Mittwoch, 1. Juni 2016

Plan your route carefully!

After crossing Susquehanna River in the morning (it's a huuuge river, but never heard about) my goal for the day was a place anywhere in Maryland 100km away which would mean I'd have been in 4 states in 4 days now:) But I totally underestimated the terrain! As far as I could see: just steep hills with climbs of more then 20% sometimes. It was incredible exhausting and demoralizing to climb a steep hill with sometimes dismounting in this incredible heat just to ride down again on the other side and facing the next hill.


Crossing Susquehanna River (now idea how to spell it:D
It's about 1,5 km wide!

Climbs like that all the time!

Hills as far as you can see

I guess I emptied every fridge with cold drinks of every fuel station I passed on the way:) Next time I will have a look on the route one or two days before to avoid terrain like that. I mean I don't mind climbing mountains with a heavy bike at all but it's just so demoralizing when it's going just up and down on really steep roads all the time and you make almost no distance.
Just grab it and go! Didn't want to pay anyway:D

Small lake on the way

Finally in the distance the hills get smaller and behind that a huge mountain ridge...

Finally completed the 100k at 11pm after climbing a total of 1800m (my top-mark before was Groce Domini Pass in Italy - 1500m) uphill without real mountains I just slept on a field anywhere. At this place fireflies have been all around, what an amazing view! They kinda saved the end of the day a little bit.
Where I stayed the night:D

Little frog passing by

House number 12648. This street must be long!

The next morning I had a long climb about 400 meters uphill. Not to steep and just one climb without going down between, that's how it should be! At the summit of the mountain ridge I decided that I deserved a huge pizza (without paying for sleeping I've got more money for food now:D ) and took about an hour break.
Enjoying life:D

After 60km I reached the "Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Trail" which is a long bicycle trail along an old canal next to Potomac River at the Maryland Border to West Virginia. The Trail leads to another one, the "Great Allegheny Passage" which ends in Pittsburgh. It's mostly gravel but I don't mind cause it's totally flat and I can casually ride about 18km/h all the time.
Entering Maryland

What I think is really amazing is that there are free "Hiker Biker Campsites" with toilets, tables and spaces for many tents along the trail next to the river. About every 5 miles another one! The highlight of the day was a turtle I met on the way. I never saw one before in wilderness and this was a kinda big one I think!
About what happened next I'll write when I'll arrive in Pittsburgh:)
Bycicle trail along an old canal

Not just bycicles on the trail:)

My "Hiker Biker" campsite for the night

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