Today, we benefited from a route change engineered by former Big Rider Fred. He put us on to a rail trail from mile 35 all the way into camp. In addition, he hosted a great lunch at one of the towns the trail goes through on the way to Confluence. The trail follows the Youghiogheny River. We’re trying out various pronunciations of this river. You’re welcome to give it a shot yourself, but the locals seem to call it the Yo, or the Yog. The trail climbed all of the 50 miles that we rode on it, but it was a gentle climb and a very enjoyable afternoon, especially compared to the major hills that we skipped in lieu of the trail.
We turned out of camp in the morning, on our coldest morning start at 51 degrees and rode through the small city of Washington PA. The valley going into town was nice, but then we climbed through downtown and several picturesque valleys to the east. Then we rode through a stunning country park that spread for miles along Mingo Creek. A right turn out of the park took us under a very high freeway overpass and into Monongahela, the namesake town for the river flowing past it. After crossing the river, the climbing started again. We ground up and down for the next 15 miles until we reached the trailhead and our afternoon’s ride.
We’re camping just below a large earthen dam in a large quiet (we hope) private campground. I find it interesting that even though we have a large space in which to put up our tents, we almost always congregate in a small tent village, with only the heavy snorers and those with high privacy needs moving further out. We carry our little nylon homes with us and set them up in the best neighborhood we know, Big Ride Avenue. Sleeping near by is our summer family, protecting us at night, and riding with us during the upcoming day.

Fred, who mapped our route today, and laid out a fantastic lunch as well, poses with Old Guys Who Get Fat in Winter. Think he's jealous of the jerseys?

Day 43 Rider of the day Katie, relaxes at our lunch stop. Katie always seems to have that wonderful smile on her face, and never seems to be in a bad mood. Perhaps that is because she is one of the strongest riders on the Big Ride. She's a recent grad of the University of Iowa and rowed on the crew while she was there.