Mileposters News 1-10

There was a record turnout of seven kids for Mileposters 2009 Christmas caroling, on a very snowy day (photo) – their third straight year — visiting the Woods Run fire station, St. Thomas shut-ins, and a former teacher, who was very pleased. Afterwards they enjoyed hot chocolate at McDonald’s. They also sang at the Christmas Eve service, in a special effort to raise the balance needed to pay off St. Thomas building renovations, bringing in over $1,500.00.

A special Games Night was held in December, with a lesson from the Bible about Advent, and combined with Movies Night, watching a claymation version of The Little Drummer Boy. Christmas treat bags were provided by Kent and Jennifer Nelson, who also brought special Christmas games. Ten children were in attendance.

Mileposters skaters went to the Neville Roller Drome on January 16 for skating lessons and practice; there the tenth pair of Mileposters skates was purchased — brand new. Afterwards, the skaters enjoyed food and fellowship at the McDonald’s in Bellevue (photo). The first skating fundraiser is planned for February, maintaining the focus on Christian servanthood throughout the year.

February is the second anniversary for Mileposters Games Night, held on the second Sunday of each month, with a Valentine celebration planned. Our special guest will be LCMS author Frederic Durbin, on break from his university teaching duties in Japan. Since the first time, over forty different children have participated. Movies Nights were added last year, on the fourth Sunday of each month. Other activities have included train rides, visits to the Western Pennsylvania Model Railroad Museum, off-site Bible clubs, and various community gatherings on Troy Hill. January’s Games Night was a card game special, including Uno, Old Maid, I Doubt It, and the Scrabble card version.

The second month of this year will also see an early start to tandem cycling activities, as a Moose Rack (to accommodate a Burley Piccolo trailercycle) is installed on the bike belonging to our fifth trail mom, a former teacher from Germany, who is a professional clarinetist, touring the world with her pianist husband. She was with us on our September ride on the Ghost Town Trail, when we stopped at the old ironmaking furnace in Vintondale, PA; the Indiana County Department of Parks and Recreation saw the picture of our group taken at the site, and plans to include it in their new parks brochure, which will be released in March. Our newest trail mom is especially interested in long-distance rides. A prospective sixth trail mom has also agreed to join us for roller skating.

Thanks be to God and to all who assisted in Mileposters fundraising efforts for 2009. While the goal for the year was to raise $6,000.00 for area Lutheran ministries, the total came to over $10,000.00. A special pizza celebration is planned for the fifth Sunday in January, at St. Thomas Lutheran Church, with guest speaker Terry Nelson Taylor, PALM (Pittsburgh Area Lutheran Ministries) president.

Mileposters Roller Skating

It almost didn’t happen. Somebody became enthusiastic about a suggestion I had made, and instead of ice skating, our next first-Sunday session with Grace Lutheran suddenly became roller skating instead. I hadn’t roller skated in six years. It was longer than that since my first, last, and only time ice skating. At any rate, there was nothing to do but dig out my skates, collect two riders, and head for Romp’N'Roll, where I remembered that there had been a little practice floor. It may have been the last place I roller skated prior to six years ago.

It wasn’t the only “almost” in my skating career. I went to a couple of roller skating parties when I was in grade school, and had a pair of skates of my own, which I used maybe two or three times on the street in front of my house. It wasn’t until I was nearly 40 that a friend encouraged me to start again. After getting started, I joined the speed skating team at Spinning Wheels, which local people will know got sold to Busy Beaver a long time ago, and they had no interest in seeing roller skating continue. After winning two bronze medals, I broke my ankle in a practice session one day — badly enough to need an operation to rebuild the shattered bones, including a steel pin with four screws, which is still in there today. But I was determined to get on skates again, although I never rejoined the team.

I skated my way through my second time at college and took kids from my class skating when I started teaching. But life got busy, and I discovered tandem bicycles. Every once in a while my moldy skates would turn up around the house.

