Great Legs

Day 104, July 14, 2011, Great Legs

Route from North Ridgeville to Wooded Acres Campground, Lindsey, OH

92 miles, averaging 14.9 mph

Worst Moment – On the 4 lane Route 6 east of Vermillion, there was a propane delivery truck that felt I didn’t belong on the road.  Several blocks behind me, he started honking for me to move over – I was as far right as I could be and there really was no where else to go.  Finally, he was able to get around and I was glad not to have him on my tail.  

Best Moment – At Decidedly Different Gifts and Coffee, in Vermillion, OH, I was getting ready to place my order.  There was some conversation about my cycling to the coffee shop.  The woman who had ordered just before me, said, “great legs.”  I thanked her for the compliment.  Her comment made me feel like the entire ride was worth it – just kidding.  Seriously though, it did give my ego a huge boost.

 

This morning I was still riding along the shores of Lake Erie.  I didn’t quite make it to Sandusky for the roller coaster ride, but have seen a lot of this Great Lake.  While there are a lot of beautiful homes on the lake, there is also some industry and not so beautiful areas. 

 A mailbox along Lake Road

One of the many parks along the lake

Parts of the state are suffering terribly because of the economy.  I tried to find a coffee shop in Lorain (about 10 miles east of Vermillion), only to see that their entire downtown area of about 3 or 4 city blocks was completely empty – on both sides of the street with stores for sale and boarded up.  Very sad.  It is interesting that some areas, like Lorain, are so very depressed, yet Vermillion seemed to be doing well with the tourist trade.  The stores and streets in Vermillion made it look like the area was quite prosperous.

After leaving the lake region, I went through cornfields more cornfields of flat Ohio.  It is sort of amazing to see the golf ball like water towers all over.  It seems like one could see for several miles because the ground is so very flat.

From Clyde to Fremont, I was on the North Coast Inland Trail.  A bicycle – recreation trail.  It was a great ride.  I got to Ruby early and was able to change the front tire – the same one I’ve been riding on since Texas – guess that shows the difference in wear between the front and back tires.

Just finished listening to Next, by Michael Crichton.  It was an interesting, if somewhat preposterous tale about genetic engineering and taking a look at the issues under the most bizarre situations.

If you would like to donate to my ride, my link for the Lance Armstrong Foundation is http://grassroots2011.livestrong.org/billsbigride197.  I really appreciate your support.