Day 56 - Ohhh those hills
Day 56 - Galeton to Jersey Shore, PA - 81 miles - 3442 feet of elevation gain
Just when I was thinking I was running out of new material to write about, today happened. You’ve heard enough about shoulders! We rolled out of the hotel in a very chilly low 50s, so most of us were wearing leg and arm warmers. We didn’t have our first significant climb until mile 13. And it was the kind I’ve been anticipating in PA. It was enough to warm up the body! The descent took us into the town of Wellsboro and our first water stop. The temps were rising so shedding layers was definitely happening at this stop.
I was told we had one more short climb and then the rest of the 60ish miles left would be flat. We crested the hill and had a good descent on the lovely rural roads with the sun shining. The day was rolling along swimmingly. We even had a stretch of a newly paved road, and I was thinking this is fantastic! Here is where the day turned.
We reached route 414 and a sign that said “Road Closure.” The team huddled up and Al took to the phone to try to reach the van to find out their route. I saw a garage with some workers/customers out, so I rolled over to ask some questions. The people at the garage were super helpful. I learned that there was no way around the construction on Route 414, sometimes we just sneak through the construction. They gave me two options, follow the detour for 13 extra miles with a dirt road finish OR continue down 414 and take the first left, right, right for a 3 mile detour on a gravel road. We chose the shortest detour.
We made the first left turn and hit the gravel road. Then we made the first right where it got even more interesting. The road started climbing up and over and hit a 10% grade. I was thankful that it was shaded because I was getting hot! At the top of the hill we took the second right to start the descent. The sign warned trucks that it was a 15% decline. That was steep enough, but the road was absolutely terrible! I can’t explain just how rough the road was but I can tell you that if I had any loose teeth they would have fallen out. I also thought my hands were going to be claws after gripping the brakes for so long. I believe I burnt my back rotor because there were black lines in it when we checked at the bottom. It was seriously a wild ride that I never want to experience again. I’m just glad that everyone descended safely.
When the route is planed out, we try to keep our type of bikes in mind. So this means trying to avoid gravel roads. There was the Pine Creek Rail Trail that would have avoided all of the hills, but it was gravel. The decision was made to go around on the road instead of using the 2% grade of the trail. Hindsight always gives perspective, and not knowing about the gravel detour ahead of time, we might have chosen differently. Route 414 eventually brought us back to the trail, so Al took a chance to try it out before our next water stop. He reported that the trail was great and not filled with too much gravel. At that stop some of the guys kept asking if we could take the trail. To keep all parties happy we split the group, 3 took the road and 8 took the trail. We cruised on the trail enjoying the last 15 or so miles in a tree covered flat oasis of shade. Apparently the road option offered more hills, something I was ok missing!
We dined at the restaurant connected with our hotel and had visitors join us. Mike’s son and daughter-in-law live close by and were able to visit. We are excited to be getting into familiar territory and seeing family and friends again! It won’t be long until we are dipping our tires in the Atlantic!
Another tip: if you find yourself in a game of “so can you do this?” make sure the carpet is soft. I was laying on my stomach and pulling my feet up into a handstand. As my feet drug on the carpet I got rug burn. The marks are still there from a few days ago!
