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Day 29 - May 24 - HD Ramble 'Round the Colonies
Along the C & O Canal further West in Maryland, from mile marker 140.9 to the Western MD Terminus (mm 184.5)
Whew! What a long and challenging day!
After a rather skimpy continental breakfast at the motel, we got on the I-70 and drove from Williamsport past Hancock to the turnoff for Fifteenmile Creek. Charlotte and I offloaded our bikes and day gear, while J&M were in charge of the van today. We set a rendezvous at the Western Terminus of the C&O.
We think that Fifteenmile Creek was so named because it is 15 miles E of the famed PawPaw Tunnel (mm 156). The tunnel is 3,118 ft long) and was hewn through solid rock. It was the last major obstacle in the completion of the canal, in 1850. Charlotte & I could have used headlamps as we walked our bikes through.
Although the riding is fairly easy, for me it was a tiring day, but we passed out many ride brochures. Even met a woman near the PawPaw Tunnel whose relative, after being a widow for 9 years, married a man who developed late onset HD and died about 1 1/2 years later.
It was so interesting to see how different the canal is in different places. Sometimes stagnant, sometimes lily-pad covered, sometimes clear water, sometimes trees growing in it, sometimes cut manicured grass - every possible combination. Today we saw numerous turtles and a few snakes; Charlotte even ran over one, thinking it was a stick!
Tonight the Trinity Lutheran Church in Cumberland is hosting us in the church. The Lutherans are always so gracious and hospitable; this church is no exception. It is one of many spired churches in Cumberland, which we saw in the distance as we rode the last mile of the towpath.
J&M went to the supermarket then out to a Chinese dinner, and Charlotte and I remained at the church, working on E-mails and tidying up.

Miles:
J&M - 38
C&M - 44.5
Road Change none
Six more days of riding, as Convention nears,
With love from the Ramblers 4,
Marie Nemec
Charlotte Reicks
John & Marie Elsner
PS - Is anyone else planning to join us riding from Hebron OH to downtown Columbus on Thursday, May 30? Let me know!

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Day 30 - May 25 - HD Ramble "Round the Colonies
Cumberland MD - Uniontown PA
Without doubt, the hilliest day yet ...
After breakfast, we loaded up the van and drove a bit out of Cumberland. John and Marie started riding from there. I took Charlotte out away to Frostburg, where she started riding. I drove SAG today; as I have written before, I am a better SAG driver than rider on this ride.
Shopped for groceries before getting back on Hwy 40A. The original road was the first National Road, engineered by Albert Gallatin. It was begun in 1811 and completed in 1818, from Cumberland MD to Wheeling WV. Along the road, there were little obelisk shaped markers indicating the distance to Wheeling.
Up to the top of many summits: Big Savage Mtn. (elev. 2900), Meadow Mtn. (elev. 2900), then lunch at the summit of Negro Mtn. (elev. 2850). We crested the Alleghenies at Winding Rock (elev. 2601).
A rendezvous was set up for Chalk Hill, about 8 miles South of Uniontown. We made contact with Wanda Wilson ("niftygram") who will be our SAG van driver from here to Columbus. Waited for Charlotte and J&M to get there; Charlotte arrived, having ridden 42 miles. J&M seemed a bit late in getting there, so I drove back about 4 1/2 miles, and found them waiting alongside the road, in a parking lot.
Loaded their bikes, then John drove us back to Chalk Hill, where we loaded Charlotte's bike. Now we are 5 "Ramblers" for the rest of the trip.
Drove up a steep hill and down about 3 1/2 miles of hill into Uniontown. Wanda guided us to the Christ Methodist Church, and its pastor "Ken." He single-handedly had prepared spaghetti w/meatballs, salad, and a carrot cake. Everything was great, and we enjoyed talking with Ken and his son Trevor, who is graduating from high school soon. Ken is a living example of servant hood in ministry.
The church is huge, so we were able to spread out and have "our own space." I enjoyed sleeping on a twin mattress on the floor.

