- Day 1 -1 Week
- Day 1 -12 Hours
- Day 1
- Day 2
- Day 3
- Day 4
- Day 5
- Day 6
- Day 7
- Day 8
- Day 9
- Day 10
- Day 11
- Day 12
- Day 13
- Day 14
- Day 15
- Day 16
- Day 17
- Day 18
- Day 19
- Day 20
- Day 21
- Day 22
- Day 23
- Day 24
- Day 25
- Day 26
- Day 27
- Day 28
- Day 29
- Day 30
- Day 31
- Day 32
- Day 33
- Day 34
- Day 35
- Day 36
- Day 37
- Day 38
- Day 39
- Day 40
- Day 41
- Day 42
- Day 43
- Day 44
- Day 45
- Day 46
- Day 47
- Day 48
- Day 49
- Day 50
- Day 51
- Day 52
- Day 53
- Day 54
- Day 55
- The End
- Retrospective
We left late.
Now before I go any further I must clarify, I love Jerry like the great friend he is. I love him enough to be willing to be together for 24 hours a day for thirty, forty days in a row. And not just forty days, forty days of hard work. Anyone who’s worked very hard together in close courtiers knows weird things come, over sharing is enviable, and bonds are formed deep and fast. To sign on to an adventure like this one knows (or at least I knew) this would be something that would bring our friendship to new levels. We would see each others at our strongest and weakest, all of our flaws, all of our victories. And that even includes all of our idiosyncrasies, small mannerisms, and “the way” we do things. I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining about my friend. I don’t want to wine that my friend is different then me.
That said, we left later then I would have liked to. We went a few present miles. A nice small down town where they had a train to take people out to some scenic view.
And then less then an hour in we are confronted with a nine and a half percent grade for a solid mile and a half. At noon forty five! It was hot and relentless. We pushed and pushed. We stopped and continued, and stopped and continued. I didn’t fall into shock or heat exhaustion like I did the last two days but I spent most of that hill wanting to through up and die.
When we finally crested the hill I was hopeful that the other side of the hill would be down hill all the way to the hotel. It wasn’t.
A few more ups and downs but finally things were starting to be reasonable. We continued for a bit more but we had drank a lot of water on that killer hill. We found a gas station that had drinks and a small sitting area. Luckily we left just in time to catch the start of the rain. Just a few blocks and we stopped to gear up. A few more hills but nothing like the morning, especially now that the rain has brought the cool. However with a start like we had, with such heat and steep hills we were feeling pretty tired by this point.
We rode till wet, then dry and wet again.
I have to admit the hills in the wet got a little scary. Breaks don’t work as well, handling is different, especially as over packed as I am. Thankfully we made it through all the rain unscathed. But we were both ready to get into a room. I could not believe how dirty I was with just the road water splashing up at me.
We crossed the Susquehanna River into Berwick and felt the feel of relief knowing the day would soon be over. We made our way toward the Best Western in town. As we approached something did not look right. We got to the address and I called the number. They said they were a Comfort Inn. I asked if I called a Best Western, they said no. I asked if they were at the address listed on line, they said no. We could at least laugh about the false info today. Next.
As we continued down the road we pulled into a parking lot to check where other options for a stay. As we looked through the maps a car approached us. The man smoking a cigarillo pulled up and asked how far we’re going. I think it was a litmus test as in, if our answer was less then cross country he wouldn’t have needed to talk to us very long. But when he exited the car he introduced himself as Bernie Buffone. We chatted for a few minutes, sharing stories of the road. He had lots of stories of all the good he’s done for charity.
I’ve been asked about it a lot, and so I’ve thought about it a bunch, but we are not doing this for charity. It has given me repose. I live a extraordinary life in a simple way. I have done and gone many places in the world. Yet I have basically one outfit, a bike and a lady. Not much else as far as physical material stuffs. I think this has given me a sense of a simple life. This may not be true though. I mean most people who ask us about biking across the country ask / assume we are camping. And after all of my trials and tribulations in the last trip I got the nicest saddle I could afford. Suddenly I feel like I have a bourgeoisie lifestyle. I could be camping and raising awareness to some cause.
But as Jerry says, “It is what it is.”
Fireworks in the parking lot. Happy Fourth of July!!!
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