Our bed-and-breakfast last night in Connellsville worked out so well. We both slept great. There is something about these bike trips that often causes us to sleep well. Maybe it is that our bodies are so exhausted.

We woke up about six and checked the weather. It looked like we were going to have rain sometime between 10 AM and noon. It wasn’t forecast to be as hard as the one in Pittsburgh, but it was still going to rain.

The bed-and-breakfast had a good, simple breakfast. We were able to talk with six other bicyclists. Each had a story. Four of them were older than us.

We parted ways and hit the trail. Our rain gear was packed in a way that made it very accessible.

Even though today’s ride was a little bit shorter, just shy of 50 miles, it seemed harder. We were on an uphill railroad grade the entire day. Often when you work your way up the hill, you’re gifted an opportunity to coast down the other side. Our opportunity to coast down is coming on Monday. Today was just uphill.

The trail was a bit more muddy and sloppy than yesterday’s trail. I think that added some resistance to our rolling efficiency. On this trip, we have about 100 pounds of gear and our bike weighs about 100 pounds, so we feel the elevation gain differently than we do when riding at home. Next Monday is all downhill, and after that the C&O Canal Trail will be mostly flat.

Today’s trail was especially beautiful. Tall trees created a tunnel effect for most of our seven-hour ride. We crossed a few railroad trestles and would occasionally see groups of other bikers and hikers. I realize I say this every time, but this might be the most beautiful ride we’ve been on…

There was a river to our side that we could frequently see through the trees. It is especially full due to the heavy rain it’s received over the last week. We could hear rafters and kayakers yelling and laughing many times.

Even though rain had been forecasted and threatened a few times, it didn’t come. We were ready to ride in the rain, and would’ve done it, but it was nice to have a relatively dry day. The trail was a bit muddy, and a few times it caused minor concern as we slipped while riding through small mud bogs.

We arrived in Rockwood (the town with our Airbnb) and pushed our bike up a ridiculous hill. I bet you it was a half-mile at a 15% grade. We were ready to rest when we arrived.

Our Airbnb hosts here are exceptionally accommodating. She did our laundry first thing. When it was time for dinner, with nowhere close nearby to eat, she and her husband drove us to a local diner about 5 to 10 minutes (drive) away. They told us to call them when we were done… Then they came, picked us up, drove us to a grocery store, and waited for us while we did a little shopping for tomorrow. We didn’t ask them to do any of these things. They simply insisted on it and were so helpful. Tomorrow they want to take us to a memorial for the Flight 93 crash site where the last plane went down during the September 11, 2001, hijacking ordeal.

Sorry for a blog entry that is mostly just a travel log. Sometimes at the end of the day, this is all we can do. We are tired, happy, and ready for a rest day.