Written by 
Day thirty-nine brought, guess what? More climbing and more hills! But somehow it all seemed manageable over just under 100 miles. I’ve said it before on this ride, but I’ll say it again – the strength of the human body and mind are incredible. I’d never have thought that I’d be able to ride these long distances day after day and still have the stamina and mindset to get up the next day and do it all over again. Of course, we are cautious about how we ride ensuring that we don’t attack every hill looking for the King or Queen of the Mountain, and we don’t push ourselves to the point of exhaustion daily. This is slightly different for every rider, but everyone rides every day knowing that there is another ride tomorrow. A few days back, when we had a shorter day of 60 miles the next day, I was a little more willing to attack the few climbs we had the day before knowing that I wasn’t going to have to ride as long the next day. Today, however, wasn’t one of those days with another 100 miler tomorrow and then another 100-miler following the rest day on Tuesday. The remaining days are also hilly and wrought with climbs meaning that we have to be somewhat mindful that there is a next day to ride.
We rode through beautiful country today and even with the hills and climbs, the ride went quickly. I had a slight panic attack when one of our guides, Scott, who was riding with us made note that we were starting to enter the ‘flat’ portion of the day. He did, in fact, make air quotes when he said that. For the next three to four miles, we were barraged with a series of back-to-back rolling hills, inclines and even a fairly punchy and steep – albeit, short – climb. Admittedly, I did ask him in jest, but also somewhat serious, ‘Hey Scott, what’s this bullshit about the flat part of the day?’ I was legitimately worried that the rest of the day would be similar and that I would likely see my legs facing a slow and painful death. After several miles, we were pleasantly surprised with a nice descent and… voila! – flat roads! At the next rest stop, I thanked Scott for the fact that his statement had been truthful but had merely come about three to four miles too soon.
The rest of the day was a beautiful ride through the Pennsylvania countryside with the trees in full splendor as they made their transition from summer to winter via the changing colors of the leaves in the fall. It was somewhat bittersweet for me as it brought back memories of the last time I was in Pennsylvania in October of 2019 when my dad, Peter, passed in Scranton and his wife, Carolyn and I met in New York and drove to Scranton to collect his things and to arrange to transport his remains home to Canada. He passed in mid-October as I was traveling to Ohio on a business trip. I had landed in Detroit and had a message from one of my aunts to call her. She didn’t text me – ever. I knew something terrible had happened. In his retirement he drove shuttles for car dealerships and sometimes transported cars for them. He liked to drive and liked people, so he was able to keep himself busy and occupied doing this work. He had been asked by a dealership to drive an older woman and her caregiver to Scranton to pick up her car. When he arrived at the dealership, he went into the men’s room saying he wasn’t feeling well. He never came out. They called an ambulance, but they were unable to revive him. After learning of his passing, I called his wife, and we arranged a trip that weekend to Scranton to take care of what needed taking care of. I’ll save the details of that for another blog post. The comedy of errors would make a fantastic movie. He loved to drive and loved this time of year. He often went on motorcycle trips to this part of the world on his Harley Davidson with friends. He would love that I am doing this trip, and I have felt his presence with me every single day. I hear his voice in my head encouraging me and excited for the surroundings and amazing sights I am seeing. He is most definitely here with me in Pennsylvania, and I’m happy that I can create new and positive memories here instead of remembering the sadness of his loss in Scranton.
We had an enjoyable dinner at a local restaurant. A little over a week of eating the volume of food we’ve been eating. It’s really amazing how much we are able to eat. That said, I’m ready to get back to my normal healthy diet and routine after the trip and reduce the amount of sugar – and peanut butter and jelly – in my Diet.
After dinner, we made our way back to the hotel being shuttled in the van. When I arrived in the lobby of the hotel, I was confused as – in my mind – I had expected to return to the lobby of the Holiday Inn Express that we left this morning. The days have become confusing. By the end of the day, I can no longer accurately remember the name of the town we were in that morning. It’s very dysregulating but expected.
We are now in the single digits remaining – it’s bittersweet. We have our ride tomorrow and then a rest day in Corning. After that, we have a little less than a week until we are finished. The idea of that seems odd – it’s like the amount of time that normal people spend on vacation. Not 48 days.