We left Columbus in the aftermath of rain. The weather was actually nice, but the time of day messed with our minds. It took forever to get out of the city, and when we did we rode against some cross-winds. This really wasn't so bad, but I suppose we needed a morale break. We left Columbus too early. So we stayed at Super 8 in Marysville, Ohio. Hey--Super 8 Executives--if you give us free rooms the rest of the trip, we'll make you a commercial. "Super 8 is great!" We've stayed in a handful of Super 8's, and I could sleep inside the sheets in all of them. We made rice, tomato soup, and black bean soup. It was pretty delicious. We also met another cyclist riding east across the country to Erie, PA. If you go to www.givingfirst.com/niallsfitzduff you can learn more about his trip and philanthropy.
The next day we made up some of our miles--82 to Grand Lake St. Mary's, Ohio. In rural Ohio near Wapakoneta, a guy named Jim stopped his car to chat with us while we rested. He just laughed a moment and said "That's awesome!" He was friendly, and it is really nice to just talk to other humans along the way. Sometimes Jim and I are good company, other times it is better to be silent company.
On the way into Grand Lake, the sky became overcast and unpleasant. It looked like it might sprinkle, but it didn't appear violent at all. Jim set up our tent while I tried to figure out how to use the stove. I probably could have figured it out, but I couldn't get our gas can open. The empty gas can would open fine, so I'm guessing that we are carrying a pressurized can of diesel. We should probably just drop it. We can eat cold sandwiches and buy coffee. After all most hotels offer free coffee. (small dig at our current version of camping) When Jim couldn't open the can either, he took the empty Bob trailer to get firewood. We ate soggy pasta with tomato soup again. It's not bad. High in sodium, protein, and calories. It only has to nourish you I guess, not satisfy your taste buds. Our friend Kelvin just opened our diesel fuel bottle, but I still wonder if we should even bother.
Solid rain came down for a crazy two minutes, and we decided to pack up our gear and put it under the vestibules, which are enormous. We can fit it all under one and cook under the other if we must. After we ate, we sat around just chilling. The camp host lady came by and told us we should really secure our tent because we were under a tornado watch. I asked "Aren't we sort of messed up anyway if there is a tornado?" The ground was soft anyway, our only hope in high winds was genuine hope that everything was heavy enough to stay put.
We went to bed after it got dark and our fire died out enough. The wind didn't pick up until around 1230. I know because I was awake. It didn't stop either except when the birds' chirping seemed to tell it to stop around 7am. I know because I was still awake. I think I got a couple hours of sleep, but even after showering in a warm campground shower house, I wasn't happy or feeling well. Jim and I thought that it was wisest to try to go on, but we stopped for breakfast and still felt exhausted. The 7 miles from St. Mary's, Ohio to Celina, Ohio took an hour. We decided to take a rest day. We're not trying to kill ourselves. We camped again at America's Best Value Inn. We know, we have to stop this. The rest of the day proved our decision to be a good one because there were long bursts of heavy rain, and our goal that day to go 40 miles would have taken all day anyway. Not that we are still on some kind of schedule.
While resting in Celina, I wondered if we were going to feel the same way the next day, and the day after that, and so on. I woke up feeling ready to pack and start riding. The weather was nice, I just got a day of rest and a night of easy sleep. Jim felt a little slow, but he was in a positive mood also.
We stopped at the Indiana State Line sign to take pictures (which are still coming some day to the blog) of the signs with the shoes and Hari Howard (our stuffed elephant pet). Since we didn't see any Welcome to Ohio sign on the US 40 into Ohio, we crossed the street and took pictures after the fact. I'm sure people think we're weird.
Decatur is only about 9 miles inside Indiana off the 33. We decided to stop at a BP to get some coffee. The lip on the driveway into it as about 2 inches high, and I was going too fast to avoid it nicely. My front tire tripped, and I flew over my bike a little. I bruised up my legs, moved my handlebars, and bent my front rack. My bike and I are fine. It was actually a little fun. The fun part was calling Mom and saying "I wrecked," and without hearing the whole funny story she freaked out a little. From Decatur we kept going to Fort Wayne. We saw two cyclists on seemingly light bikes--2 tiny rear panniers each. They had an entourage of motorcycles and cops, and we thought they had to be escorted on the US 33. When the cops turned around we thought they would tell us to get off the road. No! They asked if we needed anything, and they didn't know why they had to escort the other two cyclists! We should have asked if we could draft off them until we get to Fort Wayne.
We pulled into some chain restaurant with golden arches in Fort Wayne, Indiana at five pm. We knew we wouldn't make it to Silver Lake, Indiana. If you've been talking with us about this little stop, you know that our friend doesn't have a phone. We needed him to call earlier than planned, or to be able to reach his parents to say that we either need a ride or we have to camp in Fort Wayne. We didn't know what was the best choice, so we travelled closer to the campgrounds and the state route to Silver Lake so that we would be close to either choice--camping or a ride. We were about to throw in the towel and rough it our way when Kelvin called. He gave us some extra time because he thought we might want to chill out for a moment after being done! We rode back toward the shopping center and drank and ate at some restaurant bar while we waited for Kelvin. At the bar/restaurant we met Diane Rogers, who just turned 50 and retired from the local police department. She was really exciting to talk to, and I hope she writes us!
When Kelvin got there we packed up our bikes in his Jeep Cherokee. My bike, the Bob trailer, and all our bags fit inside. Jim's bike had to be strapped to the top on the luggage rack in a fairly unconventional way. It's a touring bike; it's built to get thrashed; it will be all right. Well, it was all right until we got to Kelvin's, and he pulled into the garage. We'll be here a tad longer than expected while we get a new wheel, brake levers, and adjust the movable pieces on Jim's bike. That's all right, though, we're having a good time.
Posts
