Wooster to Youngstown

Departing Wooster we initially rode through pleasant rolling country side containing a patch work of small farms. At 6 miles, our route sheet directed us to turn left on Rohrer Rd. at the Buckwalter Greenhouse. We had to stop and get a photo with the street sign. My father grew up in Ohio and has relatives in the area. We followed Rohrer Rd. for several miles through the country side. I felt a kinship with the area.

Later in the ride we navigated on some of the roughest roads of the trip. These roads had been patched with asphalt and were mostly patch rather than smooth surface. This occurred for maybe 20 miles. I became very tired of this and would try to stand on the pedals when I could to save the impact on my already unhappy butt. I also slowed my pace to try to reduce the impact. Cars have big rubber tires, springs, shock absorbers, and comfortable seats. Bikes have none of this so every expansion joint, uneven patch, or hole in the road is just waiting to give you a jolt. Traffic was usually light so we would use the whole road to try to find a smooth path, but when cars came behind us we had to ride through the bone jarring surface at the edge of the road. On the bright side, we did have a lot more shade than in previous states, and that will likely continue. Today the temperature reached the 90’s so shade was good!

As we were nearing completion of our ride and were about a mile from the hotel I was leading the way when I heard someone calling my name. I slowed and looked back to see a collection of bikers at an ice cream stop. Rick and I wheeled our bikes back to join them. I had a very good strawberry milkshake. It was so refreshing after riding 94 miles.

I got a call from my brother in Harrisonburg tonight. He turned on the speaker phone and my parents were there along with my daughter and son in-law. It was great to talk to them and receive encouragement.

Tomorrow 97 miles takes us to Erie, Pa. where we get a much needed rest day on Monday!