New Philadelphia and another century ride were our goals at the outset but the terrain ahead had its own ideas. After many miles of relatively flat riding across Eastern Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and most of Ohio we encountered a hill on SR-39 that looked like a wall blocking our way. Where did this come from (?), we asked ourselves. What it represented was the Western edge of the Appalachians, spilling over from Pennsylvania into Ohio. At the top of one such hill we took a little break at a store. While there, a fellow in a pick up truck pulled up and talked with us for a bit. The subject of the hills came up and when he learned where we were headed, he said, "Pennsie... It's rough over in there." We laughed but he was right on the money, as we would later find out.

To recap the day, the first 40 miles were business as usual. We rolled along, on gentle terrain, making good time. We took a break and a swim in the Clear Fork Reservoir (see photo in previous chapter), near Lexington. On the other side of the town, we traveled a few miles further to the East when we were met with "the wall," the first real hill we had seen in a good while. The next 27 miles were a series of climbs, some of which were the steepest we had seen since the California Coast. 

By the time we reached Loudonville, the remaining 45 miles to new Philadelphia seemed like something to reconsider. Discretion became the better part of valor as we adjusted our goal to reach Millersburg instead. The next 7 miles, to Nashville, were quite challenging and finished with a huge hill leading into the town. Luckily, there was an ice cream shop that served double dip cones for 35 cents! Of course, we stopped.

The remaining 11 miles to Millersburg were all mental for me. On the climbs, I shifted into my lowest gear and tried to think of other things. The heat of the afternoon did not make things any easier. When we arrived, we went straight to the town park, which had a nice pool. I took a cold shower and a nice swim, both of which brought the temperature down and brought me back to some semblance of physical equilibrium. 

We went into town to find something to eat and to inquire about a place to camp. There was a cafe and a lively crowd, with whom we blended in, as much as might have been possible for a couple of young fellers on bicycles. The place had a bouncer, perhaps for later in the evening, with whom we had a good conversation. A truck driver who had passed us out on the road bought us a couple of beers. There must've been some conflict in the Middle East that was in the news that day. A line from one of the patrons made everyone around (and including) us laugh. He said, "Someone needs to tell those people over there to cut the shit." 

You had to be there, I suppose, but that simplistic expression of frustration was hilarious in that time and place.

We camped in the town park, were not disturbed, and had a great night of sleep. Millersburg is a neat town. It is located in Holmes County and has heavy influences of the Amish and Mennonite communities. Most of the businesses had places to tie up a horse out front.  Horse and buggies, men with straw hats and signature beards, women in long homespun dresses and hair covered with chin-tie white bonnets are common sites. Of course there were also a lot of working class "English" folk running around town, as well. Coming upon this quaint little place was a bit more serendipity on this long bicycle tour.