Day 5: Williamsport to Hazelton, PA- No rain, but can't say no sweat!
Well, this day worked out well, despite a foreboding forecast of storms in the early afternoon. We had an 80 mile day with a lot of climbing (4300 feet) ahead of us, and it turned out to be a great, albeit challenging day.
But first a word from our riders...Below are two riders separated by 30 rides. Amanda is 21 and a first year rider. She is a truly amazing person and has brought such light and fun to the ride. Next to her is Ken Sharples, who is in his 70's (albeit a very youthful 70's) and is completing his 31st ride. Ken is one of my favorite people on the ride. So cool to introduce them this morning before the ride.
Below is our buddy Dave Robinson, decked out in a fine floral kit, which served as great camouflage among the flora at the start. Below Dave, is a photo of Ken and Jim, two great guys who have been riding together for 14 (?) Anchor House rides. They have been riding together so long they are starting to look alike!
Okay, today's ride. The morning started out incredibly swampy. Any more humidity and it would be raining- in fact we were riding through dew at one point. But as always, everything feels better on a bike- it's the breeze you generate and of course that feeling of freedom on a bike. If you consider waking up at 5AM freedom- we were on the road by 6:15 AM. Remarkably for us, we were towards the front of the pack for most of the day.
We had cloud cover for most of the day, which kept the temps in the low 80's and eventually the humidity even calmed down a bit. Lots of lovely countryside on today's route, with numerous family farms. Bruce is pointing below to one of my favorite road signs of the day, Gearhart Road. We certainly heart our gears on this ride. It soon became clear that many of the farms we were seeing were Mennonite farms.
We came upon a Mennonite buggy ahead of us on the road, at the same time we were passing nearby to a huge coal plant with cooling towers. I was able to take this picture that caught them in juxtaposition.
Interestingly, we saw two Mennonites in the back of a car driven by a non-Mennonite. Perhaps the Mennonites and Amish were the first to invent rideshare? If only they had the foresight to brand it- Ubish? Men-in-Lyfts? While we are musing, I have to say that I feel a certain affinity with Mennonites. I belong to a sect of people called Men-in-tights, who live a life according to the Book of Lycra and the wheel of karma.
The riding was really great and also challenging, and we grinded up some tough climbs, one 16% grade in particular. Here are Bruce and I celebrating, and catching our breath after that one.
We made a strategic stop for a sandwich before the last climb of the day (an 8 mile climb to the "Top of the 80's" in Hazleton). Balancing nutrition and hydration is pretty key! Also on our way to that climb we stopped by our friend DJ's sister's house, who lives in West Hazelton.
We made our way up that last climb, and were thankful that we were not rained on nor had to deal with excessive heat. An awesome day, and deserving of a swim and a beer.
But first a word from our riders...Below are two riders separated by 30 rides. Amanda is 21 and a first year rider. She is a truly amazing person and has brought such light and fun to the ride. Next to her is Ken Sharples, who is in his 70's (albeit a very youthful 70's) and is completing his 31st ride. Ken is one of my favorite people on the ride. So cool to introduce them this morning before the ride.
Below is our buddy Dave Robinson, decked out in a fine floral kit, which served as great camouflage among the flora at the start. Below Dave, is a photo of Ken and Jim, two great guys who have been riding together for 14 (?) Anchor House rides. They have been riding together so long they are starting to look alike!
Okay, today's ride. The morning started out incredibly swampy. Any more humidity and it would be raining- in fact we were riding through dew at one point. But as always, everything feels better on a bike- it's the breeze you generate and of course that feeling of freedom on a bike. If you consider waking up at 5AM freedom- we were on the road by 6:15 AM. Remarkably for us, we were towards the front of the pack for most of the day.
We had cloud cover for most of the day, which kept the temps in the low 80's and eventually the humidity even calmed down a bit. Lots of lovely countryside on today's route, with numerous family farms. Bruce is pointing below to one of my favorite road signs of the day, Gearhart Road. We certainly heart our gears on this ride. It soon became clear that many of the farms we were seeing were Mennonite farms.
We came upon a Mennonite buggy ahead of us on the road, at the same time we were passing nearby to a huge coal plant with cooling towers. I was able to take this picture that caught them in juxtaposition.
Interestingly, we saw two Mennonites in the back of a car driven by a non-Mennonite. Perhaps the Mennonites and Amish were the first to invent rideshare? If only they had the foresight to brand it- Ubish? Men-in-Lyfts? While we are musing, I have to say that I feel a certain affinity with Mennonites. I belong to a sect of people called Men-in-tights, who live a life according to the Book of Lycra and the wheel of karma.
The riding was really great and also challenging, and we grinded up some tough climbs, one 16% grade in particular. Here are Bruce and I celebrating, and catching our breath after that one.
We made our way up that last climb, and were thankful that we were not rained on nor had to deal with excessive heat. An awesome day, and deserving of a swim and a beer.
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