Today was another hilly day. In the morning there were also a lot of dump trucks and semis. We thought that at some point between State College and Pittsburgh, the hills would start being more down than up, but they still don't ever seem to stop. Lunch was at the top of a big hill, I guess it's better there than having to climb right out of lunch. I rode with Kristen and Shane, I was surprised because they normally cruise further back, but we had fun going down all the hills. There was a Subway/gas station across from lunch, so as soon as I pulled in I knew I wanted to get that instead of whatever was left in the coolers. Turns out Chris had scored 20% off. I also got a soda and the caffeine really helped me stay energized for the rest of the day. I waited for the first group, but I wanted to take off by myself again because I didn't want to have to navigate downtown by myself. The road we took out of lunch turned highway-esque, and ended with a big climb. The rest of the day seemed to never end; when we got about 15 miles from the end, the road seemed to follow the top of a mountain and just kept going up and down. I was relieved when I finally got a glimpse of the skyline. The challenge just started then; we came through a kind of sketchy part of town, there were a lot of people and a lot of traffic and lights. I was glad to be myself because I could weave through all the cars to get to the end faster. Of course there was one huge hill to climb including a construction zone even once we got downtown.
We statyed at the Smithfield United Church of Christ, apparently the oldest congregation in all of Pittsburgh. Once again, our host was having flooding issues. Showers were on site, and someone went to make sure they had hot water the day before, and apparently didnt turn the water all the way off so the downstairs showers flooded. Rather than having 6 showers, we only had 2, but people came in staggered enough that there were no real problems. We walked down to the river to take a look, and then we went out to a bar to celebrate being done with 7 straight days of riding.
Having a day off has been great! I woke up around 3:30, and rather than having an hour.5 to keep sleeping, I had as long as I wanted! Most people got up around 9. We wandered off to find some famous breakfast place, but once we got there the line was really long, so rather than wait, we went to somewhere else. The owner seemed a little out there, but the food was good. We went back to the church to regroup before going to ride the incline. Turns out there are 2 inclines, so of course we walked to the wrong one first. We rode the second one, then walked to the park where the rivers meet. There's a regatta going on this weekend, so there were booths and things going on that we checked out for a while. I grabbed some Jimmy Johns and sweet tea for lunch which hit the spot. I guess Chipotle is donating us dinner tonight, and then we got a group rate to go to the Pirates/Phillies game!
Tomorrow is the 4th of July, and we hit OHIO! So excited to get back there. We're staying in Cadiz, which isn't the most exciting place, but it should be good. I'm hoping to maybe find some fireworks to pick up along the way. Who knows.
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