The first three days...

Hi everybody,

So, I'm currently in beautiful Dayton, Ohio - The last three days have gone as follows: Pittsburgh, PA - Bridgeport, OH(With a brief passage through the very northern tip of West Virginia) * Bridgeport, OH - Zanesville, OH * Zanesville, OH - Summerford, OH.

The first day was, in a word, exhausting. Yes, I was excited to be riding through three states in one day, but more importantly I quickly came to the conclusion that I overpacked. Leaving Pennsylvania, there are a lot of fairly large hills, and fully loaded, I estimate my bike's total weight to be 70-80 pounds - it's just too much! I hate to say it, but there were four or five hills where I walked the bike... Anyway, day one was uneventful, aside from one flat tire, and the demoralizing hills. The ride down into historic Wheeling, WV and across the bridge into Bridgeport, OH was beautiful during sunset - In Bridgeport I pitched my tent in the field behind a church, and directly next to the back fence of Bridgeport's minor league baseball team. Studpidly, because I was on grass, I figured I would be comfortable enough to not bother inflating my therma-rest mattress... Oh how wrong I was. Between hearing odd noises, the discomfort, etc, I didn't sleep well at all. The alarm went off at 7am, and I got up to go - only then did I realize my rear tire was totally flat.(you can probably note the look of glee on my face) After a stop at Auto Zone(note - they open at 7:30AM) to see if some sealant would work, the guys there found me the Quick Service Bicycle Shop which opened at 9:30am. So I walked the bike the mile and a half there, and went to the nearby Arby's for breakfast and to fill up my water bottles - decent coffee, and two sausage, egg and cheese biscuits. Yum. After Quick Service opened, I pulled out the tube to find a small semi-circle of metal that had punctured two holes - good thing I didn't try tire sealant! After that, I headed out of town, to be greeted by the long, 1.5 mile "Blaine Hill" - fortunately, with fresh legs, I rode the whole thing, but what a way to start the day.(BTW-does anybody know what "Cape Cod" chicken is? See restaurant sign to the left)

The rest of the day was going well, as route 40 is fairly flat and fast, until I reached a section where it merged with route 70, a major highway. I looked at the map, and didn't see anything but a gravel road heading to the north, taking me a solid 15 miles out of my way - but ahead, I could see the same gravel road also heading south. The road was called "County Road 100", and the southern portion is not on the map, which should give you an indication of how great it is. Anyway, seeing no other option but to try and take this south the route 147, which would allow me to then take 265 and meet up with 40 again, I started rolling gingerly down the road. Keep in mind, I'm using 28mm tires - NOT ideal for rough gravel. So, about a mile down this small gravel road I come to a four way stop with no signs. Great. I can't remember the last time I said f*@& that many times in a row. Thankfully, my watch has a compass, and straight ahead was due south, but still, I must have looked like moron - I could pretty much hear the cows laughing as the buzzards circled overhead. At that moment, a guy in a truck pulls up and confirms that straight ahead will take me to 147 - but gives me a look that I could only take to mean, "Have fun, buddy". Some sections were so rough I had to walk the bike, fearing my tires would be punctured. Finally, I got to route 147, and after about 20 minutes, hungry and thirsty, and close to bonking after my 1.5 hour detour, I came to a KFC. The farmers sitting there gave me funny looks as I walked in... guess they don't see too many guys in spandex and funny shoes that often. I ate my chicken and whatnot, and the went outside, laid down in the grass next to the bike, and slept for an hour. I woke up feeling groggy and food-comaish, and immediately resolved to eat healthier stuff. I rolled into Zanesville, OH at about 8:30, and seeing no other desireable food options, immediately broke the healthy food promise and went to Wendy's to chow down and charge my phone. After that, I took off for Dillon State Park, which has a legit campground, and I hoped, showers. Unfortunately for me, it was another 6 miles of hilly riding, and scaring deer, but I made it, found a spot to pitch the tent, and got settled in for the night. Unfortunately, while the bathrooms were clean, there was no shower... oh well. I slept so well(I inflated the therma-rest!), I didn't wake until 10am, and promptly got on the road.

