August 28, 2003
Through the Fog with Me and My Granny
Zanesville to Saint Clairesville
I awoke at 5:30 with apprehension and a sore throat. My thighs were tight and I suspect there will be serious hills ahead. My plan was to ride from Zanesville to Cambridge via US 40. I could continue on US 40 only as far as Old Washington, OH. From Old Washington to Morristown, OH, US 40 merges with I-70, on which no bikes are allowed.
So, after Cambridge, I'd take US 40 for a few miles until SR 265 which goes southeast to Bailey's Mills, then northeast to Belmont or Bethesda, both of which are south of Morristown. I expected this road to be very hilly, so I wanted to give myself some options for the end of the day. There is camping between Belmont and Morristown and I expected to find motels on US 40 in Morristown since it is close to I-70.
I began with the free breakfast at the hotel. Standard stuff, but the price was right. I talked to a recently retired, early-to-mid 50s man from the state of Delaware. He has been riding as an adult for 30 years. He told me that I-70 is mighty hilly from Wheeling, WV to Zanesville. He also mentioned that he reads web journals of bike trips and would really like to do one. (Do it. Do it.) He even mentioned Crazyguyonabike. He told me about a small device that you can type your journal into and then upload using a telephone handset. It sounded interesting. I can type a whole lot faster than I can write longhand. He encouraged me to put my journal on the web.
We said our good byes and I did my morning ritual (ice, water, sunscreen, checkout, etc.). On my way out of the motel parking lot, I was stopped by a couple who asked all sorts of questions about my bike. Their daughter has a (unspecified) disability and they thought a recumbent may be useful for her. After we talked, I took off at 7:45, heading east via US 40 as planned.
I stopped to photograph a church. (I had taken one of the Lutheran Church across from the motel when I checked in last night.) Then I rode up and up and up out of Zanesville. I couldn't help but think this is going to be a long day.
I was out on the open highway with a shoulder that came and went. This didn't bother me too much but the fog did. Central Ohio was socked in. I stopped and clipped my flashing red taillight to the back of my helmet. Fortunately, all the traffic coming up on me from behind gave me plenty of room.
The road to Cambridge is rolling, and the hills began to make their presence felt as advertised. I stopped west of New Concord to put on my Illuminite (reflective) vest, eat a snack, and use a restroom. I continued east on US 40 into town to mail back the COP maps and my used up disposable camera.
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I continued on through the fog into Cambridge on what was now a four-lane, divided highway. I couldn't believe the fog was still hanging in there at 10 a.m. I was soaked from all the moisture. My glasses kept getting misted over. Although this may sound miserable, it was actually quite fun.
In Cambridge I pulled into a bank to use the ATM. I asked two men where I could find a bike shop so that I could use a floor pump. They told me the only "bike shop" was the Walmart outside of town where I could buy a floor pump. Sometimes when you ask, you get useful information, sometimes you don't.
The second man did tell me that SR 265 is a great biking road with few hills. I didn't believe him but he claimed that he used to ride it all the time when he was younger. I gave my rear tire some air from my frame pump and headed east of US 40 once more, bound for SR 265.
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At a gas station on the eastern side of Cambridge, I stopped to use the restroom and grab some lunch. The Ohio state highway map I was now using appeared to show only a few crossroad towns from here to Morristown. I decided it would be best to plan for no services along my route. I bought a ready-made sandwich, which looked like it contained a little meat and cheese, a Diet Pepsi, and a Hostess pie. I drank the soda and ate the pie before heading out. Oink.
After riding up a short hill from US 40, SR 265 flattened out. I was amazed; it was, indeed, a great road for riding. SR 265 cut around all the hills, rolling and curving its way east. I rode past Kipling OH. There must be a story in the name but I didn't stop to find out what it was. I came upon a sign on the side of the road that said 'VFW Old Stoners Post'. For the next ten miles I couldn't get the image of a bunch of old vets sitting around smoking reefers.
This little cabin along the road sure looked authentic.
After Kipling, I hit Lore City, Salesville, and Quaker City. The road was flat to rolling from one town to the next. I planned to stop in Quaker City to eat my sandwich, but, irrationally bypassed a perfectly nice town park with picnic tables. On the way out of town, I hit my second real hill of the day. My granny and I worked hard all the way up. At the top, I stopped for a rest and ate my sandwich on the shoulder of the road opposite an old white Quaker meeting house built in the early 1800s. The meeting house and yesterday's Mount Carmel Church reminded me of the Dunker Church at Sharpsburg, MD (without the bullet holes, of course). The sandwich turned out to be overstuffed with meat and cheese, another calorie bomb. Oink again.
