Back In the High(way) Life Again

In keeping with the trend of getting progressively closer to meeting my intended departure time, today I only missed the mark by a mere ten minutes. I was actually ready to leave on time but then decided to take a few photos of Tracy and Teresa’s yard. I’m a fan of both personal chicken coops and personal beehives – I mean, who doesn’t like the birds and the bees? Anyway, Tracy and Teresa have both.

Today’s goal was to reach Lewisburg, a very reasonable 110 km ride. That said, it ended up being unlike any ride I’ve had in quite a long time. Not in a bad way. Not necessarily in a good way either. Just different.

For the first time in a LONG time (at least it SEEMS like a long time) I spent much of the day on a highway. A real highway. Big trucks. Lots of cars. All travelling with a lot of speed. I actually kind of forgot what that was like. It definitely makes for easy riding from a navigation standpoint – not that navigation has been in any way an issue lately. It was definitely nice being on asphalt as it makes pedalling a lot easier than travelling on crushed gravel. The biggest adjustment wasn’t really in dealing with the traffic itself but from the noise. Highways are really noisy! Apparently you forget that when you spend so much time on trails.

However, before I found my way onto the highways I had to navigate my way through and out of Harrisburg. Some of that trek was on trails, some of it was on city streets. Either way, it was pretty slow going for reasons I’m not really sure. Anyway, it took an hour to go the first 14 km. An HOUR. 14 km. Totally unacceptable. Fortunately, my average speed for the remaining four hours of the ride was a much more respectable 24 km/h.

Other than the noise of the highway, there really isn’t much to report from today – although, I’m sure I’ll be able to ramble on for several more paragraphs. Sigh. Now I feel obligated to ramble on for several more paragraphs.

There were a few photo stops along the way, but not many. There were a few broken phones along the highway but, again, not many – and none were in anywhere near operational condition. There MAY have been a Burger King stop along the way where there MAY have been a Two for $6 Whopper Deal. And I may have eaten two of said whoppers. I probably could’ve eaten four. And by “probably” I mean “definitely”.

Fast forward a few hours and I arrived in Lewisburg. To say that finding my hosts’ house was easy would be a gross understatement as it was a simple matter of crossing the bridge and hanging a left and, voila, there I was.

My hosts tonight are Ben and Janet (along with Rodeo and Peaches, two Rhodesian Ridgebacks). I met the latter three first and met Ben shortly thereafter. In what has become typical (but not taken for granted) for Warm Showers, they were all very welcoming and generous.

The plan for the night was to set up camp in their backyard with a nice view of the river and bridge (which I had just crossed moments earlier). Rodeo and Peaches were happy to supervise my tent setting up technique. I, of course, didn’t mind. Rhodesian Ridgebacks are beautiful, and these two were super friendly.

We enjoyed a fantastic dinner on their covered porch and later that evening I wandered downtown as per Ben’s suggestion. Lewisburg is a small town of about 6,000 people and downtown is a handful of blocks from Ben and Janet’s home. According to Ben and Janet, its residents can be a bit precious about their university town (it’s home to Bucknell University) and that’s reflected in the downtown with all the independent shops. I have to say I was a big fan of the movie theatre with the big marquee sign. I’ve always liked that look.

Anyway, I returned from downtown and settled into my tent for the night. It’s kind of fitting that tonight is my first night in a tent in quite a while … just like riding on highways earlier in the day. All in all, it was another great day on the road.

Oh, and apparently rambling on for several more paragraphs wasn’t as daunting as I first thought.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 110.39 km
Ride time: 4:55:29
Average speed: 22.41 km/h
Maximum speed: 45.38 km/h