day forty-four (2 september): findlay to olmsted falls (163 km)

Slow getting off from Uncle Dick and Sharon's as Uncle Dick, not surprisingly, wanted to get a little last visiting in; and I was enjoying the coffee, too. Got away shortly before 8:30 and made good time despite my concerns. It helped that Sharon had fed me very well, and packed a lunch for me -- which lasted until 11am when I sat under a big tree in front of the college campus in east Tiffin and gobbled down all the sandwiches.

Have seen a lot more train activity in Ohio than I did in Michigan, at the level of what I saw out west or above. Got stopped by a St. Louis Southern train in Tiffin. Wasn't familiar with them; will have to look them up. Waited fifteen minutes for a train in Bellevue going by at jogging pace as the line of cars built up.

Took Ohio 113 from Bellevue, which was a good choice at least till I got to Elyria. (Last time I cycled this way I took US 20, which is a really busy road.) Roads into Milan -- Edison's birthplace -- were blocked off by police directing traffic, though they let me through. Here the town was having its Melon Days Festival, complete with a big parade, fancy floats, and too many beauty queens to count. I didn't stay long because the crowds were pretty intense. They were shuttle busing people in from the high school two miles west of town. (At first I couldn't figure out why the high school parking lot was full on a Sunday.)

Should have gotten water in Milan but was put off by the crowds, so I'd run out till I came to a fruit stand turned major country market. Bought cider that I shared with Ruth and Tim. Went past an outfitters in the middle of the countryside -- open! -- but couldn't remember what it was I needed, and I was racing crazy fast downhill at the time. (I need a patch kit for my Thermarest.)

Elyria was a pain because 113, though not a limited access highway and with extremely wide shoulders, was marked "no bicycles". I rode it anyway because there were no obvious alternatives. (Ohio 113 directly parallels the Ohio turnpike at that point.) I was very grateful to leave Elyria behind.

Arrived at Ruth and Tim's in Olmsted Falls 7:30. Stayed up talking to the two of them till nearly midnight. Ruth is all the witty conversationalist I remembered, and it turns out Tim is as well. He's also quite the cyclist.