The Pause that refreshes?

I realized that I owe my readers an explanation of why I have been Missing In Action for the last two months.  The short answer is that I have been physically and mentally out of touch. 

After I finished my Yarn trek in the Dayton area, I returned home, to be struck by a urinary tract infection.  I had a fever of 103 for several days.  Of course I went to the doctor, and the third antibiotic was a winner.  My temperature had been normal for a few days when it came time to participate in the Pedal Across Lower Michigan ride.  I had been waiting for three years for this.   I had paid my registration fee after the last ride, then the ride was cancelled for two years due to COVID.

Unfortunately, just before we were to pack for Michigan, a tornado touched down near us, and our power went out.  It was out for 5 days.  My husband hooked up the generator, and we were OK, but we had to wait until the power came back on until we could leave.  I checked with the volunteer organizers for the ride, and they said it would be fine to start the ride at any point along the way.  So, when the power came back on, we headed north.  I looked at the map for the 2nd day of the ride and realized there were a lot of hills.  Probably more than I wanted after having been sick for more than a week. But the third day of the ride was a 55 mile ride that was mostly flat and slightly downhill.  I thought that would be a great day to start.  So my husband dropped me off in Clare, Michigan and I set up my tent. 

Morning came bright and early.  Michigan weather is so nice for bike rides.  There is usually low humidity and moderate temperatures. The sky is usually blue and the grass is green. 

The ride went through Coleman, Michigan, which is where we used to buy grass-fed beef. 

Midland is the home of Cathy Guisewite, the comic artist responsible for the strip "Cathy". Cathy is featured in a mural under a bride, as are several of the city's other highlights. 

Midland is the home of the Tridge, or three-way bridge.  I had to cross it.  I walked, but several riders rode even though there were a lot of pedestrians. 

The route for the day followed the Pere Marquette Rail-Trail and it is one of the nicest trails I have ever ridden.  Recently paved, broad and smooth. 

I was pedalling fairly slowly.  I stopped at a restuarant, the Creek Grill,  for lunch and it was really good salmon on a salad.   Maybe the best I had ever had.  Or maybe I was just really hungry. 

I finished the ride, at the tail end, followed by the SAG drivers.  I found my tent and luggage and picked a campsite on the school property in Bay City. I showered and then ate dinner inside the school.  As I was putting up my tent, one of the volunteers came by and was telling everyone to make sure and lock up bikes because the security in the area wasn't the best.   Well, that's OK, but with 400 other cyclists on the ride, I was sure there were probably better bikes than mine.  Regardless, I locked up my bike and settled in to sleep. 

I thought I would sleep really well because of the exercise.  But I ended up tossing and turning all night.  My Fitbit recorded that I slept only two hours.  I couldn't believe that, but it did record a heartbeat all night so I know that the battery wasn't dead and it was making contact with my arm. 

In the morning, I woke up just before the sun was rising. I tapped my fitbit to check the time, and I saw a multicolored explosion.  I thought "Oh, crap, I got it wet in the shower last night and now its ruined." I rolled over and went back to sleep.  When I woke again, the sun was peeking over the horizon.  I got up and opened my tent flap and I realized that I could not see out of my right eye.  The image below is similar to what I saw out of that eye, only instead of poppies in the background I saw tents and cyclists. 

Photo Credit: Vision Center

I wasn't sure what was going on.  I was pretty close to the luggage truck and I asked the volunteers standing there if there was any medical support for the ride.  They said they would be happy to call me an ambulance. That seemed a little bit like overkill, so I thought I would wait a few minutes and see if it cleared up.  I went inside the school building, and it did seem better.  I later learned that in the dim building, my pupil probably opened up and allowed more of the peripheral vision in.  I ate breakfast, and when I went back out again, the spot was still there.  I decided to pack up my tent and get my luggage on the bus and then figure out what to do.  When I bent over to fold up my tent, and straighted up, my vision cleared up as if the grey spot had been washed away!    So now there was really no need to call the ambulance. 

