Thursday 9 July, 2009

Well...I'll start with "every day feels like the same day." Although, now I'm getting better at remembering what day of the week and date it is. Yesterday we rode from Avon Lake, OH to Bowling Green, OH. On the way, there was a grated bridge, which I walked across (it's difficult to control the bike over the grates, and it was kind of narrow). As I was walking, I heard someone call from behind, "Gonna pass ya" or something like that. So, I moved over and looked back. Up rolls a man on a bicycle...too small for him because he was sitting on the seat and literally pushing himself along with one foot (and his knee was still bent). His opposite foot was in a boot-cast. He was steering with one hand, and the other was half steering but mostly holding an open 24 oz can of beer inside a paper bag. First thing he says is, "You coming from Cleveland?" So I say, "Yeah, Avon Lake actually." Then he says, "You got the biggest thighs I ever seen!!!" No joke. So I said something about having powerful legs that helped me climb the Green Mountains and Adirondacks. Then I tell him that I'm riding across the country with a group etc. He's pretty amazed, and tells me he can't ride more than short distances (a couple miles maybe?) Then he says, again, "You got some big thighs." I didn't know what to say...so I thanked him, I think. Anyway, I asked where he was off to that morning, and he says, "I got to go to court at 10:30..." for some drinking thing....I'm thinking drinking and biking maybe? Or possible public intoxication. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, this was at about 8:30 or 9:00 in the morning. And then, one last time before we went our separate ways, he marvles over my huge thighs, yet again. Aparently I have big thighs. Lol. It was such an odd interaction that it did kind of make my day...oddly enough. That was our first 90 mile day. I finished at about 3:15pm...and actually appeared to arrive at the church first. It was not on the street that the cue sheet had it on, so I had to chalk arrows pointing to where it was. I felt so accomplished. :-) Really, all I did was ask a local, who looked up the church on her i-phone or blackberry, whatever it was, and found out it was 300 feet away, on the other side of some buildings on Main St.

Oh yeah, at one point on the 90 mile day I passed through a small town called Vermillion, OH. There was a sign for a shop called "Abigail's Antiques and Emporium." I stopped and took a picture. How often do I see a sign with my name on it? That was pretty cool.

Today was a 76 mile day from Bowling Green, OH to Camden, MI. It's so flat out here!!! We saw 4 wind turbines on the way out of Bowling Green. They were really neat to see, turning slowly in the early morning breeze. The wind wasn't too bad until about 1:00 this afternoon. It was also hot today, but not actually too bad. However, the last few miles I was so done, I just wanted off my bike because I was getting sore...yeah. But, it's cool because this morning I stopped by a brick building that was missing 2.5 walls, held up by the corners and a wall and a half. It was at the corner of...County P Rd and...oh I don't remember. Anyway, I stopped and then a few people who had just rode up behind stopped (for a "pee break" as we call it). Walking back to my bike, I looked down at the shoulder of the road and say a four-leaf clover. I picked it and put it in my blood-sugar log-book. That was cool. Today is also mail-drop day, meaning we get mail!!! Yay!!! I got a letter from my mom along with a container of Gold-Bond powder (very important), a letter from my dad, and one more from my friend Azreal. I feel so special. :-) hehe
Oh yeah, you wouldn't believe how much road kill there is! And it's not just in one state or along one stretch of road. It's all over the place. It seems like more than back home, but I imagine that it's just because I haven't noticed it because back home I'm usually in a car. Biking is pretty awesome. I hope to put pictures up soon...maybe tonight because we will have more access to computers and internet than we've had to date.