Peace out PA and MD!

Day 12 - Cumberland, MD to Parsons, WV

Stats:

86.5 miles
7:40 bike time

So I thought my lowest low of the week would have been yesterday, when, after climbing literally 3 mountains and having been on my bike for over 7 hours, a man stopped a group of us and explained that we were about to “cross a mountain like no other mountain he had ever seen.” (He, unfortunately, ended up being correct…) However, the first half of today’s ride proved to be even more of a low…

Looking at the cue sheet this morning, I saw that we only had 86.5 miles today, and thought to myself, after yesterday, piece of cake. One small problem, I forgot the fact that despite the milage being almost 15 miles shorter, the terrain had not changed a bit. The first 30 miles were absolutely brutal. It was hot. It was humid. We were all fried. Not to mention it was uphill. I did most of the ride by myself (which I think was good for me…) As I climb to the top of one of the hills, I noticed a bike leaned up against a tree. I figured someone had stopped for a break, but kind of panicked when I saw my friend Bree lying on the ground. When I got closer I said her name and she popped up and explained that she stopped for a snack and accidentally fell asleep on the side of the road (told you we were fried!) This actually also happened the other day when we had a long ride. One of our leaders, Laura, stopped at a general store about 20 miles out from lunch and feel asleep in a rocking chair, only to awaken to the sound of the sweep cow bells of the final riders (Everyday 2 riders are assigned to be sweep, they are the last two of the group and carry first aid, tires, etc). Anyway, when I arrived at lunch I just wanted to grab something quick and keep going. I had moved so slowly during the morning ride, I was nervous I would not have been able to make the rest of the mileage by the sundown deadline. To my surprise, we made an (unprecedented) group decision at lunch to re-route ourselves around the mountains to avoid more climbs. This little bit of a break was just enough to keep me on my bike. The rest of the ride was great and it was so nice to enjoy a ride instead of struggling though it!

The ride ended with a well deserved 5.5 mile long 6% decent. We literally coasted into Parsons. Not only was the second half less hilly, but the ride was also beautiful! I had no idea how gorgeous West Virginia is!

On a side note, I am so happy we are done with PA. While it too was a pretty state, I have never seen (or worse, smelled…) so much roadkill in my life. It was terrible. And I thought Jersey smelled bad…