After Quaker City, the road rolled and climbed gradually. By this point the fog had lifted, but the air was still comfortably cool. I took off my vest and realized I was covered in sweat. So much for staying dry on a cool day. Bailey's Mills was next. Here I switched to SR 147, still a pretty good road with an occasional hill. The hills so far had been not too bad since they were few and far between. I had plenty of time to catch my breath before the next climb.
I continued on to Barnesville, which straddled a huge, long hill. At the top of the hill I stopped at a Dairy Queen to have a cone. I also applied more sunscreen and tossed out some trash.
After Barnesville, I encountered a couple of logging trucks. Logging trucks are quite common in the mountains of southern West Virginia, so I thought I must really be getting into the hills now. As I rode east, I noticed more tractor trailers and they were were blowing through small towns as if they were on a bypass.
I rode on through Speidel to Bethesda. Bethesda was my first decision point. Here I could ride due north to the western side of Morristown or continue on SR 147. Since SR 147 was probably a far better biking road than US 40, I decided to continue on 147. Belmont came next. Belmont is the home of the guy who painted the Mail Pouch barn signs. I saw another Mail Pouch barn as I left town, as well as a Mail Pouch backyard shed in Belmont itself. (I wondered what the incidence of oral cancer is around here.)
Belmont was another decision point. I could head north to the campground or to eastern side of Morristown slightly beyond that. I was fresh, so I thought it was too early to stop. Since US 40 had little appeal, I decided to continue east and consider turning north a few miles ahead in Warnock OH.
Well, I was wondering when my luck would run out and it finally did. Belmont was once again on a big hill. I rode up that one and started downhill toward Warnock. The road to Warnock, now called SR 149, turned out to be lousy. Apparently someone had decided to widen this road on the cheap. They took a narrow concrete road and widened it by paving it with asphalt. This left a horizontal crack at every expansion joint and a vertical crack about 3 feet from the edge of the road.
On the steep, winding downhill heading out of Belmont, the horizontal cracks were bone jarring and the verticals made handling precarious. After a few bumps, my Thermarest pad flew off the rear rack. So I stopped and re-secured it. For the rest of the way down the hill I feathered my brakes to control my speed. SR 149 was noticeably hillier than SR 147. I was starting to really work for every mile and the day was getting hotter.
On the way to Warnock, I saw a huge grader (a piece of construction equipment) high on a hill next to the road. Who would want to build a mall out here? As I rode closer I saw that this was not a construction site; it was a strip mine. The condition of SR 149 was probably not helped by coal trucks from the mine either. I have encountered these behemoths while driving through southern West Virginia. More than once I have seen a coal truck on its side after taking a windy mountain road too fast. They look like huge metal elephants gunned down. I have no interest in riding a bike anywhere near them. I was fortunate not to have to deal with any today.
Warnock was on a big hill. Big surprise, no? After climbing into town I had yet another decision: head north to Saint Clairsville and the I-70 motels along US 40 or continue east toward Wheeling. Given the heat, the hills, the 65 miles I had already ridden, the potential for monster truck traffic, and the poor quality of the road itself, I shrewdly decided to head north on SR 9.
SR 9 is, in a word, a bitch. This is one of the hardest roads I have ever ridden. It was a succession of huge climbs on narrow roads. To add to my misery, the unpaved shoulders had been sprayed with some sort of sticky black tar goop that gave off fumes that irritated my throat.
After several miles of hilly hell, I climbed (of course) into St. Clairsville and headed east on US 40, stopping to take a photo of yet another magnificent county seat building. As I approached yet another short hill, I was stopped by utility workers repairing storm damage. Only one lane was in operation. Rather than ride in my granny up the single lane and hold up traffic, I crossed to the sidewalk and walked the hill past the repair site. A pedestrian gave me direction to motels and I continued eastward.
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I found an EconoLodge, and despite my Cockeysville experience, I checked in anyway. The room was surprisingly nice. Roger Miller was nowhere in sight. The motel had a laundry room for guests so I did a load of rather rank biking clothes.
[NOTE: I recommend bringing only colors or whites since I inadvertantly dyed a white t-shirt pink.]
Next it was dinner across the street. Being only 6 or 7 miles from Wheeling, WV, I should be able to ride well into Pennsylvania tomorrow.
Roadkill: 5 raccoons
It is now apparent that the trip will be at least 800 miles, not 700 as I had thought when I started out.
Today's ride: 74 miles (119 km)
Total: 428 miles (689 km)
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