I love a challenge!

Hey! After three nights in Pennsylvania outside of my time Philadelphia, I’ve made it to Baltimore, Maryland. These past few days of biking through Pennsylvania have been the most challenging so far. One of many positive outcomes of this challenge is that what I used to think were hills, I now realize are super easy!

    

The ride out of Philadelphia was mostly along bike paths, the first stretch going along a river. Later, I passed over this river. I had a hard time getting off the bridge because they put a huge sign to say “Dismount Bicycles on Bridge” that didn’t leave quite enough room for my trailer to pass by! I had to detach it from my bike (easy) and then turn it on its side to squeeze it through (difficult). I ended up in Valley Forge, PA for the night where I saw this monument in honor of a famous Rhode Islander!

The following day I biked to a beautiful little town called Manheim, PA to stay with a couchsurfing couple. It was so nice that they shared their home and time with me! Interesting enough, they left yesterday (Tuesday) for Germany where they are beginning a two-month bike tour through Eastern Europe! When I get their blog info, I’ll post it here.

Since the trek from Valley Forge to Manheim the day before was really intense — steep, steep hills and about a 12-hour ride for me, I took it very easy the next day continuing en route, mostly traveling in the Susquehanna River valley (pictured above). There was cyclist-only camping south of Wrightsville, PA listed on my Adventure Cycling maps, so I called the number it listed and talked to Frank Harvey. I stayed on his farm for the night and had some time to reflect in the serenity of the hilltop fields.

     

I thought it was really awe-provoking the way the individual wheat plants formed a sea of wheat!
The next day, yesterday, I headed out from there with no destination for the night in mind, and I ended up going all the way to Baltimore, Maryland! Once I decided to go all the way, I got a burst of extra energy that pushed me there by 10:30pm. I spent the night in a youth hostel ($30! — Way more than I’m used to spending to sleep: $0), and I think I’ll stay here in the city for a few days couchsurfing.

Love and Laughter
-Nathan

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