In the Groove

Day 3 - Wysox, PA to Coudersport, PA

I started the day at 7:00 AM. I had a great breakfast at the Comfort Inn. As it turned out I was very close to Towanda which was one of the towns I planned on stopping at. I am very glad that I stayed where I did.

Although I had some very tough mountain climbs in the morning, they gave way to some fantastic riding through canyons along the river. I took in some beautiful scenic views. Scenery you just don’t get to see when you travel by car on the Interstate Highways. The maximum elevation during today’s ride was 2424 FT above sea level.

For the first time in 3 days I have come upon some rest areas along the road side. Very clean! At one of the rest stops there was a group of state highway workers. One of them approached me after I had phoned in my update to Jim Bates and asked who my cell phone provider was. I told them AT&T. The worker mentioned they all had Verizon and couldn’t get a strong signal. I showed him that my phone was getting “4 bars”.

During the day I had lunch at a road side ice cream shop in Ansonia Valley, PA. I spent some time talking to the husband / wife owners. We spoke about the economy and the windmills I saw in Waymart. The owner said that “do-gooders” were opposed to the windmills in PA because birds fly into the blades. I don't think people can’t have it both ways. The trade-off for clean energy versus some birds getting killed by not being smart enough to avoid the slow moving windmill blades. I’ve seen so many dead birds on the road over the last 3 days the whole argument just didn’t make sense.

At the last rest stop during the day there was a clear running stream. It was a very hot day so I splashed some of the fresh cold water on my face. I was very tempted to take a drink. There were two families having a picnic at this rest stop. It reminded me of the wayside rests that are all over CT.

As I arrived in Coudersport, PA a school bus stopped to let out some students. The bus had its red lights flashing and stop-arm extended. I stopped just as any car would because that is the law. All at once just about every boy on the bus started yelling out the window at me. Saying things like “Hey biker dude, are you a child molester?” I was sort of saddened by this because it wasn’t just one kid. It was just about every kid on the bus. The bus driver just stared straight out the window, seemingly oblivious to the whole situation. I just glanced at these kids wondering what kind of future they might have with attitudes like this. Based on their behavior I could only guess what kind of parents they had.

Today I chose to wear one of my older, cheaper pairs of bike shorts. MISTAKE! I developed some stubborn saddle sores. I washed out my good shorts in the sink and got them ready for tomorrow’s ride. It is supposed to rain tomorrow. That should make for a fun day!