Cool and Foggy

Day 72, June 12, 2011, Cool and Foggy

66.5 miles, averaging 13.1 mph

Route from Freeland, MD to Pinch Pond Family Campgrounds, Manheim, PA

Best Moment – At least it didn’t rain on me when I was bicycling.  Today was very foggy and overcast.  The weather forecast was predicting about a 60% chance of rain in the morning at Freeland and a similar chance of rain in Manheim for the afternoon.  I thought that I was doomed to get wet. The rain held off until around 4 and after an hour rainstorm, it is now wonderfully cool.

Worst Moment – It was a little unsettling finding a tick embedded on me when I showered after the ride.  We got the tweezers out and got the tick removed, but it still gives me the creeps.

Leaving the RV around 7, I was ready to tackle the Pennsylvania hills and find my way back to the route.  Early in the day, I crossed into PA!!!  Another new state!! Good thing I expected hills, because there were lots of hills and the grades were sometimes very challenging.  At one point, I had gained nearly 1000 feet in elevation, only to give most of it up and have to re-climb a few minutes later.  

The most exhilarating downhill was through a narrow canyon with a fishing creek on my right side that went all of the way down to the Susquehanna River.  Cycling along the Susquehanna was very scenic.  There are lots of RV’s parked permanently along the riverbank. 

I don’t know whether people here are more patriotic than in other parts of the country, but it seems that there are lots more monuments to those that served our country.  In Mt Joy, I stopped at the city park for lunch right across the memorials listing the names of those who served and those who lost their lives from the community.  The memorial for WWI was dedicated to those who served in the World War. (The park, and memorial, had been there since before 1941.)

Getting closer to Manheim, I saw my first Amish carriage.  I’m not sure which would be more intimidating between riding a bicycle, or driving the black horse drawn carriage on the roads in the traffic that is around here.  Pretty cool to actually see this.  The glassmaker William Stiegel is credited with founding the city of Manheim.  He donated land for the Zion Lutheran Church for an annual payment one red rose a year. The city still celebrates the Festival of the Red Rose where the payment of a single red rose is given to ancestors of William Stiegel. 

I got to Pinch Pond around 2 pm.  Having passed a couple of wineries, I thought that we might be able to go wine tasting.  After a shower and tick removal, Neita and I took off on Rocket for the Mount Hope Wine Shop.  They had quite a selection to taste.  Many of them were fruit wines, like strawberry, cherry, or blueberry.  They did have normal wines, but they were only okay.   We got a little wet riding home, but the rain really hit after we were inside.