Miles:
J&M - 49
Charlotte - 42
Road Change: none
With love from "the keystone state,"
Marie Nemec
Charlotte Reicks
John & Marie Elsner
Wanda Wilson

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Day 31 - May 26 - HD Ramble 'Round the Colonies
Ken cooked us a delicious sourdough pancake and ham breakfast before we took off to drive to the Youghiogheny (pronounced Yawk-uh-gain-ee) River Trail. It is part of the Great Allegheny Passage along the river, another rail-trail built on the gentle grade of an old railroad line.
We started in Connellsville, Charlotte and me first, then awhile later J&M. The trail surface was much better than the C&O towpath surface; much finer grade rock. Passed though many small towns, so quaint, seeming so far removed from the traffic and business of Western PA.
All 5 Ramblers had lunch together at Cedar Creek Park. Then another staggered start. The section of trail from there to West Newton had many wet/muddy areas, necessitating riding off the trail on adjoining grass. But after West Newton, it was fine again.
Everyone met in Little Boston, and we drove over the river to Kane Regional Hospital, to visit Shelly Yurkovich, Wanda's granddaughter who has been there (with juvenile HD) for two years. Shelly's half of the room was decorated with as many pictures of Elvis Presley as I have ever seen in one place! Shelly seemed appreciative of the visit. Some may remember her from Denver and Wash. DC.
Drove to a shopping center where Tony Polito met us, and lead us to Bethel Hills, where he and his wife Peggy live. Peggy is the Social Worker for the Western PA Chapter of HDSA.
We felt very much at home, especially when I went to the basement to run a load of wash, and found that Peggy has a white 1977 vintage Maytag washer & dryer of the same vintage as ours! (Lelia and Joy, how about that?)
Many folks from the chapter were here: Bill & Pam Averman, Alex Andres (who 10 years ago ran from Pittsburgh to Wash. DC to create awareness for HD), Rose and her Phd son Lou, and later Laura. Great food and conversation.

Miles: 40
Road Change - none
With only four more days of riding before Convention,
The Ramblers 5
Marie Nemec
Charlotte Reicks
John & Marie Elsner
Wanda Wilson

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Day 32 - May 27 - HD Ramble 'Round the Colonies
Pittsburgh PA - Steubenville OH See three states!
Tony Polito led us out of Bethel Park (yesterday, in error I called it Bethel Hills) to South Fayette.
We unloaded the bikes. John & Marie are riding solo today, on a route of their design, and Charlotte, Wanda, and I did a route outlined by Tony.
The ride started with a 1-mile steady uphill, but with fresh legs, I made it without a problem. The countryside was so rural, so verdant, and somewhat hilly. Met a woman driving a John Deere Gator with her nieces and nephew in the back.
Turned onto Hwy 18 at 13 miles. It was a great road which allowed for 25-29 mile downhills, and by getting low and coasting, I could make it 2/3 of the way up the next one. Wanda warned us of two different dead deer in our path along the shoulder of the road; what an alert SAGger!
Had lunch 26.5 miles into the ride, at a picnic table alongside a small company on old Route 22. With it being Memorial Day weekend, no one was working, and we enjoyed the shade and solitude.
Temps have really increased; low 80's today. Continued riding into the "panhandle" of West Virginia, into Wierton. It was only about 7 miles across this area, sandwiched between Pennsylvania and Ohio. This area is called the Tri-State area. In the time of less than an hour, we rode in THREE states!
Crossed over into Ohio, but stopped riding and loaded up the bikes when we ended up on something like a freeway.
We didn't have directions to St. Mark's Church, but I prayed, and then sensed where we should go. Ended up going in a Phar/Mor store, asking Customer Service Rep about "Lover's Lane" (yes, the church is on Lover's Lane). He had no idea, but a customer came over to us, and said he lived on Lover's Lane, so we followed him (maybe a mile). He turned L, but had told us to turn R. Found the church with no problem!
Rev. Ken and Cynthia Greenwald let us shower in their parsonage. Pastor and Charlotte drove over to pick up John & Marie, who are staying in the Holiday Inn. We were served a true Memorial Day meal: BBQ chicken, baked beans, tossed salad, potato salad, and watermelon. Cynthia has a fabulous doll collection on display, maybe 300. This year, Cynthia and Pastor Ken took in a young woman foreign exchange student from Venezuela. Andrea will return to her country in about three weeks. After dinner and visiting, Pastor and Charlotte took J&M back to the motel.
Sleeping in the lovely basement of the St. Mark's Lutheran Church.