Since it was still early, I rode my bike to the first rest stop.  I called my opthamologist. She said if I could see, it wasn't a medical emergency.  I took the SAG wagon to the next school, and my husband came and came and picked me up.   This set up a cascading series of medical appointments over the next month. I've seen opthamologic specialists, cardiac specialists, neurologists and vascular specialists.  I had a biopsy and a Doppler test.  I was in a general state of anxiety, afraid they would find something and afraid they would not find anything.  I was told this event was similar to a stroke and I was possibly at higher risk for a stroke. So far they've found nothing serious. 

I did manage to go on several short group bike rides.  I've ridden my regular Tuesday  rides with my local group of friends, as well as Shelby Bicycle Days in northern Richland County on July 9. We rode flat roads past country fields where they had just harvested the grain. 

 I rode with my husband and his friend around Kelly's Island. 

 

This isn't our boat but I thought it was clever the way the bikes were loaded and stored. 

 

And I've taken a few short rides from our farm into town in Southwestern Michigan. 

I am glad to still have my sight and overall health.  As it turns out, I'm actually pretty healthy for my age.  My BP and lipids are normal, and there isn't any neurological issues.   I have been reading  several books about sugar in the diet and whether or not it causes metabolic syndrome.  I guess the jury is out on that question.  Further research is needed.  In the meantime, I will be doing everything possible to scrutinize my diet for added sugars and saturated fats.  And I'll be monitoring the Nutrition conference at the White House in September. 

Packing list

 Based on my recent trip, I've revised my packing list slightly.

I probably overpack, but I am a lifetime Girl Scout whose motto is "be prepared"

[ ] AC phone charger

[ ] Antacid/acid preventer

[ ] Battery

[ ] Bolero

[ ] Bug repellent

[ ] Business cards

[ ] Cable for phone

[ ] Camping Pillow

[ ] Cash/credit card

[ ] Camp clothes

[ ] Clothesline/pins

[ ] Extra jersey/shorts/bra x2

[ ] First aid kit

[ ] Fitbit

[ ] Fruit/energy bars

[ ] Gloves

[ ] Hard copy maps

[ ] Helmet

[ ] Itinerary

[ ] Lip Balm

[ ] Lock/keys

[ ] Mask/gaiter

[ ] Phone

[ ] Pocket knife

[ ] Pony tail holder

[ ] Pump and CO2 cartridge and Presta/Shraeder adapter

[ ] Rain gear

[ ] Rearview mirror

[ ] Sanitizer

[ ] Sleeping bag

[ ] Snack

[ ] Soap

[ ] Sunscreen

[ ] Tent

[ ] Thermarest

[ ] Tool kit -patches, levers, multi tool, crescent wrench, chain tool

[ ] Water

It all fits in rear panniers, handlebar bag and fanny pack.

Days off

 I took a rest day on Tuesday, due to the rain.   I took a day off on Wednesday, yest fromerday, because I was running a fever.   I ended up going to Cleveland Clinic in Wooster to see my doctor.  I was tested for a UTI and for COVID.  Both tests were negative, so it's evidently just a normal virus.  I am waiting for results of a culture test on the UTI.

I had severe headache, achy muscles, and frequent trips to the bathroom overnight.  I guess I had brain fog too, as I took a wrong turn following Google's navigation on the way to Wooster, and ended up taking an hour and 15 minutes for what should have been a 30-minute trip by car.  Today my fever is breaking as I seem to be running hot, although the thermometer reads normal.  Still having achy muscles. 

I will resume my trip when I am able.

Beavercreek to Vandalia

 When they say "Life is a beautiful ride", in the future I will remember this ride.  There was a bike trail almost all the way from Beavercreek to my destination north of Vandalia.  Actually several bike trails.  And a lot of bridges!  The first bridge was a footpath across a little creak separating two cul-de-sacs in a residential neighborhood.  I was surprised that Google Maps even knew about it. It was in Merrick Park. 