Then our first trail mom got me started again, when she was taking lessons along with her daughter at the Neville Island rink. I cleaned the mold off my skates, lubricated and tightened the wheels, and took a deep breath. It was harder than I wanted it to be, and I had one painful fall. Not long after that, the trail mom moved to Connecticut, and I put the skates away.

But here’s a thousand-word picture. It was a good bit harder for me to get started this time than six years ago — a fine working definition of an “insurmountable challenge” — and I sort of wondered if I would make it. But by the end of the first hour I had moved from the practice floor to the main floor, and it felt really good! The first few minutes of the second session were hard, too, but the progression was more rapid, and I spent most of my time on the main floor. Meanwhile, the stokers were making their own peace with the procedure, not having ever skated before. There were frequent falls at first; fortunately, being lighter and closer to the floor than me, they weren’t damaged as heavily as I might have been! I do thank God that so far, this time around, I haven’t fallen once! We have one more practice session before the main event, which will be December 6 (see below). After that, I expect there will be more and more Mileposters skating sessions until the weather gets nice for tandem cycling again.

Here are the second thousand words. We have five pairs of Mileposters skates “on the property,” with two more on the way from eBay. The picture is of a joint skating session of the Mileposters with the Pilgrims, from Grace Lutheran Church.

Mileposters News 11-09

On November 14, the final regular-season ride was a fundraiser for Pittsburgh Lutheran Center for the Blind. Favorable weather allowed completion of this trip two weeks later than last year. The group leader and the top two stokers traveled to Howard, Ohio, midpoint of the Kokosing Gap Trail, built on the former Pennsylvania Railroad line from Columbus to Akron, and went both directions to cover the entire route, ending at U. S. 62 (Market Street) in Danville and at E. Gambier Street in Mount Vernon, pedaling 30 miles. They enjoyed riding on the trail’s asphalt-paved surface. The picture was taken at a low through truss bridge near Danville. Across from the station at Gambier, Ohio, home of Kenyon College, there is a steam engine, and the riders enjoyed climbing into its cab and ringing the bell. Along the way to the trailhead, two Amish buggies were sighted, and fifteen oil wells; Quaker State formerly had a gathering center for crude oil in Port Washington, Ohio, but the oil is now taken to a facility on the Columbus and Ohio River Railroad. On the west, at Mount Vernon, the Kokosing Gap will link to the Heart of Ohio Trail, toward Centerburg and Columbus. It already connects on the east to the Mohican Valley Trail in Danville, which continues as the Holmes County Trail at Brinkhaven, extending via Millersburg to Fredericksburg.

Earlier in November, three Mileposters stokers, who with the group leader did the ride to the Eastern Continental Divide for Sonshine Community Ministries, accompanied him in a visit to the Sunday worship service at Calvary Lutheran Church in Murrysville. Bulletin inserts were distributed to encourage congregation members to help replenish Sonshine’s supply of diapers. Afterwards, the visitors enjoyed a hot dog and soup lunch downstairs.

Riders are folding letters as well as labeling, stamping, and stuffing envelopes for a mailing to support Deaf Mission in Western Pennsylvania, which they will also do for Pittsburgh Lutheran Center for the Blind. This effort is repeated with each fundraising campaign.

At Games Night for November, participants enjoyed playing air hockey and foosball as well as the more traditional Carrom, bowling, and hide-and-seek.

Pittsburgh-Cumberland 2009

Our original plans were to make this trip during the summer, but that fell through. It seemed that there would be no long ride for ‘09, but then it became apparent that there would be no school during the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, so we scrambled to get a trip together! The ride was made to support the Pittsburgh Campus Ministry of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, and was planned to take place over four days, September 24-27. Our two top stokers were slated to join me on the triplet. On our final practice ride September 19, a record was set climbing from Connellsvile to Ohiopyle.