Miles:
C&M 37.2
J&M 40 some
Road Change: 91 cents
Cumulative: $38.37
Just three more days of riding ... Is anyone bringing his/her bike to ride some of the last day with us? If so, E-mail me and let me know!
We hope to arrive at the Hyatt Regency about 3-3:30 pm, before the Bar on 2 party. It'd be great if we were greeted by some of you!
With love from the road,
The Ramblers 5
Marie Nemec
John & Marie Elsner
Charlotte Reicks
Wanda Wilson

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Day 33 - May 28 - HD Ramble 'Round the Colonies
The day that the rain came down ...
Steubenville - Cambridge OH
The plans for an early start on the 60-some mile ride didn't materialize, as it was sprinkling, then RAINING. Left the church about 8:00 am, and went to the motel where John & Marie were staying. They needed their raincoats.
Charlotte and I wanted to ride, but J&M wanted to wait until then second wave of rain had passed through. So each group did what they wanted; Wanda came with us ladies.
We only were riding for less than 3 miles when the rain started up again. We loaded the bikes, and drove further down the road. When the second rainstorm had passed, we called J&M to find out what they were doing. They were getting ready to ride too.
C&M followed the Hwy. 22A where we could, but eventually it petered out, and we had to ride on the Hwy 22 freeway. We stopped in Cadiz for lunch; found out that Cadiz was the hometown of Clark Gable of Rhett in "Gone with the Wind" fame. (I might add something I didn't know yesterday about Steubenville; it's the hometown of Dean Martin of the "Rat Pack." Some of the street names in Steubenville reflected the "Hollywood" flavor: Sunset Blvd, Wilshire, and Hollywood to name a few.)
Since C&M arrived earlier for lunch, we were done earlier. We ride slower than J&M, so we weren't there too long together before we took off to ride some more. J&M never quite caught up with us before another major rainstorm. C&M loaded up their bikes again. J&M were plugging along uphill, but not ready to call it a day quite yet. We were told to go out ahead 2 miles, and wait, but when it really started to rain, we went back, and found J&M under the protective eaves of a little white Presbyterian church. When the rain subsided, they came out, John loaded their bikes up onto the roof of the van. Wanda very skillfully drove us another 30 some miles, mostly on Hwy 22, still rainy and wet.
Dropped J&M off at the Best Western Motel, near then drove into downtown Cambridge to Christ Lutheran Church. Pastor Dawn Donato had agreed to let us stay in the church.
Got situated, got pizza from a nearby restaurant, and ate it with salad, all in the church basement.
Only two more days riding. I'm so anxious to see old friends.

Miles:
C&M 26
J&M 30 some
Road Change: none
With love from beautiful Ohio,
The Ramblers 5
Marie Nemec
Charlotte Reicks
John & Marie Elsner
Wanda Wilson

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Day 34 - May 29 - HD Ramble 'Round the Colonies

Cambridge - Hebron OH
Blue skies greeted us, and Charlotte & I were able to get started riding early (7:30 am). Wanda called J&M and let them know that we were "on the road again."
We followed Hwys 22/40 all the way to Zanesville. This is part of "The National Road," which goes from Cumberland MD to Vandalia IL. There was bridge repair on the famous Y shaped bridge, over the Muskingum and Licking Rivers in Zanesville. It's the only bridge in the U.S. with three ends. Because of the repairs, we had to detour.
We ended up SAGging around the detour, even onto the I-70 for a while. Found a good place to eat lunch (picnic table with umbrella) in front of a country store.
Continued to ride another 5 miles or so, up and down hills. I was getting very tired and hot in the humid weather, so I decided to SAG with Wanda while Charlotte continued to ride. John and Marie were ahead of us. They arrived at the motel safely, but John had scuffed a tire on his bike, and he called to tell Wanda that he wanted a spare tire brought to him right away. We had to drive almost 20 miles into Hebron to bring the tire, and then drove back to find Charlotte. We had to bring her raincoat to finish the ride, as she was about 2 miles from Hebron when a rain shower came through.
Wanda, Charlotte and I stayed at the Methodist church in Hebron, just 3/4 mile from the motel. Charlotte and I were able to shower at the home of a couple that are church members. Boy, that shower felt great, since we weren't able to shower last night.
Charlotte had gotten tar on her bike tires while she was riding through a repair area, so Wanda and I went to find some bug and tar remover, and also pick up a few groceries. Also picked up some take-out food from Wendy's.
Settled in for the evening after we cleaned out the interior of the van a little, and organized the remaining Ramble T-shirts.

