McMurray, PA to Steubenville, OH
I woke up this morning feeling well rested and ready to hit the road. Today was going to be a short and easy day which is just what I needed after the 75 miles yesterday. My friend Danny had already left for work by the time I woke up, but Danny’s wife Megan was there to make sure I had everything I needed while she also expertly looked after 3 kids.
I hit the road just before 9:00 AM and got back on to the Montour Trail. It was nice to be on a bike trail for most the day. Almost 35 of today’s 41 miles stayed on the bike trail which was free of cars and lights. I looked at the elevation map and there seemed to be a few hills. In reality, the trail had many bridges and tunnels which helped to flatted out the route. The most I saw was a 2% grade over the entire trail. About halfway in, the Montour Trail intersected with the Panhandle Trail. The Panhandle took me from Pennsylvania through a short stretch of West Virginia and into Ohio. After being in Pennsylvania for a week it was nice to finally cross a couple of state borders.
Today was the first day that I ran into some other bicycle tourers. I met one guy who was on day 1 of an 8-day trip from Steubenville, Ohio to Washington D.C. I also met another cyclist while I was checking in at today’s motel. We talked a bit about our routes for tomorrow and I got some great information that should help me out on tomorrow’s ride.
Tonight I am stopped in Steubenville, OH. There doesn’t seem to be much around here, but I’m hoping to find a bar to watch some basketball tonight. Tomorrow should be somewhere around 60 miles. I’ll work on mapping that out tonight with the goal of stopping at a state park to camp out at.
Ramblin' Dan: Bike Touring Adventures 