It was difficult to shoehorn the ride in between school days, and we were pleased as the last bits of supplies were purchased. But before we could unload and begin to pack, our tail gunner complained of a headache, and began to groan loudly. He proved to have a fever of 102.2 degrees, so that was the end of his hopes–he has not yet completed a big ride.

We set out from the Buena Vista trailhead on the 24th with only two riders on the triplet. After the successful experience of running the triplet straight through to Washington, DC last year, regardless of the number of riders aboard, it was decided to take it to Cumberland this year. The two riders on the first day set a record to Connellsville; after that, the first stoker went home, and I finished the original four-day trip by myself. When the time came to drive to Cumberland and pick up the triplet, it was decided to take the tail gunner along so he could have his first ride on the C&O Canal towpath. This turned into a 20-mile extension of the trip, turning Cumberland to Lock 73, giving a total of 150 miles. Two pictures are below; for the complete set of pictures, with the story, you may go to the Mileposters site. For a continued verbal description of the ride, read on below the pictures.

The second day, after a restful night at the Melody Motor Lodge, rooming next to a tandem couple who were also riding to Cumberland, I set out for Confluence. The weather was a bit cool, but it was not raining. Even though I was riding the triplet alone and with a load, I broke the record set on the 19th, and paused for lunch in Ohiopyle.

The night was spent at the beautiful Stepping Stone Farm outside of Confluence, with Larry and Vicki Rempel, where five kittens were born three weeks ago. This time the farm was reached directly, via Hogback Road and the bottom of the lane.

The forecast said there would be rain the third day, and it was correct. Morning arrived to the sound of water gurgling down the gutter. It was just a mist going down the lane, but before starting up the grade toward Big Savage Mountain, it had increased, and there were long intervals of downpour. Although the rain never stopped all day long, there are at least a few shelters now, and one of them provided a bit of respite for a soggy lunch. At least there were no tire problems in 2009, like those that cut up our ride to Cumberland in 2007–it had to be made in three sections.

Despite fears that riding the triplet alone up the big hill would be too much, the distance flew by at a crisp nine miles per hour, past the high and low trestles at Pinkerton’s Neck, granny gear remaining untouched, without visiting the store at Rockwood, and a record was set for the ascent, with an early arrival in Meyersdale.

Unfortunately, the washers in the laundromat were only giant ones, taking eight quarters apiece, but a helpful gentleman who was using them pointed out that the change machine would take $20 bills, and even donated some of his detergent to the cause!

The triplet had to have a lot of attention because of getting so wet and muddy–the car wash next to the laundromat came in very handy–and later the chains received a much-needed cleaning and lubrication.

There were three other people staying at the hostel that night, all with interesting stories to tell. One had started in Savannah, Georgia, on his way to Pittsburgh, but was hit by a car along a road, blacking out for four hours, and had to spend some in a hospital before resuming his trip. The other two brought the welcome news that Little Orleans Lodge was still open.

The next morning there was again only a mist starting out, which became heavier during the final few miles to the Eastern Continental Divide, but never so bad as the third day, although the short tunnel beneath a road at the Divide was a nice place to take a break.

True to form, emerging from Big Savage Tunnel into the rain shadow on the east slope of the mountains brought relief from the rain. There was a brief shower around Frostburg, but that was it. A quick trip down the steep grade and through Borden and Brush Tunnels brought the triplet into the Western Maryland station in Cumberland, the end of the original four days, once again arriving early, as on each of the last three days. With going back and forth to overnight lodging, the total was 130 miles. But the campaign wasn’t over!

An extension was added on a fifth day, October 3, boosting the total to 150 miles! Since the tail gunner didn’t get to ride at all, he was invited to come along on a fifth day, and joined me on the triplet, headed down the towpath of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. Our destination was a group of locks ten miles away: Locks 75, 74, and 73. We paused for a break at the Evitts Creek hiker-biker campground. Our return to Cumberland added 20 miles, for a four-day total of 150.

Our special thanks to Pastor Eric Ruble of Trinity Lutheran Church (LCMS) in Cumberland, who arranged for us to keep the triplet there until it could be picked up. It was this fact which made the fifth day possible.

