98 miles and 2700 feet of climbing. Today was the last Friday of the trip. Next week at this time I will be home!! It was a good day weather wise as it was the first time in too long that we did not have to get bundled up with winter/rain gear. I had forgotten how good it feels to ride in shorts. The temp was in the mid-60’s, partially sunny and we had a slight tail wind. The route was not bad, but certainly did not live up to the expectations that yesterday had established. The first half of the day we rode through an area made up primarily of old farms/homesteads and lots of new 10-20 acre “country estates”. Nearly every other one had a 1 – 2 acre pond and the 5000 – 8000 sq. foot homes were surrounded by lush green lawns. Due to the excessive rains they have had there were lots of people out mowing their lawns. There were some very nice properties and I kept imagining myself sitting on the shore of a pond, contemplating the last 4 weeks. I was riding with my Norwegian friend, Lasse, and he made an interesting point, “You Americans do like your lawns. These people have bigger lawn mowers than the car I drive at home and they use more gas cutting their grass than I use driving to work.” I agree and made the point that us Americans waste/over use a lot of oil, etc.. He responded, “Ya, you are bad, but not as bad as those Swedish people. They real bad in many, many ways.” Of course I objected and told him that I have some people in my family of Swedish origin. He responded, “Oh, I sorry. No one should have to have Swedish people in their family.” J
We rode on some of the worst roads we have encountered on the entire trip. Just imagine bad and multiply it times 10. I have never seen so many pot holes, patches, broken black top, etc.. I was dodging hazards all day long. You would think that the Ohio State football coach would organize his players and have them do a fund raiser to repair the state’s roads. Perhaps they could sell some memorabilia or something! I mentioned yesterday that I had to do a “cobble repair job” on my wheel. It held up fine to the punishment I put it through so I am quite confident it will get me to Amesbury.
Tomorrow is a 139 mile day. We will leave Ohio, spend some time in Pennsylvania and end the day in Dunkirk, New York. The route will take us along the shore of Lake Erie and it is billed as a long but easy ride.
Sorry, no pics today.
XOXOXOXOXOXOX
Well just keep plugging along Jay, I'm pretty sure it's all downhill from here on out. Tell Lasse I have a tile over my computer monitor that says "Living with a Swede builds character." Of course anyone from a country that thinks Lutefisk is food (Norwegians)is in no position to criticize or critique anyone else. Lasse is obviously a smart guy though, coming to this country and becoming a friend of yours.
ReplyDeleteSo Ohio has the good, the bad, and the ugly. Sounds like the kind of time that we have had here with you gone. Wonder if it will be the same when you return. Those new habits of yours might be hard to get use to. We finally had a good day yesterday and the prediction of a good week-end ahead. Hope the same is true for you.
ReplyDeleteLeisa