08.11-12.2023 - ohio

as usual, up early, packed and on the road.  decent enough sleep and no interference from the authorities.  a couple of quick miles and i was back on the trail.  nearest breakfast was in richmond, in. about 35 mi down the road on the ohio border, but there was a gas station in only about 8 mi. where i could get something to tie me over.  losantville.  small rural community where everything is a dollar:  with a dollar general, dollar tree, and family dollar huddled together.  and a run down, 2-pump gas station at the crossroads of two 2-lane highways, u.s. 35 & u.s. 36.  the store was a monument to packaged, processed 'food'.  and i went down that hole with a cup of hot chocolat (no tea!) and a fried apple pie. 

that gas station provided me with one of the truly surreal american experiences, maybe it was all the sugar i was ingesting.  i sat in a chair outside in front of the gas pumps, at a crossroads in rural indiana, watching the windmill turning in the corn field.  meanwhile, good old boys stopping, going in and out of the store, leaving with a breakfast coke and a slice of pizza.  and all this time arabic music playing over the speakers.  gotta love it.

the trail, cardinal greenway, runs straight and true and flat through the heartland.  i made good time and pulled into richmond just after noon.  but i was tired.  tired enough that i was a little dizzy when i finally walked into roscoe's coffee bar & tap room. 

recovery took about an hour and half and required two cups of london fog tea, breakfast sandwhich and a muffin.

afterward, it was back on the road to cross into ohio. 

about 20 mi along country roads before finding myself back on a trail,  like indiana, ohio has some great rail to trails and the miami-little miami river valley has an amazing network, pretty well signed, numbered and mapped.  i've ridden parts of these before on other trips.

dayton is at the heart of it

of course, some is under construction.  dayton appears to be in the final stages of redeveloping the river channel, not unlike what columbus went through a few years ago.  google forgot to mention it.

in the effort to improve my eating, i opted for another shot of caffiene and a scone. it was after 6 and want to make xenia, another 15 mi. before sundown.

sometimes, when you're on a bike you can just ignore detour signs and walk your bike through whatever construction is going on, especially if it's after hours.  Sometimes it can be a bridge or something you just can't get passed.  this one proved easy, fortunately.

made xenia and headed to the greene county fair grounds in the hope of being able to camp there.  interesting thing that most fairgrounds have a campground, but primarily meant for rv'ers.  xenia was no different, but there was only one rv there, no attendants of any kind.  so i made myself at home, relaxed and had a good night sleep.  especially knowing the bathrooms were no gun zones.

i've been putting in the miles.  you can cross illinois almost entirely on rails fo trails  and one can make pretty good time on these trails if you're heading in the right direction.  flat, smooth, with a little tail or cross wind.  so i've done 90, 100 and 90 miles in consecutive days to cross the state.  and i've ridden 14 straight days?

i can feel it catching up with me, though.  it's hard to eat enough and certainly hard to eat the right stuff.  i'm starting to make some stupid mistakes.  dodged a couple of bullets today that were my fault, not being careful to put things away properly.  just kicked my glasses that were lying in the grass.  yikes!  i do have a backup pair, but they're really old and i would very much prefer not to have to use them.

earlier today, my slopiness with a bungie chord almost cost me.  i didn't secure it properly and while i was riding it slipped down and got wrapped around my rear axel.  one of the hooks got caught in the spokes.  fortunately, i came to a quick stop.  i had to cut the chord to get it out, then pry the metal hook out.  i thought a couple of spokes were bent, but they popped back into place and the tire stayed true.  rode another 20-30 miles with no apparent issues.  very fortunate.

xenia.  not sure what it says when the oldest business in your town is the one that does gravestones. recession proof.

in the morning, straight and narrow.  60 mi. to ana's, columbus, a beer, and several days of rest.  i've been on this trail before.

and i was truly wiped out when i got there.  One beer put me down for a nap, then i still slept through the night with out getting up once to pee.  when was the last time that happened?

now i'll take a much needed break for a few days, then what should be a three day ride to pittsburgh and the cycling part of the trip will be over.  just a wedding and a drive home with suzi lstill to go.