Squeaks, Power Plants and Reverends

Originally Posted October 2, 2004 by Mags

 The theme for the last couple of days has been bike squeaks, power plants and Reverends. Since we haven’t written in awhile and a lot went on I’ll provide a short synopsis in bulleted form.
Tuesday, September 28 Spent night in Weirton, West Virginia. Weirton is right on the Ohio River and the valley is filled with huge steel plant apparatus and cloud making stacks. While waiting outside the library a woman (Theresa) asks if we need a place to stay. We spend the night at Theresa’s house, a 100 year old building with a creaky wood staircase and heavy cherry wood doors. It’s a cool, old place and Theresa treats us great- she gives us a dinner of baked beans and franks, cole slaw and fresh tomatoes. The first real, good tasting food in days. We get to take a bath and hang out for the evening. It’s amazing that she’d offer her home and hospitality to us.


Theresa and Robert of Weirton, WV
Wednesday, September 29 Frustrating day due to the constant squeak and grating noise produced by the bike every time we pedal. Chad is going crazy with the noise. We pass through Shippingport, Pennsylvania which has 5 massive cement stacks gushing steam from the First Energy nuclear power plant.


First Energy Power Plant, one of the first nuclear plants in the world
Just outside Shippingport we stop at Charlie’s Kountry Convenience store and ask if there’s any bicycle shops around. Charlie’s wife, Billy, offers to drive us and the back wheel to a bike shop in Ambridge about 15 miles away to get the bearings repacked. Mechanics at bicycle shop puzzled by our problem but mess around a bit and tighten up the cassette. Billy takes us back to our bike near Shippingport when we discover we’ve left a crucial part at the mechanic’s. Billy then drives Chad the 15 miles to the bike shop again to pick up the part. By the time they return Billy’s spent the whole afternoon driving us around! How many people would do that for complete strangers?! Then since it’s too late to get on the road again she and Charlie let us stay in their barn and take a shower in their house. We LOVE showers. We set up our bed in the barn but then a spider the size of my palm heads for our sleeping bags and we pitch our tent outside.

Charlie and Billie in their store

Thursday, September 30 Squeak returns after 10 miles of riding and begins to drive us insane. We reach Clarion, PA where we spend the night camped out behind an Aldi grocery store and next to a cell phone tower. You really can camp just about anywhere if you’re not picky.
Friday, October 1 We wake to a very cold morning- damp, sunny and freezing. Ride into downtown Clarion where the Autumn Leaf Festival fills the entire Main Street. We stop for doughnuts and hot chocolate then Chad searches for a fuel canister for our stove. We have not been able to find one since Illinois. Chad meets Mark, reverend for the Zionlife Church in Clarion. Mark knows everyone and leads Chad on a wild ride through town trying to find the fuel. Several thousands of people are milling around looking at all the crafts and tons of people come up and talk to us. After more than 2 hours of looking around we give up and Reverend Mark and his friend Henry send us off with a prayer and a bag of organic dried fruit and carob balls.


Henry and Reverend Mark of the Zionlife Church

Towards evening we ride into Kane, PA where we find a chicken and biscuit dinner at the Methodist Episcopal church. The dinner’s not supposed to be all you can eat but the Reverend makes an exception for us and personally refills Chad’s plate at least 3 times. They bring us two huge servings of apple crisp with ice-cream and let us camp out behind the church.


Reverend Lake of the First United Methodist Church of Kane, PA

So there you have it- the going ons of the last couple of days. So far the eastern states have treated us very well. Our only problem is that our equipment is starting to break down i.e. the squeak of the bike, our Thermarest (sleeping pad) is growing a tumor and we can’t find stove fuel. But, you’ve got to expect that I guess after more than 4,000 miles. 

Posted by Mags at 09:53 AM | Comments (0)