While riding into the Pittsburgh area today, I kept thinking of my roots, which are here. I was born in this area and lived here for a significant period of time. Some family is still here, while others who have left, owe some of their essence to this tough area. 

Although I had been away, coming back gave me a feeling of belonging and being home again. It had changed... or perhaps it was the same and I had changed but it still felt good and right to be here. Memories of my childhood seemed to be coming back as I looked out at the scenery that was all around me while we were riding along.

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We left Wellsville early, as it seemed the right thing to do before everyone else woke up on this Sunday morning. We rode on SR-7 and in the river valley fog all the way to East Liverpool. There, we were able to cross the river where a 3.5 mile stretch of West Virginia needed to be traversed in order to reach Pennsylvania. It was all uphill! A sign near the top welcomed us to Pennsylvania and Beaver County. Although we were on US-30 (the Lincoln Highway) it was still early enough on a Sunday morning that we did not have too much traffic with which to deal.

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We followed US-30 to a left turn onto SR-151, a nice quiet country road but with a lot of rolling hills. SR-151 led us to a gas station/convenience store at the top of a very steep descent in a place called South Heights. While we were stopped, a patron asked me from where we were riding. When I matter of factly answered, "Los Angeles," his jaw dropped in a combination of initial disbelief followed by awe. That felt pretty good. We did talk further with him, giving more details about our odyssey. He was amazed and a good guy who wished us well as he and we departed from the place. 

The ride down, from South Heights to the river (SR-151 to SR-51) shore of the Ohio was one of the steepest descents of this trip. The steepness surprised us, as we had to hold on and brake enough to stay in control. It was a thrill and I was glad we got to go down that hill rather than having had to climb it. 

Originally, we had planned to cross the Ohio River at Sewickley, but the bridge was closed. So, we had to head South on SR-51, through Coraopolis, over the back channel of the Ohio onto Neville Island, across the main part of the river via I-79 (which is legal for cycling on the bridge that crosses the river), and exiting into a little town called Glenfield. There, we took a few very hilly backroads that eventually led us to a rural (at that time) area known as Mount Nebo. From there, we navigated our way to Franklin Park and Ingomar, a Northern suburb of Pittsburgh where my Uncle Lou, Aunt Marge, and their family lived. Although this was "only" a 40-mile day, the many hills made it as tough as a much longer ride. 

The hills in this area have to be experienced in order to be fully appreciated. Although the elevations are underwhelming, there are many very steep little climbs that seem to repeat endlessly. Riding through this area is tough and demanding, especially when fully loaded.

Seeing my relatives again was a great thing for me. I hadn't seen them for about 5 years. That coupled with the fact that I hadn't seen anyone I knew, besides Paul, for nearly three months made this a very nice reunion. Although their children (my cousins) were all grown up and had moved away, my cousin Peggy happened to be home, taking some summer session courses at Pitt (The University of Pittsburgh) and we got to spend some time with her, as well. Uncle Lou was one of my Dad's older brothers. Since another older brother, Charlie (my father was the baby of his family), also lived in the area, Lou called him and invited him over. He came and we all spent a very nice afternoon catching up. It was great to be on familiar turf and with familiar people again , at least for a little while.