Day 2- Perryopolis to Rockwood

I said yesterday that the ride from Pittsburgh to Perryopolis was the most scenic ride I had ever done. Well I must update that status, as TODAY was definitely the most beautiful bike ride I have ever done. Day 2 of PA Health Ride would take us from the Allegheny Passage trail head in Perryopolis through historic Ohiopyle State Park and town, and on to Rockwood where we would do a motivational assembly on health and fitness for hundreds of elementary school children at Rockwood Elementary School.

It was a very early wake up call today. 5:30 am and my Dad body slammed me awake, and shoved a cup of freshly brewed hotel coffee in my face. "Up and at 'em son!! Day 2 of PA Health Ride, let's go do some riding!" It was a predawn start and all uphill today to Rockwood :)

I took a quick shower (they had shampoo at this place), scrambled to get my things together, and met everyone in the lobby. Gary Blacksmith from our "advance team" handed me a printout showing the temps for the day, and at 7am is read 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Brrr.....frost was on the ground. "Anyone have some gloves?" I asked as we headed down to the start point. "Guess not." Greg (Penske truck support driver) had a desire to ride this morning, so Dan filled in for support and we fitted Greg out on an ORBEA bike. Ellen, Jeff, and I hit the trail which was blanketed in fog next to the river. Roy and Greg followed.

The first mile of biking I realized my fingers were frozen already, and so I alternated holding the handle bars with one, and putting the other in my armpit. As we rode through the morning mist, eventually we were able to see the sun trying to break through. Warmth was all we could think about. About fifteen miles in the fog finally lifted and unveiled sweeping forests all in multicolor with the river flowing cutting through the gorge. The bike trail followed this river bed the entire way to Rockwood, but as we observed, the water was flowing the other way, so we were going gradually uphill, and would continue to all day.

When we reached Connellsville, we crossed the river over a very cool wooden bike bridge, that dumped us out on the other side and we had to navigate around a construction site. One of the older construction workers with his helmet on asked me as I walked my bike past him "why do you wear that pointy thing on your head when you ride your bike?" referring to my helmet. "Well Sir", I replied "For the same reason you wear that helmet on your head, to protect your noggin." He told me that he rode a bike for years, never wore a helmet, even fell, and was healthy as could be. Well that's all a matter of opinion I suppose. We got back on our bikes and out of there as soon as possible.
From mile 20-40 of today's ride we passed through Ohiopyle State Park. It is hard to describe the beauty of this place. I have attached some photos, but that cannot begin to capture the "scent" of fall, the fresh chill of the air in your lungs, the sound of the water, the rustling of the leaves. I thought how I have not experienced those since I was a teenager in PA. Ellen, Jeff and I stopped to breathe it all in, and reflect.

We reached Ohiopyle around 10am. The town of Ohiopyle was our stopping point for refuel and there was a historical center there which showed photos of the construction of the Allegheny Passage canals, railroads, and most recently bike paths. My Dad and I rode across the historic bridge together and high fived.

I called Rockwood Elementary School (30 miles away) and asked if they were all set for the assembly. They were anxiously anticipating our arrival, and that got me psyched. We had two hours to make it 30 miles on the uphill trail, so I told Jeff, Dad, and Ellen we needed to kick in the afterburners to get there in time. The support team bid us farewell for now and would meet us at the school with the presentation supplies. We formed a pace line on the gradually uphill trail making good time averaging around 17mph. I stopped about 25 miles out to find a tree and evacuate. That taken care of upon returning to my bicycle, I realized that I had a flat front tire. Shizer! Got out the tools and spare tube to change it. I haven't had a flat tire in years, so I suppose I was due. I had the hardest time getting the tire back over the tube, and wrestled with that thing for nearly a half hour before finally getting it over the rim and filled with air. Now I REALLY needed to kick it into high gear. I had an hour and a half to go 25 miles to get to Rockwood in time for the assembly. Dropped the hammer and made it there with a few minutes to spare, soaking in sweat. "Where have you been??!!", asked the rest of the crew. Flat.....

The Principal for the Rockwood Elementary "Rockets" is John Hanes. He greeted us outside the school a little before 2pm. A relatively young guy, Mr. Hanes previously taught special education at Rockwood and coached their high school football team. Also greeting us there was Danielle Sunday from the Pennsylvania Association for Nutrition and Activity (NRG Balance) based in Hershey, PA at the Hershey Medical Center. Danielle and PANA have been instrumental in helping set up the elementary school assemblies across the State.

Hundreds of elementary school children filed into the High School auditorium which they used in order to hold the large number of students. Two local groups donated a boys bike and a girls bikes as well as biking helmets and they were there shining brightly at the front of the gymnasium. The elementary school classes had also taken part in a competition wearing pedometers, and totaling their total number of steps as a class over a week. I thought that was a great idea and commended the teachers and Principal.

The assembly was VERY high energy. This kids were excited and cheered loudly. It was fantastic. In the traditional format I taught them about "Whoa, Slow, Go" with food and drink choices, and taught them about getting 60 minutes of physical activity a day. I again failed at hula hooping and was shown up by a young girl and young boy. They also impressed me with their jump roping skills. I somehow got the jump rope they use for hopscotch (it was giant!) and they laughed as I tried to jump with the enormous rope. Ellen joined in the act with an innovative dance routine from her SPARK physical education program. She got all of the children and teachers involved. All of our hearts were booming, which is the major take home point for the children.

The finale of the assembly was filled with lots of smiles, giveaways, and acknowledgments of all that had made this day possible. We had traveled 110 miles over the past two days from Pittsburgh to Rockwood, and had now done Kids Fitness Days at a traditionally urban school and now a rural school. Both locations had challenges in physical eduction, and with accessibility and affordability of healthy foods, and both were making great strides in working towards healthier lifestyles and leading by example.

We headed to our hotel in Somerset, and there to greet us was my friend Mike Montgomery who today drove out the other Penske truck from Lancaster. Mike has been training hard over the past year for the PA Health Ride, especially for Day 3 which will be the most mountainous segment to Everett, and then on for an assembly at Everett Elementary. Mike better watch out. Ellen has been increasingly vocal about her desire to take "Big Mike" down in the mountains tomorrow. She chugged two Muscle Milks and said "Bring it On!" We shall see....