Off balance overpacked loads up a mountain= not good

Another overnighter trip! This will most likely be the last until Spring.
I drove to Cumberland early having packed 3 panniers and 2 bags (stop laughing!) the night before and was on the GAP before 9AM.

I stopped for Coffeeneuring trip #4 at Cafe Mark

This was my first real use of the new front rack, I used one pannier on my new rack.

I am reminded when I do things like... load ONE pannier on the front rack... that I'm still a clueless noob. I spent the day trying to figure out why on Earth I was having horrible arm pain.

The weather conspired against me too, it drizzled and spit and misted the entire morning and much of the afternoon. Sometimes it spit-izzled and others it mist-izzled. It was cold too. Even though I was well-dressed, the cold and wet got to me after 6 hours outdoors hauling gear up a mountain. 45 pounds worth.
While the trip was long and tiresome and dreary, I made the best of it. The fall colors were amazing despite the poor visibility from the top of Savage Mountain.

The traffic was awful.

I hope we don't exceed the weight limit!

It was tiring going up the mountain, there was one well-worn firmly packed path on the trail; my side was soft and rutted from washouts and full of rocks. I tried desperately to get some relief from the bad side of the trail and ride on the 'wrong' but delightfully-easy-to-ride-on side. However, cyclists coming down the mountain were always kicking me out of the firmly packed side when they bore down on me at 15-20 MPH while I was limping along at 6 MPH. Oh, how I wanted the other side of the trail.

Eventually, I was able to ascertain the cause of my arm pain: the off balance load! I once drove a car on a regular basis that needed a front-end alignment and my right arm always hurt from pulling the steering wheel to one side to compensate for the wonky alignment. Logically, this translates to bikes too! By now, I was 25 miles into the trip. I switched the pannier over to the other side in the hopes that I'd give one side of my upper body a rest from the strain... but it still ached in spite of the switch. WAIT... this pannier doubles as a backpack!
I turned the pannier into a backpack and strapped it on. No luck, I was so tired and sore by then that any weigh on my back was an objection as well. I arrived in Meyersdale a little after 2 PM and was too early for a check-in at the B&B, so I hung out at the Museum and enjoyed the wifi.
The hours between 2 and 4 are rough in Meyersdale if you arrive hungry. Thankfully, I brought snacks and fortified myself along the way.


I rode down to to Levi Deal Mansion bed and breakfast after I checked my email and met Jan, the inkeeper. She showed me the guest room where I'd be staying and the codes to get into the garage where I could store Fizz.

I showered and rested... I was so very tired and needed a lie-down. A hot shower helped to get my core temperature up, but I was still chilled.

Note to self: take photos of your room before you mess up the bed and don't leave dinner's leftovers in your shots.

The room was decorated in a Asian theme.

I think those are two monks.

I shivered and my teeth chattered on my walk down to the Morguen Toole for dinner. I was still penetrated by cold. I couldn't get warm. They were out of the Octoberfest entree I had my eye on, so I opted for the burger and Jameson's again.

The wifi at the Levi Deal wasn't reaching the guesthouse, I was resigned to walk down to the Morguen Toole and linger outside in range to pick up a signal.

I slept hard and soundly even with the trains going by and blasting horns every 20 minutes.

32 miles, and an agonizing lesson learned.

Filling in the gaps of the GAP (day 2)

I woke up in Meyersdale in my quiet room in the Morguen Toole... alarmless. I slept in as much as I needed, I was tired and it had been ages since I'd had the ability to have a night uninterrupted by a dog who needed to pee at 2:30AM. It was glorious.

Howdy, stranger.

