Scranton, PA
Distance: 71.46 milesRide Time: 5 hours 29 min
Avg. Speed: 13.42 mph
Max speed: 42.3 mph
What a day. After yesterday I thought I had hit the hard part. I thought that maybe I had pushed my self as far as I could go and that from there on out things would get easier. Boy was I wrong. Riding isn't easy, Pennsylvania isn't easy either, together they are very hard. The day, like others, started normal. Nice morning ridding along. We start by going the wrong way a little, not too big a deal. The morning ride is hilly but not unbearable. After lunch we are all feeling good and set out, I wanted to beat the rain which I new was coming. We finally get on Rt. 6 which is the road that will take us directly into Scranton. Long hill after long hill we ride along slowly eating away at the milage. Next thing I know I'm getting on West 6 and going by Business 6. But it seems to be a highway and I question our directions. Calling the leader he tells me that I should take Business 6 so I do. I ride back up and meet with Mark. A storm comes and we pull over to a gas station to wait for the rain to let up. The sun comes out and we continue on. Town after town goes by and there seems to be no end in sight. We catch up with another leader and then the next thing we know we are on Interstate 81. We had to ride 2 miles and then get off an exit with a closed shoulder. Really scary don't tell my parents. We called the leader to make sure no one else made the same mistake, no one did.
It seems like another storm is coming so Mark and I pull over again at a store. We ask for directions and they tell us the easiest way is to get on the expressway which will bring us right into Scranton. A girl working there even called her dad for directions. We get on the expressway and all hell breaks loose. It's starts to pour like crazy. We ride on, stopping at off ramps to cross and stopping at onramps to cross. 2 exits before ours Mark gets a flat. As we change it on the expressway all I see are lighting bolts behind Mark in the distance. We continue on until our exit and eventually find our way to the housing. What a day! Billy Kern met up with us and we went out to a bar for a much needed drink.
At least 5 or 6 people broke into tears today, it was just one of those days. People all said riding across the U.S. would be hard, but this is amazing. We are all so much closer and I loved every minute of it!
Build: Not today, rest is needed.
Ride on!
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posted by Todd Johnson @ 1:50 PM
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