Day 29 - The Ride to Painsville

We began today in Wooster, OH with Claire noticing a quote on plaque, which was hanging on the hotel lobby wall. It read "Everyday is a Gift".  This became our motto for today's ride.

A few days ago I had painstakingly navigated today's route, selecting Painsville, OH as the target based on its location.  This morning I reviewed the route and thought there may be a better way.  I plugged Painsville into Google maps and selected the cycling route.  Voila'! Google's route was completely different, including a couple of bike paths, and was 10 miles shorter.  I decided to change to this route at the last minute.  It was a great decision!

This route set us up for one of the best days of the expedition.  The weather was ideal and the pace was a little slower for various reasons.   The sights and the variation kept things fun and interesting all day. Claire and I had to split up due to the bike paths and side roads.  Claire drove the highways and we planned meeting points along the way for my refueling, etc. I rode about 93 miles today. Here's the link to a map of today's ride

We arrived in Cleveland during the afternoon and there was a 1/2 marathon underway.  Cleveland rocks!

While we ended the ride in Painsville today, (a very nice town).  Today was anything but painful. 

Everyday is a gift..

Cleveland "The Emerald City" (high road)

The Fountain of Eternal Life (War Hero Memorial)

Day 28 - Back in the Saddle, Completing Week 4

We had a very good day to complete our 4th week of the journey. I rode from Columbus OH to Wooster OH, which was 86 miles. Here's a link to the map of today's ride. The saddle sores are in check and after a cool start, the weather was a bit warmer, in the 80s.  There was a headwind from the east but it was minimal at approximately 6 MPH.

I switched from US Route 40 to Ohio Route 3 for today.  This heads northeast and brought us through Centerburg, the geographical center of Ohio.  So we've got that going for us!

In the morning I happened upon a couple of great bike paths, which provided a welcomed break from the traffic. Route 3 was in pretty good shape to cycle with a paved shoulder for most of the way.  Once we reached Mount Vernon the road follows the landscape bringing lots of rolling hills into play for the second half of today's ride. There were several steep climbs, but nothing terrible.

We saw a couple of working oil wells today. I didn't know Ohio was an oil producer.  This is an Amish area and we had their great strawberry rhubarb pie and zucchini bread. I also saw an Amish horse and buggy but I couldn't get a picture of it. Maybe tomorrow..

It felt great to be back riding again.

 

A Working Oil Well in Ohio

Amish Transportation

Day 27 - Not So Fast..

It was inevitable that something would cause me to take a day off.  We spent the day in Columbus OH, no riding.. I have developed saddle sores and as a precaution I decided to take a day off the saddle.  I consulted with my ride surgeon, Dr. Marc Berliant, for suitable treatment (It's amazing what an iPhone can do).  I still have approximately 10 days of riding and taking a day off now increases my chances of finishing this journey within a reasonable timeframe.

This was the first day off from riding since April 22, and it felt very strange not to get up and go. I had to tell myself to slow down and relax. With this day off I had a chance to interview Claire, my VP of SAG operations. She also had a chance to get her hair done and we did some sight seeing in Columbus, on beautiful spring day. 

So I'll be back at it tomorrow..Thanks for all your support..

Twin Elephants on a Cake

Clair Sporting a New Doo, Nice

Fish Fountain

Bench in the Park, Excellent Rest Stop

Day 26 - Slow Going

Today was a challenge out there.  I had stiff headwinds all day which slowed me down significantly but I was determined to make Columbus OH and did it.  I ran into a detour after 13 miles, this wasn't as bad as the last one (47 miles) it was only a few miles.  I decided to stop the GPS tracking and restart it because I has to put the bike on the SAG vehicle for one highway exit.  There are two map links of today's ride. Here is link one.  Here is link two.  I rode a total of 96 miles. 

Happy birthday to my brother Mike.

All is well, enjoy the videos, some interesting tid bits of a long day.  Good night..

Cool Old Car on US RT 40

Day 25 - Buckeye's Anyone?

We've made good progress over the last few days.  Today started out warmer with a tail wind and then  the wind direction changed at 12:30 p.m. to a north-east quartering head wind (argh). 

I happened upon a horse-drawn wagon moseying down the road.   I think it was a chuck wagon (or maybe a Conestoga wagon) I immediately got a hankering for some beans.  I had some for dinner, yup.

We were able to make it to Ohio today, crossing the state line at 5:00 p.m. I rode 89 miles today,  here's a link to today's route map.  We should be in Ohio for a few days, continuing on US RT 40 to Columbus.   Then heading northeast diagonally across the state. 

All is well with no machanical problems or getting lost. A good day.

Day 24 - Indianna Wants Me

We broke into Indiana today and we've also transitioned into the eastern time zone.  This was a great feeling and feels like progress.  I did 94 miles today, mostly atributable to the lack of a head wind.  Here's the link to today's route on US 40.   I also passed the 2,000 mile mark, a very good day. The weather was beautiful.

The road surface on the shoulder was difficult today, especially in the afternoon.  The road surface included cracks, bumps, and overall rough surfaces. After about 4 hours of banging around my rear end was feeling the brunt of it all.  So I decided to invest in a new bike saddle.  After today's ride we ended up in Plainfield and Claire, my SAG manager, found a great bike shop called "Gear Up".  So I rode in and Jeff Kindom worked with me to ensure I got just the right seat.  Thanks to Jeff and all the great staff for cushioning the ride.

Then we had the best meal of the trip at Sal's Italian restaurant, where Lucas did a great job serving us great authentic meals.

Terre Haute IN City Hall

Day 23 - In The Groove

Today was a very good day in Illinois, the weather was perfect, except the persistent headwind which kept my mileage in check, We started in Greenville, IL and ended in Casey, IL for a total of 88 miles for the day.  Here's the link to the map of today's ride. 

We said good bye to Route 66 yesterday and picked up US Route 40 today.  It is similar to Rt 66 as it existed before the interstate highways were built and follows along I70.  Rt  40 in this area is straight and mostly flat.  I'll try to follow this route through Indiana into Ohio if possible. 

Many folks have requested how many miles I have ridden and how many are left to go.  In fact, you even got me wondering how I'm doing for a big picture point of view.  So I went through several days where I didn't report the miles due to various bike problems, wrong turns, detours, and back tracking, which throw off the numbers tracked by the GPS.  To total miles ridden to date is 1,940.  Estimated miles yet to cover is approx 1200.

Last night I was quite tired when updating the day's activities and beside my grammar mistakes I forgot to mention that while we were at a gas station in Missouri Matt Christiansen, who read the sign on the car's rear window, approached me, offered me some Cliff bars, and Gatoraide to help my on my journey.  Then he made a generous donation to the MS Society on behalf of my ride.  Thank you Matt!

Also, Keith Walston met up with Claire and I in Missouri.  Keith is a team captain for a local MS ride and we were able to get acquainted.  We discussed the Bulhead City climb, his brother did it :)

Today I also came up on another cross country rider on Route 40.  Alex is riding from LA to Washington DC.  He is carrying all his gear on his bike.  He is riding at a slower pace so we rode together for a few mins and exchanged information about our routes, times, etc.  Then I accelerated to keep on my own pace.  You really have to respect those guys who ride with all their gear on their bikes.  Maybe next time...

Greenville IL is Where the Buffalo Roam

Claire Wants This Truck