Tenth Leg – Out of the Mountains and Into the Industrial Midwest

   
We rode the 60 miles from Connelsville to Pittsburgh today. It was mostly an uneventful ride, as the woods gave way to towns and vacation homes, which gave way to the gritty industrial landscape from McKeesport to Pittsburgh. For the fist time, the sun shone most of the day. Justin set a fast pace, and my knees hurt more towards the end of today’s sixty mile ride than they did on the seventy-three mile ride yesterday. I think that’s because we hit some short, steep hills for the first time since starting the C&O Canal – and because of the quick pace.

   
Pittsburgh marks the end of the first phase of this trip. It’s the end of our family vacation with our son; Robin and Justin will be driving back east early in the morning. I have finished a week of daily long rides, and my legs and knees have not completely given out on me. I figured that if I was completely incapable of this trip, I’d probably know by the 0end of the first week. I am west of the Appalachians now – no more mountains to climb until I get to Wyoming – though I expect Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Nebraska will have some respectable hills to climb. I am going to have to pick up the pace when I get to the flatter part of the country. And there is good news – looks like the Cowboy Trail in Nebraska is mostly reopened after the big floods.