Day 3 - The hills and the Amish

Throughout the whole ride, we were told that day 3 was the day we needed to look out for. Apparently it was going to be the longest day, with the most amount of hills. As we later found out, this was a lie. Day 3 was tough, but Day 4 was more extreme in both regards. Nonetheless, the amount of hills is not inversely correlated with pleasantness of riding!

For most of the day, we were riding through beautiful valleys littered with corn fields and silos. We even saw a ton of Tobacco leaves hanging in storage sheds! Despite the obvious issues with corn (and Tobacco!), the scenery was definitely the most beautiful I'd seen throughout the ride.

(For more info on the 'obvious issues with corn', check out Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma for more info, or watch this video if you don't feel like reading:

If you look at my pictures, you can see some of my attempts at capturing such beauty. Then came the Amish, and with them the scenery became even more interesting and exciting. Amid the small streets and the rolling hills, me and the other riders got glimpses of the simple lifestyle of the Amish people. From the old-school clothes hanging on clotheslines to the horse drawn tractors, we kept on stopping to take pictures, sometimes to the point of annoying the peace-loving natives. The best part of the day was when I was riding with about 10 other people and we all hit the breaks when a sign caught our attention. It shone in the day like a shooting star at night. It was a hand-written sign that read: "Cold Home-made Root Beer". Under the strong September sun, a sign like that feels like a mirage in the desert, but the root beer was really there.

Root Beer Stand

It was a great sight, a small garden up front, the root beer stand with the a payment system based on honor, and a couple of dogs barking in the animal stalls. Thirst quenched from the root beer, some of the riders thought they'd take this chance to get a water re-fill, so we went up to the quiet house to see if anyone inside might be willing to give us some water. The door opened up and a young morman girl (16-19) walked out in full attire, including the head cap saying that she would be willing to take our bottles to fill up inside. As the first Climate Rider inched closer, a larger, older woman walked out, looked at what was probably her daughter and pointed inside. Without saying a word, our young friend walked back inside with a sad look. Relieved that she had just prevented her daughter for being exposed to ten secular men in spandex, the old lady pointed to the hose in front of the house and invited us to fill up there.

The lunch stop this day came at the 55 mile mark, way later than any other day. By the point we reached Strasburg for a buttery grilled cheese sandwich and delicious ice cream, we had crossed much of Pennsylvania, including a Morman town called Intercourse:

Intercourse church

I ate too much. 2 whole wheat bagels, a bag of weird pretzel sticks, an apple, a banana, a nasty grilled cheese (the only vegetarian option at the lunch place), some stale chips that came with the sandwich, and finally, a delicious cup of ice cream. Despite feeling disgusting for having eaten so much, I was feeling entirely healthy. I guess that's what getting exercise does to you, a new feeling for me. While getting ready to leave Strasburg, we came upon this sign (you will have to zoom in to see it):

To our Amish friends please clean up after your horses

It is a great testament to the ability of the people of Pennsylvania to live together despite clear cultural differences, and should be an example to be followed throughout the world where the pressures of globalization are threatening local identities and cultures.

After 18 more miles, we finally reached our destination, a Jesus camp operated by the son of 2 Amish people dedicated to helping inner city youth appreciate "god's creation". Despite the recurring religious talk (including the blessing of all of our meals) to which I am somewhat averse, it was an extremely welcoming place, and it was great to see how passionate the camp operators are about solving the climate crisis. The camp also had dorms which we could use if we gave a 6 dollar donation. Considering the welcoming and non-proselytizing welcome we were given, I thought they absolutely deserved it. Plus, I was so tired that I was immensely glad to have a bed to sleep in.

That night we heard from some interesting people, including Randy Swisher, the Executive Directore of the American Wind Association, and some people from Point Carbon, one of the orgs in charge of overseeing the implementation of Kyoto and the carbon market. It was interesting to hear the optimism displayed by the Point Carbon presenters, but I was a little disappointed by their blind faith in how the market would lead to just reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. After-all, so far the offset market has been plagued by scandals and corporate exploitation, including the oppression and displacement of native peoples in equatorial forests and the offsetting of 'cleaner-fuels' (i.e. getting credits for building slightly less polluting power plants, including natural gas and coal gasification). I asked them about how they are dealing with claims of CO2LONIALISM, but they didn't really answer the question coherently. I'm glad they are doing the work they are doing, but it seems to me that replicating the failure of our financial market in our carbon market might be a bad idea (and by that I mean the end of glaciers).

Anyways, Day 3 proved to be tough but beautiful, and by the end of the day I felt like I could take on anything. The rumors about how tough Day 4 was going to be kinda scared me, but I felt confident that I was going to be able to pull it off and complete the ride with a large smile!