Day 6 Erie PA to Hamburg NY – 79 miles (week 6)

By chuckhardestyJune 23, 2012

Good evening everyone,

ll I can say is that today was an absolute beautiful day!. For most of the day, we rode along the coast of Lake Erie and passed a lot of farms and vineyards. The weather cool off from the overnight rains, the road conditions were very good with a wide shoulder and the traffic was light. We did a little climbing but the grades were gentle. That was a good thing since I am nursing a sore leg and the omnipresent saddle sores. I did take a few good pictures and we crossed another state line. The bulk go our remaining time and miles will be in NY state. Not including the last fraction we have only 6 more full days of cycling.

Since my leg was ailing, I asked to leave with the early group and was granted permission. I rode with Larry, my rockstar roommate for the day. He had a very good ride and came in ahead of a lot of the other riders. he was thrilled and so was I. He is 70 and hurts every day. I admire his spunk (his nickname is “Spunky” and his determination.His spirits are high tonight and I will probably ride with him tomorrow as well. It is a longer day and a lot more climbing.

A lot of our group, has been saying how much they look forward to the end go this ride. I do as well but also am very aware that this will be a defining moment in many of our lives, not in terms of the accomplishment of riding across the country but in terms of our new friends.On my friend Amelia’s IPOD, that she graciously loaned me, is song by Trace Adkins called “Your Going to Miss This” . Although the song details a man talking to his daughter who wants to grow up too fast , I think the refrain will apply to our group as well – please let me share it with you:

But you’re gonna miss this
You’re gonna want this back
You’re gonna wish these days hadn’t gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you’re gonna miss this
You’re gonna miss this
Yeah, you’re gonna miss this