More hills continued to stand in the way between us our next destination of New Castle, and some pretty unforgiving ones at that. We continued to power through them, and continue to support each other and build camaraderie as a team. As the route progressed, the mix of scenery gradually began to resemble less forested mountain and more flat farmland, still remaining a solid mix but being full of surprises and beautiful moments as well. We will keep on tackling these hills and furthering our mission.
Ride Overview
Mileage: 65.2
Elevation: +4790’/-5219’
General Direction: Proceed north through Clarion to westbound U.S. 322, cross the Clarion River, turn south onto Route 208 in Shippenville, proceed 16 miles to the town of Emlenton, cross the Allegheny River and continue to Clintonville and Grove City, at mile 49 turn south onto Route 315 and zigzag southwest on country roads to New Castle and the stayover.
Points of Interest: Clarion River, Allegheny River, many local ice cream stands (at least four on our route!)
Tales of the Trail
A chilly morning opened our ride today as we biked north out of Clarion, a town like many others we will see so briefly in passing even if we stay there overnight. As the town began to wake, we were already nearing the next one over. The hills for the first 48 or so miles were a bit daunting, but nothing that the team couldn’t handle. The crossing of the scenic Allegheny River was our low point, with an especially tough climb to follow topping at a 12% grade. We had our first cloud cover of the entire ride and continued to zip by houses, businesses, towns, and of course the mixture of forest and countryside.
Overlooking the Allegheny
Ice cream shops practically littered the route. Later on in the ride, a few riders stopped for some while the rest were tempted. Deer were a common sight too, one group even spotted a doe and fawn walking along the bank of the Allegheny. At mile 49, the smaller country roads began, and remain the bumpiest we have ever ridden on. Combine this with the smaller and more frequent hills, and we were basically in roller coaster territory. A road closure with five miles to go diverted us to a menacing surprise climb that topped out at 15%! Whatever energy we had left from the previous 60 was put into this climb, and everyone deployed their strategies for tackling it, whether it was cadence change, making a wave pattern, screaming, or just walking the bike.
We are staying at Christ Lutheran Church in New Castle tonight. Fun Fact: The pastor and our host, James Driskell, is a Coast Guard veteran and fellow cyclist! He, along with many volunteer parishioners (including the wonderful Karen who made us a delicious dinner and is making breakfast for us at 5 AM!) have taken great care of us and transported us to the YMCA for showers. We will be sleeping clean and well-fed tonight.
Cyclist’s Corner
Today’s Rider: Hanna Fei
How are you today? I’m doing pretty good. The hills today were tough but my teammates helped me to get through them and it was a good time.
What make and model of bicycle are you riding? A black Salsa Journeyer with blue accents.
What is your favorite aspect about the ride so far? Why is it your favorite? Spending time with my teammates. Downtime that we have together is always fun and we encourage each other and are really supportive in general.
How much cycling did you do before training for I4K specifically? I only cycled around campus with my commuter bike, mostly for class but occasionally I took some longer rides such as to Sidney Dairy Barn.
Is there anyone you are riding for today and would like to share a few words for? I’m riding for my grandpa who had prostate cancer. He was a very big inspiration in my life and even though he lived in China for all of it, we were very close.
Where on today’s route (generally or specific mile marker) was the most memorable for you? What happened? The last five miles. We were very tired of all of the hills and the last one was really steep so we all screamed while we climbed it which actually helped us get through it.
Anything you’d like to say to those cheering you on? Thank you for supporting me, it really means a lot and all that you’ve done helps get me through the harder parts of the ride especially, so I really appreciate you all for that.
Please visit the rider profiles page on the website to learn more about this year’s riders! :)
