Day 05

Today we had our first unwelcome “adventure.”

We left the Comfort Inn in Sellinsburg at about 6:30. It had rained overnight and the roads were wet but it was not raining. Actually the temperature was nice. The road was described as flat by the people at the motel but of course they were not bikers. So it was “relatively” flat. That means lots of “false flats.” Those would be stretches that look perfectly flat in a car but to a heavily loaded bike with two not-so-strong riders it is actually an upgrade. However, it was a welcome changed from the hills we had ridden the previous four days.

So the road was good, and the shoulder was superb. We rode 20 miles and decided to stop for a bite. Near Liverpool, we came upon a minimart that was attached to a Subway. We had a couple of the egg white and cheese sandwiches (with added spinach and tomato) and a bottle of Gatorade. It was a nice break.

We “hopped” back on the bike and rode on. More false flats were in the offing. Somewhere after New Buffalo we crossed 22/322 and the road became sort of limited access. That was not so much fun. There was a lot of traffic but the shoulder was ok. However a little bit after that (after Duncannon) the shoulder all but went away (maybe a foot or so). That was dicey.

So we are riding along approaching Marysville and all of a sudden the rear shifter does not shift. Well the lever moved but the gears did not change. Well, guys, there are eight chain rings on the rear wheel that make it possible to climb hills and they no longer would get out of the road gear. We stopped and I examined the situation. The cable controlling the rear derailleur had snapped. It looks like it wore through at the place that it attaches to the shifting lever. In case you have not guessed, this is our unwelcome “adventure.” We stopped at a gas station to inquire  how far in the distance the motel might be, what the terrain was like, and if anyone knew of a bike shop. By the way, it is Sunday today. The motel was 2 miles down the road. The terrain was NOT flat. There was not bike shop any closer than the motel. We took off for the motel. We walked any upgrades. We rode on the flats and downgrades. We got to the motel more than an hour later than was projected - but we got there.

It seems as if the nearest useful bike shop is in Camp Hill. That is about 5 or so miles down the road. They do not open until 10 tomorrow so there is little that we can do until then. We have several options if they to not do road calls. One possibility is to ride the bike down there unloaded. There will still be a lot of walking but it is doable. Another possibility is to take a cab to a U-Hall place, rent a panel van, and take the bike to the shop. If we do that we will take all our stuff to a motel down the road (our motel had no pool or hot tub). This all assumes that the shop has an extra-long cable available or can get one fast. If that works out we will start out the next day 5 or so miles down the road.

Our day was 48.4 miles. Thanks to all the walking the average speed was 8.4 mph. The bike was rolling for 5 hours and 44 minutes.

For anyone who is interested in what it takes to fuel a day's ride: Fuel Summary

Breakfast: Both: a banana, strawberries (spliting a pound), a greek yogert; Mel - a roll, and a bowl of raison bran.

1 hour down the road: split a banana

1 more hour down the road: subway half sub, breakfast sandwich, (egg whites, cheese, spinich, tomatoes), split quart of Gatorade

1 hour down the road: split 3 oz. of trail mix, split another banana

2 hours later - each had a banana, split the other 3 oz of trail mix

Around 5 pm some cheese, tomatoes, and carrots

We had dinner about 6:30 at the Summerdale Diner - really a restaurant. We had their grilled salmon dinner with salad. It was delicious.

Debbie's emotionometer: Good spirits until bike broke, then crabby.