August 4, 2008 Washington to Confluence, PA 88 miles (94)

Once again due to a long days’ ride bullet points will have to do. We have all noticed that the daylight hours are getting shorter – a definite sign that we have been on the road a long time!
• The hills were killer early on today.
• Letty has developed into a REAL hill climber,
• Many towns in this area are past their prime.
• The rivers we rode along and crossed over have names that I can’t pronounce, much less spell. (Youghiogheny, Monongahela
• The Youghiogheny River Trail (YRT) is a great rail to trail conversion. We followed it for over 50 miles.
• Some people like crushed limestone bike trails and others don’t.
• Fred (Big Rider 2000) and his family had a great rest stop for us.
• Looking for Tracey adds miles to the ride (not too many) After I finished dinner I overheard that one rider was still out on the trail. It seems that Tracey had several flats and she was still out on the trail alone. Given the fact that it was getting late I volunteered to ride back up the trail to make sure she was safe. Cell phones didn’t work on the trail this so direct contact was the only way to verify her situation. Luckily she was only one and a half miles from camp and all was well.
• Camping at the base of a large dam with a huge water outlet has drawbacks (noise and fear, being two of them)
• Cold beer with a large group of Big Riders (Doug, Dewayne, Steph, James, Chad, Greg, Catie, Kevin, Rachel, Letty, Tony, and Sharon) can solve many problems