Ready to roll

It's been a really great two weeks of riding. Got to feel I'm ready to really crank it on the Trans USA after this past weekend in the Black Forest with Judy, Pete & Jane and Jared. Got in like 17 hrs of riding in 4 days in the awesome Northcentral Mts of Pennsylvania. Then add in the hammering that Pete, Jared and & I did to each other on Friday and Saturday's ride and it made for some crazy tired legs. On Friday the five of us rode west across the mts down to the banks of the Susquehanna River and then back east over the mts again to our camp in Cedar Run at Petticoat Junction Campground. We climbed up the gravel Slate Run Road and Manner Fork Road going west, and up Abe's Fork Road and Dry Run Road going east. That pup was a 6-hr ride, and Judy admonished me a couple of times for my always enthusiastic route choice.

Saturday's ride was crazy fast with a ton of Z3 CT. Judy held back to just climb up Francis on this day and not go with my ambitious mileage estimate. This day's ride entailed a climb east on Francis road through a 15% plus grade at the top for the final mile. We did the incredible 12-mile Road-West Branch Young Woman's Creek Road descent that took a solid 40 min of flying down the mountain at 22-29 mph. Our climb back out was a testosterone fest for the guys with Jane saying, "see ya at the top." We must have climbed Z3 up a 2-5% gradual climb for a good 14 miles - then we hit the tough stuff, round about 15%+ for the final 3 miles. Thankfully Pete was feeling Friday's ride so him and I did not attack each other on the steep section. Jared and Jane pulled up to the top not long after Pete and I, with everyone putting in really solid efforts. We flew back down with Jared pulling, and 4.5 hrs later our average for a 71-mile ride was over 15 mph!! Sunday was a couple hour noodle along the Pine Creek bike and hike. Spectacular weekend for sure.

The week before I managed about 27 hours on the saddle back here at home. So today, just a week away from hitting the road for Maine for the start of the trip, I'm feeling like everything is good to well. Trying to nail down a few last details of the trip. If we start early on Thursday morning of next week we should be able to reach the Maine-New Brunswick border by Friday late afternoon - which would mean a Saturday start for the crossing.

Looks like we'll stay in Northern Maine, cross Northern New Hampshire, and I'll continue on my own by Vermont, going just south of Burlington to cross into New York on the eastern edge of the Adirondack mountains riding south to Pennsylvania. From there could be Rt. 414 to the Pine Creek Rail Trail to Slate Run, across the mountains and west to Ohio. I'd like to make it back here to Hudson in app. 3 weeks, hang for a couple of days, and then set out for the next leg of the Journey. This part looks like west through Ohio up to Maumee and onto a bike and hike trail that's about 80+ miles long and running west towards Indiana. Plan to ride west to about LaGrange Indiana, then shoot north all the way up Michigan to the UP, and west once in the UP. That should do it for now with the itinerary. Got to make it back here first!!!