Fish's Law #1 - for every uphill you are eventually rewarded with a downhill.
Corollary to Fish's Law #1 - For every downhill you will pay for it eventually with an uphill.
I rode on the Ohio-Erie Towpath Trail today. Lots and lots of beautiful scenery. If I stopped to take a picture of every vista, I would never get to my destination on time
The road surface was crushed limestone, or asphalt, or cement, or tar and chip,
depending on the municipality or county or national park responsible for that section of the trail. I even took a trail that started as gravel and turned into dirt and turned into mud at one point! My poor bike is in need of a good cleaning and lubrication.
So, my day started in Canal Fulton. Karen and Bill fed me a good breakfast and also packed snacks for me to eat on the road. Two apples, a banana and some almonds. Karen dropped me back at the same trailhead where she picked me up yesterday afternoon.
It was a beautiful morning. The weather forecast was for sunny, hot and humid, so I started soon after the sun came up to take advantage of the cooler hours of the day.
I started off with the chain dropped off the rear cassette, so I was going nowhere fast. The pedals would only crank half way round and then got stuck. I was able to manipulate it to free the chain and get it set back onto the cogs. I wiped my greasy hands on the weeds and set off. It seemed like a short distance back to my original planned starting point, I think it was 5.2 miles added to today's total.
I saw some goldfinches as I started out. They flew up from the side of the road and swooped along with me for a short while. I saw lots of other birds today, including three blue herons, a kingfisher, several cardinals, ducks, geese, and possibly some loons? I didn't take all their pictures, but this heron was posing for me.
I stopped to admire brickwork and flowers in Canal Fulton.
Because of last night's storm, water covered the road in two places, and there were some tree trunks across the road. I tried to report the tree trunk to a group on Facebook, but was advised to call the parks department.
I ate a banana from Karen and Bill as a mid-morning snack.
In Barberton, there was a sign welcoming cyclists to stop, but the short distance to town had obstacles. I wanted to visit CVS for some remedies, and had to ride over grass, share the road with texting drivers, and avoid telephone poles in the middle of the sidewalk. Now, if the town father's really meant their welcome, they would make the path wide and straight.
There were many beautiful spots along the Towpath Trail. The trail runs between the canal and the Tuscawarus or the Cuyahoga river. Many decked bridges leading out over the water offered the opportunity for close-up observation.
In Akron there were many examples of community art, as well as the beautifully landscaped campus of the Children's Hospital, a socially-distanced band playing in the park, and a couple of friendly fellow bikers who led me through the construction zone to point out where to eat lunch and where to get back on the trail.
I suppose if I was really lost I could just follow the signs.
Also in Akron, a wasp flew out of nowhere just to sting me in the knee and then fly off. Luckily I am not allergic. I got to use my mini-first aid kit for the first time, using the insect sting relief wipe. It burned for hours. I kept reminding myself that people pay good money for bee venom therapy to soothe their arthritis, so I got a free bonus therapy!
I ate lunch in downtown, sitting outside for Covid as well as so I could keep an eye on my bike, then headed back for the trail.
I liked this message. "All you need is less. Enjoy what God gives you.". It reminded me of the words of E.F. Schumacher in "Small is Beautiful."
Headed north from Akron. Once again water was over the trail. This time there was a permanent high-water detour.
This part of the trail runs through Cuyahoga Valley National Park. There were lots of kiosks and signs explaining features of the river, such as this one.
I was lining up a photo of this burbling brook, when a man said he was surprised it was running. It has been a dry creek bed all year. He inquired as to whether I was riding by myself and whether my husband was tracking me with a van. It gave me a creepy feeling so I told him my husband is tracking me over the Internet, which is true. I use Google maps to share my real time location. I rode on.
The locks along the old canal bed give an indication of the rich history of the area. There are usually information stations giving details of the area history. For instance, this was a deeper-than-normal lock. The frugal lock builders thought it would be better to build a deep one than two shallower ones close together.
I was in awe of the power of the river.
I rounded a bend and looked up. I recognized this highway from underneath. We used to drive through this area on the way to Ed's mother's house.
I knew I was getting close to Northfield.
I had plenty of time before my AirBnB host was picking me up, so I stopped at a trailhead to eat one of the apples Bill had selected and Karen had packed for me this morning. It was so sweet, tart, and juicy! Most excellent apple! I also drank a bottle of water. I was approached by an older gentleman on a recumbent bike, who told me a few things about himself. 1. He was on a twenty-mile ride 2. He was well-off because he had a pension from teaching school. 3. He was a widower. 4. He taught Information systems, and several students had thanked him for giving them a good foundation for their careers in IT. 5. He was 69. 6. He had a short-term memory problem. I would have realized this last one myself, soon enough, because he asked me where I was coming from three times, and each time, when I said Cincinnati, he was amazed. I tried to talk with him about Information Systems by mentioning Fortran and IBM cards, figuring at his age he should remember them, but he had no idea what I was talking about. I worried about how he would get home, briefly, but later on I saw him talking with another gentleman who seemed to be helping him.
Finally, I arrived at Red Lock Trailhead. The information kiosk showed the trail I took today as well as part of tomorrow's ride.
My host is a lovely person who went out of her way to have a friend pick me up, to help me find my "lost" phone (it was in an outside pocket of my saddlebag, where I had put it to keep it safe,) and to bring me takeout food. She mentioned that she is a "nurturer" type because she is an Aries. I asked what that meant her birthday is, and she said the date and it was the same as Ed's. Her friend is coincidentally an author who has written several books. One is
Will that be next for me?
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