Mileposters News 9-09

The original Mileposters articulated quint (bike for five riders) was out for a ride on September 5, and was spotted by Valley Independent reporter Jim Ference, who took the picture.

Our fourth trail mom, Kathleen Sammel, is at the left, and I am at the right. The group started out with the articulated quad and an articulated tandem (the balance of the riders were accommodated on a straight 20-inch tandem), and switched configuration at the end. The technology of the Burley Piccolo trailercycle facilitates such quick changes. The sixteen-mile round trip was from Cedar Creek County Park to Douglas Run on the Youghiogheny River Trail (Great Allegheny Passage), location of the Yough Twister ice cream stand, a favorite Mileposters destination. The total rider pool is now 18, including 15 kids and 3 adult captains.

September 6 was our first ride on the Ghost Town Trail, from Dilltown to Vintondale, PA, home of the massive, historic Eliza Furnace ironmaking facility. Our third trail mom, Maribeth Szczepaniuk, who made the entire trip from Pittsburgh to Washington, DC in 2005, along with her daughter, brought a friend from Germany who is interested in becoming a trail mom as well. The ride covered 14 miles.

The season’s longest one-day ride, 40 miles, took place on September 18 as the triplet team turned Boston to Smithton Beach in preparation for their four-day trek to Cumberland, Maryland during the G-20 summit–the previous longest day was 32 miles. The Cumberland ride, to raise support for Pittsburgh Campus Ministry, will feature stops in Connellsville, Confluence, and Meyersdale. Other rides were made in support of PALM, Sonshine Community Ministries, and St. Thomas building renovations; a ride to benefit Pittsburgh Lutheran Center for the Blind is planned. We are currently over halfway to our goal of raising $6,000 for the year.

The second-longest ride, at 34 miles, was September 19, with the triplet scorching the trail to set a record of 2 hours and 20 minutes up the mountain from Connellsville to Ohiopyle, never touching granny gear. The trip back down took an hour and 55 minutes.

In August, for Movies Night, a record crowd of 13 children and two adults turned out to watch Shirley Temple’s greatest film, Heidi. And for September’s Games Night, once again held outdoors, the attendance record of 15 kids from last year was tied. We appreciate the help given by Kent and Jennifer Nelson, Wayne and Aleata Weis, Kathleen Sammel, and Katelyn Rogalsky.

Mileposters News 7-09/8-09

Kathleen Sammel has qualified as tandem captain, our fourth trail mom! She received her tandem pin in a ceremony after the morning worship service on June 28. Kathleen first rode 12 miles on a tandem by herself to get used to the bike, and on June 27 she rode 16 miles with two different stokers behind her, on the Youghiogheny River Trail. Besides being able to handle a bike, Kathleen is very good working with kids, especially the girls. She was along on our “booster” ride, following up on our three-day, 50-mile trek on April 16-17-18, returning to the Arrowhead Trail on July 30 for another seven miles.

Kathleen’s daughter Katelyn has been faithfully teaching Sunday school classes at St. Thomas Lutheran Church, our home base, and has been riding with us as well, along with her three younger sisters. Katelyn also carried out a gift-catalog fundraiser, titled “Hope for St. Thomas,” which brought in over $400, raising the total brought in for our building renovation program to $4,800. So the new Mileposters have been going great guns across the board–they have worked up to 20 miles on a trip, and have greatly raised average speeds!

The fundraising ride for Sonshine Community Ministries in McKeesport, PA took place on July 18. Four riders, including the group leader, took the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad train from Cumberland, Maryland to Frostburg, and then rode 32 miles on the articulated quadruplet on the Allegheny Highlands Trail, a part of the Great Allegheny Passage, first pedaling from Frostburg to the Eastern Continental Divide, elevation 2,392 feet, passing through 3,294-foot Big Savage Tunnel as well as Borden Tunnel.

