Woke up to brisk 52 degree weather in western PA but the sun was shining. The ride was characterized as a rollercoaster, up and down, up and down ALL day. It took me from Dubois (sorry to any Francophiles, it’s pronounced “Duboys”) to final stop Emlenton, a beautiful village on the Allegheny. Arrived in plenty of time to kick back at Barnum House, a riverbank oasis (uh oh, B&B!), kicking my feet up to watch Portugal beat Slovenia on PKs, touring around town and eating my local pizzeria dinner outside on the patio. I will not spend any time on this blog emoting about the US men’s soccer team exit from Copa America, gutted once again by this cruel sport. Anticipate a new manager in the coming weeks for the 2026 World Cup we are hosting.
Before ordering food, I made sure to employ my brother’s creed of eating dessert before dinner. The local parlor served ice cream from The Creamery, a Penn St treasure. Chris was a brilliant proponent of why wait to eat the best things last. Our family honors that often, so instead of saying “Cheers!”, we all raise a cookie, cinnamon bun or banana themed sweet and celebrate “Dessert First!”. Try it, you might like it! Note my dinner was kindly delivered by B&B guests Tim and Jean. I met them after arriving today and again at the pizza place, just as I was about to ride a big pizza box and salad back to the inn. Potential delivery disaster averted and, yes, more evidence I’m a B&B guy!
This wraps Week 1 where I managed my miles, successfully averaging just over 69 miles a day. My goal was 70 +/- to ensure I build endurance slowly and don’t overdo it. Thankfully my body is thriving and my heart filled. This first week’s route through my arrival in Pittsburgh on Tuesday was all orchestrated so I could balance seeing friends/family and finding good places to settle at night. What a week and cannot thank you all enough for such support for CRI and me!
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