La Primavera

Allie's school photo

Above is the route we are taking this summer from Pittsburgh to Washington DC, all 335 miles of it with only a bit of it paved. We climb 1700 feet from Pittsburgh to the Eastern Continental  Divide, drop 1800 over he next 24 miles (which I did through a heavy thunderstorm) then gradually drop to sea level over the next 185 miles. I worried about the logistics. My friend wants to camp meaning we'd have to carry all our stuff for a week. In what? I could drag along my toddler carrier which full of gear would be another 50 pounds to drag. Wouldn't that be the amount of fat I lost? Somehow I think it is harder to drag it than to have it packed around my gut. And we could take turns  dragging it.  Rasta man thought we could use panniers. However he called yesterday with some good news. We will be supported!!! Some of his siblings will come too and one has agreed to drive a car. Furthermore, I can tent with his sister-in-law which will be less awkward than sleeping next to someone who isn't ones husband. Packing will be less of a challenge. I will have to find campsites that let cars in. The route is full of free to trail user only campsites. So the ride is in two parts; the Great Allegheny Passage which uses old coal train lines to go through mountains, canyons and tunnels. I did that 4 years ago with a group. Then the C&O Canal towpath, which goes along the Potomac River to DC. Flat but much rougher. He has done that portion before. We will take the Amtrak back to Pittsburgh where he has yet another set of siblings.  So I feel much better about this trip though due to crappy weather, I haven't biked in 2 weeks.

It is spring today! Still cold. And when it is warm enough for me to bike this afternoon, there will be rain. The male goldfinches are getting their summer colors finally so a bit of brightness at my feeders though I have plenty of brightly colored cardinals.

We took Josh and his family out last night for a belated birthday dinner. I went for a walk in an unoccupied room with Hannah and Allie that had photos of the local sports teams in action. Allie asked about one photo showing two opposing football players trying to grab the ball from each other.

They should share! she said indignantly.

And the UM basketball team made it to he Final 16 despite many odds against it. Yay Wolverines!