Wednesday: The Trip Ends Early

Perfect day
Barry and Lynn smile
The trip ends

Haiku aside, our original five day trip was unfortunately reduced to one glorious day, as Lynn and Bill returned home on Wednesday to be with Lynn's mom who was inexplicably mugged at her assisted living home in Winston-Salem. Her purse was snatched and she was knocked down by drive-by muggers while standing outside her building. She was taken to the hospital with some pretty bad scrapes on her arm and leg and later released. Who would do such a thing? The good news is that two men were arrested shortly after it happened. It seems unbelievable she should live 80 years in Detroit with nary a mishap, only to be mugged in sweet Winston-Salem. We are thankful she was not hurt worse.

As to the unfinished great bicycle adventure: we'll be back! The sequel is being planned as I type...

Tuesday: The Agony and The Ecstasy

The day dawned bright and beautiful and Barry and Lynn were on the road by 9:45 am at the Deal, Pa trail head. We enjoyed a beautiful, bucolic countryside in sunny, crisp weather. Truly, it could not have been more perfect. The trail was hardpacked and fast (at least at the beginning) and humans were few and far between (but those we met were friendly and helpful).




We traveled over a number of stunning viaducts. The most scenic of which was this one called the Keystone.



Barry was fascinated by the windmills and asked me to take pictures of several. This shot was from the Salisbury Viaduct, high over the roadway, with a terrific view of a wind energy ridge.





As most of you would have done, we quoted our favorite poetry to each other. This is a living illustration of Longfellow's forest primeval from "Evangeline:"







Along about Garrett, PA the trail got a little sticky, no doubt saturated from the previous day's rains. We worked our way to Rockwood, PA for lunch and learned that we were smart not to try the trip yesterday as the lady at the convenience store told us that she drove to work in the snow!

We were warned about the detour around the Pinkerton tunnel but took cheer in the fact that it had been "paved" over the weekend. However, two friendly bikers told us that "paving" meant adding two inches of sand and gravel to the surface and in fact it was the roughest mile and a half of the trip. But we persevered and arrived in Ft. Hill, PA 15 minutes ahead of schedule and found our Bill, our tried and true trip support person, waiting for us with bottles of cold water.


Stats:

31 miles in 6.5 hours.
9.018 mph actual peddling time
3 potty breaks
12 pictures taken
hundreds of laughs
cost: priceless

Day Zero (Monday)

Forecast: Rain and snow this morning transitioning to light rain late in the day. Cold. High 42F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of precip 80%.

Given this forecast and considering that discretion is the better part of valor, Lynn and Barry opted to take advantage of our swing day and save the trail for tomorrow, visiting Fallingwater instead.



Surely everyone knows that Fallingwater is Frank Lloyd Wright's most famous architectural design. It is about 45 minutes from 7 Springs and since it was too cold and wet to do anything else, we spent a delightful afternoon tramping around the fieldstone floors of Fallingwater. Lynn and Bill had never been there before and Maureen and Barry were very patient in exploring the lovely but weird house that was built for Pittsburgh's Kauffman family. A nice couple offered to take a picture of Lynn and Bill at the "view" from the woods.

We ended the evening with a delicious dinner (Bill had antelope!) at 7 Springs and trying to figure out this blog. The trip starts tomorrow!

7 Springs

After a lovely Mother's Day breakfast with Nana in Winston-Salem, Bill and I arrived at 7 Springs about 5 pm, having driven through a tornado watch in Beckley, WV. There was about a 20 mile stretch that had no power along US 19, which was a bit scary. Nonetheless, we arrived safely and enjoyed a very nice ham and butter bean dinner with Mom and Dad. The bad news is that it was 43 degrees and rainy, not exactly like the 78 degrees and sunny that we left in Winston.

Negotiations are currently underway regarding daily and alternate routes, depending on the weather. We will make up our collective minds tomorrow and let you know how and what we did.

Happy Mother's Day, everyone!

Launch: Lynn and Barry's Great Bicycle Adventure

Some of you know that Barry Kane and Lynn Sutton are about to start out on a great bicycle adventure. The idea was born last October when we were tooling around the Elizabethan Gardens on Roanoke Island. "I've always wanted to ride the Pittsburgh to DC trail," says Barry. "I'd do it with you," says Lynn. It sounded like a good idea at the time!

Plans have changed many times, from going west to east, to east to west, from Cumberland to DC, to Deal, PA to McKeesport, PA. Avoiding the eastern continental divide was Barry's best idea yet. Bill and Mom will be our designated support team, hauling ourselves and our bikes from trail to lodging each night.

I will try to keep the blog up to date on a daily basis - with pictures, no less (you'll be proud of me, Susan). Here is a stock photo of Barry and Bill, father and son, in happier times:











Visit this space daily, and wish us luck!