On a long tour, every day is a new one with different challenges and rewards for meeting them. After close to 1000 miles of relatively flat riding, the hills began yesterday and continued all day today, right up to the shore of the Ohio River, where we find ourselves camped this evening. 

One month ago, we were in the wild west of Montana, while this evening we are looking across the Ohio River to the shores of the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, the hills of Pennsylvania, and beyond. It's pretty amazing to me that we have come so far and it has been such an incredible trip. We're doing it right... taking our time, meeting the people,  and really seeing this country. We've had our long and high mileage days, as you must in some parts of the country. But we've also stopped to see the sights, spend time with some great people, and to smell a few of the roses. I wouldn't change a thing, so far.

The ride today is memorable for its challenges, its diversity of landscapes and people. We started out from Millersburg and covered 7 tough miles to Berlin, the center of Amish and Mennonite life in this part of Ohio. There, we stopped for a big and inexpensive breakfast at Boyd and Wurthman's Cafe.  

Boyd and Wurthman's is still operating, in Berlin, in 2024.

When we left and headed down SR-39, we passed Amish farms and horse drawn buggies, all the while surrounded by beautiful rolling green hills. Although I've not been there, the area had the feel of being in the German or Swiss countryside (some "English" people we met described it that way, as well. To the Amish, we "regular" Americans are referred to as the English). Other "English" told us there was oil to be found in this area and we did see some wells as we passed through.

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The ups and downs never stopped on this day, all the way to the river town of Wellsville. As there is a lot of industry along the mighty Ohio, Wellsville had its share of smokestacks, mills, railroad tracks, pollution and noise. Some of the people we met seemed in a hurry and not in the best of moods. They also had a distinctive brogue, commonly heard in this area, which is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan region. 

Pittsburghese is actually a language of its own along with a distinctive accent. It has to be heard and experienced to be understood and fully appreciated.

Someone directed us to a marina, where we hoped to find a place to camp along the river bank. A policeman befriended us and spoke to the owner on our behalf. That led to us being given permission to camp there. Later on, the owner came over and talked with us for a while. He turned out to be a great guy who built this marina complex despite a lot of advice to the contrary. It has turned out pretty well for him, as he is putting in the work but also making some money at it. We were happy that his hard work and persistence is paying off. We were also grateful to him for his hospitality... and to the policeman, who ran interference for us!

We had another quiet night and got some good rest alongside the mighty Ohio. I even made my way down, across active railroad tracks, over some big rocks and into a rivers edge pool, mainly to rinse all the sweat and road grime off, after this long, hard, and hot day. Not being sweaty and itchy (which can make a person bitchy) all night surely helps the sleep patterns. To my knowledge, I didn't pick up any heavy metal toxins or end up glowing in the dark that evening. 

Tomorrow, if all goes well, I'll see some familiar faces and we'll be in good hands for a little while.