One week, One State, and One Mountain Range

The first leg of the journey comes to an end.  Last night Eddie and I finished our travels together at his family's place in Lower Burrell, PA.  The last two days were even more challenging than the previous with bigger mountains and more of them.  We did spend some very enjoyable hours on several "Rails to Trails" biking paths, the most notable being the Ghost Town Trail ( http://www.railstotrails.us/pa_ghost_town_trail.htm )  which are limestone dust paths (ok for road bikes) on the paths of old railroads.  This means nothing greater than a 1% grade which is a GREAT thing when packing lots of gear.  Except when a old tunnel collapses and the trail goes straight up a mountain.  But hey, we made it.

I will note that Woodland Campground by Ebensburg, PA is a dump.  Our fire ring was full of beer cans, we didn't even have a picnic table, the showers only work for quarters (thank you chunky akward girl that Eddie scared)  and some of the campers still had their Christmas lights up (yes, permanent residence at a campground.  UPS even delivers there...)   Now I come from the country, and I am the first to tell you that there are great people out in rural areas.  But there is a huge difference between being from the country and being a redneck.  I told Eddie I wouldnt shower with my mowhawk exposed unless he was there to protect me.  that bad..    But we survived the cold night with banjo's serenading us and some awkward complements on our smiles.

I spent the last day at Eddie's parents place who were kind enough to help me with some repairs on the bike and rack and wash the road sweat off.  I took the bike into Gatto Bike Shop (www.gattocycle.com ) and had to wait at their little diner while they opened and the kind folks in there loved hearing my story and wouldn't let me pay for my breakfast.  While the bike shop didnt repair my bike quite the way it should have been the food and meeting the nice folks at the diner was well worth biking the 10 miles of hills back to Lower Burrell.

So things I have learned this first week.  Whiskey and Gatorade is better than you imagine.  There are a lot more good people than nasty.  There is such a thing as a free lunch (and breakfast, beer, and shots)  Bikes are a lot more complicated than you think and kicking them does not make things better.  Bike shops are like people, some are good some just waste your time.  Mountains can be climbed even with a strong headwind.  And just because you hurt doesnt mean you cant continue on and have a great time.

Below is a link to some pics from the week.  Take care everyone!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/grrwilson/sets/72157624241169022/