Started in York, PA and ended 38 miles later in Cumberland, PA which is just south of Gettysburg by about 4 miles. I rode through the battlefield to get here.
The last two nights I have stayed at lower end Motels. Last night was a Red Roof Inn. The attendant at the check-in lobby was behind a glass shield. The clientele looked rather sketchy. But the neighborhood was nice. There were nice restaurants. There was a theater. It looked like a prosperous business area. And I will add, that even though the room was in need of repair, it had the hottest and most powerful shower. Much better than the more expensive places I stayed the first three nights. And get this, it also had the best toilet paper. :-). Something to appreciate after a day in the bike saddle.
Tonight is a Red Carpet Inn. Not fancy by any means.
It was another very windy day. I think I had headwinds most of the day. The wind was worse than yesterday. It was again mostly rural, beautiful Pennsylvania countryside. I was on regularly traveled roads but it wasn’t bad. There was an adequate shoulder and most drivers were cautious. For most of the last two days I have seen signs that I am on a designated PA bike route S or J2. I am not sure what the history of that is.
The riding for the last two days took me back to when I lived in PA and that is when I started cycling seriously. The terrain and countryside sure reminded me of rides I took back then.
This morning, I got breakfast at deli near where I stayed. I stopped for pizza in Gettysburg before I got to my motel. I correctly figured that would be the best source of food. There is nothing here. I don’t know what I will do in the morning. I will probably eat a protein bar before leaving and hope I find something along the way before too many miles. I am still trying to sort out the food situation. I hope I am getting enough calories.
I am not sure I am going to be able to average the number of miles per day as planned. I do have some dates where I really need to be in certain locations. If I can’t keep it up I will need to find a way to maybe shuttle some of the distances. I told myself all along that I need to be flexible.
While riding today, I thought of this quote by Earnest Hemmingway
“It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.”
This is especially true when riding through a site like the Gettysburg Battlefield. You appreciate the tactical advance of various positions on the terrain more when you bicycle it then when you drive it in a car.
