Decided on tryin road biking some hills/mountains and miles of Pennsylvania.
Started at a friends house in the little town of Mifflinsburg in Central PA.

Planning a 50 mile route through the hills and meet my cousin around the Little Bear Creek in Northern PA. Getting some serious climbs in near the end of the ride from 500ft to about 1300ft. I still remember the sign that said 1.5 miles 6+ percent grade.... Ah finally a reason to use those low gears...
I took off early afternoon feeling really good

One of the neat things about road biking in a new area (like PA) is the unique "road trash and roadkills" that you don't get to see in Central Maryland.
After seeing this sign for the Pennsylvania dutch, Amish, Mennonite...

I wanted to see what kinda speeds they run. However I never did see carriage but I could prove that they had been there...

You've gotta hope that you don't run into these "road apples" of a mine field on a steep downhill at 40+ miles an hour on razor thin road bike tires.

Turn North onto Route 15 and you'll get miles and miles of river views. It only takes a few times of letting the view get your mind off biking and the road and you realize it's NOT a good thing when runnin off the road means goin into a ditch, off the mountains or into traffic. So when the views are too good to pass up I pull over and take a few shots. But knowing that I have a time table to do the 50 miles and catch my ride up the rock road which is too tough for the thin tires and road bike frame....

But some of the views are worth the time...

The Mountains steadily rise and rise as the legs feel the miles add up. Even though the local roadside attractions give me a chance to break and think about the little kid still inside me wonders what all the venomous creatures would be like in this "zoo" I pulled into the parking lot and the smell itself told of good adventure inside.

But with time ticking by much faster than these mountain miles I figured I should pass on the reptile show and get back to pedaling. Oh does anyone know what this one is?

coon? porkie? polecat? Not an easy one...... :roll:

Here's a panorama of the scenic view and links to the close ups of the same individual shots

From here I knew my schedule was a little behind (these climbs where more time consuming than I thought) so I called my cousin and asked how the time table was working for them... They had gotten a late start so I knew I had some time to take pictures and ride easy.

With time on my hands the next stop is the site of the Little League World Series in Willamsport PA. The place was empty so biking around it and clicking a few pics was a good time... Don't forget you are still in Mountain country so even walking around here takes a bit of effort... Notice them there hills in the background? That's next on the bike!

Here's a bunch of links to pics I figured may bore you to tears unless you are a baseball fan or still a kid at heart.
The Sign out on the Route 15

Stadium pics:

Could this be the losers bracket field?

Museum

Hedge Sign

Statue of Mighty Casey

Plaques of mighty Casey and some contributors

Some other statue

Couldn't help but use the facilities and wondered if they would incorporate some baseball paraphernalia, bats for flushers or the like...

but nope... Still made me laugh

This one made me laugh even harder as I imagine how adults from the press must have been sitting there screaming at some little tyke from istambul or where ever booing and hissing a 7 year old.... Sheesh, and enough of it that they had to put up a sign... And even in braille!

ok enough time burned up here so I could still be on time to meet my cousin...

Take the paved bike trail until you see Route 87. Turn North and ride the ample clean shoulder of the road until you hit a little ice cream shop full of college kids and every homemade flavor I could try: black cherry, blueberry, tea berry (which I think looks and tastes like pepto bismo) peanut butter, chocolate chip cookie dough, sooo many more. They had a white board full of choices. I spent quite a few of the 9 nights down here sampling the various flavors for only a buck and a quarter will get you more than you should have in one sitting... If you are on a binge go for the large but I doubt you can finish it... Inside are picture of famous people like race car drivers, singers... along with old original equipment they used to make the stuff... There's real log benches out front to sit on and feed the local red rooster which frequented the parking lot every night and mooched for a bite of ice cream for a few years. Till he died of a cholesterol related death I think... Man if you are in the area it's worth the 30 minute drive (one way by car) I had every night down off the mountain...

The next day my girl showed up and we spent the next few days hiking, camping, Mt Biking and a few day trips. Then on Wed I jumped back on the pedals as she gave me a 2 hour head start and she chased me down to the car. She caught me only after 40 miles. Giving me a total of 90 for trip but I felt pretty good cause of the climbs. At least this time I got to do the Mountain climbs (my own personal "Alpe d'Huez" from the tour of France) early in the ride. This time I got a chance to stop and take picture of the local roadside stuff that makes me laugh and know that a road trip is well worth the effort... Some of these were taken from the car ride as well. One of the dragons... This is a big one. Notice the size in comparison to the school bus... Climb inside and take a pic

The statue of liberty out in the middle of the Susquehanna River

The weight lifter spinning on the side of the road

PA line welcoming us all

Soo many porkies getting whacked up here... First time I went passed this soo fast I thought it might be a baby bear. But nope , just a prickly little tank like animal.

I missed the pic of the tractor trailer which sits on top a building. But it's sure to catch your eye....