Flat tire #1, day 5, inches from Pittsburgh

Aaron fixes his flat. I take jellybean break.

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day 5, passin' through ohiopyle

To all the man campers: Look where we just were! We made beer wizards there in your honor.

To everyone else: Yep, "Ohiopyle," pronounced like a pile of Ohios. And the man camp thing? If you don't know, don't ask.

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day 4, prison photo op

(sorry about the delay here! no service in Confluence, PA, where camped. I did, however, have a great kielbasa sandwich.)

To all of Aaron's public defender friends: Look here he is in front of Laurel Highlands! He wanted me to take his photo there so you could all see.

To everyone else: See what I'm dealing with? A guy who wants his picture taken with a jail. Sigh.

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a note to commenters!

Hey buddies,

I just wanted to add that we're seeing - and loving - all your comments, but my phone setup makes it difficult/impossible to respond to them. Keep em coming though! If I ever get to a real live computer, I'll do my best to respond!

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day 3, hobo livin' in pennsyltucky

I write to you from the pavillion in Taney Park in Everett, PA, a town with not much more than hills and fireflies. We've secured a secret spot in the back corner of the park for our tent. When we arrived a few hours ago, we freshened up with "water bottle baths," or pouring water over ourselves with a bit of shampoo and soap to help. I'm also armed with a variety of "wipes" for moments like this. I'm surprised at how relatively clean I feel after such an endeavor, especially after a day like today.

All we did was climb today. And dscend a bit, but mostly, we climbed. The inclines didn't stop. What we thought were summits were not. I'm learning about distance cycling mentality. And by that, I mean: "I go freaking insane when all I do is ride a bike at four miles an hour up a mountain all afternoon." True story. There were many moans of pain, shrieks of fustration, and I even fell down twice ( minor occurrences, both of em - once, my chain fell off the gear when I switched to the easiest set and I was ascending so slowly, I didn't have enough momentum to keep me up til I could get my foot out of the pedal. The second time, I stopped at an intersection and my bike tilted down mountain, but my free foot was on the opposite side.) Anyway, I'm tempted to say days like these are the most physically challenging I've experienced, the four marathons included. It's partly the length of the day, spending 6+ hours on the bike (marathons take me just under 4.) It's also the heat and the god awful humidity, and it's also the uncertainty. We just don't know where the summit is or what hill/mountain is next. Tomorrow will be another rough one. I'm hoping to be a little more zen about it. I'm also looking forward to Ohio. (It's flat, right?!)

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day 2. a mountain, a monsoon.

Tonight we're at a campground just west of Chambersburg, PA in the midst of a power outage. About a half hour after we arrived, as we had just taken glorious showers and were about to enjoy the subs (sorry, Philadelphians: hoagies) when it started to rain. We gathered everything up and headed inside the tent, but a few minutes later our sandwiches were pushed to the side and Aaron was holding up the side of the tent as rain and sticks and leaves pummeled us. We couldn't see anything from inside, so we didn't know if a tornado or a falling tree was headed our way. Luckily, neither were. But when the rain stopped, we took a stroll around the grounds saw a number of trees and branches down. Lucky us! Now, I'm hesitant to disclose such a scary moment so close to the start of the trip. Don't worry, you worriers out there (Monica, we're looking at you). Sure the storm got bad enough that Aaron professed his love for me in case the unspeakable happened - while I just repeated, " It's okay, we're okay" in a high-pitched monotone until things settled - but we're fine!

Our other near death experience of the day involved a climb up the first of many mountains. The Appalachians don't mess around. We have each christened the lowest gear on our bikes. During the most intense part of the ascent, when we turned a corner to see the road steepen after miles of climbing, Aaron began yelling at the road - "No! F*ck you!"- and I simply began pleading with it - "Oh God, please don't. No, no, oh, oh." Aren't differences fun?

All that said, we covered another 78 hillyhilly miles today, got complimentary peaches and PB&J's from Millie of the Ladybug Tea House in East Berlin, and a cup of iced tea from a lovely lady in Biglersville. Worth it! We're in pretty much the dead center of the state. I hear the mountains have just started. Be gentle, Appalachia, it's my first time.

