May 24, 2017
Day 27: Delta, PA to Manheim, PA
So, here we are in Manheim, safe and sound with no adverse effects from our big climbing day. We left Delta a little before 9AM and had a big climb right away. That lead to the removal of the long pants and jackets we had donned leaving the motel. Climbing is hot work! There were no stores along the first part of today's route. At about mile 6, Kerry spotted and attractive farm that had a flower stand out front, so we stopped to check it out. We learned that this was a family run operation of about 1000 acres. Besides wheat, corn and beans, they also raise cattle, and butcher and sell the beef right there. We didn't buy any flowers to bring home, but Kerry did get some of their home made beef jerky. (He tells me it is good) I was so nervous anticipating the big climb to come that I just stood there while he walked around talking and asking questions about the farm.
We finally left and headed for the dreaded 13% hill. The worst part turned out to be the long, very steep downhill to the Susquehanna River. Kerry had to stop and cool the brakes by pouring cold water on them. The brakes did their job and we reached the bottom safely. Once at the bottom, we took another short break outside the Tucquan Club. This seems to be a fishing, eating and drinking club and has been in in operation since 1869. There were some historical markers there that told of a nearby canal, as well as the history of the building the club is in. It was a very scenic site and Kerry enjoyed walking around – I was still nervous.
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Then we started up on the climb I'd been dreading for so many weeks - and especially last night. Of course, it wasn't as bad as I imagined. The total climb is about .75 miles with a maximum grade of about 13%. I saw 12% on my Garmin before Kerry said "unclip" and we used our lowest, "four on the floor" gear for about .2 miles. Then we got back on the bike and rode the rest of the way up. No problem!
There were no stores for 10 more miles and we wanted to fill our water bottles. We came to a church which had a preschool and some kids and adults on the playground. One woman took Kerry in to get water, and we rested there a little while. It was a good thing we decided to take that break because we had to use our lowest gear again before we got to the next town. We walked less than .1 miles this time.
Our next stop was at Shank's Mare, a canoe and kayak outfitter, on the river. One of the employees, Mason, said that he had never traveled by bike before, but wanted to ride to Colorado next year, and asked us many questions about planning a trip, equipment, etc.
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After Shank's Mare we went on into the town of Wrightsville and had lunch at the Riverfront Tap House. From Wrightsville, we took a very pretty old bridge across the river to Columbia.
We had one more big climb up from the river, then a less challenging ride the last 12 miles into Manheim.
Garmin told us we had 3533 feet of climbing today in 45.5 miles. That's a record elevation gain for both of us.
We're at a nice B&B here tonight. I'm looking forward to a worry-free sleep! Tomorrow we're scheduled to ride to St. Peters Village, then have a day off Friday. Rain is forecast for most of the day tomorrow, so we may stay here another day and ride on Friday instead. We'll decide in the morning. It's so nice to have the option of changing the plan at the last minute.
Today's ride: 46 miles (74 km)
Total: 1,307 miles (2,103 km)
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