I dressed and wandered over to the GI Dayroom. Another mistake I'd made was my packing: I could have brought all manner of clothing and kept it in the car, but my obsession with spartan packing meant I'd inadvertently brought nothing but black warm things to wear on the chilly walk over to the restaurant. It was filled with the local cliques of retired men gossiping in the booths and on the stools at the counter. The lone stranger walks in dressed all in black and every head turned and stared in silence. It was eerie, like something out of a Western movie. Honestly, I don't always dress like Johnny Cash's goth daughter! I smiled and took a booth and hoped they'd resume their chats and after a few seconds, they did. So awkward. Note to self: blend.
I wondered if the spandex-clad who come in clicking their clips along the tiles get the same reaction.
I ordered an egg sandwich and many cups of coffee. There was WiFi here. I was happy.
Jody, my waitress, asked me to sign a guestbook, being a GAP traveler. I took the time to look back at the previous entries and noted all the faroff places people come from to ride the GAP. Very interesting. This was the second guestbook I'd been asked to sign in Meyersdale.


I loaded up the bike and got on the trail to Rockwood. Just outside of Meyersdale I found a small cemetary, and I'm guesssing these are the Meyers that Meyersdale is named for.

There were many more trees on this part of the GAP that were turning. It stood to reason: the maples turn first and Meyersdale is the Maple City. The number of maples here was far greater.

Rockwood and my OCD rears its head.

I reached Rockwood quickly, being only 12 miles from Meyersdale. There was a small manned visitors center there with a cell booster. The gentleman inside helped me figure out the water fountain and take my photo in front of the train sculpture.

He clearly didn't understand that getting the bike in the shot was uber important.

Planing to turn around and make it an early day, I felt cheated. I'd come all this way and stayed overnight... I wondered if I could make it to the Pinkerton Tunnel and I asked him how far away it was. He told me 8 miles. This would turn my 24 mile day into a 40 mile day. I could do this.
If I didn't, there would be a gap in my GAP map... a part of the trail I hadn't completed when I was so close. The obsessive compulsive side of me yelled: "Do it! You can't leave that section unfinished!"

I headed West and made it to the side of the Pinkerton tunnel I hadn't seen. I visited the other side a few weeks ago.

OK, if I turn around now, that'll be 40 miles for the day. Wait, the Bypass! I HAVE to ride the Bypass, I can't leave that unridden! Two miles later, I reached the other side of the tunnel. There, I did it. My obsessive side sighed contentedly.

I noticed this bit of pay-it-forwardness along the trail. Very nice.

Seeing myself as others see me

In my travels, I find that many were asking me: "Traveling alone?" or "With a group?".
I encountered today something I don't recall seeing before today: a lone female cyclist. She had lots of gear and stopped frequently to take photos. She stood out in stark contrast amongst all the other parties I saw: couples, groups or single men.
When I first encountered her, my first thought was: "She's alone." 
Not: "Nice panniers."
Not: "Love the way she braided her hair." or "Awesome bike."
My first thought was she was out here, by herself. It dawned on me: this was probably everyone else's first impressions of me. Did they think I was vulnerable? Lonely? Left behind by her party? A target? I never had those thoughts whenever I saw a lone male rider. I never gave that a second thought.
It left me with some discontent.

Feather Identification is difficult

I find bird, mammal and plant identification fascinating. I do fairly well at IDing birds by sight, flight patterns and calls, but IDing a bird by a lone feather is tricky, I discovered! I found this feather from a large bird in my travels today. Wanting to know the species, I called upon Google. Hoping it was from a bird of prey, I was disappointed.

Just a wild turkey feather, nothing special.

The final stretch with another Trucker

Along the way back, I played leapfrog with a group of 5 or 6 heading to DC. They were heavily laden, one of the bikes being a Xtracycle cargo stacked high with supplies. I liked seeing this. One of them told me: "You look like you know what you're doing!" I told her I had her fooled.
One in the party had a disc Trucker. I parked Fizz next to it when I returned to Meyersdale.

Green Trucker meets yellow Trucker

44 miles, a good day.

After getting back into Pittsburgh, I dropped Fizz off at Thick for a new saddle and front rack as well as a tune up. I'd have to use Ruby for a while.

