Day 43 Youngstown, Ohio to Erie, PA   93 miles and 1,912 feet of climb

It was another picture perfect day for a bike ride. We departed from our hotel at 7:00 am sharp and rode first through the outskirts of Youngstown and then out onto beautiful country roads. There were not quite as many hills today but the scenery was just as green and pastoral as it's been for the past few days here in Ohio.

I rode with the British National Cycling Team- Masters Division all day and did pretty well keeping up with their pace with the exception of a few short hills. There was a significant headwind for a good part of the morning so riding in a pace line helps conserve your energy.

The first SAG was at a small church in a little town in rural Ohio. The pastor was nice to come out and greet us and he let us use the church restrooms. When the Brits asked him about where the nearest cafe was he scratched his head and said that there weren't any cafes around that he could think of.

And so it was, we continued on to mile 71 and the second SAG stop. The riding was all on beautiful country roads with little traffic. It seemed like it was right out of a cycling magazine. The SAG stop was at a very popular place called Richardson's Root Beer Stand that is about 1/2  a mile from the Ohio- Pennsylvania state line.

Michael from Columbus, Ohio with a Root Beer Float from Richardson's.

It was teaming with people ordering root beer floats and the like. Many of the riders chose to enjoy the food and ice cream at Richardson's but we decided to forge ahead up the road toward Erie, PA in search of another place to eat lunch. The Brits were none to pleased that we ended up having to go all the way to mile 85 until we happened upon a good place to eat. As it turned out, the food and service were very good and everyone was happy in the end. Then while we were riding the final 6 or 7 miles to the hotel, we happened upon an antique car show outside of a school. We all stopped and looked at the many wonderful cars on display. We arrived at the hotel around 3:30 PM.

Tomorrow we ride to Buffalo, NY.

Another wonderful day of cycling across America. Only 8 more days of cycling until we reach New Hampshire, what a bittersweet thought that is.