8 July 2012
Stats for
the day:
Depart New
London, OH 7:30 a.m., arrive Williamstown, OH 3:15 p.m.
Trip
mileage – 1026.2 miles
Today’s
mileage – 81.01 miles
Time on
bike – 5:16:14
Average
Speed – 15.4 mph
Max speed –
29.5 mph
We may not make any speed records for the Tour de France,
but we had a pretty spectacular day for ourselves today. Can you tell the weather broke at it
was only 85 or so, and we had some relatively flat terrain. We didn’t use the granny gear
once!
Since we posted early yesterday, it only makes sense to post
a day late this time. Actually, we
didn’t have WiFi at the campground, or anywhere near it, so this is what you
get.
A restful night was had at the campground in New
London. We got a nice shaded site
and “borrowed” power from one other one to get the computer and cell phone
ready for today.
The sun was filtered for most of the day through some high
overcast, and it seemed like we had a north breeze blowing for the majority of
the day. That made for some
comfortable riding. We initially
figured it was going to be a 70+ mile day, but as we changed the route a bit to
take advantage of a grocery store that wasn’t initially in our route, it came
out to be 80 miles. That’s okay
though because it gave us a chance to re-provision since there is very little,
food wise, around the campgrounds in New London and Williamstown.
One of the great pleasures of this ride has been the
opportunity to visit, even briefly, the small towns that are the heart and soul
of this country. We took a break
in the town of Plymouth at a very pretty park commemorating those lost in the
wars from the Plymouth/Shiloh area.
The care that is taken to keep this park clean and beautiful is
heartwarming, as it shows the dedication people have to our fallen service
members, not just in our own hometown but all across this great land of
ours.
It really has been a wonderful day for riding. The vast majority of it has been
farmland. We pedaled along county
roads bordered on one side by vast fields of dark green corn stalks crowned
with golden tassels that stretch for acre upon acre, and lush green carpets of
soybean plants on the other. Inter
mingled with richness of greens and gold, are harvested fields of wheat glowing
the color of polished brass.
Off in the distance, a stark white reflection catches your
eye and as you focus you realize it is the sun reflecting off ancient
gravestones, markers remembering all those who came to this land to make it
their home. You can’t help but wonder
what their life must have been like, the triumphs and setbacks. Large maple and ash trees shade the
cemetery, offer a quiet and cool place to rest.
Further down the road we are reminded of the age we live
in. Two large banks of
photo-voltaic solar collectors stand astride the small landing strip at the
local airport. Their bright metal
and glass formations are reminiscent of a military parade ground with troops at
attention waiting for inspection.
We are now just two riding days from our final destination,
the home of our daughter and son-in-law, Meg and Abe, just south of Muncie,
IN. In conversation with her, she
was able to research our route for the 9th and she was able to get
us on a bike route around Lima, OH.
Technology sure is handy when it works.
We've gotten lucky this a.m. and passed an unsuspecting McDonald's to post our blog from yesterday. With any luck, we'll have wi-fi at the campground tonight. Meanwhile, keep us in
your thoughts and look forward to a big finale when we finish!
During a break, we wandered into the pig/hog barn and goat barn. We enjoyed a nice meal in the fairgrounds diner - they had a neat set up. Then we wandered through the 4-H displays to see how the Wright kids had fared in their hard work. One got Reserve Grand Champion (so second in show) for her wedding cake decoration. Everyone did a great job, however.
Tomorrow we're off to Indianapolis (at least that's the tentative plan...)
A trip to Mounds State Park gave us our outing and exercise all wrapped up in a beautiful, and interesting, package. At the visitor's center we were greeted with "climb aboard" the replica of a dug out canoe. Rick did his George Washington impression while Meg tried her best to make the canoe move. Lilly supervised the whole deal.
The Great Mound, and its surrounding smaller mounds, have a fascinating history, much of which is presented on display boards at the sites. We were all impressed with the abilities of this ancient culture to design and construct the mounds. The tacit abilities of the human mind and spirit are awe inspiring. 
A unique site at the park was this Deer Exclosure. It is an area protected from the white tail deer population so as to study the effect the deer have on the vegetation and ecology of the park. 
