Around 3:00 PM today, I lost track of Paul. We were riding on SR-309, between Pleasant Corners and Schnecksville when I stopped to ask directions to Egypt (an unincorporated area of Whiethall Township, Pennsylvania). Paul was behind but usually in sight until I got to Schnecksville, where I paused to wait for him. However, he didn't arrive in a reasonable time. I flagged down a few vehicles, that were headed toward me, to ask if the drivers had seen him. Nobody had noticed a cyclist. After an hour or so, I concluded that he perhaps got directions of his own and headed to Egypt, so I proceeded there.

Keep in mind, this was before the days of cell phones, texting, gps tracking, or computers, for that matter.

Upon arriving in Egypt, I waited around for 90 minutes, but Paul did not show up. During that time, I called my parents to relay that we had been separated and to request that they call Paul's parents to see if they had heard from him. They did, but his family had not heard anything, as of yet.

My last hypothesis was that perhaps Paul thought I was still ahead and he continued on to Bath, Pennsylvania, our planned destination for the day. Via SR-329, I rode to Bath, where, with no sign of him and no word from anyone, I contacted the local police for assistance. In a short period of time, I had the state and local police, from Lehigh County and all the way to the Delaware River, looking for Paul. 

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To recap , prior to the separation, it had been a great day of riding. We had ridden 17 quick miles by 9:00 AM. The sky was overcast and it was humid but not as warm as some other days had been. The morning offered decent riding weather, enhanced by some beautiful and peaceful backroads through the Keystone State countryside. We passed by farmland and some Amish settlements.

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There was one very difficult hill, perhaps one of the toughest of the trip. It was called Hawk Mountain. We were drenched with sweat by the time we reached the summit. The view up there was fantastic. Hawk Mountain is on what is known as the Eastern Flyway, an aerial highway for migrating birds. We were there ahead of the season but were told that by mid-September, an observer could see Hawks, Eagles, Falcons, and many other species of birds passing by on their way South. The downhill ride from this summit was exhilarating.

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We passed through several towns where the local residents had a distinctive Pennsylvania Dutch accent. It comes from the relative isolation of these places. The dialect is a mixture of language from their German roots mixed with English and a some local slang. You have to keep the ears open when talking to some of these folks.

It was still this way, 43 years ago. I'm not so sure that the PA Dutch dialect is as prevalent now as it was then. Their world has opened up quite a bit since that time.

The people we met were great. In Steinsville, we began talking with three PA Dutch women who ended up giving us cold water and then a beer! We probably stayed longer than we should have but they were so nice, interested in our trip, and had a few stories of their own to share. Eventually, we thanked them, said goodbye, and reluctantly moved on.

Near the 3 O'Clock hour, we got onto the busier SR-309 and the separation occurred shortly afterwards. As was mentioned previously, in the late afternoon, I arrived in Bath and sought help from the police department. The Assistant Chief of Police, Harry Butler, gave me permission to stay in the city park and under a pavilion. Officer Butler was the policeman I spoke to about Paul. He began making things happen and he told me he would keep me informed.

When I got to the park, there was a party going on for the town's Legion Baseball Team to celebrate them having won a championship. The Chief of Police, who also knew me by now, was there and he introduced me to everyone, including the Mayor. The women made sure I was well fed. I talked to a lot of people at the event, including a woman who had lived in Massachusetts, where we were ultimately headed.

I listened to inspiring speeches to the team from the Police Chief and the team manager, who gave an especially good talk. He got a lot of applause and it was clear that he was a good leader and well respected. Later on, I got into a long conversation with the Mayor. In his younger days, he was a competitive wrestler. He even had some old photos of his wrestling days in his wallet. Currently, he appeared to be in excellent shape. The mayor was quite taken with stories of our trip. At one point, he handed me $5.00, which I tried to refuse but he insisted so much that I accepted in order to not offend him. What a great guy!

A school teacher's wife and I got into a conversation about health and nutrition. Because I had worked in a Vitamin and Health Products store, in Studio City, California (Great Earth) I had some knowledge and passed on some recommendations to her, for which she was grateful. 

As the party broke up, it seemed that nearly everyone made it a point to say goodbye to me. I really felt like a part of the team and the community! Mr. and Mrs. Charlie-H invited me to spend the night at their home. That was so nice of them and I would have accepted but Officer Butler was going to keep me informed and he knew I was in the park, so I thanked them and  stayed put.

Bath, PA is a wonderful town and, if you don't count "the minor detail" of losing Paul, this was a pretty good day. If I can find him tomorrow, all will be right with the world again.