Then they turned around and rode the trail all the way back to Cumberland (629 feet) through the previous two tunnels and also through Brush Tunnel, experiencing a change in elevation of 1,763 feet. On the way back, they paused for a break at Milepost B170. The route configuration at this point is “rail with trail.”

Our next fundraiser will be for Pittsburgh Campus Ministry, and is planned to be on the Kokosing Gap Trail in Ohio. Other fundraisers before the end of the season will be for Deaf Mission in Western Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh Lutheran Center for the Blind.

A promising new junior tail gunner joined us on August 1, starting out with five miles on the Riverfront Trail. He is a candidate for the tail gunner position on the articulated quint.

For Movies Night in July we viewed ‘The Black Stallion.’ Upcoming films include ‘Heidi’ and other Shirley Temple titles. Movies Nights are held at 6:30 p.m. on the fourth Sunday of each month. Second Sundays, at the same time, are Games Nights. For July, the event was held outdoors for the first time, on the St. Thomas lawn, and we will be outdoors again in August.

Mileposters News 5-09/6-09

Ice cream is a great incentive for tandem bike riders, so the Yough Twister, across the river from Sutersville, is a popular destination, as can be seen in the picture. On May 31, a somewhat different group, behind the group leader on the original articulated quad, set a Mileposters 10-mile speed record of 59 minutes, all stops included. The 20-mile speed record is two hours.

Fundraising rides for Sonshine Community Ministries, Deaf Mission in Western Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Campus Ministry (Lutheran Student Fellowship and International Student Ministry), and the Pittsburgh Lutheran Center for the Blind are planned for the summer, including the Great Allegheny Passage, from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Maryland, and the Little Miami Scenic Trail, from Springfield, Ohio to Milford, near Cincinnati. Our riders were greatly inspired to meet the three Lutheran pastors from West Virginia who are doing the Tour de Revs, riding a bamboo triplet (pictured) some 5,000 miles in 100 days in support of Lutheran World Hunger. Their goal is to raise $25 million. The tour came to Wexford, PA on May 18. The average age of the three pastors is 60. See: http://www.tourderevs.org. The Mileposters have also been very encouraged to see the response from their Three Trails in Three Days ride in May, for St. Thomas building renovations, which to date has brought in over $2,400.00.

The 20-inch convertible tandem is continuing to be a great success, combined at will with the 26-inch tandem to make an articulated quad (for four riders) as well as with the triplet to make an articulated quint (for five). Younger riders enjoy being joined with the whole group after making half the trip by themselves, and other trail users are delighted to see the “impossible” combination–the most recent trip garnered 30 compliments from people we met! The other 20-incher, a regular tandem, greatly pleased its intended captain on June 6 when she took it out for the first time, with two different stokers. If you’ve never seen two kids riding a small tandem, you’re missing a poignant living definition of “cute”!

We are very happy that St. Thomas member Katelyn Rogalsky has chosen to work with us for her senior class project this year. She will teach Sunday school classes and will be joined by her mother and sisters on Mileposters rides, as well as assisting at Games Nights and Movies Nights. Katelyn, with the help of family members, is also organizing a gift-catalog fundraiser to continue seeking support for building repairs, which totaled over $8,000.00.

For Movies Nights, held at 6:30 p.m. on the fourth Sunday of each month, the series of animated Tolkien features continued in May with The Lord of the Rings and will wrap up in June with The Return of the King. Other planned films include Heidi and The Black Stallion. Games Nights, held on second Sundays at the same time, will also continue all summer.

More Tandem Cat

Tandem Cat made his first ride with human stokers today–three of them, on the articulated quad.

Perhaps we could now call the bike a feline articulated quint! At any rate, Derry did just as well as he did by himself last week–and no, he did not bite anybody!

