Day 40:

Day off in Sandusky. I didn't do a thing. Just lazied around and read a book. I also fixed up a new helmet for "The Bear" because his original one got broken.

Day 41:

I was ready to ride this morning. I think that I’m eager to wrap up this ride, so I was eager to get started.

Ohio has been very pleasant to ride through.

Except maybe for Cleveland. That was big city, and not real conducive to bikes. We stopped by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I did not tour the place, because I would have to leave my bike on the streets, and I had my laptop computer in one of the panniers. It wouldn’t have been safe. Too bad, I would have enjoyed spending a few hours there.

Arrived in Chargin Fails, Ohio.

Day 42:

We have reached the foothills of the Appalachians. The roads are starting to have a lot of excessively steep hills. What a challenge. Today, we reached Canfield, Ohio.

Day 43:

The roads continue to get steeper and steeper hills, and the riding gets to be harder. Road to Washington, PA.

Day 44: Today had the most ups and downs that I have ever seen.

Up and down on grades that exceed 12%. I ended up being so tired that I walked my bike up several of the hills today. This is the first time that I have walked my bike up a hill since the first week of the ride.

Today has to be the hardest day of the ride so far.

Rode on "Rails for Trails". These are abandoned railways that are turned into bike paths. I always thought that they would lack challenge because they are level or of minimal grade because they are on railway beds. But they were a welcome change from the killer hills from the first part of the day. We arrived in Confluence, PA

Day 45:

This was a day off. There was very little planned, so everyone had to find their own tasks. It turned out to be a wonderful day. People found lots to do. There was white-water rafting, swimming, biking on trails and more. One of the townsfolk arranged for a live band that played in the evening. The camp was hopping.

I wanted to go to the Frank Lloyd Wright "Fallingwater" house. I got to camp too late the day before, and all the tours were filled. The camp services people said that Fallingwater could only accommodate two tours, and couldn’t get anymore people in.

So I decided to ride my bike there, a 20 mile ride, but once I started over the hills, I got tired and turned back after a few miles. These were very steep hills that I had to push the bike up because I could not ride up them.

I stopped in for an ice-cream, and got to talking to Jack, the owner of the ice-cream shop who said, "Hey, I’ll drive you there. I have a van, I can take five people." So I went back to camp, got four more people, and we all went to Fallingwater.

Fallingwater is perhaps Frank Lloyd Wright’s most famous house. It was featured on the cover of Time magazine back in the late 30’s. It is an exquisitely designed structure, built to blend into the environment. Frank Lloyd Wright even designed the furniture. He has most of the furniture built in because it is an integral part of the whole design, and he didn’t believe people should "mess with his design" by changing the furniture or its locations. The house is a must to see.

After seeing the house, Jack took us to several other sites, then treated us to complimentary ice-cream. All in all, it was the best day off of the whole ride.

Day 46:

We Crossed the Mason Dixon line today, and entered Maryland, the twelfth state on this ride.

I was apprehensive about today’s ride because of the steep hills experienced on Day 44, but the grades were not quite as bad, and my energy level was better so I pedaled up all the hills.

We had a talent show tonight. We have some great talent in the group. Several song-writers/singers, some very good. A few skits and poems, all good, and all bringing to our attention to the fact that the ride is coming to an end. It will be a bitter-sweet event. Most of us are ready to go home to family and our normal lives, but we also leave this journey and the friends we have made on the way.

Day 47:

We are now in Frederick Maryland, just 50 miles from D.C. This day was slated to be the hardest day of the ride. It was a difficult day, but I haven’t had to walk the bike even once. I rode over three Appalachians mountains and a couple of other minor mountains. I’d agree that today was hard, but day 44 was harder for me. The up parts of the ride totaled to about 6,000 foot, so this was the day of the most climbing.

Day 48:

I feel a little sore today from the hill climbing effort from yesterday. It’s obvious that if I spend a week climbing around these mountains, I’d be able to read a new high of bicycling. I’m glad today is the last day.

Today was the victory ride into D.C., the last 52 miles of the ride. We made it.

3,322 miles completed, I now have 5,246 miles on my bike, and it’s hardly over a year old.

And now, I can rest for more than one day!