Are we getting better at this?
Day 9 had us leaving Bellefontaine for Upper Sandusky. Initial weather reports from the beginning of the trip had show rain/storms all this week. This was also the start of road routes again after being spoiled by trails for nearly a week. But after Bellefontaine’s disappointing storm the weather forecast has cleared up. It was initially cloudy when leaving but cleared up mid trip, with some cloudiness up ahead.
The real shock what that we completed the near 50 miles route 10 minutes faster than the previous day’s near 40 mile route. So, that asks the question, are we, 2 late 30’s overweight guys carrying 40 pounds of stuff on the back of our bikes, getting better after a week of riding (nearly 458 miles)? Or was the elevation profile really tilted that much in our favor? I had averaged over 16 mph yesterday with a top speed of 29, which I’m guessing was down a hill at some point. But I did see I was going up hill at 18-20 mph and I wasn’t dying when I got to the top, which I had done fairly early on in the trip. It’s probably a mix of both, but I’ll take it.
Dinner was Bob Evan’s. It was good… Not much to say about Bob Evan’s. The rest of the night was basically watching YouTube until I went across the street for drinks and snacks later in the night.
Today we travel to Sandusky. It’s about 56 miles so we’re going to see how long it takes to make that at to whether we’re improving. Honestly neither one of us thought we’d feel so good on this trip, figuring our legs would be aching and we’d barely be able to walk well before this point. I was planning contingency scenarios of having to call it off early and renting a truck to take us back home. I was most concerned after my bike slid out from under me on day 2 and I fell on my hip. I couldn’t lay on my side that night due to the pain. Oddly I was still able to peddle. My bruise had grown almost daily for the few days after that but seems to be clearing up in the center. Another point of concern was day 1 after we realize Plonker had a broken spoke. The bike shop near that night’s hotel was closed for a few days and other possible bike shops were well out of the way. There may be others, but The Google didn’t show them. About the same time I realized a support screw had fallen out of my cargo rack and the whole thing was tilting to my left. Luckily we had found the shop in Massillon and everything was fixed.
It’s been a long week, and we’re nearing the end of the trip, sadly. We’re staying 2 nights in Sandusky. The original plan was to take a day for Cedar Point, but we’re not entirely sure how we’d get there. The second day if the first day of not having to ride the bike so we’re not going to ride there. Beside we’d have to go in the back way as bikes and pedestrians aren’t allowed on the causeway. Uber and Lyft are an option but I’m guessing they wouldn’t want to go to the gate. Who knows? We’ll see what happens.
