Then There was Fog and Ninth State Line

Then There was Fog and our Ninth State Line

Wednesday 19^th June, 2019

Day 40

Location: Niles, OH to Erie, PA

Distance: 91 miles.

Temp: 64 - 72 F heavy fog – overcast – sun by noon

Dew point:  - 64 F

Winds:  calm

Cumulative climbing distance:  2,251 ft

Cumulative descending distance:  2,480 ft

 

Today started with something new.  Two and half hours of biking in heavy dense fog.  Thus, the same outcome as the prior 4 days.  Wet clothes all day and increasing issues with saddle sores.

In 5 days we have bike 473 bikes.  All in wet conditions.  Discussion at dinner – are we getting stronger or getting more run down?   While the latter is definitely true, I believe we are also getting much stronger.  I could not have biked almost 500 mile over 5 consecutive days prior to this trip.

 

Crossed our 10^th state line today and entered our 11^th state – Pennsylvania.  Just 25 miles into PA we arrived at our destination, Erie, a harbor city on Lake Erie.  Our hotel is on the waterfront.

Crossed interstate I-90 today.  We started at I-10 in California and have continued to cross all major east-west interstates as we progressed east and north.

Into the second week of the trip we lost complete track of the day of the week or date, even though I type them on the daily blog (sometimes with wrong day or date).  This typing is merely copying this info from the daily route sheet without thinking.  Given my constant demands of schedules, travel dates, etc., I cannot imagine not knowing the date or even the day of the week.  Now every day seems like a weekend day. Very unfamiliar territory.

Another interesting fact.  We have yet to turn on the TV in our hotel room.  6 weeks within without television seems impossible.  But our schedule is too tight and we are too exhausted at night.

 I am emerging out of the fog as I approach a SAG wagon check point.

 

 

 

 

Enjoying a cup of coffee.

 

Morning collection of baggage.

 

 

Fog as we departed our hotel.

 

 

 

 

Fog droplet accumulation after 30 minutes.  (A filtration process.)

 

 

A still active drive-in movie theater.

 

 

 

Central and northeastern Ohio has a concentration of Amish.  As we crossed the country we have dealt with every imaginable road condition and obstacle.  The must avoid, until now, was road kill (every mile or two) in various states of "freshness".  Now we have another must avoid obstacle.

 

 

Today crossed US highway 6, which runs from Provincetown, MA (at the tip of Cape Cod) to CA.  Interestingly it was passes through Farmington, CT, Valparaiso, IN and Denver, CO.

 

Lunch including root beer floats at a 1950's drive-in.

Entering Pennsylvania.

 

 

 

 Harbor views from hotel.

 

 

Another carb dinner on the water front.  Not glass containers allowed, but wine and scotch still tasted mighty refreshing.