Move your mouse over the map above - you should see an open hand. Place the hand anywhere on the map and double click the left mouse button. You will zoom in and center on that point. You can do this again and again. An alternative is to use the "plus", "minus", and "arrows" in the upper left of the map.
Day 5: {between points "I" and "J" on the map}
JUNE 6, 2008: Milford, Pa. to Scranton, Pa., 70 miles via U.S. Route 6.
What can make cycling in New Jersey seem like pedaling through the French wine country during the height of spring? The answer, we learned today, is Pennsylvania.
The state’s notorious hills, locally known as “the endless mountains,” began just west of Milford and never quit. On top of that, the temps shot into the mid-80s and were accompanied by the notorious east coast humidity. In kind of a reverse wind-chill factor, 85 translates into something like 98.
On top of that, the terrain is frustrating: You don’t just conquer a pass and be done with it. Instead you’re cycling up a long succesion of rises and dips. We faced the Moosic at High Knob, the 1,940 -foot summit of the
Ben frowned for a photo next to the High Knob sign, which showed we were actually higher than Sonora, and then declared he had had enough. Our route was to cross most of Pennsylvania on U.S. 6, which further west threaded through some serious Alleghenies, and he wondered which sadomasochist had plotted it.
“Why not take a more direct route across the state?” he asked. I took about five seconds to abandon a route I had chosen for scenic beauty alone. It was trumped by flatter terrain and less mileage.
We immediately dove south toward Scranton, forsaking a back road one cyclist described as beautiful, “but a hilly bugger.”
Arrived at a Days Inn outside of Scranton after 8 p.m., logging about 11 hours on the road. After showers, dinner, and calls home , we plotted a new route through