On our route today from Confluence to Bedford, Jeff added a detour so we could ride past the memorial for Flight 93. On 9/11, this plane crashed in an old coal strip-mining field due to the efforts of the passengers, who had already heard about the Twin Towers in New York. The memorial there is temporary and consists mostly of mementos left by visitors. The actual crash site is also a burial ground for the remains of the crew and passengers. They died to protect the actual target of the attackers.
Our morning consisted of 30 more miles of rail trail, not unlike the last 50 miles of yesterday’s ride. We rode above the river on a steady incline for the entire distance. At the end, we got serious about the hills.
Our last 50 miles to Bedford were quite hilly and steep at times. We crossed over the Allegheny Mountains on a 2900-foot pass. Since we left McDonald Pass in Montana, all of the water we’ve see flows into the Mississippi River. Now, the water will flow to the Atlantic. In fact, it just started raining as I sit in my tent composing this missive. If our luck continues to hold, the rain will stop by morning and we’ll have another nice day tomorrow.
This is coal country, and the roads were thick with huge coal trucks racing back and forth from the mines. We saw a couple of the active mines and others that had been shut down. Corn still makes an appearance from time to time as part of the nice farms that cover the countryside between dark green forests.
As we rode the hills of Pennsylvania today, the old Blood, Sweat, and Tears song, "Spinning Wheels" was repeating over and over in my head.
What goes up.
Must come down.
Spinning wheels, got to go round.
Talk about your troubles it’s a crying sin.
Ride a painted pony, let the spinning wheels spin.
Tomorrow, we ride our painted ponies to Gettysburg, and I promise not to talk about my troubles. It’s final exam day at Big Ride University. 102 miles of hills and more hills.

We're still full of beans on Campbell Soup jersey day as we crested Bald Knob Summit at 2906 feet.

Jeanette is our rider of the day. Her little choo-choo bike is trying to pull this large train car. I wonder how far she'll get?