It was nice to stay in a hotel, and it was a nice hotel, but of all of our stays, it might’ve been our least favorite. There were lots of bikers, which you would think would make us feel right at home. But for whatever reason, we didn’t. The hotel literally smelled like bikers. I went into the elevator to go up a floor to get some ice and almost had to exit early. Our hotel room didn’t smell that great either, as we aired out a lot of our gear and laundry.

The room and bed were comfortable, but we both woke up early, so we ate and hit the trail.

The weather today again was perfect. Today’s ride took us through many small towns, and as we approached Pittsburgh, some larger ones. We liked how several of the towns seemed to cater to bikers; they had a fun, friendly vibe.

We met several different groups of bikers today who were interested in our unusual bike. One friendly gentleman was on a three-wheeled tadpole bike with an electric motor. He was 85 years old and loved being out on the trail. Hopefully I’ll be doing that when I’m 85. My dad’s a little older than that, and he would be doing it on a two-wheeled bike if he lived close to this trail.

As we approached the trail closure where we needed to take a shuttle, we got a call from the shuttle operator saying that he couldn’t wait for us and he’d pick us up on his next trip in 30 minutes. No problem, we could sit and wait for 30 minutes. However, minutes after we arrived at the pickup spot, a bike touring company showed up and unloaded a group of bikers. The owner, Greg, had another group to shuttle on the other side, so he loaded our bike and hauled us back. His trailer was much bigger and had a ramp. Greg didn’t accept the shuttle fee and instead had us pay the original driver. We made it through the shuttle section as quickly and easily as was possible. Everything always works out for us…

Today was a modest ride in terms of distance and grade (very slight downhill). We rode for about 7 hours and arrived in Pittsburgh around 3.

We are staying at the same hotel where we departed. They let us store our bike boxes there. This helped a ton with the logistics. The hotel staff was friendly and helpful in retrieving our boxes and getting them and the bike into a conference room.

It took us about an hour to take it apart. I took it apart a little faster than before because I wasn’t replacing and retightening all the bolts. Instead, I put most of them in a Ziploc, and I will sort it out when I get home. I have a little extra tolerance for bolt loss when reassembling it at home.

We ate massive salads at Cheesecake Factory and finished with a big piece of cheesecake. We eliminated any calorie deficit we had created during the day; Natalie insists it was a necessary celebration.

Tomorrow we take the shuttle to the airport, check the bike boxes, and then fly home. This ride is about over, but we are taking home so many good memories. Often through the years, at random times we will just start talking about different memories from these bike adventures. They make us so happy. We’re so grateful that we’ve been able to explore the world this way, together.