Travel log 2020- day 4 Columbus to Mt. Vernon on OTET
I forgot to mention that I saw six goldfinches yesterday. Today I didn't see any until almost evening.
Since I got lost and left the trail yesterday, today I had my sister drop me off at the point where I made the wrong turn yesterday. I want to do the entire Ohio-to-Erie trail, and I would have missed some of it had I started from her house and took the most direct route to my destination. This added about 6 or 7 miles to the mileage I planned to do today, but it gave me a sense of satisfaction. I was actually not too far off for some of my ride last night, only a city block or two.
And had I not taken the trail from where I left off, I might have missed this family of deer getting cooled off in Alum Creek.
The Alum Creek trail is a shady, winding trail that meanders back and forth across Alum creek. Too many bridges to count. It heads from downtown through Westerville. This cool masonry wall was one of the first sights I saw.
I also realized that the reason I did not see signage yesterday for Ohio Bike Route 1, is because I was off the route, after taking the wrong turn. Today, on the actual route, I found it to be very well-marked except for a few areas.
One confusing area was where the route crossed St. Clair at 670. The paper trail map was misleading. It looked like I was on the wrong side of 670, but Google maps showed me where I was and which way the trail went.
The other place was near the intersection of Cooper and Schrock road. The trail was marked "closed due to high water" with no indication of where an alternate route would be. I was later told by members of the Ohio to Erie Trail Facebook group that the route indicated by the Google map gives the alternate route. This leads me to believe that the high water closing must be semi-permanent. I parked my bike under a tree at a golf course while I looked at the map to figure out where I was. 
I ended up choosing my own route to get back to Ohio Bicycle Route 1. Looking at the map, I saw a connecting trail to the north on Cooper. When I got there, however, I found that trail closed for construction.
I followed another rider farther north along Cooper. He got pretty far ahead of me, but got me started on another branch of the Alum Creek Trail. The trail surface was black asphalt as if it had just been poured. This led to another trail called Towers Trail on Google maps. The surface was rough black asphalt, as if it were under construction in some places. I rejoined the OTET route near Polaris Parkway or Maxtown Road.
I ate lunch at Panera Bread, because I have a coffee club membership there, and more importantly, I did not have to cross a busy highway to get to it. A server there saw my GCC jersey and asked me what my ride goal was. I told him 500 and he said his was 200. I should have told him that size doesn't matter. He's working and I'm retired, and it's all about raising money for research for the kids. While I was eating my lunch, a woman patted my bike. I thought it was a strange gesture. Then as she walked away she told her friend something about if she didn't get tested she would have to self-quarantine for two weeks and I nearly spit my food out. Why was she touching my bike! I reminded myself that we were outside in the sunlight and that my bike would be in the sunlight all afternoon. But I was angry.
I rejoined the OTET at the parking lot of United Dairy Farmers. While I was there, I bought a big jug of Gatorade in the hopes that the extra potassium would prevent some of the evening cramping issues. There were a couple of other riders there who saw my bags and asked where I was bound. I explained that I was coming from Cincinnati and going to Cleveland. They assured me that the next section of trail through Genoa Township was smooth and flat.
They were correct. Again today, I was worried about making it to my destination before dark. I had only been averaging about 8.5 mph all day, with a lot of rest stops. The heels of my hands go numb unless I remember to change positions on the handlebars frequently, so sometimes I stop to shake them out. With the detours, more lost time. More uphills, and a light crosswind. And I was tired.
There were some zigs and zags on country roads when the Genoa trail ended. Then I arrived in Galena. I had ridden from Galena to the UDF store previously this summer, so it brought back the memories of that experience. North of Galena I got on to the Sandel Legacy trail, which ended abruptly in Sunbury. Then a more than ten-mile long stretch on country roads. I was glad to get back on the trail south of Centerburg and out of the crosswind.
I stopped at a station in Centerburg to take a selfie, drink some Gatorade, and used the provided tire pump to put some air in my back tire.
Just north of town is a marker that says it is the highest point on this trail. Funny, seeing that marker gave me confidence to shift to a higher gear, and my speed improved to about 13.5 mph. But it was downhill.
I cranked out the rest of the miles to Mt. Vernon. I only stopped to take a picture of this doe, who was stamping her foot nervously.
I did not stop when I saw what appeared to be a very large cat (like bobcat-sized) stalking at the edge of the cornfield that bordered the trail.
Just outside of town I saw the goldfinches.
When I arrived, my stepdaughter Lori made me feel very welcome. I showered, had a plate of food, a glass of wine, and chatted with her for a while before retiring to write down my recollections from the day. So far no charley-horses today.
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