The City of Beavercreek has been designated "Bicycle-Friendly" by the League of American Bicyclists.  I found it to be true.  I was able to reach my destinations by either a bike trail or a designated lane or a bicycle-friendly street.  Drivers were courteous, as were the restaurants and their patrons.  I would definitely go back again.  

There is a fantastic station along the bike trail, near the Beavercreek 9/11 memorial. 

I filled up my tires using the pump provided at the station.  The back tire was definitely low.  I was glad I stopped to use it. 

The station is modern, but appears to have architecture designed like an old train station. Nice restrooms and vending machines for Pepsi products and water.  

As I rode along, it began to sprinkle.  It was warm, and the very light rain was refreshing.  I noticed that a church along the designated "Creekside Trail" provided a little food pantry. 

There was also a gazebo, and another bike tool station. 

As I rode along, I came to the Mad River Trail.  There may have been another trail in between the two.  

These two signs were in close proximity.  The Mad River Trail and Creekside trails are both part of designated Bicycle Route #2.  

I had come along this type of trail marker two years ago when pedaling the Ohio to Erie Trail.  That was Trail #1. 

Picturesque stone bridge in Mad River Metropark. 

Beautiful views of the river as I rode along.  The surface was quite still, although I am sure the water was moving quite fast.

The trail ran along the river for several miles.  I was entranced by the pink flower, it may be a variety of vetch, but I didn't take the time to identify it.  The tall purple thistles just beyond, not sure if they were Scotch Thistles or Bull Thistles, looked like the flowers from a Dr. Suess book.  

After  riding up a switchback to climb up a hill and crossing over the river on a scary (to me) bridge, I saw this couple dancing in the park.  What a beautiful sight!   

Had to cross another bridge.  There are a lot of bridges in Dayton! 

 

Most of the Great Miami River trail was downhill, and after the sun came out I really appreciated that most of the trails were also shady, running through cool patches of woods.  And for some of the time, the wind was at my back.  I was sailing along without a care in the world. I rode only a section of this 89-mile long trail that runs from Hamilton, Ohio to Piqua.

Near this point I was riding through the historic village of Tadmor.  The Taylorsville Metropark website states "The land where Taylorsville MetroPark now sits was once the site of the bustling town of Tadmor, one of the most important centers of transportation in early Ohio history. With all four means of transportation of the day within yards of each other, Tadmor was truly the crossroads of America."

I didn't stop, as I wanted to meet my hostess at her shop Fiber and Fusion Studio between 3:30 and 4:00. When I left the Metropark to turn off on Old Springfield Road, I found that it was a heavily traveled road with no shoulder whatsoever.  And it was a lot of up and down hills.  And I was riding directly into the wind. 

Most of the cars were polite, waiting to pass me until they could see beyond the crest of the hill.  I was sweating it, climbing up the hills.  At a few points I had to get off and walk.  One red sports car blared his horn at me.  Ok, Ohio law says you are supposed to give an audible signal when passing.  Most people don't.  I'm glad, because whenever a car beeps behind me, it gives me a start.  When trying to ride uphill with a heavy pannier, a start makes me wobble a little.  But this guy in the sports car BLARED his horn at me and yelled something out the window.  I had about five miles to go to get to the yarn studio.  I called my husband and told him to come and get me, I was done.  He said he'd be there in two hours. 

I continued on to the yarn shop. I crossed over I-75.  At the end of Old Springfield Road, I turned on North Dixie Drive.  I saw the fiber arts studio on the left, so instead of crossing the road and then crossing again, I cut through the parking lot of the business on the corner and rode my bike through the grass in the front of her studio.   I had a great interview and visit to the yarn shop.  When I was about to leave, however, the light sprinkle of rain had turned into a windy thunderstorm!  My hostess insisted that I wait for Ed to come and pick me up.   While I was waiting, I got a text from the KOA campground that they had no electricity, no phones, and no water due to the storm.  So, since I was going to be camping in a tent,  I asked them to cancel my reservation, and they did!   Yay! 

