Big Ride Day 46

Photos from Day 46

Looking at the mileage for the day, we though we were in for an easy one. Once again, we were wrong. The killer PA hills would see to another tough, but scenic, day. Shortly into the ride, we hit one of the most challenging hills yet. I know I've said that before, but they really do keep getting worse! This was a three-mile hill, which seems short, but it took about half an hour to get up it! I was in my lowest gear working pretty hard to make it up. Many people were walking their bikes. There was a water stop at the top and everyone was gathered there resting, happy to have made it! Fortunately, we got an equally awesome downhill on the other side. We stopped at a little market for some coffee and a snack. There were several other riders there, including George, who had just purchased a hand-sewn stuffed pig from a woman in a neighboring town. We though it would be funny to kidnap it so Doug and I snatched it and took off, leaving a ransom note for George. We had to really haul to make sure he wouldn't catch us. We left a series of clues for him during the day but he never figured out where the pig was so we returned it to him. It was a fun diversion, though.

The day continued with several more challenging climbs until we made it to checkpoint on a hill overlooking the city of Carlisle. After descending into Carlisle, we stopped for lunch at a place called George's. It was a cool little restaurant whose walls were decorated with photos of customers and autographed pictures of famous people. We were really honored when they asked if they could take our picture and put it up on the wall! We posed in front of the restaurant for a picture before moving on. I hope I can get back there someday to see if our picture ever really made it up on the wall. We also stopped at a bike shop in Carlisle where the guy sold us these cool riding jerseys with the shop's logo on them really cheap! After Carlisle, the rest of the day was fairly flat and we made it to Gettysburg just in time for a bus tour the PA ALA folks had set up for us. The bus tour was hosted by a very knowledgeable tour guide and was great. It got us back just in time for a great dinner. After dinner, we toured around the town and then hit a bar for a few drinks before turning in for the night. Only two more days!

This page modified November 25, 2000