Miles -
Charlotte, John and Marie - 48
Marie N - 30
Road Change: none

With anticipation and hope, with one more day, on the National Road,
The Ramblers 5
Marie Nemec
John & Marie Elsner
Charlotte Reicks
Wanda Wilson

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Day 35 - May 30 - HD Ramble 'Round the Colonies

Hebron to Columbus OH
Packed up the van, and Wanda drove to the motel while Charlotte and I rode.
Memories flooded my mind, seeing Scott Springer (my riding partner for Bike For The Cure 2000) in the parking lot. Hadn't seen Scott in almost two years! He drove up from Cincinnati to ride the last day of the Ramble. It was also special to meet Shannon Pillis, Pat's teen-aged daughter, who also wanted to ride with us. Pat and Shannon had driven from Saranac Lake NY.
John and Marie remained behind while Scott, Shannon, Charlotte, and I started riding west on Hwy 40. For the first 6-7 miles, I rode first, talking to Scott, catching up on the latest with him, and laughing over incidents from Bike For The Cure 2000. Shannon found she needed to ride faster, so next she rode faster with Scott.
John & Marie came along, catching up with the group, and Shannon rode with them. She is a strong rider, with virtually no experience doing long distance riding!
In Pataskala, we stopped at a Christian bookstore. The owner, Doreece, came out and said a prayer with us. That was awesome!
We were fortunate to have TWO SAG vans drivers with us today, Wanda and Pat. They bought some lunch supplies, and found a great park to which we rode. That was in Reynoldsville.
From there into Columbus rural Ohio disappeared, as it became more and more urban. Wanda led us in, guiding us at each turn. Pat went head to the Hotel to gather folks to welcome us.
The last turn was onto High Street. I was asked to lead the parade of 6 riders as we advanced with traffic block by block to the Hyatt Regency. Turned right and up to the entrance of the Hotel, where Barbara Boyle, Bill Marsch, and many others were there to greet us. That was a welcome first!
Got the bikes up to the rooms, and emptied out most of the gear. Parked the van in a lot for $8/24 hrs instead of the hotel rate of $21/24 hrs. Thanks to Dave H. for accompanying me.
Went to the Hunt-Dis list party at the Big Bar on 2. Hugs and greetings from many "old" friends from previous conventions. Ron arrived one hour later than expected, due to a delay in Denver.
We enjoyed the "sing along with Dave" for a while. Pat Pillis asked me to go with her to take Scott out to where his Jetta was parked. He needed to drive back to Cincinnati. So I drove out with Scott and her, and navigated her back to the hotel.
Hard to believe this year's ride has come to an end. It was a different sort of ride. It will take me awhile to process it all.
Now on to Phase 2 - enjoying the Convention. I'll still send Daily Messages for you all.

Miles: 33.8
Road Change: 44 cents
Cumulative: $38.81
Totals in subsequent E-mails.

Thanks to all who supported the ride, through prayers, accommodations, buying a T-shirt, gathering "Road Change," being a T-shirt sponsor, or a donation. Looks like we will at least top $10,000 (which will be matched). It's not too late to contribute. Make check payable to "HDSA" and mail to:
Pat Pillis
HD Ramble 'Round the Colonies
3 Covey Lane
Saranac Lake, NY 12983

With love from the Buckeye State,
The Ramblers
Marie Nemec
John & Marie Elsner
Charlotte Reicks
Scott Springer
Shannon Pillis