Day 7: 58 Miles

Lewisburg, PA to State College, PA

Today I woke up from what was the worst night of sleep I’ve had on this trip so far. I guess that’s what I get for sleeping in a frat house.

I had​ contacted the current president of Chi Phi at Bucknell, where I was a member, and he let me know there would be a room upstairs with a couch for me. To those members of Chi Phi reading this, the old brotherhood room is now a lounge area with a door that closes to the lodge. This is usually a great spot to crash for a night because noise is isolated to the party area in the basement downstairs. It seems the new thing at Chi Phi is to play beer pong upstairs in the carpeted lodge area which kept the space right outside my door noisy until well after 2:00 AM. The guys in the fraternity were otherwise very friendly and I had some good conversations with many of them. It was great to go back to that house where I no longer know anyone and still bond immediately over the fraternity we have in common.

Getting ready to leave this morning was a little slow due to my tiredness and the destruction in the house. A Costco sized bag of fruit loops had been crushed to a fine dust in the bathroom making it look like a color run had taken place.

I got on my bike around 10:00 AM knowing I had a massive hill to climb today. The first 10 miles were relatively easy. I stopped at that point to grab some food from a general store. It was the last stop for food along my route for the next 40 miles. I grabbed a turkey sandwich and Snickers bar to have for lunch at the top of the climb and immediately ate a large peach turnover to follow up the bagel with cream cheese I had for breakfast.

The next 10 miles were uphill with no real break. I’d done this climb many times when I was at Bucknell and remembered it being hard. I went slow and steady and actually made it up with ease. I guess the last few days have gotten me in slightly better shape.

R.B. Winter State Park marks the top of the climb. Once there, I grabbed a picnic table by the beach area and took a food break. The rest of today’s route trended down hill and was much easier. I started up again and the scenery quickly changed from hill climbing through the woods to open farm area. The next 30 miles would all look the same.

I arrived in State College around 3:30 and checked in at another motel. I feel like an asshole dragging a tent, sleeping bag, and other camping equipment on my bike given I haven’t used them yet. I promise the camping will come, but for now I’m just trying to get the mileage in each day and pick the best place to stop each night. This motel was a deal too. $54 got me a suite with king size bed, 2 TVs, free breakfast and a deep jetted tub, which I tried out immediately. Money well spent.

As I write this I’m walking into town to grab some dinner and trying to plan a shorter day for tomorrow to give my legs some rest. There is rain in the forecast the next few days, so I need to figure out how to navigate that as well.