Day 39 Rockwood, PA to Hancock, MD

Day 39 had a wonderful start. Judy, the owner of the Rockwood Mills Shop and Hostel, sent us off very well. She gathered several Rockwood locals for us to meet and have breakfast with in the morning and told the local papers about us. Along with supporting us with room and board she donated $100 to The Children's Heart Foundation!

The ride started out on a slow very beautiful downhill grade. Since I was following an old rail trail the grade wasn't over 6%. I went through an old railway tunnel and popped out on the other side with a beautiful view of Maryland and West Virginia. Then I reached Cumberland and the fun and games were over. Instead of going through those beautiful mountains, now I had to go over them.

Thanks to the encouragement of Denise and frequently looking down at the names on the bike for inspiration, I got through it. On the last two miles of the trip it started to lightly rain, but then I arrived at C&O bicycles where I was greeted by Dennis and his wife, awesome people! They thoroughly cleaned my bike (it needed it bad after starting the day on trails). They also made a generous donation! All in all, it was a great ending to a rough day.