" Is this a thousand bikes? It looks like a million!"- child

Its been a long and eventful week full of a variety of diffrent sceneries. I wanted to keep my blog up to date but that is impossible because internet is a luxury. Here is what has happened on ride days 3 through 6.For the last few days we have been following the state bicycle route. It takes you through some very scenic locations in Pennsylvania. The ride out of Philly to Lancaster was one that really sticks out in my mind. The route took us through Amish country where we were able to see them working their farms using their horse pulled plows. The rolling hills became longer and longer as we approached Lancaster because we were getting closer and closer to the Allegheny mountains. The best part of Amish country was the goods they sold on the side of the road. I bought some strawberry jam for 2$ which I later paired with triscuits. It was worth every penny.From Lancaster we rode towards Chambersburgh, PA. The group I rode with was a lot of fun. It was pretty hot so we all pulled off into a creek and swam around in the freezing cold water, but then 15 minutes later we got kicked out because apparently its someones property. Its a shame that someone can own nature like that. We did manage to get some great pictures which L.Rock has to upload. After the creek we experienced our first real extended incline. It was really tough, but we stayed strong.We were slowly climbing towards the top of the hill when Seans chain broke! To top it all off when we were sitting there waiting for connor to come help fix it, the tornado sirens went off! We were all pretty frightened considering what had happened recently in other parts of the country.  After debating for a little, we decided we need to ride on until we see thunder. At the top of the hill a steep descent started to chambersburgh. About a mile down this great descent we pulled off because the rain was about to come down strong. We waited in a pizza place until Connor could pick us all up and drive us back the last 6 miles, because the storm was not going to pass until it was too dark to ride.In Chambersburg we were shuttled by the pastor to the YMCA to shower for free which was very nice of him. The church we stayed at was wonderfully historfic. It has a tall bell tower that Union soldiers used during the civil war as a look out post. The church itself was built in the 1800s and currently sports some very old stained glass windows which are very beautiful. The kind people at the church provided us with a hearty breakfast the next morning.The next day we rode to Everett, PA. On this day we experienced the most  intense climbing yet. We had to cross 3 relatively tall mountains. At the top of each climb we enjoyed some scenic overlooks of the sorrunding area. On the last climb of the day I experienced some Deja Vu. Just like the day before, one of my groupmates chains broke when he was pushing hard up the mountain. This time around I was able to get it fixed with minimal help from Connor. It was still a 45 minute set back. Time that was precious because we could see that once again the skies were going to rain down on us. We continued our way up the mountain when all of a sudden signs began appearing on the side of the road. They were mostly warning signs. They were warning about the long steep descent which was about to come. We were all so excited, it was like being on a rollercoaster as it makes its way up the chain. 3.....2.....1...blast off....we cruised down the road going ~40 mph without any sort of peddaling being necessary. Even if I wanted to peddle I dont have a high enough gear to propel myself faster.After this long descent I had a fire light under me like never before. I saw the storm clouds ahead and I was determined not to let the van drive us the last 6 miles again. We pushed it hard as far as we could but we saw thunder and decided to take shelter in someones porch as soon as possible. We didnt know whether or not we would see another house soon. A nice old man let us stay on his porch and sit the storm out. Eventually we saw Gabbrielles group riding in the rain and we flagged them down. We told them to take cover because we saw thunder. Not 15 minutes after they showed up did the most intense storm begin. Golf ball sized hail rained from the sky at a rate that is unimaginable. The old man said he had never witnessed a storm like this. Im sure there are videos of this on facebook already, but I have no links . It is definitly worth watching though. The hail hitting the roof was so loud that we were barely able to hear each other talking.The old mans neighbor was kind enough to drive us all to the church in his pickup truck. It was one of the many acts of kindness we have encountered on our adventure. At the church in Everett we were greeted with an endless food buffet that the kind ladies of the parish had prepared. Furthermore, we got to sleep on comfy benches, a nice change of pace from sleeping on the floor. In the morning they also served us a delicious breakfast that made me really not want to leave Everett. We needed that nutritous breakfast because we had to bike to mount pleasant that day , but ill write about that later.Thanks for reading