I made it back into Zanesville by about 11:30, had milk, an apple, a banana, and a can of Monster coffee for breakfast. At a stoplight, I ended up talking to an older gentleman for a minute about my adventure - he said he regretted not having his camera to take a photo, but wished me luck. Anyway, I must have mentioned that I was taking route 40, because about 10 miles outside of Zanesville, I see this guy standing next to his car, and he waves me down, taking a couple photos as I rolled to a stop! He said, "I had to go back to the office to get my camera, but just had to come out here to take a photo!" So, we talk for about 10 minutes, and then I got back on the road... but after our little chat I realized something - while I'm doing this journey for myself, a little encouragement, even from a stranger, sure is nice... definitely something to remember for the day-to-day. After our little talk, I definitely felt a little energized - Michael Scott, thanks for sharing your wisdom and enthusiasm.

Breezing along through the flats of Ohio, I was making killer time - and it was fun, spinning easily through between fields of corn and soybeans. It's those times when you're zipping along, feeling good, which, even after only three days, make this trip worth it. Outside of Columbus, OH, still on route 40, the road was completely flat and straight for miles - it was about 7:45PM, and the sun was going down... while there wasn't "much" there, I was taken by the serene beauty of the sunset over the fields of green. One thing I am learning about being on the bike is that every aspect of the day - the temperature, the sights, the smells, the people, etc... everything is amplified because there are no walls, windows, or climate control between you and, well, everything. There's a wonderful sort of sensory exposure in this, and while there are moments that I'm cursing certain things, the overall beauty of the land and the travel vastly outweight the hard times.

Anyhow, after cruising the 90 miles to Summerford, a town which seems to consist of about 25 houses, a town hall, 1 junk shop, and an "international" airport(no word on whether or not any international flights have ever landed or departed there), my cousin Polly picked me up and drove me to Dayton. Yeah, yeah, so I'm sort of cheating, but I just didn't feel like riding another 50 miles in the dark. After a seriously good meal of stew and berry pie, I took my first shower in three days(I know, gross), and slept for 12 hours. Today, I'm taking a rest day, and making some adjustments to the bike/load.

Some realizations thus far:

-I overpacked. I'm sending home some stupid things like khaki shorts and the polo shirt I brought with me... I've realized wardrobe options are just not at all important to me after 9 hours on the bike.

-With a heavy bike, the rule is pretty much sit and spin - a high cadence can be a little annoying, especially in the more ponderous times, but it's even more obvious now how much more efficient it is than slowly turning a big gear.

-My ring finger and pinkie finger on both hands are numb/tingly - Apparently this is from too much pressure on the Ulnar nerve - time to raise the bar height a bit and put on the bar ends.

-My ass really hurts. I even popped a hydrocodone yesterday outside of Zanesville to keep me going. I'm trying to make sure I don't get saddle sores... fingers crossed on this one, as consecutive high-milage days don't make it easy.

-Muscle soreness is inevitable(I've been in the saddle for about 25 hours now), but it's different from the typical feeling after a hard workout, or from lifting - It's not sharp, but a dull pain emanating from deep inside my legs - definitely interesting.

-Eating healthy helps - Day 2 I ate crappy stuff: 2 Arby's sausage egg sanwiches, KFC friend chicken, 3 Wendy's JR. bacon cheeseburgers, and 3 bottle of gatorade. Day 3, I had 2 bananas, 1 apple, a can of coffee(that Monster stuff), a bottle of 2% milk, tons of water and only 1 bottle of gatorade(it has been a struggle to drink enough water), a quart of vanilla soy milk(lots of protein), and a snicker's bar(okay, not that healthy)... definitely was faster, even though my ass hurt more, and my legs should have been a bit more tired.

-There is broken glass all over the roads. It is absolutely absurd - even in rural areas, you see it glittering in the gravel on the shoulder, or even laying in the middle of the road, just waiting to slash holes in your tires. Oddly enough, the sidewalks are even worse! Trying to be safe getting off the main road and onto the sidewalk is more likely to give you a flat. I swear to you, if I ever catch somebody chucking a glass bottle, they're going to regret it.

-Animals are funny with cyclists - some calves in a field ran alongside me for about a quarter of a mile yesterday... even horses, sheep, llamas all perk their ears and turn their heads to watch you go by.

-Bike lanes are a blessing... I sure wish there were more of them.

Well, that's about it for now... I'll upload pictures later.

See ya out there,
Ben