Balanced loads down a mountain= very good.

Yesterday was rough and I slept off my aches and weariness.
I woke up early at the Levi Deal and wondered: when was breakfast? I neglected to ask Jan, the innkeeper about breakfast... I had inquired about dinner having heard that Jan serves an excellent dinner... but alas, she had only made dinner for guests when the Morguen Toole was closed for the fire. I heard she had served polenta and I had polenta on my mind. I grew up having polenta on a regular basis. Polenta and sausage with (tomato) gravy is a Sicilian dish I loved as a child in a home where my mother of Irish heritage tried to learn to cook Italian dishes for my father of Sicilian descent. Her polenta and sausage was very good, the bragiola excellent too. The lasagna: not so good.
I dressed and looked out the window to see Jan working feverishly in the kitchen. Maybe soon? I also saw SNOW. Good lord, it was sleeting and snowing! Are you kidding me?

I went over and Jan had coffee ready. Yaaa! This would count for Coffeeneuring#5

The Mansion is simply gorgeous inside. I poked around while Jan made breakfast and I chatted with the other cyclists staying in the main house who were by now, coming downstairs from their rooms.
It turns out there were 2 other parties staying there and we were all heading down to Cumberland. There were 3 tables set up in the dining room, one had 4 settings, the other had two and there was a third table with one set of silverware. Gee, I wonder who that table's for? The couple from Tuscon invited me to their table so they wouldn't have to talk across the room to me. It turns out they were using Sara P's Bike the GAP services and their bagged lunch was already waiting for them. Gotta love that service!

Jan brought out a breakfast of freshly baked bran muffins, a vegetable egg quiche and (drumroll.).....polenta! It was fantastic. I scarfed down the eggs and polenta and wrapped up the bran muffin for lunch.

I loaded up Fizz and was underway, but the other cyclists got on the road before I did as they didn't have as much baggage. Yes, they poked fun at me for having so much stuff.

I loaded the third pannier on the top of the back rack instead of the front rack today and this was a vast improvement.

I played leap-frog with the other two parties most of the day, but in the end, I was the first one to reach Cumberland. I win!

Sometimes, I watch where I'm going. I'm looking out for things that might puncture a tire, etc...
In my head, you might hear this: "Rock, stick, hole, rock." Today it was "Rock, hole, rock, baby snapping turtle, rock..." Wait, what?
OMG! How cute!

"Lady, one day I'll grow up and have the ability to bite your fingers off. Now, put me down! I'm formidable!"

I replaced him over to the side of the trail he was heading in the hopes he wouldn't get crushed by a bike. I think I came within a millimeter of squishing him.

It was cold, but bright and glorious.

We all helped one another get pictures in scenic spots along the way. I made sure Fizz photobombed all their shots.

I remembered to bring pickles.

This is my "I made it!" pose

I remember this nursery rhyme. I had an ear worm for a while today!

Cumberland was reached quickly.

At the Fairfield Inn, nice amenity!

Damn kids! You're ruining my self-timer shot! Go away!

Much better.

Another 32 miles, but much more comfortable, more 'wheeee!' and much better weather.

I took lots of photos, you can view them at FLICKR

More of the GAP gaps are getting filled in!

Butterflies beyond Boggs and all hail the mighty pickle!

Today is the day Mericans like to spend all day grilling meats and then when it gets dark or said Mericans are sufficiently intoxicated, they like to light fire to Chinese-made substandard explosives. Having been injured as a child by aforementioned drunks bearing small missiles, I hate being outdoors on July Fourth as it approaches dusk. I made sure this wasn't going to be a long trip.


I drove to Cecil Park trailhead to get a leg up on Montour and go further beyond Boggs than I had previously.

It's difficult to get a butterfly to pose for you. It requires a bit of patience. Birds are more troublesome though.

Here, THREE butterflies posed for me.

This lovely orange flower is Asclepias tuberosa - Butterfly Milkweed

 

I lunched at Quicksilver

I wonder if these are Service berries.

The weather was perfect.

Campers at Boggs

I turned around at Findlay.

At the Findlay Activity Center, I was inactive. I chose to rest my caboose and to sun myself in the grass.









While I was there I got a call from the Hubby, he wanted to know what type of pickles I wanted while he was at the grocery store. He is awesome. I've learned pickles are mighty good at staving off leg cramps, I believe so much in the magic bullet that is the pickle that I convinced the MS150 Tour planners that the almighty pickle should be avaialble at rest stops. The cyclists loved the pickles.
Before I left this morning, I had a swig of pickle juice, made a pickle and Swiss sandwich for lunch and the man who has my best interests at heart is making sure I'm stocked with pickles. I heart pickles. I haven't had a ferocious bout of leg cramps in quite a long time and I attribute it to pickles.





As I approached Boggs on the return, a woman stopped me to ask where we were. She was unfamiliar with the trail and hadn't been along this part of it. I looked at my phone and told her it was Imperial according to the GPS coordinates. She rode with me from Boggs down to Quicksilver and we talked the whole way, she often rides the North Shore but was reluctant to try the streets. As we descended a steep grade and picked up speed, there were deep washouts of the trail on one side. I was in the lead and instinctively, I pointed to them to let her know a hazard was ahead, especially important for someone not familiar with this end of the trail. When our pace matched again, she said "Thanks for pointing to those ruts, I was wondering what you were doing." I explained that it was a group ride necessity and went on to try and coax her into attending a Flock ride.Very nice to talk with her; I loved her bike, a pink Nikishi Royale.



This interesting bouncy-house thing was set up in a yard for a July 4th party. Color me jealous.

When I left Cecil Park, I noticed a self-serve car wash across the street. I hooked the bike to the rack and took Ruby over to power wash the cassette, rear derailleur and chain. Sooooo many hunks of black crap came out of there. Yes, I'm steering clear of the crank bearings when I power wash the bike. I also hosed out the underside of the fenders where something had been rubbing and making an annoying noise for a while now. Hopefully, it goes away if I hosed out the offending item.

I can see the gears now!

They were caked in black gunk embedded with bits of grass and gravel.

A great day, 29 miles with optimal weather.