August 24, 2003
On to Ohio
Wabash, Indiana to Wapakoneta, Ohio
I spent part of last night channel surfing on the TV. I saw about ten minutes of the Sopranos for the first time. HBO is NBC with nipples. I awoke before dawn and hit the complementary breakfast bar hard. I had one of just about everything, grabbed a couple of apples, loaded my bottles with ice and water, then hit the road at 7:30, just after sun up. I noticed just before I left my room that a corn field came within just a few feet of the window.
I took US 24, a four-lane highway with a big paved shoulder, northeast out of Wabash. At this hour on a Monday morning traffic wasn't an issue. I sailed into Lagro and rejoined the ACA route. After winding through town, I actually hit a few hills. Soon after Lagro I came to the Salmonie River State Forest, and a decision. I could continue as planned on the ACA route northeast through the park toward Fort Wayne and, eventually, Monroeville. The appeal of Monroeville is its free shelter for bike tourists. Also, riding the ACA route offered the possibility of seeing bike tourists on the route. Yesterday, however, I didn't see any on the ACA route. For that matter, I barely saw any humans at all. So I put away my ACA map and headed off to the southeast on SR 524. After a while, I began a series of left and right turns to zigzag toward SR 124, making my route up as I went. In no time, I hit 124 which would take me straight east to Bluffton, Indiana.
After about 90 minutes, I stopped in Mount Etna (Mount? In Indiana?) at a convenience store/gas station for a snack (Gatorade, snickers) and a visit to a porta-potty. A small group old men nursed coffee inside the store talking about the events of the day. (Old women don't seem to partake in this ritual.)
The road to Bluffton was flat to gently rolling and I had a light tailwind so I made pretty good time, often cruising at 18-20 mph. In Bluffton, I stopped for more health food (cookies and peanut butter crackers) and Gatorade. After checking my highway map, I decided to follow a road along a river. When I got to the river (the Wabash, I believe), there was a very nice bike path along its western bank. I followed the path to a bridge, crossed over and saw another trail on the other bank winding into a new state park. After about I mile I came to a kiosk and talked to a very cordial park employee. She and I figured out that the road along the east side of the river that I would have taken me to the southeast had been converted into a park access road. It hit a dead end inside the park. So I back tracked to the bridge, crossed over and picked up SR 116, which had signs for Geneva and "Ohio Line".
After a stop to pull out my Ohio highway map (drum roll please), I rolled on to Geneva, Indiana for lunch. I found a small town café with two employees and five customers. At a table near the front, three men were talking business. Against the back wall sat a stern looking Amish man and a weathered, defeated looking woman. I had a cheese burger and fries for lunch. Five stars. If you are ever in Geneva, you should eat here. Not that you'd have any choice.
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I rode on to "Ohio Line", noticing the marks of Amish buggies in the roadway. My Indiana highway map shows that SR 116 comes to a dead end at the Ohio line. I figured the map must be off. Who would post a sign saying "Ohio Line" that went nowhere. Well, SR 116 did indeed stop at a "T" intersection at the Ohio line, straight ahead was six foot high wall of corn. After a right hand turn I stopped at the next east bound road to get a picture of the small road sign indicating that I was on the Ohio-Indiana state line. No 'Welcome to Ohio' sign or 'You Are Leaving Indiana, Come Back Soon'. These niceties are reserved for travelers on the interstates, not bike tourists amid the corn and soy.
My Ohio map did not indicate where Indiana SR 116 came to Ohio. And my Indiana map had precious little detail for Ohio. So I began to improvise, zigzagging once again through the farmland. Ohio roads differ in one respect from those in Indiana. Indiana county roads can go on in one direction for miles. In Ohio they seem to peter out after a mile or so forcing a through traveler to make constant course corrections.
Since I had a general idea of where I was and where I was going, I continued heading east and, when I hit a 'T' I'd go south, until my next opportunity to head east once again. Unlike the numbered Indiana county roads, these Ohio roads had names. Since there was nobody around to ask, I guessed they were the names of the farms I was cutting through.
