Burton, OH-New Waterford-Washington,PA-Confluence-Bedford,PA

The first day of this stretch took us through Amish country. This area of Middlefield, OH has the largest Amish population in the world. It's very common to see the horse and buggy on the road. One house had in front of it 4 buggy wheels for sales, they're all metal, no rubber in them. What I learned from my Amish buggy ride the day before is that wheels last about 18 years. The ones with rubber between the wheel and the rim make for a quieter and smoother ride. The hills are back as we head into the Appalachians. These first two days were short, only 59 and 62.

In Washington, PA Kristen's parents were there waiting for us with cold drinks, fruit, treats and pizza bread. It was greatly appreciated as we arrived in camp fairly early. Thanks so much. Dinner was catered and there was a lot of leftovers. Due to lack of cold storage space, Bridgett wanted the food to be taken to the local shelter. Just as fate would have it, a couple staying in the camp approached us asking about the ride. The woman was from Washington and used to work at the shelter. They took Alan and the food to the shelter. What a great thing, not waste the food and give it to someone who needs it. The next morning again there were plenty of extras so off to the shelter Alan went.

From Washington we rode to Confluence, PA, an 88 mile day. The first 40ish miles were on the road. We rode through Mingo Creek County Park, very nice. Continuing on we followed the Monangahela River. At West Newton, PA we picked up the Great Allegheny Passage bike trail for about 50 miles. It runs from Pittsburg to Cumberland and then connects to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath. The first part of the GAP is the YRT, the Youghiogheny River Trail. The trail is the old Western Marilyn Railroad bed. Across the river is the CSX railroad. We could hear the trains pass by us but couldn't always see them due to the trees. The trail is hardpack sand and slag which even road bikes with the skinny tires can safely ride. In Connellsville, Big Rider Alumni, Fred Husak hosted a lunch. Thank you Fred.

In Ohiopyle, PA there is a state park. We stopped there for a dip in the river and an ice cream. There are also falls there and the original name of the city was something like Falls City, why the name was changed, I don't know. With only 10 more miles to go to, we arrived in Confluence.

Confluence, PA has a dam on the Youghiogheny. There the lake is about 125 feet deep. In the spring it's deeper. Being a Monday, only one restaurant was opened, so that's where we all ate at our leisure. There were lots of kids there, probably the river guides and some self-supported cyclists.

Confluence to Bedford, we started out on the GAP again for 30 miles then another 50 on the hilly roads. We're getting prepared for our "final exam" when we ride into Gettysburg. The GAP in now following the Casselman River. We left the trail at Meyersdale. Brad, Isang, Chacko and I had breakfast at Minnie's there. For a whole $3.50 I got 2 eggs, ham, home fries and toast. What a deal. We went by the Flight 93 (9/11) memorial. A new larger memorial is being built. Moving along we rode up the eastern continental divide and then down a 5 mile, 9% grade. Since I don't like going fast downhill, I feather my brakes often and made two stops to cool things down. Also my hands tend to cramp up. I was very happy to get down safely and roll into camp. Bedford is the home of the Cannondale factory. Recently they sent their manufacturing overseas. Now all that is done in the US is assembly. Too bad, one more thing now out of the
US. They probably can't say "made in the US" anymore.