Frackheads and gasholes. Part two.

From Waverly, we chose to leave route 17 and New York state for Pennsylvania's state bicycle route Y, which occupies the shoulders of highway 6. Immediately we could tell we were in fracking country. New York has yet to approve of this spreading industry, but it's obvious by the yard signs that this is a controversial issue, in the process of moving forward. In Pennsylvania however, these trucks are needed to transport water, equipment, and waste to and from the natural gas wells. For us, riding this narrow, winding highway with these trucks through the hills of Pennsylvania's Appalachia was unpleasant. Two years ago, before the fracking boom, this route must have been a peaceful tour through the lush green landscape--with the occasional quarry truck. Now, I can't really say because I spent the whole time looking over my shoulder and trying to stay as far to the right as possible.

Although unpleasant From the perspective of a tourist on a bicycle, the positive economic impacts of fracking trump any income from a few cycle tourists. For this reason, I suggest the state of Pennsylvania remove or redirect bicycle route Y, as well as any other routes affected by fracking traffic. Perhaps it would be unpopular to suggest they also use some newly generated dividends to develop and alter the current bicycle route system.

As we moved west along highway 6, the volume of trucks slowly dwindled, and the shoulders grew wider. By the time we reached Port Allegheny and turned south of highway 6, our minds were returned to the calm of the open road, and looking forward to our first rest day since NYC.

All totaled, our path from the city to the western edge of the Allegheny Mountains consumed eight days of riding and one day resting. On a map, the northern Pennsylvania section of Appalachia appears meager; I challenge those who agree to pedal through the region on a loaded bicycle. By day nine we reached Ohio, and the scenery quickly rolled out into Midwest agricultural land, which we welcomed happily. Having adjusted to hilly riding, the easy miles over flat Ohio countryside put us far ahead of our intended schedule. In only two and a half days, we had reached the Indiana border; in five we covered the ground we intended to cover in six.

Looking forward, we face the fertile plains of the Midwest, before reaching the open rangeland west of the Mississippi. We've begun to plan our path home and the timeline to complete it. We hope the weather will adhere to our plans and allow us to see a more northern part of the west. As for the next few days, we plan on seeing a lot more corn and a lot more beans.