Day 5- Westminster MD to Lancaster PA: The beat goes on

Another gorgeous day in this apparent polar vortex we're having this week. The temperature was 54 F when we headed out at 6:30AM- downright chilly but it warmed up nicely as the morning unfolded. The riding right out of Westminster was beautiful as we rolled along the hilly farmland of northern Maryland. Hilly it was today, as we covered 66 miles and just over 4000 feet of climbing, with a couple of challenging out of the saddle climbs.

The ride crew today was my friend Russ Buckley and myself, and a fun crop of young riders: our two boys, the Hayon boys, and three young women riders, Erin, Nicole and Arielle. We all enjoyed the music from Adam's Anchor House playlist played from Ken's portable Boom Bottle speaker (photo of Ken's new toy tomorrow). The songs, specially selected by Adam to be upbeat and high energy, can be very motivating, especially climbing long hills. Here's a picture of all the youngins at the first SAG stop. Russ couldn't help taking a "back-up" photo.

Crossing the Mason-Dixon line is always a cool thing as we left the South and entered Pennsylvania. Sol Hayon (who actually lives below the Mason Dixon line) is seen pedaling his way into the North in the second photo. The Pennsylvania countryside was equally lush and verdant and the cycling was great.

We had a great third SAG stop at one of our favorite ice cream places, Jimmy Mack's, in Hallam, PA where Adam, Ben, Erin and I enjoyed some well deserved snacks. Thankfully we don't need to be formally attired to be served in these establishments,  but some riders, like Dave Robinson, always strives to look his very best just in case.

We crossed the Susquehana River (one of the longest bridges I've ever crossed on bicycle) and road on a fairly busy road for the next 12 miles to get us into Lancaster. Not anyone's favorite type of riding but it probably saved us some additional miles and climbing. We arrived by 1PM, early enough to help unload the luggage from the Yellow truck, and settled in for a rather long wait for hotel rooms.

With 200 riders coming into a hotel, the cleaning staff can get overwhelmed so sometimes you get lucky and get your rooms right away and other times you have a long wait. No worries though as you can always go fo a swim or hang with a few friends in the hot tub!

Adam's cycling ability and strength keeps improving as the week unfolds (sometimes called training ont the ride), and he's doing a great job of keeping up with his old man. Along the way, he's gotten many helpful tips from veteran riders. Russ Buckley (Senior) has been especially helpful, particularly on situational awareness. Tomorrow we roll through Amish country, which is always a fantastic experience, and then wind up in Lansdale for our banquet night.