Day 45 (8/8) Bedford, PA to Gettysburg, PA

I was too hot and anxious to get the day over with to take any pictures today. It's too bad, because it really was beautiful scenery today. Pennsylvania is a gorgeous state!

104.30 miles
12.5 mph average

I left camp last with Floyd (except for Bill and Jeff who went out for a real breakfast). I can't seem to get up anymore (not that I was ever good at it). I am one of the last of camp everyday lately. We followed to Pennsylvania Bike Route "S" the entire day today (except the last 10 miles). The roads it took us on were beautiful and they sure were hilly! The hills were not as dreadful as they were talked up to be, there were a lot of them, but none of them were that overly steep, it was just very slow going all day long. What made today especially difficult was having to ride 104 miles of continuous hills in 100 degree weather. The heat was the real challenge. It was HOT!! My bike was in a rain shower of sweat all day long! I was gulping down water like crazy. I had a nice break at a little campground store with Jodi. We sat and relaxed in Adirondack chairs while I downed two Arizona iced teas very quickly and had a snack. I had a bagel at the Starbucks at our first water stop too. By the time I got to our check point I was ravenous for some reason and ate most of the snacks in my bag. I'm usually not hungry when it's this hot, but I'm also not usually riding 100 miles of hills either. Eventually, I did it, I arrived in Gettysburg at the middle school where we were camping for our rest day. The day was over and I did it and really wasn't that bad, just long and slow. Bob Jones' CPA office came to surprise him. All of the women from his office were there and had lots of baked goods and cold drinks for us all. He was so surprised to see them - it was really nice. The middle school's boiler was broken when we got there and there was no hot water for showers. I was very happy to be spending my rest day in a hotel. Jodi and I went in on a room for both nights. While I was waiting for Jodi to get in(who was having difficulty with the extreme heat), I was able to set out my tent and sleeping bag and get them completely dry and I was able to clean my bike. I then packed up what I needed for the hotel and Cathy (our crew and married to Bill - a rider) graciously drove us to the hotel because they were staying there too. What a help that was!! Thanks so much Cathy - you're wonderful! Time to begin my day and evening of pure relaxation in luxury and start to tackle to fact that we only have 2 more short days of riding. This transition back to everyday life is going to be rough and the reality of it hasn't really hit yet. The end is bitter sweet. My body is tired, but I'm not really ready for this amazing experience in this wonderful community that we have become to end.