Our ride out of Dawson took us to West Newton, PA on the same great trail we took the day before. After 22 miles of that, we had to leave the trail to buy some thorn-resistant tubes and grab lunch.
It did not take long to remember what roads in the Appalachians were like. The climb out of West Newton on highway 136 was steep and steady, but we quickly found our old climbing rhythm from two days prior. Our riding took us through Monongahela, PA en route to Washington, PA to catch the National Pike again and grab a quick, much needed rest. In Washington, we visited Washington & Jefferson University, founded in 1781 and home of such famous alumni as Roger Goodell and Art Rooney.
There was a great statue of the two presidents standing side by side, their ten foot tall figures offering different viewpoints on life, liberty, and, here, education. Apparently, the two men’s conflicting viewpoints when working independently were difficult to reconcile, while their combined efforts were a force as formidable as Dan’s Kobe Bryant doing work on the Celtics all last week. So the name of the statue, “Together We Thrive,” struck a particularly strong chord with us.
In temperatures reaching 100 over endless hills all day, we made it to Wheeling, WV thanks to our collective efforts and the support of all of you. Lori at the Wheeling Inn gave us a great room overlooking the river, and George and friends at the Bridge Tavern made us feel right at home in northern West Virginia from the minute we walked in the door. We recommend the cheeseburger deluxe whenever you make it there, and be sure to take the suspension bridge into historic Wheeling to take in the story of this great city.
We leave WV today for Ohio and seemingly flatter roads. It’s nice to look at the map and see ourselves working our way west day by day, so we want to keep the momentum going while we’ve got it.
The next time you hear from us, we will be in Pete’s homeland. See you in the Midwest…
- The XC10 Guys
