DAY 20 - ERIE, PA TO ANGOLA, NY

Mileage: 75.2 - Total Mileage: 1,060.2

Margarita Count - 28

Plus 1 Fireball shot!

Wow - what a day! Yes, I really did ride over 70 miles today. And, believe it or not, it wasn't so bad! 

We got on the road at a decent hour this morning. We knew we had about 70+ miles today since we couldn't get in to the state park we wanted to camp at. After riding mostly uphill to Leo and Bonnie's yesterday, I was hoping we would get a little break heading back to the route this morning. Fortunately, we did. It was a great 4 miles of mostly downhill (there were a couple climbs) before we had to really start riding. Here are a couple pictures from this morning with the sun coming up and a bunny in the front yard eating as we finished loading up the bikes. 

We had storms overnight with lots of thunder and lightning. This morning we woke up to cooler temperatures and lower humidity. It was 64 degrees when we rolled out about 8:30am. What a breath of fresh air compared to the warmer, humid days we had for the last 4 or 5 days. The forecasted high today was 75! It was a beautiful day for riding!

After navigating our way out of Erie, PA, we were on PA 5A which was a pretty quiet road. The only drawback was the steep down hills and equally steep (if not more!) uphills for every creek and crevice in the landscape. At about 21 miles, we stopped at North East, PA for a second breakfast. It was a super steep downhill to the junction, then a long, steep climb into North East for that second breakfast. As we were eating breakfast, I told Rhonda and Jon that I wanted to take US 20 instead. US 20 ran parrallel to PA 5, but generally US highways have more moderate grades than county or state roads. Funny thing was that Jon was thinking the same thing!

After breakfast, as we started to leave, Rhonda was having trouble with her shifter. We went to the bike shop in town that was supposed to open at 11am to see about fixing it. They weren't open (it was 10 after) and a call to the shop wasn't answered. Jon sprayed some WD40 on it and it was semi-working so we headed down the road on our now unofficial route. 

As anticipated, the grades of the climbs were more moderate and the miles started to roll by. Unfortunately, we had a consistent cross-headwind that made progress just that much slower than it should have been. We are officially in wine country now. Did you know there's a whole wine country trail? ! We crossed the New York state line a few miles out of North East but didn't get any welcome sign from New York. The best we got was a sign for the New York Thruway. You take what you can get! This is my 5th state in 3 weeks of riding. Not bad!

I found this statue for Brad Anderson, the creator of the Marmaduke cartoon, outside Portland, NY. He is buried there. 

I met up with Rhonda and Jon at a cute bar and grill in Fredonia for lunch. I had 51 miles on my computer at that point. Rhonda and Jon had the largest sandwich I've ever seen. Good thing they planned to split it! After topping off the tanks, we figured we had about 25 miles to our endpoint for today in Angola, NY. 

As we've been riding through the rural areas, we have seen many roadside stands selling everything from firewood to fruits and vegetables to bouquets of flowers. They all have an honor box system - the items are set by the side of the road and people take what they want and pay the prices noted. Things like this really restore my faith in the honesty of people. 

As is normal, we started out together but soon they were up the road. They knew the directions to the B&B we had reserved for tonight. We finally got a little break from the wind, and occasionally it was a cross-tailwind. I needed to make a stop prior to the B&B to buy more soap and deodorant. Both of those are important when traveling with others and I really needed them today!

After my shopping spree, I figured I had about 10 miles to go. We went through part of the Seneca Nation tribal lands on our way to Angola. I would have gotten a picture of the nice sign, but it was part way up a hill and I wasn't stopping! 

On my way into Angola, I saw a pizza place that said they delivered. Sweet - dinner is taken care of! Then, as I was about to turn toward the B&B I saw a liquor store. I had 74 miles on my computer at that point and knew we needed to celebrate the long day. I bought margaritas for me and two cans of beer for Jon. I strapped the refreshments onto my bike and headed to the B&B. 

We have a nice suite at the B&B. The owner, Marcy, was very accommodating and fun to talk to this evening after arriving. What a neat little place this is. 

After showers, drinks and pizza we are all settled in our beds and ready for a well-deserved night of sleep. Tomorrow, we will be at Niagara Falls. Time is going by so fast, but yet each day is so full of experiences. It is a weird feeling. I am looking forward to finishing my part so I can get home and see my husband. But another part doesn't want the adventure to end. There is always that struggle within me of being with my loved ones versus being on the road. They are both so good in their own way.