bike.zaloudek.net

This trip was an ongoing Fundraiser for PSC Partners Seeking a Cure details are HERE
WE MADE IT! ARRIVAL VIDEO IS HERE
We left the hotel@ 9:30 and though I really didn’t need to go there was a bike shop right next door. It is 10:00 and we are driving to the point where we stopped yesterday (where Mike O and I almost ground to a halt on the final steep climb) and it is raining pretty good.

Hopefully this rain gear I have will keep me dry. I have 8 more miles on the road and they will probably be hilly like what Mike and I faced yesterday. I still have to put the chain back on the cyclocross bike at Connellsville. I should end up a muddy mess by the time I get to Pittsburgh. Dressing will be tricky since the rain gear will make me hotter than usual. The first 8 miles should be a good judge. And here I thought I wasn’t going to get to use the rain clothes. Oh well. I will post again when I stop to eat.- MZ from the Blackberry.

12:30 - Changed bikes to the Lemond Poprad Cyclocross. I haven’t been on this bike in a while. I had to put on the chain and lube it plus set my seat height. I ended up adjusting it out on the trail as well.

2:15 I am posting from the bike trail at 13 mph. The trail is muddy and soft in sections and I am into the wind with 22 trail miles covered. Loooking for food and drink at 2:20pm in the drier sections I can go 17 and sometimes type with both hands. Bye for now.
3:00 stopped to eat. In the last 3 miles I saw and old dude in a speedo thong and a half shirt jogging. Then I passed a guy with two pistols strapped to his back in a shoulder holster. I am eating a turkey club and the best I could do for energy bars is pop tarts and a rice crispy treat. The bike shop right here has some deal with the deli that they can’t sell anything edible. Of course the deli didn’t sell energy packs or energy bars…
The Trail is nice and flat and follows the river. The only problem is that the rain has made the trail soft in sections and muddy. My ride was sort of like a time trial into the wind up a muddy dirt road. There was no coasting because of the rolling resistance slowed you down too fast. There was a 6″ wide strip on both sides of the trail that was packed pretty well but you couldn’t see it, only feel it. In some sections, I took to the roads to get a break as the trail went through small housing areas. Some of the sections near the end were very packed and almost had a paved feel and appearance. I was hauling at this point but getting tired as I grazed one of the posts with my forearm. That woke me back up.
I arrived in McKeesport @ 4:45 and met Becky. I worked on my Route to Downtown and left just after 5:00.

The roads were not that great and rush hour traffic on a friday night was busy, but cars were pretty goon on the whole. it took longer than expected and I got turned around a few times and had to ask for directions. I arrived at the hotel between 6:30 and 7:00 I think. There were @ 50 people out front and they made me feel like a mini-celebrity. There were welcome signs and everything. I hope I can get some pictures of that soon.

Thanks for all the support along the way. The photos should be in the “photos” section, but can also be viewed HERE