No miles on the bike today. Just a couple of miles walking/jogging first thing in the morning to try and stay in shape. The walk/jog was too much for Nola & Lilly - they had to nap when they returned.
10 July 2012
Our last day of biking started with the blare of honking
geese as they came into land in the channel of water just outside our
tent. After a wonderfully quiet
night it was a bit rude to wake up this way, but they seemed to think it was
time for us to “get up and at it,” so we did. 
Megan met us at the shop and we had a fabulous lunch as she
described the rest of our route for us.
No major hills, no surprise, but a few steeper knolls around the
reservoir. For us, that meant
pretty smooth sailing. She also
told us that Debi, Abe’s mom, had talked with a reporter from the Muncie Star
who was very interested in our trip and wanted to be here when we pulled
in. So we stayed in touch with Meg
and made our grand arrival with a welcoming committee made up of Meg, Abe, John
(the reporter), and Patti (the photographer). Crossing the finish line, constructed of black and white
checkered crepe paper, brought home the fact that we actually made it. Whew.
We spent a little while with John and Patty, of course
Bottle had to get his two minutes of fame as well, then retired to the air
conditioned house for some much appreciated soft seats. 
As we rode through the town of Celina, low and behold what
did our wondering eyes see but a DQ!
Ice cream!!!! With only six
more miles to go to get to the campground, we treated ourselves to the cold
treats and enjoyed every bit of them.
For those of you who know us really well, to pass up ice cream for over
three weeks while riding has been a monumental task. But today, we relented and savored the moment.
We did have such a fabulous time in Cleveland with
everyone. After dinner, when the
wheel was fixed, Josh and John took Twodles out for a spin and put him through
his paces. They may be hooked on
tandem riding now!
Words can’t express how much we appreciate all that Laura
and John have done for us, and the warm welcome and friendship they have
extended. We love you guys and
hope to see you in New England soon.
The West End Market was simply overwhelming. The shear size of the buildings and the number of vendors was staggering. One could spend many hours of just browsing trying to decide what to get and where. We managed to focus and get what we needed for dinner tonight before getting burned out by the options, and made it to the bus just in the nick of time to make the ride back to the house. 
The terrain evened out a bit and the ride went smoothly as we closed in on Lake Shore Boulevard, the route we had chosen to take us along the lake, then into Cleveland proper. Who ever said Ohio is flat, didn't ride the route we took. Lunch was a very enjoyable event at Sandy's Frozen Whip & Coney Island Foot Long Hot Dogs, located at the intersection of Lake Shore Blvd. and Brazil Street. If you like hot dogs and chilli, this is the place to go! Both of us enjoyed the food, Nola with her burger and shake, Rick wolfing down two dogs and a lemonade. We give it four stars!
Our hosts for the evening, John and Laura, members of the Warm Showers group, welcomed us with this lovely art work! It is a tremendous boost to our confidence to know that we have come this far. After a little rest and a great shower, we sat and visited, talking about bikes, routes, trips, and tours. Both John and Laura are avid cyclists and outdoors people; and we reveled in their telling us of their trips and adventures. 
Pat, these pictures of the bike are just for you! And look, no Bottle around at all! He was very disappointed and made a
point to remember how you treated him.
Before we headed out, this truck, hauling the trailer with
hay caught our eye. Rick has been
known to do something similar while helping Abe and his family on the farm in
Indiana. This just wetted his
appetite for farm work.
Anyway, we saw a gorgeous sunset over Lake Erie. It's hard to imagine a lake that just seems to go on forever; and Erie isn't the largest of them. The idea just boggles the mind. The night was quiet and we got some good rest in order to start our day headed for PA. We were able to get "outta Dodge" before the road construction got into full swing, which was nice. Since we were passing through Dunkirk, we stopped at the Tim Horton's for breakfast and WiFi, then made our way west on NY 5, Bicycle Route 517. This was our road for the majority of the day.
At one point during our ride today, we got a bit homesick because of the signs. When you see that you are entering the Town of Portland, you can't help but think of all your friends and family. We know you are all wishing us well and that is what keeps us going. Well, that and the song, "Indiana Wants Me."