This morning the curtains were opened with caution and revealed another overcast morning but it was calm and, more importantly, dry.
Breakfast was at 6am at the hotel. There were hardly any other guests at breakfast which included eggs, meat patties, waffles, cereals, breads, biscuits & gravy, orange juice, coffee and hot chocolate. The eggs were unique and may have included some egg product – it was hard to tell as they were so processed. The meat patties are best described as large enough to feed a family of four – and that was just one of them! Every one of them would have easily been the volume of a standard McDonald’s burger bun.
As it was only a scheduled 98 mile day, the ABB staff wanted a sleep in so luggage load was delayed until 7:30am. Patrick and I left just after 7:30am in dry and mild conditions with a 16°C temperature.
The high navigation requirements in Ohio continued – the first 12 miles took one half of an A4 sheet of turns and it took virtually a whole A4 sheet to reach the first sag at 38 miles. The countryside was similar to yesterday with the first decent climb just a few miles from the hotel.
The wetness of the land was confirmed by the newspaper this morning – it reported that only 7% of USA crops have been planted to date whereas normally by this time of year, 70% have been planted.
We also passed a number of Mennonite churches with three large church buildings being located within a few miles of each other. In fact, church buildings have been the most noticeable new buildings we have seen. For some reason, our routes also seem to have taken us past every cemetery in the state.
After the sag, the navigation challenges continued and a number of riders managed to accrue bonus miles. We avoided these but could not avoid some stretches of road which most riders struggled to call roads – there was no need to enter the Ramblers cyclocross event – the road was potholed beyond imagination in places, particularly in the shadows, presumably where snow and ice accumulate in winter. Some of the pot holes were 44 gallon drum size in diameter and at least 10cm deep. The worst bits of road were on steep pinches where speed was eroded as each pothole was either swerved around or ridden through. We reached lunch at 75.6 miles and I checked my tyres and wheels to find the back wheel was no longer running true.
From lunch, it was just a further 23 miles to Warren with some more rough roads to ride over. We also spent 3.4 miles on a bike path which was smooth asphalt – a welcome change for the day from the jarring of the potholes. A GT frame would have cracked and fallen apart long ago on these roads!
With thunder clouds brewing in an unstable and highly active sky, we completed a pleasant days riding and reached the hotel at 2:05pm after 156.6km of riding in 5hrs 43m at an average speed of 27.4km/h. The new luggage van driver again failed navigation 101 which meant this did not arrive until after 3pm.
Rap for tomorrow was at 5pm. It is the longest day of the trip – 139 miles are scheduled. Surprisingly, the route sheet for the full day is just one A4 sheet. The sag stops are being made up as we go along but should be at around 47 miles, 70 miles for lunch with the final one at around 100 miles. The course is supposedly relatively flat and the forecast is reasonable. Breakfast is at 6am at the hotel with luggage load at 7am. It will be a long day for sure.
After rap, I took my bike to the mechanic to re-true the back wheel and also change the back tyre at the same time. After 4,400km odd, it had a few holes in it but has not punctured. The chain was also checked for wear and deemed well worn out so was changed as well. Patrick’s chain is not quite as worn but he also took the opportunity to change his back tyre.
Once the bike was ready for tomorrow, we walked past the Home Depot store next to the hotel, which is probably about half the size of Hastings – let’s say the Mitre 10 Mega would be lost in one corner of it, and down to a Hometown Buffet Restaurant which had a wide selection of food and beverages. We made the sacrifice and tried most of the varieties of desserts – carrot cake, chocolate cake, cherry pie, bread & butter pudding, New York style cheesecake and fudge in preparation for tomorrow.
Numbers for the day:
Departure time: 7:37am Distance: 97.3 miles (156.6km)
Riding time: 5hrs 43m
Average speed: 17.0 mph (27.4km/h)
Maximum speed: 35.2 mph (56.6km/h)
Vertical climbing: 4,429ft (1,350m)
Temperature range: 16-23°C
Arrival time: 2:05pm
Weekly (Monday – Sunday mileage) to date: 540 miles (869km)
Total kilometres ridden to date / approximate kilometres to go: 4,459km / 1,130km
Rolling last seven days total kilometres ridden including today: 994km
cool how about anther post
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