Worst: Getting caught in a mist shower 16 miles from the end of the ride.
Most Unexpected: Thunderstorm last night
I unfortunately missed writing this yesterday due to an impromtu tasting of honey whiskey last night. I probably wouldn't have spelllledd meny werds write lasst knight.
The dinner at Napoleon was broasted chicken. I asked the cook what made broasted chicken broasted. Apparently to be a certified broaster requires you to marinate the chicken 24 hours, then lightly breaded, then put in a pressurized deep fryer. It tasted like fried chicken to me, and somewhere between the cooking and the transport the chicken got tough. It did taste better at the lunch stop.
At 1:30 in the morning I heard what sounded like rain on the ground, but I didn't hear any rain on my tent. After pondering this question, I realized I was under a tree and the tree hadn't released any water yet. It was a sweltering night when I went to bed so I had pulled back the flysheet and turned on the fan to cool off. Also took a shower just before bed which cooled me off for 45 seconds. Realizing that it was indeed starting to rain, I left my tent to pull down the rainfly in effect sealing me inside on a warm night. On went the fan again creating a white noise. This white noise was instantly overwhelmed by a real white noise called thunder. This went on for some time and then at 3:30 there was a Flash/Boom with no time between shaking the campground and setting off the emergency alarm from the City. The heavens opened up and down came a downpour that shook the tent. Everything stayed dry, but nobody slept.
We loaded the truck at 5:30 after the rain had abated, but because of the cloud layer, nobody could see to leave the campground at 6:00 so we waited around a bit until we could indeed see the road. Everything was still wet, but fortunately we followed the storm cells and avoided getting wet when we left the campground. The roads were wet which meant our shoes and legs became damp and full of road grit, but our upper bodies were dry. I debated wearing a windbreaker but as soon as I put it on I started sweating, so into the bike bag it went for emergency.
We were expecting a headwind, but instead we caught a tailwind which flew us to the first rest stop. We left as a group from the campground because although we could make out the road, nobody could read their q sheets. As a result I led the group out using my GPS which is lit and I could actually see. So picture 11 riders with lights in a line following a bike with GPS weaving around puddles, potholes and cracks like a giant snake. Once it because lighter, the snake broke up and became little snakes.
After the lunch stop which had the aforementioned famous broasted chicken, we went to the next check point at mile 68, but the clouds were threatening and we rode past the check point with a wave hoping to get around the clouds before they let loose. No such luck, and so for the last 16 miles we rode in this heavy drizzle that when you were riding felt like mini rain, and when you were stopped you couldn't figure out if it was still raining. We did get wet, but we knew we had cabins for the night and the only issue was that we couldn't dry out our tents from the morning. We arrived around 12:00 and after showers headed to the closest (the only) restaruant to the KOA and had sandwiches. Back to the campground we sat around a table and had snacks and goodies supplied by my lovely sister Mary Ann, and the latest shipment of sweetness from Marich Chocolates. This was accompanied by different flavors of beer. Sometime later, Kenny supplied a large bottle of Wild Turkey American Honey whiskey and we ordered pizza for dinner from Jacks, the local restaurant/deli. The other restaurants are in town over 4 miles away. Somehow after all this eating and drinking, I found myself in my cabin and called it a night.
The days riding was extremely flat where an overpass was the big climb of the day. It was an easy day of riding if you can call 88 miles easy which at this point in the ride we can. The next 6 days of riding will be challenging as we are headed to the hills of Pennsylvania where we will pray to have an overpass to climb over rather than the hills.
Today, Day 39 will be a true rest day, cleaning the bike, and lounging around the campground. Cedar Point declined to admit us for free after I asked them. They had requested I tell them how we were treated 2 years ago when they did let us in for free, and after sending an e-mail with the details, the response I got was "we decline your offer". I am not sure what the offer was, it did not include selling my body. They did offer us a discount with a 'secret code' which was the same as if you go on their website and look up special offers. I will not be posting for Day 39 separately, because although I am sure you need your rest, you do not need to be put to sleep by my accounting of resting. Pictures, such as they are, follow.
Look, I can take pictures from the front.
All that riding and somehow I end up home. The house prices are just a little less than in California.
A house in Ohio.
A house in Ohio.
A house in Ohio (but on a farm, oohh)
This was kind of cool which shows you how desparate I was for pictures. The grain tower looks like a castle turret. Also notice the rain in the background that we are about to ride into.
Again, houses in the country with giant lawns to mow.
Home sweet home. This is on Day 39 in the morning with the clouds all gone. The table on the right is where we set up last night so you can see how far I had to walk to go home from dinner. It was hard work.
No comments:
Post a Comment