So, today I am taking a rest day at home.  It is supposed to rain all day off and on.  I have to figure out how to continue my "Yarn Trek"

Xenia to Beavercreek

 I had a great stay at the Ramada Inn in dowtown Xenia.  They let me bring my bike up to my room.  Evidently there were a lot of cyclists in the hotel for the weekend.  Xenia is a hub of several trails coming together, so it's probably not unusual for the hotel to accommodate them.  After camping the night before, a hot shower and a comfy bed were blessings.

They even had a bowl of bananas on the front desk as I checked out, and the young man offered me one, along with a brown bag breakfast.  I guess that is the COVID adaptation.  I took out the granola bar, and gave him back the juice and the vending-machine-style sticky bun.  I am trying to avoid sugar.  The gentleman at the front desk offered me yogurt! Yay!  

I had been hungry when I was going to bed, and I was still hungry.  I noticed there was a Frisch's Big Boy restaurant just down the street.  I stopped in.  I ended up buying the buffet as there was no combination of menu items that met my specific dietary preferences! Eggs and salad.  A group of three cyclists came in while I was eating and sat at the next table.  We chatted, they had seen my loaded bike and were curious as to where I was going.  When I told them the next stop was Beavercreek, as we were all leaving about the same time, they pointed out the shortcut to the trail.  They had come up from Beavercreek for breakfast, were turning around and heading back.  They mentioned that it was all downhill!  

 

They sped ahead of me and I plodded on to Beavercreek.  They didn't lie about the trail being downhill all the way.  It was a very slight slope.  I passed a drag strip where a race was in progress.  The voice of the announcer boomed out all the way to the trail. 

It was shady and very pleasant ride.  Until I got to Beavercreek!  I noted the Ritter frozen custard stand.  It seemed a fairly upscale place with its blue and white umbrellas.  If I could eat ice cream I would have crossed the highway and stopped in.  I am sure they are not related to my Ritter branch of the family. 

 Then there were some small rolling hills.  I took the Creekside Trail for a way. I ate lunch at the Cherry House Cafe which was a charming locally-owned restaurant that had great salads made from greens, not just iceberg lettuce.  I added a grilled chicken breast to my order. It was delicious. 

My host for the day was Julie Esterlin, and her shop was only a few miles away from the restaurant.  

See my knitting blog for details of the visit. 

It was an easy, short ride today.  Sunday is a day of rest.  My B and B is only a few miles from Julie's shop.  

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.

I've stayed in London

 My camping spot for the night was the London primitive trailside camp.   It is next to the senior center, and although it's labelled "primitive", ift has 24-hour video surveillance, Wi-Fi, restrooms with warm water and flush toilets with electronic keycode after 9:00 pm.

I put up my tent.  An older man, with panniers on his bike, stopped by the picnic shelter and mentioned all the rules and pointed out the features.  He said he stops by a few times a week.

It seems the people of London and Madison County take the Biblical injunction to show hospitality very literally.

I rinsed out my shorts and jerseys, and spread them over my bike to dry.  

This morning, a trail volunteer stopped by and introduced himself as Dave. He produced a clothesline from the trunk of his car so my clothes would dry faster.  He asked about my trip. Later, he came back with his wife to make sure I knew about the knitting shop in town.  I told him that was why I was here!  It was so kind and thoughtful of him!

While I was waiting for my clothes to dry, I took up a conversation with a cyclist who was waiting for the rest of his group, the Columbus Black Star Cyclists.  He was doing a shorter ride than the rest because he was recovering from an injury a few years ago.  While riding downhill fast, he slipped in a wet spot and his bike went down, breaking his arm and three ribs, also injuring his hand and scraping up his leg.  He's now riding an eBike while he recovers, and it is working well for him. He said the battery will last about four hours on the lowest setting.  We discussed the way time seems to stand still while an accident is in process, also how some people seem to be crazy!    He hoped I was carrying a gun for safety reasons on this trip.  He is a DJ with a local radio station.  

The jerseys were finally dry, or almost.  I packed up all my things, got dressed, filled my water bottles, ate a cookie, and finally set off on the way towards Beaver Creek, my next knitting destination.