville. Mary Ann was not a happy camper and biker for the last couple of hours! Dave told the story to the park ranger. We had showers, managed one blog and fell asleep.

Day 16- Tony and Laura

Day 16 Monday May 24, 2010 Distance 43.42 km. Time 2 hrs. 55 min. Total so far 1023.17 km. Elevation climb today 5112 ft. Today was supposed to be an easy riding day. We went through Boston Heights, Hudson, Streetsboro and Greensboro on Hwy. 303 East. Woods, houses and hills dotted the landscape. We stopped at Staples for help with batteries, the computer and the camera. I washed my face and hair there also. Then to get internet, we went across the street to Bob Evans Restaurant and had a big, farmer's breakfast and stayed for about two hours. Finally we headed down the hilliest road so far and were hot and tired when we came into Hiram and talked to Terry, Natalie and Susie at the Corner Store. Terry called the police for us and we went down to ask permission to stay in the town park but they said no much to Terry's Chagrin. It is strange that this is a bicycle route for the state and the towns don't have accommodations for us. We headed out of town and finally I told Dave we would ask the first person that we saw outside. We saw a patch of nice corner land and then Tony working in his garden. I explained our predicament and he said we could stay at his place. We set up behind the barn and later visited and heard his story. When Tony was 26 he came to the lowest point in his life from misuse of cocaine and whiskey. A friend helped get him into rehabilitation and he accepted Jesus as his personal Saviour and new Lord of his life and has been clean ever since. He and his wife Laura have been volunteers for SCORE-Serving Christ Our Redeemer Enterprises. They went to the Dominican Republic to hand out meals and Bibles and have been to Haiti after the earthquake to build and help with an orphanage. They are returning again in a couple of weeks. They are praying about becoming full time missionaries. They served us supper and we showed them some photos of family and they showed us slide shows of their projects. What an oasis to find after not being able to stay in town. It was all part of the Lord's plan for us for that day.