Day 40 miles: 105
Total miles: 2,518
By bike:
Lauren dropped me off at Point State Park. It was nice to see Hambone but I was ready to finish the final leg.
Okay so riding on roads this whole trip has been stressful. It was AMAZING not to have to fight with cars and to stop and in a relaxed setting see the scenery.
Pittsburgh skyline in my rearview mirror.
Beginning of being out of the city.
I mainly was in my own head for most of the morning until I started seeing signs for free water for bikers. I felt a lot of support from the locals and it was so nice to see restaurants and places to stay right off the path. I will definitely be coming again.
I tried to give the creator of this $20 but he refused.
Right before lunch I had the BEST SURPRISE! Lauren! We rode to her car and ate lunch at a local Italian restaurant.
After lunch it was mainly myself and the scenery until my sweet road angel met up with me AGAIN!
BridgePA scenery 
Bridge
I thought I took a video but it was only a picture.
We went to Husky Haven and had a date night at the local pizza shop.
By car:
I dropped Matthew off at the park where the GAP trails starts and made my way towards Rockwood. Rockwood wasn’t necessarily our goal destination. Our goal was “as far as Matthew could pedal.” I just knew which direction to go and picked a spot to stop and get my own bike out!
Using google maps and tracking Matthew, I found a park that was far enough ahead of him and would allow me to park my car and hop on the GAP trail to meet up with him. He had no idea I was going to do this- I was excited to surprise him! My plan was to meet up with him around midday so we could enjoy lunch together.
As I parked my car, I noticed a bunch of other cyclists pulling up and walking to a pavillion to grab food. I overheard one female cyclists squeal with glee as she rolled up behind me and yelled “LUNCH TIIIME!!!!”
I grabbed my chamois shorts and biking shoes to change into and met some of the other cyclists.
“Is there a biking event going on right now?” I asked.
“We’re doing the Pennsylvania perimeter ride against cancer. We started in Pittsburgh today! It’s a five day ride,” a woman answered. She was standing next to two burly looking men soaked in their own sweat and trying not to pant so loudly in the heat.
“That’s incredible! I’m actually getting ready to ride out to meet my husband right now- he’s biking across the country while I drive the SAG SUV!”
All three of their jaws dropped. One of the burly men sighed. “And I thought we were doing something badass!”
I immediately reminded him that they were doing something badass, especially since they’re raising money against cancer.
“We’re not raising money for a great cause like you guys are!”
We all came to a consensus that all of us were in fact doing something badass.
They took off for lunch and I sat on my bike to pedal towards Matthew. Well, actually, I accidentally pedaled in the opposite direction about about 100 meters then turned around. Several of the cyclists in the group that knew what I was doing laughed and reminded me that “Seattle is THAT way!”
Away I went!
It was a a hot and humid day but the shade helps. I was so excited to be back on the bike that I didn’t take nearly as many photos or videos that I thought I would! My sticky skin and frizzed out humidity-infused hair appreciated the stream of air grazing by as I pedaled quickly. Even though the air felt somewhat like soup.
I saw Matthew’s bright yellow panniers in the distance. I wanted to do something funny, or maybe spooky? Should I startle him? Nah…that could cause injury, and I’d never live that one down.
His head was down while he remained focused on his bike. I found myself feeling overwhelmed with admiration for this man with a deep biker tan, slightly unkempt beard and somewhat smelly neon biker shirt. That man is my husband, conquering his decade-long dream that many people found absurd or likely to end in failure. While I discovered that it’s certainly not a dream of my own, I’m exceptionally proud to provide the support and boost in morale for each mile we journey together- even if not by the same mode of transportation.
I love this man. So, I knew exactly what to say as he biked towards me.
I puckered my lips, gave my best cat-call whistle, and yelled “HEEEYYY SEXY!!!!!!”
Matthew looked up as he cruised passed me and gave a polite wave. Then he kept pedaling.
My own husband, my love, my soulmate, the man I’ve spent EVERY SINGLE DAY with for the past 40 days in tents, stranger’s homes, friend’s homes, and hotels didn’t even recognize me. My words of admiration were deflected by a simple flick of his wrist and smacked back into my mouth!
From a short distance behind me, I heard a faint cry.
“OH shit!!”
Matthew stopped his bike to look back at me.
“It’s you!!”
A little delayed, but appreciated.
We reunited and enjoyed the ride back towards my car together. It was great hearing about what he had seen so far, who he had met. I told him about the group of cyclists I met and what they’re doing.
We both grew hungry and decided to stop somewhere for pizza and promptly toasted over the best cheesy garlic bread we’ve ever had.
We came up with a plan to camp somewhere 50 miles away. I packed up my bike, drove out to the site and set up our tent. The campsite is actually catered to cyclists since it’s right along the GAP trail.
I told Matthew this time that I would be biking back out to meet him again once our camp was set up. This part of the trail was more enjoyable with better scenery, bridges, and tunnels.
Even though the tunnel up ahead wasn’t terribly long and you could see the light at the other end, it became almost disorienting once I entered the middle of the tunnel. It was incredibly dark- although my phone camera makes it appear much lighter in the video below:
I stopped recording once I couldn’t see very far ahead of me. I remember reading other blogs by cyclists talking about some tunnels being so dark that they end up falling due to the disorientation! Matthew has a bright headlight that can guide us back, I have no idea where mine went.
I ended up running into Matthew right on the other side of this tunnel.
There was a cool scrap metal and bicycle tire sculpture of a train to the side of the trail. This route parallels a railroad, which we loved at first but grew to loathe as we tried to fall asleep next to it.
We rode off into the sunset towards our tiny tent house, blissfully unaware of the train symphony that awaited us at night.
No Jobs, No Home, No Worries. A Shared Journey by Bike and Support SUV Across the U.S. 