Pennsylvania

June 29

Port Jervis, NY to Mt Pocono, PA - 53.3 miles

We left our host site in Port Jervis, heading out for a 53 mile and likely hilly ride since our destination was forebodingly called Mount Pocono. It was another tri-state day, passing from NY, through NJ, and into PA. 

New Jersey state line:

Pennsylvania state line:

The majority of the ride was not bad, and we rode on some really nice roads that had great views since they intersected national parks. Our lunch spot was outside of Pocono Indian museum. I perused the gift shop and bought a few souvenirs. 

Shameless selfie:

The second half of the day was much more strenuous than the first half since we were getting closer to the Mount Pocono summit. 

About 10 miles from the destination, we stopped at a placed called Mary Ann's to get ice cream. The woman taking my order made my day, giving me my strawberry shake for free since I had a credit card and they only take cash. I think she could tell from my moderately deformed face that I was having a rough week. The last three miles before the host site were a long and steep climb. It seemed to last forever. The United Methodist Church where we would be staying was literally on the top of Mount Pocono. Fortunately, the host provided us with many delicious snacks when we entered so we could replenish our fluids and recuperate. We each received a kind letter from a member of the church. They also prepared an amazing taco dinner for us - one of my favorite dinners yet - with a make-your-own-taco buffet that offered every type of taco meat - pulled chicken, pulled pork, ground beef, and fish and all the fixings including quinoa, rice, beans, kale, and guacamole (which I love). At night, we had our weekly town hall meeting.

June 30

Mount Pocono to Berwick, PA - 54 miles

The hosts prepared an amazing breakfast with banana pancakes, sausages, breakfast sandwiches, etc. Hands down our best breakfast yet. One woman there even slept over at the church on a thermarest so that she could get up at 4:30 am to start cooking for us. We left for our ride expecting it to be mostly downhill since we had climbed the mountain the day before. We were wrong. Most of the ride was on rolling hills through Pennsylvania farmland. There were a few really fun descents, with great views in the distance. I also passed my first cornfield of the trip and we took some fun photos standing in the corn.

At the end of the ride, we climbed yet another mountain to get to the host. The First Presbyterian Church was located in Berwick, PA, where the fire department was holding traffic for us. 

The small town had planned a police escort, expecting all 33 of us to roll in at once - we caused some confusion when we anticlimactically trickled in in groups of 2 to 6 over the span of a couple of hours. The hosts provided us with many great snacks (including hummus! Yum!) and gave us delicious meatball subs for dinner. After dinner we hosted a bike clinic open to the community so that we could teach bike safety to kids. A single kid showed up. The student to teacher ratio was an impressive 1:33. We guided the child through a hypothetical road and acted like ducks, mooses, rocks, tracks, and other obstructions that one may find on the road. 

July 1

Berwick, PA to State College, PA - 95 miles

We shifted our wake up time from 5:30 AM to 5 AM so that we could get a head start on the long ride ahead. I was designated as one of the two sweeps that day. Sweeps ride behind everyone, carrying a first aid kit and a tire in case anyone needs assistance along the ride. We rode on the same road, the Purple Heart Highway, for about 60 miles. The road went through vast farmland areas, a state park, and also the hometown of the inventor of the typewriter! We stopped for lunch in a cute town called Lewisburg. On my search for a bathroom, I accidentally entered a person's home mistaking it for a nail salon. A man sitting on a couch inside kindly redirected me to the restaurant next door. We continued our ride through Amish country and at about mile 70, we noticed lightening. A large group of us sought shelter at a supermarket. We had the option to ride the van the rest of the way, but myself and some others who wanted to complete the ride waited out the storm. At the host, we celebrated Kelsey's birthday with cake and a dinner made by some of our riders who are great cooks. At night, my friend Meagan who lives in State College and did the Capital Ride with me last year stopped by the church and brought us delicious ice cream from a local creamery. She showed me and some others the downtown area and we hung out at a place called Zenos.

July 2

State College, PA to Johnstown, PA - 75 miles

Today was reputed by Bike and Build groups who did this route in previous years to be the most challenging ride day of the entire trip. We climbed the second highest mountain in PA, Blue Knob, which is part of the Aleghenny mountains, and gained a total elevation of 6,437 ft. 

Feeling victorious after reaching the highest point:

The climbs were disheartening, especially since I couldn't anticipate the end of the climbs with any certainty. Many of the climbs were on switchbacks, so I would often think that the climb was approaching an end only to turn the corner and see another steep hill. Other hills were like staircases - we couldn't see the next hill until we reached the top of the previous hill. It was my most challenging ride to date. After miles of climbing, we yearned for a long descent. We were teased by signs that indicated every few miles that there would be a 14% grade descent "6 miles ahead," then "4 miles ahead," then "1 mile ahead."

I am not sure why it is necessary to forewarn drivers of a descent so far in advance. Anyhow, the descent was a mere mile long and I just happened to get my first flat of the trip right before the descent. We were close to the host and I was too exhausted to change a flat, so I descended the 14% grade with a flat tire - not a brilliant idea and not that enjoyable. I felt so beat by the end that simple, routine tasks like getting up from a seat or lifting a fork and guiding it to my mouth seemed like enormous energy consuming endeavors. I finally utilized what remained of my energy stores to change my tire as Chris serenaded a few of us with his ukulele. A jam session ensued, with Alex playing guitar, Nick playing Harmonica, and a large group of us singing popular tunes like "Free Fallin" and "Jumper." The host served us a great ziti and meatball dinner followed by amazing homemade brownies. The total number of brownies I consumed shall remain nobody's business.

July 3

Johnstown, PA to Pittsburgh, PA - 80.2 miles

Today was our last ride before a much needed day off. I was starting to feel different aches and pains and needed a chance to recover. The ride was hilly as usual. As we got closer to Pittsburgh, it was exciting to see the skyline in the distance. 

One of my first impressions of the city included two people dressed in full-body tuxedo-wearing cat costumes strolling down the sidewalk. I thought that this was an unusual isolated incident until we continued down the street and found tens of others in varying states of furriness, weather it be as simple as a tail or a more dedicated full body outfit. Our host was the Smithield United Church of Christ.

At night, we saw the Pittsburgh pirates. The tickets had been donated to us and it was a lot of fun. In fact, this was my first baseball game ever! The stadium was beautiful since it overlooked the "three rivers."

Afterwards we went out dancing and concluded the night with pizza.

July 4

We had the day off! I slept in until about 9:30 AM and then I, Chris, Jess, and Rose went out to Brunch at a place called Primanti, which is a Pittsburgh favorite. The sandwiches are stuffed with French fries, cole slaw, and whatever meat you order. It was very high calorie and very delicious. 

We explored the city which had a regatta and many events going on for the July 4th celebration.

Building a sand house:

We also got our caricatures done by a guy named Vince - we have since hung it in the trailer.

Anthrocon, the biggest furry convention in the world, was also taking place. There were hundreds of people in cat costumes and other furry attire infiltrating the streets. We decided to enter the convention center where the event was centralized to observe the masses. 

We briefly snuck into a lecture hall where a panel of people analyzed strange and serene sounding soundtracks. It was entertaining to see large furry cats in the audience swaying to the music. At night, we went out to see the fireworks.