Tandem Cat

Tandem Cat enjoyed a successful initiation into the ranks of the Mileposters today. His name is Derry, and he rode two miles on the Waterfront section of the Great Allegheny Passage. The bike shop didn’t have a helmet small enough for him, so we had to make do with a little wire cage-like thing similar to a hockey-style catcher’s mask. Actually, since my favorite bike is the triplet, I spread-eagled him over the second and third seats, tying his front paws to the middle set of pedals, and his hind paws to the tail gunner’s set. His rib cage was stretched a bit thin, and I had to install lengtheners on the cranks instead of shorteners, but it did work. He wasn’t the least bit happy about the arrangement, though, and when I went back to offer him a Gatorade, he bit my left hand, neatly severing the little finger at the first joint…..

Nah… the true picture is below!

I took him out by himself to see just how he would handle being on a bike, figuring it would go well, since he is such a totally intrepid cat–he even loves water. He did magnificently, admiring the scenery all the way around, getting excited when a rabbit appeared trailside, and meowed only once the whole ride; I just caught it by a bit of eucatastrophe. The carefully-selected carrier nestled perfectly atop the panniers hanging on either side of the Moose Rack, and he was far easier to balance than a pair of squirming human stokers! Never mind that he didn’t contribute any locomotion–he enjoyed the fresh air from a closer vantage point than the bedroom windowsill, and got several comments from other users of the trail. His career is in motion, and the usual stokers are looking forward to his company on our trips!

Eating Places

Eating is something that all of us do at some time or another. Venerated New Testament scholar Merrill Tenney once observed that “most of us find it pleasant as well as necessary.” It has also been said that an army travels on its stomach. That is certainly true when you are pedaling a bicycle!

Typical one-day rides usually see us at Wendy’s or McDonald’s–the younger riders tend to favor the clown’s house so they can get into the Play Place afterwards. (I tease them and say that if they still have enough energy left for that, they weren’t pedaling hard enough!)

But the eating places that are more interesting are the ones harder to find, off the beaten path (well, really, if you’re beating the path on a tandem, on the beaten path). I’ll start out by mentioning Muck’s Lunch in Venetia, PA, on the Montour Trail. The Mileposters wound up there sort of by chance one day–we weren’t planning to–but it was a fascinating experience. It’s the sort of place where, if you want to use the rest room, you have to walk through a curtain in the back. Don’t get me wrong–the food was good, and the conversation was colorful–check it out sometime! That was a place where we sat at little tables.

In Confluence, we’ve been to Suder’s Soft Freeze numerous times–lots of stuff on the menu besides ice cream–french fried sweet potatoes being a standout. At Suder’s, you take your things from the order window to long picnic tables outdoors. One trip, though, we were staying in town instead of at the campground, and the troops wanted to eat closer in–besides, it was raining! So we went to Sister’s Cafe instead–a marvelous choice. It had in fact rained all day, draining large amounts of energy, and it was one of those times when many miles resulted in a huge appetite. I don’t remember what I had, but it was very good, and there was a lot of it! We pushed a couple of tables together and sat in the front window so we could watch the rain come down. We had chained the bikes to a fence a few feet away, and a heavy downpour washed away most of the mud from the day’s ride.

There’s also a sort of ice cream place, with lots of other things to eat, about halfway down the hill from the Western Maryland station, on the right, in Meyersdale–I had a huge platter of creamy strawberry shortcake there. We sat at the counter. And a marvelous sandwich shop right up from the train station in Brunswick, Maryland. Tables there.

I’m making myself hungry just writing this, but I’ll wrap it up by mentioning the Country Trail store in Rockwood. We arrived there one day after struggling up the long grade from Confluence in a cold rain. The menu selection is not wide, but I kept going back for more of their hot sausage! It also didn’t hurt that we were able to buy Gatorade, paper towels, and other things that we needed. There is a tiny picnic table on the porch, but some of us stood at empty shelves in the back of the store.

If you’ve dined at any of these places, your comments are welcome, and feel free to add your own favorites. They don’t have to be locations you went to by bike, but you do get an extra 500 points for that!