Day 10 in Coudersport, PA

Pictures: (Left) The group at the PA state line on Sunday.

(Center) Suzanne and I enjoying a little ice cream in Mansfield, PA on Monday

(Right) Celebrating a climb today at the highest point we'll pass until the Rockies (I think)

Hey all, I'm sitting in a public library after a relatively light day (47 miles) from Wellsboro, PA to Coudersport, PA in the northern part of the state. Nothing too major has happened since my last post on Saturday morning. We've had great weather, and yesterday was the first day it has reached over 80 degrees. Overall, partly sunny to sunny with moderate temps. We are starting to hit our headwinds, however, which I hate more than hills. With hills, you at least feel like you have control over your movement. Headwinds just push you backwards.

For the last two days from Wysox to Coudersport we've been almost exclusively on US Hwy 6, but we've experienced some great scenery. The ride on Sunday into PA was gorgeous as well, with light rolling hills. I was having trouble with my knee so I couldn't enjoy it as much as the others did, but it was a beautiful ride. My knee has been getting progressively better each day, and today I only had one little stretch toward the end that bothered it. I feel like I'm close to being back to 90 or 100% soon enough. I'm looking forward to attacking hills again.

Some folks in Wellsboro scared us today with talk of big hills most of the way to Coudersport before a step descent into town, and our topo maps showed something similar. However, our hills started out light and never got worse. We were heading uphill most of the day, but it was at such a moderate grade that we barely noticed. The headwind made it difficult, but it wasn't anything like we anticipated. We did pass a summit in the Alleghany Mountains at about 2,400 feet, which I theorized is probably the highest point we'll be before we hit Wyoming and the Rockies/Tetons. Looks like we've got some downhill ahead of us. One funny moment of the day: there was a ski area right off the highway with visible runs cut into the trees. Suffice it to say, any Colorado native would've laughed.

More scattered thoughts: last night the group of us had a "town hall" meeting to go over our highs and lows of the week and discuss other issues. It was really enjoyable hearing 32 different perspectives on the week. Some of us loved the ride to Roscoe, while some hated it, for example. We all agreed that we should try to do these meetings more. It was nice to sit with everybody and just talk for a little while with no outside distractions. I feel like it really focuses us on why we originally signed up for this adventure.

One consensus high that I really enjoyed: on Sunday night in Wysox we had a great field behind our church and we played almost every sport imaginable, from football to whiffleball to rugby to frisbee to basketball (at the Y where we took showers). Chong and I ran around for about 2 hours. Most of the group was lying around either relaxing, painting our trailer, playing sports, or cleaning bikes. It was a gorgeous day, and b/c it was the longest day of the year, the sun seemingly never set. We all had a great time.

Anyway, this is rambling and I gotta check out some news. Somebody said 6 people died on a Red Line train in DC yesterday... yikes! Hope you all are well and I'll talk to you soon!