Journal
June 2, 2003
"On the road again..."
Day 2
Waynesboro, PA to Bedford, PA
Today was a little bit better than yesterday in terms of the wind. I did not have very much to eat for breakfast because I was so swamped with tasks such as loading the vans and setting up breakfast. I caught up to VJ and Emily, who were stopped on the side of the road. VJ had a flat tire, so I helped him change it and continued on my way. We biked along route 16 the whole morning. We passed through Mercersburg, a small rustic town, before hitting the major climb in the morning. I feared the climb at first because the wind picked up right before I got to the start of it. Once I began the climb up Blue Ridge Mountain (2500 ft. at the summit), it was a lot easier than I expected. On my way to the top, I passed Meredith, Pat Danaher, and Drew. Everyone was at the top when I got up there. I elected to enjoy my reward and go down the other side of the mountain instead of stopping at the top.
Lunch was good. I had two sandwiches and some chips. It’s a good thing that I normally eat sandwiches for lunch because I know that I will not grow tired of them during this trip. We spent about an hour at lunch. When we pulled out, we took route 30 west.
There were two big climbs during the second half of the day. One was relatively easy, but the second one was a killer. I was so exhausted going up that one that I had to stop and catch my breath a few times. I caught up to Babak and Dan, who had left lunch with me, and reminded myself that I had to spin my pedals instead of pushing down on them. We got to the top and rested for a while. The rest of the way was downhill or flat.
Near Bedford, there was a lot of construction. We mistakenly continued on 30 West at Bedford instead of taking business route 30 West and went past the town before we realized that we were going the wrong way. Once we did find the Bedford Presbyterian Church, we were very excited because the members of the church had cooked a wonderful feast for us. There was so much to choose from that I couldn’t sample every dish when I went up for my first serving! Nobody told me that there would be dessert too. Needless to say, I ate until I could no longer breathe! After dinner, I introduced our group to the church members and invited them to share with us their stories about cancer and about life in general.
The day was coming to an end and I had just gotten into bed when the sheriff opened the door and called out to see if anyone was there. I went to the door and he asked me if the church was putting us up for the night. I told him that it was, and he replied with “Fair enough.” He then told me that someone had reported suspicious activity in the church and he wanted to make sure everything was okay. Finally, he said that I might want to lock the door and he wished me a good night. I love small-town folk. They are very trusting and friendly. I know that we will meet a lot more people from small towns as we make our way across the country.
Rajeev Mahajan