The theme of the day was clear to both of us: hills. For the first third of the ride we cruised down flat, paved trails. It was a beautiful day, nice enough to take off our windbreakers early on. The sun was out, and the path was shaded by trees on either side. Valley Forge was the perfect place to take a rest; over 20 miles in and we were feeling fresh. We even commented about how the ride had been a bit dull, and if this was the path the whole way to Seattle it would be lame.
Then karma struck.
For the rest of the ride we were either coasting down a hill, or more frequently (so it seemed) crawling up a hill. They just never get easier either. And they take the wind out of your sails so fast - we would often barely return to full speed before running into another hill. We got really good at shifting through our gears. My lowest gear has never seen so much action. These hills mostly looped through farmland. We saw the usual - cows, and horses mostly - and we also saw some new creatures on the journey - a snake and some alpaca. Altogether we gained about 3,700 ft of elevation throughout the ride, more than double the past two rides combined.
All the while we were on a shoulder the size of the white line on the side of the road, which is to say, no shoulder. Cars have been very kind to us so far. Most of them gave us a very wide berth, to let us know they see us. It’s giving us much more confidence to ride on roads, but of course, always have to be vigilant.
We arrived in Lancaster hungry and ready for bed. We are staying at a friend’s house here. Sam just so happens to have experience in “muscle energy” which is essentially a form of physical therapy. I offered to pay her med school salary to accompany us as our personal PT, but unfortunately she declined. While she was working on us we learned that Maddie has “the most interesting spine” she’s seen. Take that for what it’s worth. Her work has us ready to take on tomorrow’s ride. Next stop, Gettysburg!
-Charlie
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