Day 33, Friday, August 1.
Ft. Wayne, IN to Wayne, OH
Daily Mileage: 107.78 miles
Total Mileage: 2,988.5 miles
Daily Time on Bike: 6:31 hours
Average Speed: 16.5 mph
Maximum Speed: 26.7 mph
Today we awoke inside, in comfortable beds and cool. Breakfast consisted of whatever we could find around the kitchen. After showering and shaving we all took pictures together. When dad and grandma left to run some errands, David and I finished packing, stretching and stealing (uh, relocating) food. We headed for Monroeville, IN, which took us fifteen miles closer to Ohio. We stopped to eat some more food and figure out how we got lost so quickly trying to reach Ohio. Once we were on the correct road it was fairly easy going. I think we took pictures of three different Ohio welcome signs, as well as an Indiana sign (since we didn't see one on our way into the state).
The Adventure Cycling directions were a bit confusing until we got to Defiance, OH. We took a break at a Shell gas station because David needed to use the restroom. A really friendly man and his young son stopped to talk with us about the trip. He reassured us that our custom route to Fremont, OH would be all right. We politely told him we needed to be on our way after he invited us several times to come over and eat. The most frequent reply to our, "We started in Washington State and are biking to Massachusetts," is "No Shit." Each time someone says it they use a different inflection on the phrase. It's interesting how they say it—whether it's amazement, disbelief, or just the first thing that pops out of their mouth. We started to notice people doing this in Iowa.
Tonight, we're camping in some guy's backyard. While David and I were making phone calls, a car full of women stopped near the restaurant where we were standing. They began asking questions about the trip and then one of them invited us to stay behind her dad's house a couple of blocks away. The guy seemed pretty confused at us pulling up and setting up camp; however, after a while he warmed up to us. We were able to keep our bikes in a protected area and camp on some soft grass under a big tree.
Every morning when we get ready to pack up camp we follow the same procedure. To protect what little property we have from whatever/whoever might be out there in the middle of the night, we take off all of the gear from our bikes. Usually, we just leave it under the tent rainfly; however, if it has been raining, or we feel particularly uneasy about where we are, we'll bring it into the tent with us. In the morning, we change into our bike clothes and repack our sleep sacks, raingear (that we use as a pillow), and other little things such as flashlights, cycling computer, and water bottles. Next, we tear down the tent. This takes a good deal of work to roll the tent, rain fly, and footprint, as well as collapse the aluminum poles. Once we get it back into the bag, we bungee cord it to our rear racks and do a little bit of stretching. All of this usually takes an hour to an hour and a half, depending on how tired we are and/or how thick the mosquitoes are where we camp. Speaking of mosquitoes, since Illinois we haven't really been bothered by these pesky insects. Supposedly because of all the rain up north there is a lot of standing water that serves as the perfect breeding ground for them. Now people in the mid-west are complaining about the mosquitoes right now, but for David and I, they don't even faze us anymore.
One of today’s highlights included crossing I-75, one of the interstate highways that go directly through Cincinnati. Now, we both know how far north we are, but never the less, we felt a great sense of home.
(Photo: David, very excited to be back in Ohio.)
Daily Mileage: 107.78 miles
Total Mileage: 2,988.5 miles
Daily Time on Bike: 6:31 hours
Average Speed: 16.5 mph
Maximum Speed: 26.7 mph
Today we awoke inside, in comfortable beds and cool. Breakfast consisted of whatever we could find around the kitchen. After showering and shaving we all took pictures together. When dad and grandma left to run some errands, David and I finished packing, stretching and stealing (uh, relocating) food. We headed for Monroeville, IN, which took us fifteen miles closer to Ohio. We stopped to eat some more food and figure out how we got lost so quickly trying to reach Ohio. Once we were on the correct road it was fairly easy going. I think we took pictures of three different Ohio welcome signs, as well as an Indiana sign (since we didn't see one on our way into the state).
The Adventure Cycling directions were a bit confusing until we got to Defiance, OH. We took a break at a Shell gas station because David needed to use the restroom. A really friendly man and his young son stopped to talk with us about the trip. He reassured us that our custom route to Fremont, OH would be all right. We politely told him we needed to be on our way after he invited us several times to come over and eat. The most frequent reply to our, "We started in Washington State and are biking to Massachusetts," is "No Shit." Each time someone says it they use a different inflection on the phrase. It's interesting how they say it—whether it's amazement, disbelief, or just the first thing that pops out of their mouth. We started to notice people doing this in Iowa.
Tonight, we're camping in some guy's backyard. While David and I were making phone calls, a car full of women stopped near the restaurant where we were standing. They began asking questions about the trip and then one of them invited us to stay behind her dad's house a couple of blocks away. The guy seemed pretty confused at us pulling up and setting up camp; however, after a while he warmed up to us. We were able to keep our bikes in a protected area and camp on some soft grass under a big tree.
Every morning when we get ready to pack up camp we follow the same procedure. To protect what little property we have from whatever/whoever might be out there in the middle of the night, we take off all of the gear from our bikes. Usually, we just leave it under the tent rainfly; however, if it has been raining, or we feel particularly uneasy about where we are, we'll bring it into the tent with us. In the morning, we change into our bike clothes and repack our sleep sacks, raingear (that we use as a pillow), and other little things such as flashlights, cycling computer, and water bottles. Next, we tear down the tent. This takes a good deal of work to roll the tent, rain fly, and footprint, as well as collapse the aluminum poles. Once we get it back into the bag, we bungee cord it to our rear racks and do a little bit of stretching. All of this usually takes an hour to an hour and a half, depending on how tired we are and/or how thick the mosquitoes are where we camp. Speaking of mosquitoes, since Illinois we haven't really been bothered by these pesky insects. Supposedly because of all the rain up north there is a lot of standing water that serves as the perfect breeding ground for them. Now people in the mid-west are complaining about the mosquitoes right now, but for David and I, they don't even faze us anymore.
One of today’s highlights included crossing I-75, one of the interstate highways that go directly through Cincinnati. Now, we both know how far north we are, but never the less, we felt a great sense of home.
(Photo: David, very excited to be back in Ohio.)
