Sunday in Xenia

 Yesterday's ride from London to Xenia, a short ride of about 30 miles, got off to a late start due to my chat at the campsite while waiting for my clothes to dry.  

I wanted to say again how impressed I am with the trail volunteer organization in Madison County.  I don't know who mows the weeds along the trail, but I also noticed that the poison hemlock was not as close to the trail as in most of the other trails I have ridden.   Maybe the volunteers?  The unofficial "trail angel", Rob, who pointed out the campsite features to me was also a blessing.  Dave, the official volunteer that I met in the morning, told me that Rob frequently welcomes visitors, but doesn't stay at the campsite himself.  He actually camps right along the trail in one of the Eagle-Scout shelters.  Rob was curious about my outfit, my tent was already up and he gave me his opinion that I could get by with a much smaller and lighter tent.  He's probably right, but those one-man (or one-wonan, as the case may be) tent might be claustrophobic.  He was curious about my brand of panniers, which I didn't remember but subsequently checked, the are "Roswheel" brand.  His panniers looked to be at least twenty years old, and well used.  He was quite thin as many avid cyclists are.

For this trip, I packed quite light, for me.  One extra jersey and shorts, one t-shirt dress for evenings, and a pair of knit shorts and a T-shirt for sleeping.  5 pairs of socks.  A few pieces of undergarments, and a pair of Birkenstocks.  A washcloth, face towel, and toiletries bag.  That's about all, other than my tent, down sleeping bag, Thermarest mattress, and backup batteries banks and charging cables.

Yesterday's right was in three segments.  From London to South Charleston, from South Charleston to Cedarville, and then from Cedarville to Xenia.  

The morning trip from London to South Charleston was uneventful.  I ate a late lunch at a charming cafe a few hundred yards off the trail, arriving about 1pm and leaving around 2.   The afternoon trip from South Charleston to Cedarville was kind of brutal.  I noticed a sign saying the trail was closed daytimes from M-F, I assume because of construction.  I thanked my lucky stars it was Saturday.   The trail was newly laid black asphalt, and the hot sun beat down and reflected heat up. 

There was not much variation in the scenery, just miles of telephone/power poles on the right stretching off to the infinity point.  Very little shade at that time of day. No hills, just flat trail.  With a heat mirage at the end reflecting the trail up into the sky.

At Cedarville, I stopped in at the library, which was about to close at 5:00 pm, giving me 20 minutes or so to find a place to stay in Xenia.  I made a reservation at an AirBnB. A fellow trail user stopped and asked where I was headed, and I gave him the brief summary of my trip.  He agreed that you have to be in the right frame of mind to ride that section of the trail.

I was glad to finally arrive in Xenia.   But I could not find the address.  The address given for my trip was the central Xenia Station, a park where multiple trails come together.  On the AirBnB web site, the GPS location for the room sent me to a vacant lot, with a camper and a pickup parked in it.

  I tried to contact the host, but could not get through.  

After grabbing a delicious Mediterranean chicken dinner at a food truck in a bar parking lot, with a live band, I still had not heard from my host.

So, I stayed at the Ramada Inn, just off the downtown.  I will straighten the money mess out later.  

Next stop is Beavercreek, Ohio, where I will visit a machine knitting shop.