On I rode with corn on one side and soy on the other. Every so often, the crops would switch sides. At one point this pattern was interrupted by a walnut grove. This was so exciting that I was tempted to stop and phone someone, but, not having a phone, I rode on. (Don't get me wrong. I found the corn and soy/soy and corn rather scenic and novel, Another couple of days of it would probably have worn thin, I'm afraid.) Another change to my little world was the appearance of livestock. Indiana farms seemed to be all about crops, but intrepid Ohio farmers dare to raise animals too. I could see horses of every color and size as I continued on to the east. I'd also occasionally see pens for veal calves.
I finally crossed SR 118 and this gave me an idea of where I was on the Ohio Highway map. I continued on in the direction of Celina. As I rode on, the population density and traffic started to increase. At a convenience store, I fueled up on Gatorade, water, and a Snickers. I talked to a man who used to ride recumbents with his wife. He said her knees gave out so they had to quit. It seemed like he missed riding.
In Celina I followed SR 703 along the northern side of Grand Lake. SR 703 had a bike lane, but was far enough from the lake to cheat me of anything approaching a consistent lake view. As I rode, I passed a Hampton Inn that looked new but deserted.
At the eastern end of the lake I entered the town of Saint Mary's, home of baseball great Galen Cisco. What kind of name is Galen Cisco anyway? His name rang a bell. (I looked him up on the internet. He broke in in 1961 with the Red Sox, played with the 1962-1965 Mets, went back to the Red Sox for the Impossible Dream year 1967. And ended his career with the Kansas City Royals in 1969. He went 25-56 lifetime with an ERA of 4.56. He had the dubious distinction of losing the longest game in major league history. I apparently remember him from his days as a pitching coach.)
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I saw a Dairy Queen across the road and stopped for an ice cream cone and a cheeseburger. Neither was particularly satisfying, the latter was apparently warmed in a microwave. The cone, vanilla dipped in chocolate, was a little too rich after riding 90 miles.
There was a motel across the street from the DQ but it didn't look too inviting. The DQ counter help were young kids who all seemed to be in a zombie-like trance. Despite the faraway look in their eyes, they were helpful in pointing out that a better selection of lodging options was available in Wapakoneta. Wapakoneta was just another 10 or 20 miles to the east so I headed out. Another advantage to Wapak (as it is called on many signs in the area) is that my wife's uncle David and aunt Marlene live. I did not tell them I was coming so I thought I could surprise them and maybe get a free place to stay for the night. (It's not mooching if you're a bike tourist.)
On the road to Wapak, I passed a sign for the Neil Armstrong Airport. The sign was pretty dilapidated. This was a pretty sorry testament to a man who had risked his butt taking incredible chances as a test pilot and an astronaut. What a sorry way to remember a hometown hero.
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US 30 ALT from St. Mary's to Wapak is a little hard to find, since it was not on my Ohio highway map. As it turned out, it was a great road for riding. In Wapak, it takes you right past some very nice old homes, including one honest to god painted lady.
I stopped at a gas station to call David and Marlene but they were not home. I was starting to wilt so I rode on toward the east side of town where I-75 passes Wapak. I guessed that the nearest hotel would be at one of the two Wapak exits. I picked the closest one, to the northeast of town. No nothing. So I back-tracked through town and found hotels galore at the exit on the southeast side of town.
I checked into a first floor room at the Best Western. They had no problem with me bringing in my bike. My room was eerily identical to the one I stayed in Wabash. Right next door was the impressive Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum. Now this is how you honor a hometown hero!
After waxing my chain, I went next door and took pictures of mock ups of Armstrong's Gemini and Apollo space capsules and a F5 jet that he flew from 1960 to 1962. (The idea of the F5 was to attach it to a bigger plane, carry it high up into the atmosphere and release it. The F5 would then fly into low earth orbit and return like today's space shuttle. You'd have to be mighty brave or nuts to fly that mission.)
As I write this I'm at the Lamplighter restaurant, a local place that caters to travelers on the interstate. I have had two beers. The walk back to the hotel should be fun.
The forecast for the rest of the week is for bad weather. A stationary front is expected to park itself along the remainder of my route. This is not good since the last 300 miles are mostly unpaved trails. We will see if it works out.
In Ohio it seems like people say "See ya" instead of "Good bye". It's like being called "Hon" in Baltimore. Today I saw squirrels (alive) for the first time on my trip.
Roadkill: 3 raccoons, 1 woodchuck, 1 opossum
Today's ride: 113 miles (182 km)
Total: 197 miles (317 km)
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