Updated 12/19/2022
More on day 12: we had 2 more miles of the pavement from Hades, and managed to find a county road that was old, smooth out chip seal. We rode that for 20-25 miles.
And all those roads led to the Nords; Eric, Angela, and Emma. We’re so grateful for them opening their home to us even though they had just returned from a 6-week teaching expedition in Washington State. The Nords lived in State College from 2004 to 2013, and I did many a ride with Eric and the Wheelworks group. In 2015, when Dana and I were riding from Bar Harbor to Trenton, I heard my name called out on route 1 in Maine. It was Eric on a tour with his son’s church group. Such a random, but cool encounter. We had an excellent meal of Emma’s Bruschetta on homemade bread, sweet corn, and Angela’s pasta primavera, a great rest, and a good time catching up. Eric also worked on our bikes and fixed some shifting issues and checked my wheels out for true. Both were okay.
In in the morning, we had fresh OJ and homemade granola to send us on our way. Eric escorted us through town and we got to see bit of Greenville University or he and Angela both teach.
Here’s the original post, a dearth of pictures as We were so focused on getting those 84 miles done, and regretfully forgot to take any pictures with the Nords.
Quick update. 83.9 miles today, beautiful weather, roads mixed, but we’re in Greenville IL under the care of the Nords’.
Pretty wiped after today’s ride. Tomorrow will be half that…
Hi, Paul and Dana! Thanks for the great posts about your trip. What an adventure! Things are pretty sad here. Molly has been diagnosed with bone cancer, and her condition is getting worse by the day. She limps so badly now, and has a really tough time with stairs. We are using this weekend to give people the opportunity to stop by and say their goodbyes. We expect to put her down Monday or Tuesday. She’s been such a very good dog.