Good and dry riding, despite the apparent threat of rain, with some unwanted excitement in the evening. It having been permitted in the past for cyclists to ride on the shoulder of US22/322 through the Narrows beyond Lewistown, and with no"motorized vehicles only" sign to indicate that that had changed, I felt reasonably confident in taking that route again. I had gotten as far as where the old highway used to be accessible via lifting the bike over a low barrier -- it no longer is (the highway has been relocated to pass above the old highway on a very steep slope), when I got pulled over by the state police. This was a limited access highway with no bicycles allowed the whole way to Harrisburg, they had received a call about me, etc. I said that bicycles had been allowed on very specific segments of the highway in the past (those for which no alternative route is readily available and where the are no interchanges to deal with) and pointed out that there was no usual "motorized vehicles only" sign where I entered the highway off old US22. He seemed to allow that, but he also said that "motorized vehicles only" is posted on all the on ramps and, well (though I had the good sense not to say this) I entered the highway via an on ramp, and there was most certainly no sign posted. The cop insisted that my bike go in his car, and even though it was immediately obvious that it would never fit, he insisted on spending the better part of half an hour trying to force it in. He finally gave up and allowed me to do what I'd wanted to do in the first place, which was to ride the mile to the next exit (with him following behind). Thanks to the delay, I had to ride the remaining half hour to the campground in the dark, which I was not terribly happy about. I haven't been able to find information about whether bikes are allowed any more on two of the remaining segments, but so far as I can tell the cop was wrong about one thing: bikes still *are* allowed on the Clark's Ferry bridge and down to where the old highway starts again just below Dauphin. (The alternative road, on the other side of the Susquehanna, is truly dangerous to cycle.) Meh. One can't really argue with a cop, and I didn't try. He was reasonably friendly in the end, making sure I knew how to reach the campground, but I admit I still resent all that time trying to cram the frame into a space it could not possibly fit -- not to mention the damage he could have done to my bike in the process.
I had second breakfast at Mamie's in Martinsburg, where I discovered that I'd lost the light off the front of my bike (very possibly back at Mom and Judy's) and listened to the voice mail I'd gotten at four this morning local time. It contained only quietly babbling voices in the background. The (Swedish) number rang back while I was eating. I told the woman I could not hear her properly -- there were babbling voices in the line, in the background, once again; and asked the woman to please send me an SMS or an email, which she seemed to agree to do -- though I've yet to receive anything. Who knows. Perhaps it was just a telemarketer.
From Martinsburg I climbed over Pulpit Ridge and dropped precipitously for four kilometers to Route 26, which I followed up along Raystown Lake and into Huntingdon. There I ran into my only two road closures of the day, necessitating minor detours; a third section of road that had been closed by the flooding was now open again, with a brief detour required through a parking lot where the water was too deep. Should have taken pictures and forgot. Stopped at the local bike shop for a new light.
US22 to Lewistown is still a decently quiet road, climbing away from the Juniata River along a tributary till Mcveystown, where it drops back to the river. Old US22 through Lewistown has changed a lot since the last time I passed this way ("new" US 22 goes around town on a limited access highway), as has the highway through the Narrows, which is now four lanes (it had been three, much of it tight against a sheer rock face that now has disappeared). Quite possibly bikes *are* no longer allowed on that section (though it has very wide shoulders, so that I was more than two meters from the traffic), but it should in that case be posted in the customary way. My guess of course is that the rules haven't changed and that the cop simply didn't know about the provision.
Reached the campground tired and grumpy. Ate a Cliff bar and chatted with my friend Caroline, at whose place in Maryland I will shortly enough, I hope, finish my trip.
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