DAY 42

ROUTE:Wooster,OH to Austintown,OH	DISTANCE:91 miles	WINDS:Bothersome!
WEATHER:Rain early, then overcast and chilly	TERRAIN:Roller coasters all day	CLIMBING:2670 feet

Saturday, July 17th. It's hard to believe I've been away for over six weeks...that's the longest I've ever gone without seeing my mama! :) I'm pretty sure I'll be getting the major cold shoulder from Dill and Pickles (my cats!) when I get home in a couple of weeks. Cats hold grudges, you know! Today's ride started in a light but steady rainfall...weather great for corn and soybeans but not so great for bikers with a 90 mile ride ahead of 'em! The group I started out with this morning stayed together all day long...Joyce, Dennis, Ken(Iowa), Tom, Michael D., Bill, and me. Nobody talked much at the beginning. The rain, hills,and wind might've had something to do with that! I had flashbacks of that awful roller coaster day we had in Missouri because today's hills came one after the other for a good portion of the day. The roads so far in Ohio have been pretty bad. We had several long stretches today that rattled our brains. You have to be particularly careful not to hit a hole that might throw you from the bike. We did have one unfortunate incident today. Tom and Bill got tires tangled, and Bill went down. I'm happy to report that he's just fine, although his right thumb is pretty sore...it sounds like he dislocated it, but popped it back in before any of us even got off our bikes. Luckily he laid the bike down in the weeds on the right side of the road, so he didn't get any road rash. It's amazing that we've had so few incidents/accidents on this trip. Bike riding is inherently dangerous, and there are more bike to bike accidents than those involving cars. Bad weather and bad roads don't help! Anyway, Bill is fine and didn't miss a pedalstroke. Dale is doing well yesterday after his accident, but he has decided to head on home tomorrow since he really is not able to ride. We all hate to see him go! Our group rode through some areas of really beautiful homes today, but we're still seeing lots of corn and soybean fields. The crops here in Ohio don't look nearly as healthy and big as the ones we saw in Kansas, Illinois, and even Indiana. Wonder why that is? Some of the corn looks downright puny! We passed a huge dairy farm operation and several small farms that also had dairy cows. The cows make me laugh...they always watch as we pass by and seem so interested. I suspect that after we pass they stand up and talk about us like the cows in "The Far Side"! After a slight miscue coming into Austintown, we finally made it to the hotel at 2:15. We were the first group of riders to check in today, and we even beat the luggage to the hotel. Bikes and riders alike were a filthy mess after all the rain, but I'm pleased to report that we all cleaned up nicely! I'm hoping to make it one more day on my back tire. A few days ago I pulled a piece of metal out of it that cut the tire but didn't puncture the tube. I probably should boot it, but I figure I'll just replace it in Erie. Booting a tire is when you put some sort of barrier between the inside wall of the tire and the inner tube. Dollar bills work really well to help keep the tube from ballooning out of the cut. FYI - We have several riders with the same first names...John (Maine), John (Alaska, and aka Big Dawg), and John (MA)....Michael (NJ) and Michael (IN), Ken (Iowa) and Ken (CT). That's why I always clarify which one I happen to be talking about! Tomorrow we have a 95 mile day (bringing our total to 475 in 5 days!) into Erie, PA, and our last rest day. I think we ALL need it...everybody is pretty tired from this week's riding. Joyce and I may head to Target to buy cheap...oops...inexpensive sundresses for our upcoming dinner cruise! :) The forecast is for rain again tomorrow. Quack!

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