MootPoint
New Member
In short, the Quest got a lot of attention! "Is this a recumbent?" What kind of bike is this?" and "How did you do on that ______ today?"
This was my first sojourn, and almost everyone else was a sixth- or eighth-timer. They all assured me that previous Sojourns were "not this hard!" We had an unprecedented heat-wave (near 100 deg. two days in a row) and I did a lot of walking!
1. On a hardpack or gravel trail, you put some of your spinning energy into displacing earth -- the change to smooth pavement is a miraculous sense of power and freedom. Still, Western Pennsylvania is hilly and steep (think Johnstown Flood and "Horseshoe Curve") so, even on pavement, there was a lot of walking up hills.
2. I definitely got better. I could aim myself through those narrow gates; got myself going on an incline and I could ride uphill at 5 mph, but not any slower. If there was *anything* on the roadway -- pebbles, irregular pavement, chipseal -- I couldn't do that much. So, it was just me and Sisyphus out there . . .
3. Three of the day-rides took us into single-track, mountain-bike territory, at least part of the day. On two occasions, we had to carry our bikes up flights of stairs and switchbacks (can't use the tunnels the railroads built). "So, how's that cross-training working for you?" someone asked.
4. Every bolt gets loose.
Still: On day 6, I wasn't complaining about my butt, or my wrists, or my neck. I could pedal until my legs burned, and then rest and recover quickly. Everyone thought that being able to whip the seat pads off and keep them in my tent overnight was the just the best.
Next year, there's talk of an 8-day Pittsburgh to Washington DC (and then there's the Katy Trail . . .)
Claudia
This was my first sojourn, and almost everyone else was a sixth- or eighth-timer. They all assured me that previous Sojourns were "not this hard!" We had an unprecedented heat-wave (near 100 deg. two days in a row) and I did a lot of walking!
1. On a hardpack or gravel trail, you put some of your spinning energy into displacing earth -- the change to smooth pavement is a miraculous sense of power and freedom. Still, Western Pennsylvania is hilly and steep (think Johnstown Flood and "Horseshoe Curve") so, even on pavement, there was a lot of walking up hills.
2. I definitely got better. I could aim myself through those narrow gates; got myself going on an incline and I could ride uphill at 5 mph, but not any slower. If there was *anything* on the roadway -- pebbles, irregular pavement, chipseal -- I couldn't do that much. So, it was just me and Sisyphus out there . . .
3. Three of the day-rides took us into single-track, mountain-bike territory, at least part of the day. On two occasions, we had to carry our bikes up flights of stairs and switchbacks (can't use the tunnels the railroads built). "So, how's that cross-training working for you?" someone asked.
4. Every bolt gets loose.
Still: On day 6, I wasn't complaining about my butt, or my wrists, or my neck. I could pedal until my legs burned, and then rest and recover quickly. Everyone thought that being able to whip the seat pads off and keep them in my tent overnight was the just the best.
Next year, there's talk of an 8-day Pittsburgh to Washington DC (and then there's the Katy Trail . . .)
Claudia
