(39 miles)
The Solders and Sailors monument in York’s Penn Park was dedicated July 4, 1874. The inscription reads “In the memory of the York County Soldiers and Sailors of the Late War of the Rebellion 1861 – 1865“
“War of Rebellion” is a 19th century term used only in the North. The contemporary term in the South was the “War for Southern Independence”
The ride conditions improved immediately when I headed south from York on the Heritage Rail County Park. The route was shaded, and one of the tracks was replaced with a suitable biking surface.
There are about 30 seats (with no seat belts or roll bars) on this gas-powered, um . . . vehicle
I took the picture below partly because it is a residence built less than 100′ from a pair of railroad tracks, and partly because I wasn’t sure of what I was seeing. The two doors on the first floor suggest two separate residences, each with three floors and its own stairway. An alternative could have been three single-floor residences and just one shared stairway.
Only after I later looked at the picture above did I notice what was partially hidden in the shaded area in the lower left.
Here’s another view of the same site that found on the ‘net.
If you ever wondered where ice cream was first commercially produced, here’s your answer: near this trail marker in Seven Valleys, PA.
As I was approaching Manchester, MD, I didn’t securely park my bike when I got off to take some photos, and the bike fell down. I picked it up, but when I resumed riding I discovered I couldn’t get into first gear. I had somehow loosened the cable to the front derailer, and it wasn’t clear to me what I needed to do to fix it.
The terrain is moderately hilly, and without the first gear I struggled in the last mile to get to Manchester. When I got there, I asked the guys at the volunteer fire department if there was a guy in town who did bike repair. They said sorry, no one in town does that.
I decided to walk my bike to the Sheetz gas station on the corner to get get a cold beverage, sit in interior dining area to cool off in the air conditioning, and decide my next move. When I got to the station I saw an an old guy sitting outside next to his bike, and I walked over to talk with him.
The guy’s name was (and probably still is) Kevin. He looked looked at my bike and immediately saw the loose cable. He said he could fix it but he doesn’t have a 5 mm wrench with him. I told him I have a 5 mm wrench and I got it out. He pulled the cable tight and I tightened the nut.
The derailleur situation was improved, but not fully fixed. I still couldn’t get cleanly into gear one, and it was actually harder now to get into gear three, but the bike was rideable. I thanked Kevin for his help.
When I finally made it to Westminster, the end of today’s ride, I googled for nearby bike shops in the hope that there was one, and possibly it hadn’t closed for the day. Divine Providence came through again, as I found a bike shop that that was only 10 minutes away, and they were open until 7 PM!
I got there at 6:15, and the guy at the front desk said the mechanic should be able to fix the derailleur. I talked with the guy at the front desk about bicycling, baseball, the Orioles, the Yankees, the Ravens, and even a little bit about Deshaun Watson while the mechanic in back worked on my bike.
After a while, the mechanic came out and asked me have I ever had the front gears changed? I said yes, years ago, they went to a smaller sprocket. He said they should’ve also gone to a “below swing derailleur” because my derailleur really isn’t designed to do what it is doing. I told him I’d look it up when he got back to Cleveland. The mechanic fixed the derailleur as best as he could, and put some air into the tires.
I thanked the guys for their help and asked what I owed them, and front-desk guy said no charge, they’re glad to help a fellow bicyclist in need. I asked if they had a tip jar, and they said no. So I thanked them again, put a $20 bill on the counter, and suggested that they get a couple of beers.