| 05/31/12 66m |
While mustering our group to depart Rockwood I had the chance to sit on a trail bench beside a fascinating gentleman. He was off the bike, he explained, because at 85 years old he'd just had a hip replacement and he really hopes to get back on the bike for the July state championship time trials (he competes in the over-80 category). He was a very interesting person. He explained that his wife, who was out on the trail, had ridden around the world after retiring as a teacher. Wow. You tend to think DC-Pittsburgh is something and then you meet somebody who's truly remarkable.
We rode to Confluence without incident, taking a good look at the "daylighting" operation at the Pinkerton Bypass. In Confluence we ate at Sister's Cafe, which has been a favorite of mine. I was a little bit surprised at how much breakfast cost this time, the prices may have gone up for the new season. The food was great.
Stopped by Confluence Cyclery looking for a small, hard-to-find item. They had it and the lady wouldn't take any money for it. I said, Please. She said, No. I said, Wow; impasse. She said, well, there's the boot....
The boot! Just when I thought I was about to get the boot — making two places in Confluence that I'm not welcome at — the lady points to the end of the counter and says, "There's a fireman's boot from the V-F-D as a fundraiser, sometimes cyclists don't like to carry change around so we keep the boot here." So I put $5 and all my change into the boot.
Confluence Cyclery is an excellent bike shop that goes out of their way to cater to visitors - they have wifi and a computer terminal and they encourage you to use it. They took a photo of us outside their shop. If you get a chance, stop by Confluence Cyclery and put your change in the boot!
Rode to Ohiopyle, took a
We consulted the weather and saw that we'd have rain at about 0400 the next day. Riding all the way into Pittsburgh seemed unlikely, so we agreed to nap a little longer and then ride an extra ten miles while the skies were dry.
We rode to Cedar Creek State Park and found the campground, which was really very nice. They had the best water pump I saw on this trip - a faucet! Turn the knob, water comes out! I love that.
We planned a very early departure, and we found a large Adirondack shelter in the campground. We left our bikes mostly packed and set up our arrangements within the Adirondack shelter.
Having feasted at Sheetz-Wendy's, we ate lightly and then CA surprised us again by preparing coconut-macaroon / M&M brownies, which we chased down with a bit of Starbucks VIA / Irish Coffee in celebration of our last evening of the trip.
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