Day 38 Meadville to Bradford

The first of three consecutive 100 plus mile days. But who is counting?

The days are definitely getting cooler as we head north and into fall weather. When we start, the temperatures are in the low forties and top out in the upper 60s. Ideal weather really for a cyclist. Pennsylvania really showed us its beauty today. Once we were out of gritty Meadville and off the main roads, the rolling hills treated us to some very early seasonal changes in the multi-layered foliage.

Guides Meghan and Brent launched with our group of five this morning. Our guides only ride every two or three days so when it is there turn they are ready to go. Oddly enough riding guides like to ride and this morning they rode quickly, taking two of our group with them. With many days of riding in my tired legs and with 300 miles in three days ahead of me, I decided the best course was to settle into an endurance zone ride. Pat agreed with me and she settled into my wake for our cruise through western PA. Lots of credit to Michael and Paul for their pace throughout the day. Some days you really feel it and some days you have to play it smart.

Pat was good company throughout the day and we hung together until the last big climb up past the Kinzua Dam. I stopped to get some video and photos of the spillway. These huge engineering projects always grab my interest and I couldn’t resist even though my legs had finally come back and I was enjoying the climb. I guess foregoing a climb for scenery is a good thing for me? Once I regained the climb and reached the top, I cruised the last dozen miles through some smaller climbs and a couple of very fun albeit bumpy descents into one of the early petroleum towns, Bradford. Only 200 miles to go until the rest day!