Day 5 was a challenging but fun day. Our longest day- 80 miles and our hilliest with 4300 feet of climbing. But the real story of the day are the great personal hills climbed by individuals every day. I took the photo below of Bernie McClean and Gabriel Hayon at the first SAG stop as I was interested in the contrast in their Anchor House experiences. Gabriel is the son of my good friend Jack Hayon and on his first Anchor House ride. Gabe lives in California and bought his first bike four months ago, trained over 1200 miles, and is riding like a pro. Bernie is riding in his 24th Anchor House, and has biked countless miles over his life. Bernie had life threatening cancer last year and missed the 2014 ride and was told he wouldn't even be around in 2015. Not only did he beat his cancer, through the use of innovative new cancer drugs, but he is riding 500 miles this week and promises to be riding next year in his 25th! This had special significance to me as I'll be riding in two weeks to help fight cancer in the Pan Mass Challenge ride.
And tonight at the Awards banquet, we learned that Anchor House is reaching its lofty goal of raising over $500,000 for the House. Anchor House provides shelter and counseling to many at risk children and young adults who face countless struggles every day. Today we learned that we have raised over $450,000 (and counting) for the house. Please visit www.anchorhousenj.org if you're interested to donate or help in any way.
Other observations from the day. We were blessed with sunny skies and temps in the low 80's. The Penssylvania countryside was again beautiful and our route was fantastic, often on marked bicycling routes.
The hill climbing was intense at times, with one climb topping out at a 19% grade and a few others in the 15% range. Luckily many of love a good hill, and there was nothing we couldn't overcome, even the long climb to the "Top of the 80's (intersection of Rt 80 and 81) in Hazelton. The constant mantra when the going is tough is "it's for the kids" which really helps to motivate.
We passed through our first covered bridge on the ride, which is always a timeless experience. As was passing by an actual Opera House that was for sale.
Also special today was stopping today outside of Hazelton at DJ's sister's house, which was on our route. She had ice tea, fruit and water for the whole gang, and DJ and I hung out with her for a little while. Nice to meet DJ's big sister and to hear some fun stories about her baby brother. DJ grew up in Hazelton and told me a lot about the mining history and the geology of the area. I was impressed by the beauty of the mountains and valleys in the region, although DJ pointed out that coal mining has devestated adjoining valleys and pointed out reddish acid run-off in what looked like pristine streams.
I'll leave you with one final photo from the Awards Banquet, to show you that we don't always wear spandex and cycling gear. This is a shot of the three boys- Adam and Jack's sons Ben and Gabriel. The next generation of Anchor House riders who will take us over many hills to come.
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