We felt like we needed a short day to give our legs a break from all of yesterday's climbing, so we set our sights on French Creek State Park near Geigertown, PA, about 40 miles away. And for the first couple of hours, things were going really well. Then it got even better.
The route sheets took us through Reamstown, but not on the main drag. We needed to stop for some food supplies, so we jumped onto the main road through town. Seeing as it was near lunch, and the Silk City Diner was right in front of us, we decided to stop.
Turns out, the company that made the original dining cars also made the car that we dined in--and the manufacturer named it the Silk City Diner. We sat right underneath the placque!
We headed down the road to pick up groceries at the local Weaver Market, where everyone was interested in our trip and our rigs. Takes longer to check out and get going that way.
I'd been having some problems with my B.O.B. Trailer tire, and as we headed down the hill past the market, it blew out completely. This is the original tire, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It's been on the BOB for about 8 years now . . .
Anyway, we pulled off to a side street and were trying to figure out just what to do, when Sandy stopped by. She thought we might be lost, but when she saw that we had bigger problems, she jumped into action.
There are a lot of bike shops in the general area, but a number of them follow the Mennonite tradition of closing on Wednesdays. (yep, today's Wednesday) But with Sandy's yellow pages, we found a shop that was open and had a replacement tire.
Sandy took Matthew, the tire and rim, while I waited with the bikes. I had a great spot under a tree, on a beautiful day in Pennsylvania. How lucky can a girl get?
It didn't take long for Sandy and Matthew to return with a new tire, and we were ready to go in short order. We figured we had about 25 miles to the State Park, so we thanked Sandy (and if you're reading this, thanks again!) and set out on our way.
There were some challenging hills left in the day, the last one being the 2-mile climb to the campsites at the park (I'm pretty sure that none of these tent sites will ever flood). From Lake Hopewell to the campsite entrance, we climbed 400 feet in less than a mile. It's a great park, and encompasses both Hopewell Lake and Scotts Run Lake, as well as the Hopewell Furnace National Historic site.
Dinner in camp tonight was Mexican Chicken and Rice--This one ranks up there with the Turkey Tetrazzini as our favorites. Matthew made a small fire for us tonight--it's not as cold as the last few nights, and we're both ready to hit the mats tonight.
I'm looking forward to starting another day with a long downhill. Tomorrow we head for Norristown, and hope to spend some time at the library uploading more pix. We also are trying to map out our route over the holiday weekend--and cross ouur fingers for an available room or campsite.
2 comments:
Hi glad I could help you all out with that flat. I am afraid you could have been in big trouble with today being Wednesday. For your readers who might not realize shops that are owned by strict mennonites will either be totally closed on Wednesday or close at 5 pm. This is because they have church on Wednesday nights. Also, tomorrow is Ascension Day so the mennonite shops will close early then or be totally closed the whole day. So I am glad I could help and we found a tire that worked.
Sometimes when we ride in cars we don't actually stop to look at what is going on around us we are just in a hurry to get from point A to point B. Glad I was able to help. Best wishes for the rest of your trip.
I guess you mean HopeLAND, not HopeWELL, which is some distance west of where you were today.
Kudos to the good Samaritan Sandy! It is great to hear of such kindness.
Love, Dad
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