Erie, Pa - Day 43

Hi from Erie, Pa,
Yes, here I am in my home state for a day – we left Youngstown, Ohio and all of the crappy roads behind and rode into Pa. on a very cool, clear and comfortable morning. We loaded at 7 and headed out for the last day of this leg before a rest day.




We were moving along quite nicely when the ABB wagon stopped us to tell of a detour ahead – we took it and were able to avoid what you see in these pictures!! This is one time that it really paid off to be further back, because by the time I got there, they had figured out how to detour and still end on the same road – remember, this is the Cross Country Challenge, not the Cross Country Easy!!!









This is what the sky looked like when the van stopped to tell us about the detour.






Our first rest stop was by a little church and a café that had the best strawberry short cake! I know you will be surprised that I didn’t eat any.







In another3 miles, we turned onto Stanhope Kellogsville Rd and rode it for 23 miles of beautiful countryside. I didn’t stop to take any pictures because this is what most of it looked like – also at mile 52 (16 miles into the 23), I called Colleen’s brother, Brian, who was to meet me at mile 69. Guess what, he had just arrived at our meeting place and I still had 17 miles to go. So, he introduced himself to the other riders and staff and waited for me to get there.


Yes, he was waiting at Richardson’s - a very popular and successful rootbeer float stand – very unique with lots of tables to just relax and enjoy the outside weather. They have the best root beer floats ever!!

From there into the hotel, Brian led the way and I didn’t even look at the cue sheet because he knew where to go. It turns out that he and his family only live about 4 miles from the hotel. It was really fun to spend the afternoon with him and we are planning to visit Presquile Isle this afternoon and evening. It looks like another beautiful day today!!







Today's hurrah goes to Brian for riding in with me after a week of long century rides - I had been riding with Bruce earlier in the day, but he stopped to check out a winery when I went on to Richardson's.

Thank God for the safety, health, and energy!