July 13, 2016
Day 43 Mercer to Meadville
Today was a challenging day with lots of climbing. All that type 2 fun was mixed with plenty of type 1 fun, so it was still a good day. I have to admit it has taken being off the bike for an hour and consuming a healthy amount of Diet Coke and potato chips to look back and call it a good day. I was just wiped out when we got into the hotel. Recovery is progressing though and Kerry and I both are feeling better now.
We started out the day talking with the breakfast attendant at the Comfort Inn. He is a cyclist and was very interested in our trip. He gave Team A a map to his favorite local trail, then called his wife and told her to watch for us riding by their house later in the morning. Team As post will have more of the story and pictures.
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We decided to take the recommendation to ride around the local trail. There is a 12 mile paved trail around Lake Wilhelm in Maurice Goddard State Park. It was a beautiful trail, winding and hilly, with a couple of hills that required real work. (As if we needed more of those today!)
After riding that trail, we got back on course and went up and up and up. We stopped at the top of a long hill at Sandy Lake Implement. The people there were great. They let us all hang out and rest for a while, use their restroom and have cold drinks from their fridge. Thank you staff at Sandy Lake Implement! (I don't know what problem Pennsylvania businesses have with their restrooms, but many gas stations/convenience stores/curb markets refuse to let even paying customers use the bathroom. That is NOT COOL for touring cyclists.)
Our best stop of the day came next. We'd been riding through nice rural farms and Viktoriya spotted an Amish roadside produce stand. They had the best peaches I've had in years. We all stood there with juice running down our chins and hands and enjoyed every bite. Kerry even told Viktoriya (who eats a really healthy diet and likes to encourage Kerry to do so, too) that the peach was better than a doughnut!
After our fruit fest, we rode on to the next town for lunch. The last mile or so into town was a long, steep downhill. It was fun, but after lunch we knew what was coming. We rode a mile UP with grades up to 12%. I wanted to walk, but Kerry said let's try it, so up we went. It was hard, but we made it to the top. From there it was 11 more miles to Meadville and our hotel. The hills kept coming - not as steep, but one after the other. Fittingly, the last 1/2 mile to the hotel was a pretty good climb.
Now we're rested, hydrated and have replaced our depleted sodium, so we're ready to have dinner and ride again tomorrow.
Today's ride: 58 miles (93 km)
Total: 2,097 miles (3,375 km)
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