The forecast for today was rain all day and temperature in the low 50s. Having dealt with similar weather twice already, I decided to sit this one out. I extended my stay in State College by one night and will pick this trip back up tomorrow. Today was used to plan some changes to my route which should make the rest of my time in Pennsylvania a bit easier. I also enjoyed resting my legs, finishing a book and watching some Netflix.
It has been difficult to plan out the Pennsylvania section of this trip. Pennsylvania has several lettered bike routes that cross the state. I started on the V route (blue line) which intersected with the G route (red line) just outside of State College. My original plan was to stay on the G route until it hit the S route (gray line) which would take me into Pittsburgh. The issue is that it is generally unclear where camping, motels, restaurants, or other important things may be along the way. Yesterday’s trip from Lewisburg to State College included a 40 mile stretch with no food, water, or place to stop. I’d prefer to be passing through a town at least once every 20 miles, that way I know I am at most 10 miles away from civilization at any time. Going forward it looks like parts of these routes change to gravel bike path which is not ideal for this trip and they were also not the most direct way to get to Pittsburgh.
If you’ve read the “Route” section of this blog you know that I purchased a map set for this trip. I won’t actually make it to an area that I have a bike map for until I hit Kentucky. That means I’ll be blazing my own trail until then. This makes it a bit more difficult, but I’m hoping once I make it to the mapped part of my trip things will become a lot easier. I’ve spent each night reevaluating my route, trying to find the best way to move westward that includes food and water stops along the way, a place to stay at my end point and minimizes elevation gain. Easier said than done, but I think I’ve got the optimal route to Pittsburgh planned out and hope to get there by Sunday.
Ramblin' Dan: Bike Touring Adventures 
But what did you eat today?
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We assume you are not foaming at the mouth but did you purchase mace yet?!
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Ha. No foam. Healing well actually. I don’t have mace yet, but I’ve been on the lookout. I’m not really sure where one buys mace.
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Dan – Found this tonight thanks to Cassisi and I’m very excited to follow your journey. If you should need legal counsel along the way…I’d like to volunteer my services as the official Ramblin’ Dan legal counsel. As far as I could tell you’ve already got a great case against the owner of those dogs!!!!!
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Thanks. Yeah I was looking at my route for tomorrow and noticed I’d be going right through St. Francis where I new Cassisi went to school. In hindsight I should have taken note of the address of the house the dogs ran out from, but I was a bit distracted at the time. I can definitely pick the dogs out of a lineup though if you can arrange that.
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Your blog is my first cup of coffee read every morning. I’m enjoying your adventure, but fretted some about the dog bite. I have experience with unnecessary worrying over potential rabies transmission😉. You can buy mace at most sporting goods stores.
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I ended my day today by a Super Walmart. Found some mace there, so I should be better prepared if a dog gives chance again.
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