DAY 37 Burton OH to Meadville PA 59 miles 1997 feet

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This was a mixed day of cycling.  Even though it was only 59 miles, it still took me a long time to get through the ride.  The wind was 15-20 mph and was either a head wind or cross wind (ESE)  I only averaged 11.7 mph because of the hills and wind.  It was 53 when I left and there was an overcast sky. The weather indicated that there could be showers by the end of the day but thankfully none occurred.  The first 20 miles or so was quite pleasant because of the small neatly kept Amish farms.  Its great to see these small farms still exist.  I was fascinated by the laundry that was hanging outside to dry at almost every Amish house. At one time Mondays were for laundry. I assume that they do the wash by hand and then let nature dry it.  I saw several buggies on the road and many more just by the barns. I also saw two Amish mothers (looked about 19) riding "bicycles" that had carts attached to the back. The unique thing was the bikes had no chain!  In between the typical bike wheels was a scooter type platform and they scootered along!   I also thought about the contrast between horse drawn machinery and the huge tractors and machinery I saw in South Dakota and Minnesota. Lunch was at mile 40 and just before lunch we crossed into PA.  The road went right through the middle of a lake and of course the wind was really strong because there was nothing to block it.  After lunch the 20 miles was quite a chore because of the wind but the last 10 miles of that 20 were horrible. We turned onto a major highway (US 6 and US 322 combined). The highway was two lanes both ways with a turn lane in the middle. It was like being on 31 or 202 with all the stores etc.  I nick named it DEATH HIGHWAY. There was a shoulder but it was bumpy and had a lot of places where it was unusable. Of course the the cars and large trucks never slow down and the hills, winds and overcast skies added to make the ride a little tense.  I think it was the most dangerous road we have been on in the entire trip.  I felt more unsafe here than on any other major road. The one into Portland was a close second.  


Guess you can tell we are in Amish Country

Different shot



There are cows there

Complements of Tara the Masseuse

Barn # 1

Barn #2

Getting in the corn -- Amish Style

A lot of houses had Martin Bird Houses 

Now that a lot of chickens

Almost every Amish house had laundry hanging out
Monday is laundry  -- No Maytag's here

Barn #3

Old Truck

Really old Jeep

Official Welcome to PA

Thats the highway doesn't look busy

Amish Bike -- no chain - no 18 gears!




The two hills at the end were killers (I even walked the last one - but don't tell anyone.


Departed:Sep 24, '18, 08:46AM
Starts in:Burton, OH, US
Distance:58.9 mi
Elevation:2366 / - 2491 ft
Max Grade
14.6 %
Avg. Grade
-0.1 %
VAM250 Vm/h
Ascent time02:53:25
Descent time02:10:05
Total Duration:06:19:45
Moving Time:05:03:30
Stopped Time:01:16:15
Calories:1676
Avg. Watts:92
Max Speed:28.8 mph
Avg. Speed:11.7 mph
Pace:00:06:27
Moving Pace:00:05:09

Comments

  1. Getting close, Paul! Sounds like a harrowing ride. Amazing shot of the Amish buggy!

    ReplyDelete

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