XC Day 7 - Newbury OH to Meadville PA
Today we entered Pennsylvania, the fourth state for me on this trip, but the eleventh state for everyone else. The weather was overcast, temperatures in the upper 50s, and about 10 mph headwinds or crosswinds. At 64 miles, this was a short day. However, it felt a bit longer because of the winds, some climbing, and the roads at the beginning and end of the ride.
Before we got to the scenic views such as this barn, we had a 3.5 mile stretch of road that had been rough scored before paving. It was very unpleasant to ride on, especially on a half mile descent. The vibrations the road caused were just painful and made the bikes a bit unstable.
We passed this one house that was clearly getting ready for Halloween.
Or there was this building that simply looked like it could be haunted.
We had a very nice stretch on a bike path. The foliage is just starting to turn here and there. Hopefully, as we continue northeast, and a few more days go by, we will start getting some real color.
Yesterday I had mentioned trying to get a picture of a horse and buggy. We did pass one coming towards us, but I did not take a picture. The Amish generally prefer not to have their pictures taken. If we were coming up from behind, I could have taken a picture of the buggy and horse without photographing the driver; however, when coming towards us, this was not possible. Thus, this photo will have to do.
Our second rest stops today was in this town square. The planter was really lovely.
Just after the second rest stop, we crossed into Pennsylvania. The state border here is in the middle of Lake Pymatuning.
Here is one more scenic photograph from the ride into Meadville.
Unfortunately, too many of the miles from the state line to Meadville looked like this, especially at the end of the ride.
Tomorrow will be the first of 3 consecutive days of 100 miles and over 5000 feet of climbing. These will be challenging days for me. Hopefully both the weather and roads will be nice.