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!
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