We knew looking at the weather forecast last night that today was going to be wet. The first 78 miles was pouring rain and the last 30 miles was dry. I was drenched within the first two miles but the temperature stayed above 60 the whole time so I was warm enough. The only time I started to get cold was at lunch and that was because I was not moving. Starting at about mile 35 I started riding with Matt Smith from Washington and we rode the rest of the way together. We took turns sharing the work and actually got to the hotel by 2:30. We left just a little after 7:30 this morning so we rode 108 miles in slightly less than 7 hours which is pretty good with all the hills and rain. My motivation at some point was a hot shower.
The course today passed through beautiful country dotted with farms and pastures. We saw several Amish or Mennonite horse and buggy sets throughout the day. The farms have very large, neatly kept barns and just look like something out of a postcard. There were several roads that followed ridge tops that were great for viewing the farms and pastures. I wish I could say that I got pictures of them but my camera was sealed in my jersey underneath my rainproof jacket and I wasn't going to dig it out in the pouring rain. On days like this, your mentality needs to be to put your head down and get to the end in one piece and that's what I did. If I haven't already mentioned it, if you are interested in more photos, go to www.pactour.com and click on Eastern Mountains and then Photos. They are organized by day and there are some good ones there. They see things I don't sometimes so it's not a duplication of what I've done.
Tomorrow we are in Pennsylvania for another day to Clark's Summit. Unlike today, we should have no rain and the conditions look perfect.
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