(Photo above: me at an orchard owned by family members of my family members.)

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pit stop, day 2

After being brutalized by the beginning of the Appalachians, we are at Mister Ed's Elephant Museum and Candy Emporium.

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day 1: Alfie meowed.

Standing outside our house at about 8 this morning, I stared at our loaded up bikes feeling like I was going to puke. There was nothing left to distract me from the start of this trip. The house was as clean as it would get for our dear subletters, the bags were packed, and I even watered the garden this morning. I'd given a half-hearted goodbye to the cats, but kept my distance in attempt to hold it together. Then, as we were about to convince ourselves to shove off, Alfie stuck his head through the curtain and between the shudders. He peered at us, then his mouth opened. And again. Again. This is a cat that meows probably four times a year (okay, more if a vet visit is necessary). "Alfie meowed!" I shrieked to Aaron. Then, like any 28 year-old who considers herself strong enough to bike 3000+ miles, who's weathered her share of adversity over the years, I began to weep.

I don't know what exactly I was crying about. Sure, it was partly Alfie, but I don't pretend to think he knew what was happening. I was terrified to leave, even though I've been loathing Philly and its summers off and on for years now. I'm not unlike the rest of the city, I guess, booing its teams when times are tough. (But don't get me wrong - go Red Sox!)

When Alfie left the window, probably distracted by a gnat or the urge to groom himself, I told Aaron we had to leave before he came back. So, we did, and I collected myself along the Schuylkill path.

Now, we're 94 miles from home, stealth camping near the train tracks by the Susquehanna River in Columbia, PA, home of the National Museum of Clocks and Watches. (Sorry, Dad, I ain't carrying no clock around for you.) We had a pretty tough day out there. The hills rolled and rolled. The bikes are heavy. But we had a good dinner at George's Italian and Pizza Castle, a little stroll along the tracks and river, and we're feeling good. Aaron reports tomorrow will be even more brutal with hills, but we're not planning to go as far. I'm hoping we can happen upon some fireworks - and just as I type that, we see a glimmer through the trees, across the river. Now, it's 9:22 and I don't expect we'll be up for more than another hour or so. As you might guess from my morning meltdown, I didn't sleep so well last night.

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bike trip eve

Pre-departure escargots at Parc tonight. Dinner of champions? Well, delicious, nonetheless.

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a proper send-off

A bunch of South Philly pals had a great send-off BBQ for us last night. Big thanks to Steve and Emilie and Ziggy for hosting. Great food, celebratory beverages, and even event-specific decorations:

There we are, riding through the states! Note that I'm well ahead of Aaron, already in Illinois when he's barely out of Pennsylvania. Figures. Our friends have been very kind as we're getting ready to leave, asking if they can send stuff for us along the way, excited to hear the details, and even sounding happy about having another blog to read. We're flattered. It'll be odd to go so long only seeing one familiar face - well, with a few cameos along the way, perhaps (My buddy Steve! Aaron's buddy Maddy! Whoever decides to show up in San Francisco to congratulate us if/when we make it!)                                                                                         

  

But back to our party. Even the newest buddy, Frankie, made an appearance: 

And we wore our bike shirts:

(My hair is very short - just got my pre-trip shearing)

Pretty sure the successful send-off means we're ready to go. Also, as we rode our bikes home last night, in the 85% Philadelphia summer humidity, we witnessed an awful argument between a man and a woman (causing us to pause on the street for a moment, contemplating whether to call the cops), then I was startled at a stop light when I noticed a giant roach (3-4 inches long) had landed on my arm. I shook him off only to have him land on my flip-flopped foot. Philly, are you trying to force me out? If so, you've succeeded. Now, if only the bikes were ready. And if only I would stop blogging and start (finishing) packing. Or cleaning. At least once we're on the bikes, we'll just have to worry about being on the bikes. Maybe I'm simplifying.