August 15, 1998 - Pittsburgh - Farmington

DISTANCE TRAVELED: 79.19 Miles

TIME: 8 Hours 45 Minutes

AVERAGE SPEED: 14.6 Miles/Hour

TRAVEL CONDITIONS: Hot and sunny all day. Very humid with a small tailwind.

ROAD CONDITIONS: Horrible roads out of Pittsburgh but once onto the bike path, the path was great for riding. We had to take a detour since a part was just being constructed but in three days, it will be ready for bikers. Also, in the near future, the path will be paved.

TERRAIN/DIFFICULTY LEVEL: While on the path, the terrain was a steady gradual uphill but once off of the trail, there were numerous hills which were so steep that we had to be in our easiest gear and stand up the entire way. It was even easy to reach 40 miles an hour without pedaling!

DAILY JOURNAL COMMENTS:
I woke up at 8:15 and packed up before getting a bagel for breakfast. After eating, I waited for a few other people while writing down the directions and then left at 9:45. We were almost the last to leave and within a few minutes caught up to a group of about eight cyclists who had left at least a half an hour before us. Along the way, there had been one section where cobble stones were in place of pavement which made it very hard to ride. We went onto the sidewalk and rode down a small hill. Along the way, Katie, who was in front of me, saw a mail man so she decided to stop without telling me. I tried to stop but since my tires don’t have any tread, the attempt was unsuccessful and my front wheel hit her back wheel causing me to do an endo right over the handlebars! I got up and the only damage was a small scrape on the elbow, my aerobars being scratched up and pushed up, and my brake handle being bent in. Everything was easily fixed and we continued on again. We passed by and asked directions to the bike path two times before finally finding it. Along the way, Jade had bought hostes cup cakes and gave me one of his. After eating, we continued on and met up with David, Jen, Brad, and Tami where I bought an ice cream bar. We then left as a fairly large group and David, Brad, and I rode together until we discovered that we had to take a detour around an unfinished section of the path. We got off and went into a small supermarket where I got a Powerade, a sandwich, a nectarine, and runt candies. Along with this, I ate a bagel that I had brought with me for lunch. Jen, and Tami caught up with us and just as we were about to leave, a woman came out and yelled at us since there was some nectarine juice on the concrete on the sidewalk. She even gave us paper towels to clean it up! We then rode on the road for a while and immediately began a steep ascent which led to three other short downhills, three short uphills, and a long downhill. The hills were much more tiring than the bike path that we had been on so when we finally re-connected, we were very happy. Just as we got back on, we found yet another store so we stopped and I bought three flavor ices and a juice drink. Between five of us, we managed to finish thirty flavor ices! After this short stop, we rode on and just as we got into the town, Brad got a flat. His entire front tire was cut up so fortunately about ten yards away there was a bike shop where he was able to buy a new tire. Everyone else rode on and so about a half an hour later, we left also. We decided to try to catch up with the rest of our group so we rode from 18-20 miles an hour for the next 17 miles. We were even able to catch up with David. We then came into our final town along the trail which was Ohiopyle(Picture99) where we stopped at an ice cream shop to get home made ice cream. I got blackberry, strawberry, and mint chocolate chip for only $2. After eating for this final time, we rode seven miles to our destination. When we arrived we were assigned to host families to eat dinner and then shown to where we were going to sleep. I put down my things and immediately took a shower before going to eat. I had pork that had been grilled, salad, and bread along with many types of fruit. Surprisingly it filled me up and I ended up talking to my hosts until 10:20. After we finished, I got my laptop, ate another bagel, and went back to where I was staying. After typing for a while, I finally was able to get to bed around 12:00.

TRIP ROUTE:
Get onto the bike path to Ohiopyle. Get off and follow on main road right out of parking lot. Follow to rte 40 and make a left. Go down hill to Bruderhof.