Bike Trip 2020- Day 13

 I am ever so slowly inching toward my goal of 500 miles in September! After today's ride, I have 62 miles to go.  Today I started in Maumee, Ohio.  The hotel packed me a to-go breakfast including an orange, a bottle of water, a cupcake, and a granola bar. I put that in my pannier and headed across the street (Dussell Drive in Maumee - crossing the street is a several-lane proposition) to Scramblers.  This is evidently a franchise I am not familiar with, but they filled my need for scrambled eggs, coffee, and toast perfectly. 

I started to head across the bridge over the I-475 highway, but when I realized I would have to cross on and off-ramps, I decided to find another way.  I backtracked the way I had come down Ford Road and up 20-A (Alternate 20.)  I rode over a bridge and then found a bike path along what seemed to be an industrial park. 

I followed the trail which led to the Wabash Cannonball Trail.  I followed it southward for a while.  

Fall is coming.  There are brilliant red sumac leaves, the buckeye hulls are starting to split, and the goldenrod is in full bloom. The birds are flocking. 

I arrived in Waterville, which is a quaint town I had never heard of before today.  

 I had been intending to take the trail south for 9 miles and cross over the river in Grand Rapids, Ohio.   When I got to the northern end,  I found a beautiful view of the river.

 I learned that this was the location of Indian camps and near the battle of "Mad" Anthony Wayne from a historical marker at the site. 

 I also learned that the first several miles of the trail were chipped stone.  I was not interested in getting another flat tire on sharp gravel, so I looked for an alternate route.  There was another bridge, if I backtracked the way I had just come, on Highway 64 over the Maumee River. I asked a couple who just got out of their car if they were familiar with the area.  The young man said that Highway 64 was quite busy, but 65 was less traffic and more picturesque.

 

I crossed the bridge and was delighted to find "embellishments" on the bridge columns.  No one crossing by car would ever see them. This makes me unexplainably happy.

The bridge had an iron railing which bookis more decorative than most highway bridges. I was glad I came this way.

After crossing the bridge, I soon came to the fork in the road and had to choose a route.  I saw a marker for Bicycle Route 5 pointing down a country road, which was the same numbered route I had noticed along the Wabash Cannonball route.

  I can't find Bicycle Route 5 on the Ohio Bicycle Route map I downloaded, so I will need to do some more research.  I was dithering over which way to go when a jogger ran up.  She told me that I would be crazy to take either 64 or 65, as drivers do not slow down for bicyclists, and do all the bad things they do like texting while driving and speed around curves.  She also mentioned that 65 was a lot of curves and uphill/downhills.  She told me the country road would be the safest.  

So I took the safe way and boring way into Bowling Green.  Northwest Ohio is flat.  I saw amber waves of grain, and horses. 

I called Ed and asked him to get ready to pick me up.  He was already on the way.  He had left early because he wanted to visit the Fish cemetary in Pemberville, but because I called, he came directly to pick me up. I was only a few blocks from the Slippery Elm trailhead when I had to reroute.

  I made it as far as a few miles into the Slippery Elm trail, which seemed to be a beautifully surfaced and shaded trail, before Ed arrived.  The map says the trail is straight.  Someday I will return and ride the whole thing. 

We ate dinner at a family restaurant in Bowling Green and headed home.  Tomorrow is our wedding anniversary.  Ed says all he wants is for me to stay home for a day.  I think I am ready for a rest day.