Coast2Coast Day 69:  Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio to North East/Courtyard Winery, Pennsylvania; Aubrey in Conneaut, Roberta/Mark in Erie, AND Phil, Senior for the last 28 miles!

I was off riding early, excited to complete another state (Ohio) and add to our number of states (Pennsylvania).  Was blessed with another cool morning to get started, and light traffic along the route.  Stopped briefly (either in Conneaut or just West) at a convenience/gas station.  Aubrey was very helpful, greeted me with a wonderful smile, and we chatted for a bit while I downed an electrolyte drink.  (She promised to check out the blog, and she shared with the patrons that came in that I was riding across the Country!)

As I crossed into Pennsylvania, the North Coast Inland Trail ended, and it gave way to the the Western Reserve Greenway Trail/North Shore Trail/Great Lakes Seaway Trail.  The route took me through Painesville Harbour, and overlapped the Lake Erie Circle Tour/Great Lakes Circle Tour.  (I am not ready to be quizzed as to the distinctions between the varied trails, but it was nice to know that I was not on the roads least traveled by cyclists!).  Once in Pennsylvania, the cash crops of corn and soybean, prevalent from South Dakota, gave way to vineyards!

In Avonia, I met up with Phil, Senior.  He was dropped off by his daughter Maureen.  I met Phil last Summer during RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa), as he and his son, Phil, Junior, rode our team buss.  To make a distinction, I christened myself Original Phil, though there was some discussion, negotiations and verbal arm-wrestling as to who was Original!

Last Summer, I was still in the planning stages for the journey, and thought that I would miss RAGBRAI and would not be taking a route through Pennsylvania.  Well, circumstances intervened, and not only did Cathy insist we include RAGBRAI, but the weather in Eastern Kentucky/Western Virginia led to changing course to indeed travel through Erie, Pennsylvania.  Phil, Senior had said if I would ever be traveling through Erie, to be sure to contact him.

Subsequent to RAGBRAI this Summer, Phil, Senior had a bout of COVID.  He was not sure of his readiness to ride along for a bit.  Well he said he would lead for a bit so that I could get a sense of his speed.  He took off directly, and I was just hanging on.  Eventually he relented of his pace, and we were able to converse while riding.

We stopped for a bite at Avanti’s, and imposed ourselves upon Roberta and Mark (from Pittsburgh) to join their table in order to shorten our wait.  My hope is that Roberta and Mark enjoyed the conversation as much as Phil, Senior and I.  Cathy also showed up to meet them, and see that we were OK.

Phil, Senior provided a great though brief bike tour of Erie on our way to Courtyard Winery, where he knows the Sales Director!   We covered the relocation of some of General Electric’s facilities from Erie to Louisville, KY (where I had lived, and had many neighbors engaged at the GE facility in KY).  We went by the Bay and the (most visited) Park, and went by the Convention Center and Hospital!  He shared with me why vineyards do so well in this part of Pennsylvania and New York (cool lake air in the Spring leads to late budding, and warm lake air in late Summer leads to high sugar levels).

Cathy and I did a Harvest Host stay at the Courtyard Winery in North East, Pennsylvania.  After some wine tasting, along with bruschetta, we ‘checked in.’  Randy, the owner of the Winery with his wife Laura, showed us to a remote location off of Catholic Cemetery Road where we could camp for the night.

Phil, Senior, and his wife Liz, picked us up to treat us to great views of the point, the Lake, and a FaceTime introduction to Liz’s brother, Frank, who attended Notre Dame when I did.  Frank’s daughter now plays golf for the Irish, and Frank holds the Irish in great esteem.  We had a great time at dinner, and stopped to visit Sasquatch and have ice cream (including a mystery flavor) on the way back to our campsite.

The train ‘whistle’ during the night was sufficiently distant to be more reassuring than annoying.  The night was cool and comfortable, and all is well.