Dave's Cross Country Bike Tour 2004 |
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Part 12
New Palestine, OH to Coudersport, PA
Aug. 5, 2004, 9:20 PM, EDT
Conversation with Winnie
Hi! I thought about getting a motel room tonight, but then
I saw a National Forest Service campground- Buckaloong- and
I just had to set up one more time (tomorrow night I’ll be
at the house of friends and then I’m home) so this was my
last chance. It’s near Warren, PA in Warren County in the
heart of the Alleghenies. I’m really psyched to be here.
There’s only one other camper in the primitive area.
Everyone else is in the RV section. There are fewer RV’s
here. Out West, there were so many around the monuments and
scenic byways, and they were humungous (tour bus size)!
Here in the East they’re smaller- more pop-ups pulled by
pick-ups.
Last night I stayed in Pymatunung State Park. It’s a
reservoir on the PA-Ohio border. That one and this one both
have hot showers. Yesterday I rode 6 hours in the rain. It
was horrible. It was all through NE Ohio Amish country
around Hiram and Parkman.
Today, I had a 20 mph cross and head wind (out of the N) as
I traveled NE and E today. It was chilly. I wore two
jerseys all day. I want to crawl in my sleeping bag with
everything on it’s so cold. Right now I have every stitch
of clothes with me on, including the fleece jacket Pat lent
me. [Note from Winnie: Thanks, Pat! I was worried all day
about him in this cold, knowing he sent most of his warm
clothes home with me from Missouri, and the rest he mailed
home from Bloomington. Who would have thought it’d be
this cold in August!]
I had another rodent in camp last night. I think it was a
raccoon. Pat and Karin made pancakes for breakfast and then
made peanut butter and honey sandwiches with the leftovers
for my snack. I forgot about the bag they packed my
sandwiches in, and left it in my panniers. I think it must
have been after that. Tonight I’m hanging everything,
even my toothpaste. This is bear country.
I almost don’t need maps here. PENN-DOT (PA Dept of
Transpo) put up new signs markers for the bike route. They
tell you when a turn is coming, at the turn and after the
turn so you know if you turned in the right place. They
seem bigger than the bike 17 signs in southern NY.
There’s also lots of “share the road” signs, wide
shoulders. I bet they swept the roads recently, it’s very
clean, hardly any debris.
I went 85 miles yesterday and today. Tomorrow I’ll do 95
to Jeff and Barb’s. They’re expecting me in the
evening. The terrain has been ok, some tough spots, it
could have been worse. I went through some beautiful
wetlands. And despite the crosswind, the sun was nice
today.
Tomorrow, I’ll be in Nation Forest Land. It should be
pretty. Saturday will be spectacular going through
Greenwood- the wetland there is incredible. It’s worth a
drive between Whiteville and Greenwood just to see it.
I’ve rode that route before, although it’s hard to tell
how long it will take, since last time I had a 25 mph
tailwind. I’ll come up Knight Settlement to Kanona. I
think I’ll be home around 7 PM. Then again, I may stop
for a pizza along the way.
It’s almost over. It’s been a long time on the road.
It will be good to be home. I can’t believe all the
places I’ve been- all the miles I’ve been covering. I
can’t believe how wiped out I was at Pat and Karin’s. I
ate such good food there and it cured me, I craved salty
foods and ate so much.
I’m tired, so I best be getting to bed. I’d like to
take ahot shower, but I think I’m even too tired for that.
Goodnight.