Today was a day to bottle and save for posterity. A perfect day for a 75 mile bike ride. Day four is typically hump day, the day that your legs are now totally used to biking 70 miles a day and are feeling great. We left Wellsboro under foggy and cool conditions, climbing for the first three miles- the scenery was lovely just out of town and never let up.
The theme for the day struck me as we passed this sign.
F Troop, for those youngins who don't know this classic tv show from the 70's was a sitcom based in the Wild West about a bunch of bungling U.S. soldiers and an incredibly funny tribe of Native Americans named the Hekawis. They were originally from Massachusetts (funny connection) and when they came west, they got incredibly lost, and after asking "Where the heck are we? Where the heck are we?", they were misunderstood by white men as saying "We're the Hekawis". I digress. But I found myself during this day, asking "Where The heck are we?" First we found ourselves biking through the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon?? Yes, the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. A gorgeous (gorge, yes) area of the state, that we cycled along for many miles.
Then suddenly, we were nearing the Jersey Shore. The Jersey Shore of Snooki fame? Why no, Jersey Shore PA, a town located on the West branch of the Susquehanna named Jersey Shore in 1826 since its founders came from New Jersey and they were on the shore of the river.
It became clear though, that on this day, we didn't mind thinking where the heck are we, as we were very happy being where we were- cycling 75 miles through the gorgeous PA countryside on very low traffic roads, on a course with 3000 feet of climbing but many more thousands of feet of descending as we came down from the Allegheny Plateau. None of us can remember a day with more downhills! And a day with perfect conditions, with temps in the 60's with light cloud cover and gentle cooling breezes. I didn't want the day to end.
Luckily we had Sheriff Jim Brady to keep the peace in this rough neck of the woods (his badge actually says Sheriff Jim).
We approached the outskirts of Williamsport on a well placed bike path, that safely brought us within shooting distance of downtown. Yay for awesome bike facilities!
We had a great crew today that helped make this a perfect day. Thanks to everyone for helping us discover where we should really be. Riding 500 miles to support the Kids of Anchor House, and having a great time doing so.
Posted with Blogsy
And their Jersey cousins the Fugawi
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