Breakfast was going to be from the snack bag, but we came upon a house next to the trail that would cook up breakfast and coffee for bike riders! Coffee! And toaster waffles! They also had eggs from their backyard chickens, which Max passed on. We regretted this later when he bonked.
It was a really scenic spot. A few old houses by the trail. Everyone has a garden with chickens. If they had Internet, it would be heaven.
Here is what a touring bike on tour should look like. You panniers are supposed to have your laundry from the day before hanging out to dry.
My bike-riding cow orkers and I often discuss how you are supposed to wave at other cyclists on the road, and disparage the riders who ignore you and don't wave. These unfriendly and disparaged riders usually are riding expensive racing bikes and are wearing spandex kits. Well, now I realize that there is another should-you-wave situation. If you are a bike tourist, fully loaded with all the gear and panniers, you do not need to bother with waving to locals out on a day ride on a department store mountain bike. But you always wave to other tourists, although usually you stop and chat them up about trail conditions and where to eat and camp.
I believe this is the cool entrance into Connellsville.
After Connellsville, it's all forest and no towns. Max: "This is what I expected it to be like" followed by more commentary on apocalyptic post-industrial wastelands.
There are lots and lots of bugs.
It's really scenic and beautiful.
Here are people white-water rafting as you come in to Ohiopyle.
Ohiopyle is very small. There is a nice-looking general store/market but Max refused all the food there except for an ice cream cone (bonking meltdown coming later), and I had a pit beef sandwich. My sandwich was revolting. I thought it was roadkill possum. Max said it looked like mulch. We eventually agreed it was probably mulch seasoned with roadkill.
We left Ohiopyle in good spirits with only about 15 miles to go, but then I had a flat, and then I ruined the tube fixing it, then I discovered my first spare tube was the wrong size, and finally I got it fixed with my second and only-remaining spare tube. This left me with no spare tubes and in need of a bike shop. It also meant Max burned through his ice cream cone before we got to Confluence and so he was in a foul mood.
There is an excellent bike shop in Confluence, which is a really nice small town. I restocked on tubes.
Dinner was at the Lucky Dog Cafe, a short walk from the campground, but Max would not settle on this until we had walked a mile through the entire town to make sure there was no place better. There was no other place open. Chicken tenders again.
Margaritas and BBQ for Dad. I was happy, anyway.
Here's our camp site, this is the Outflow campground, which has electricity and showers. So the boy has a charged Nexus and he's happy now, even though I made him shower.
There was no cell coverage for T-Mobile all day.
Fifty miles, all uphill with a gentle grade. Here's the Strava page.
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