Grabbed a new patch for my top tube pad:

And here's the map of my GAP progress after this weekend:

I should have more sections filled in before winter arrives.

Biking the Golden Gate Bridge

We rented bikes with the intention of riding over the Golden Gate Bridge and back. They gave us 7 speeds, which was adequate for the mostly flat trails along the bay.

This was Hubby's first time on a bike in 40 years, and I could tell. The first bike they gave me went almost flat a few yards out of the lot, I went back and they switched my bike out for one with air in the tires.



Fog is 100% humidity and it poofed up my hair. :(

 

Alcatraz in the background:

 

 Suicide phone:

Hubby threatend to use it if I pushed him too hard along the route.

We got a few "Go Pirates!" from passing pedestrians and cyclists. Much fun watching Hubby wobble around on his bike, he stayed behind me most of the way, letting me lead.
I had the Fly6 camera in the seatpost, so I'll be interested to see the video when I get back home.
We saw cormorants, turkey vultures, egrets and a dabbling duck.
10 miles total.

A bike specific traffic light. So cool.



One could also rent eliptical bikes.
Note one of the members of this group making sure his snot locker was cleaned out before they were under way.
Now I know why my grips felt sticky. 

Murals in a new light and re-learning a route.

The Pirates have introduced a new set of animated introductions for each player and they incorporate Pittsburgh's murals!




Here's the one they use for Andrew McCutchen:

It's the "The Two Andys" mural on Smithfield Street. Awesome stuff.

I spent Sunday breaking free from the house. Hubby was due to be extra cranky as he had to do a 36 hour fast before an invasive procedure on Monday that I would have to drive him home from. I'll leave that up to the reader's imagination.

Before I rode, I cleaned and re-lubed Ruby's chain, cassette and rear derailleurs with the ParkTool cleaner. I was kicking myself for letting it go so long as I noticed rust and a squeaking noise when I rode last. The rust is gone now and there are no squeaks to be heard.

As I started out, I noticed the Buffleheads were back! I had the good camera too! Only a few of the original 20 remained, but they bobbed about a bit before taking flight for me.

First, I wanted to learn the route from Oakland down to the Eliza Furnace trail on the South Side. Vannevar and S had shown me once before, but I needed to go at it alone to truly learn it. It's a complicated route, some of it is marked and the rest, you're left to fend for yourself. I didn't do too badly. I missed my Neville St turn but eventually got there backtracking via side streets. I wound up heading up Juno St before I realized I'd gone the wrong way and turned around.

I made it!

On the way there I got some shots along Gold Way of the Troll under the Bridge.

Someone gifted him a 40

Then I went to a new favorite restaurant. Amazing Cafe.

Black rice and veggie curry with a Clean Green to wash it down. Nom.

After lunch I headed past the Eagles nest and a plethora of cyclists out on the trail. Wow, it was crowded! I got to the Waterfront and stayed on the roads as suggested.

I needed something to read while waiting for Hubby's procedure tomorrow. I parked at Barnes and Noble's bike rack and headed in for the bathrooms and book heaven.

What should I get? Re-read a classic? Stimulate some brain cells?

Nah. I like the movies better.

Mindless fluff! Yes!

Then I headed back to the South Side and REI for the bathrooms, a rest and a drink. I was sucked in by a pannier I'm hoping will work for baseball game trips. I also got a new bell. The cowbell fell off on my ride today and the bell I was using was barely audible.

It doubles as a tote bag.

I saw all manner of bike on my travels today: a tandem recumbent, a tandem (that I was impressed to see take a tight turn on one of our switchbacks), lots of regular recumbents and even a disabled persons' bike:

On my way back there were more birders checking out the Buffleheads and I stopped to chat with them, we remarked at how gorgeous they were.


No beeps other than a thank you beep when I let someone pass on Gold Way which is a very narrow street. My ongoing saddle and numb fingers issues are grating on my nerves (pun intended). The new gloves helped lessen but not eliminate the numb fingers.
33 miles on a lovely day.