Mt. Gilead, that is! Today I had no more excuses. I put my U lock and my charging cables in the panniers, and, voila! Everything else was already packed. Oh wait, except my shoes. Where did I leave my phone? Let me take a bottle of sour cherry supplements to reduce inflammation. Can I think of anything else?
I told Ed about the issues I had adjusting the seat. I could move it up or down in front or back, or raise the whole seat, but I couldn't figure out how to move it forward or backward. And move it backward is what I needed to do. He observed that the rails were "stuck", probably because it had been so long since they had been adjusted. And just like that, he fixed it.
Time to leave. I had him take me to the top of a hill just south of the alpaca farm I visited yesterday. Looking at my route and elevations, it seemed like that would be a good place to start going downhill. I told him not to leave until I got to the treeline about a quarter mile ahead, in case I had trouble. Not gonna lie, I had trouble getting on the bike over the panniers and sleeping bag on the back. But I did it on the third attempt. I made it to the trees with no issues, so he headed for home. The weather was perfect. Clear and cloudless blue sky with little humidity, sunny and warm. I was heading for My. Gilead, in Morrow County, Ohio.
I rode a couple of miles, only to find that my planned route turned into a gravel road. I didn't count on that, since I thought that Ride with GPS software had told me that my route was 100% paved. Yeah, right. Paved with loose gravel.
I kept going. What else could I do? I walked my bike through some sections and rode through others. I was starting to get discouraged when MapMyRide reported my speed for the last mile at about two miles an hour. My mind can't help doing the math. I might arrive before dark, at this rate.
At one point, I hit a pothole with a hole in the bottom of it while riding downhill, and I thanked Joy Machines in Cleveland for suggesting the Vittoria Randonneur tires they put on my bike after a two-flat day on my tour last year. I somehow avoided having a pinch flat, which would have been a disaster. Even when I got to a paved road, the wind was blowing and there was a headwind.
At 11:00, I called my host for the day, Roger Cox, and reported that I would be at least an hour and maybe longer.
The roads were quite hilly, more than I expected. My general impression is that in Ohio, all the hills are east and south of I-71, and Roger's farm is several dozen miles west of that. I was pleased that I was able to ride up many of them using my lowest "granny gear". This Trek 520 has a triple chainring in front, as it is designed for touring. Good thing, because as I listened to the turn-by-turn navigation from RidewithGPS, I rode right by their farm. I feel kind of silly about, because in the news article where I learned about the Coxes, it said his was one of the prettiest farms in the county. As I rode past, I noticed the neatly manicured lawn, the flowers blooming in the flowerbeds, and the flag flying at half mast, the fresh white siding on the house and the bright red of the metal-sided barn. I was impressed with how neatly the farm was kept. I had originally created the route to go to a nearby campground, but later changed my mind and neglected to update the route. I realized my mistake and turned around, climbing several more hills in the process than I needed to.
For details of my visit to the Cox Plainview Farm, see my
Bright Meadow Farms blog, where I discuss information about the Katahdin sheep breed and the Roger Cox family, named Charles Boyles Master Shepherd of the Year by the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association
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