Day 14. Connellsville to Frostburg MD. 78 miles

     An absolutely gorgeous day for biking. The weather was ideal, trail very nice, and a lot of people to talk to.

     The people came later in the day. I didn't see anyone on the trail for the first 17 1/2 miles - a lady walking her dogs. After that I did see a biker cleaning up camp, but no one on the road until I'd been out for 26 miles. Very unusual.

     As I neared Confluence, people seemed to be getting out. I was especially excited to see Confluence, since I had been there 46 years ago on a youth group mission trip. I found the church where we had stayed and was looking it over when a nice lady pulled up across the street with a welcoming smile on her face. Vickie and I chatted for quite awhile. She is a biker so we had a lot in common and she told me all about the city. She had even been on her bike that morning, not quite by choice, but because her car wouldn't start. I let her know there was a place in Iowa if she wants to come out. I also talked with Brad at the bike shop and got my picture taken for their wall. He gave me some great tips for later on the trails.

     I played leapfrog with a couple of guys biking with their wives. They ended up joining me for snack time while they waited for the ladies to catch up. I finally took off. They were beginning to think the women were walking.

     The trail got alittle busier. I decided to take a short rest on one of the many benches. A train's whistle was my sign to get going again. Trains ran along the trail on and off all day. I did get one engineer to wave.

     The last 10 miles were great. I went by the Mason-Dixon Line, the East Continental Divide, through the Big Savage ( a really long tunnel ) and then one smaller tunnel. I also saw a porcupine on the road. Several of us tried to figure out what had happened to him. He was breathing, but that was about it. We were able to get really close. Just down the road from him, some people had found three rattlesnakes in the rocks beside the road. They were just out injoying the day. Up front and close with them also. One more snake in the road and then it was downhill into town. A nice way to end the day. We're now in Maryland.