After a sumptuous dinner at the Steak and Shake next door to the hotel, I turned on the hockey game. I made it through two periods. When I awoke the TV was on and the hockey game was long over. I guess I was a little tired.

I hoovered the hotel breakfast bar then hit the road. The first six miles had a few hills but nothing like the last few days. I also had a light tailwind and for a few hours of tolerable heat and humidity.

What was especially nice was to crank it up to 15 miles per hour for a few stretches.

Fourteen somewhat rural miles later I turned onto the Panhandle Trail. It was my second Panhandle Trail of the trip. Is this a Midwest thing?

I stopped to chat with two day-riders, retirees out for their morning constitutional. Then I rode down the shady trail trying not to hit every tree root bump.

A few miles later I came upon the world’s largest (and maybe only) basket building.

Proof of aliens among us. (It was the headquarters of the Longaburger Basket Company before they bit the financial dust.

The trail took me to Newark, a county seat with one of Ohio’s many impressive county courthouses.

I stopped for mocha java and a sandwich just like the randos!

Right after Newark I picked up the TJ Evans Trail. This trail had quite a few locals on it. It was shaded but I could tell it was heating up because the Holstein cows were clustering in the shade.

They reminded me of WABA’s Laura Miller because she has a cycling jersey with this pattern in it.

Much of my day was spent on U.S. Bicycle Route 50. This is a signed route just like U.S. 50 but only greener.

As a native Albanian I had low expectations for the town of New Albany. Dang if it wasn’t nice. Tastefully posh with lush lawns and not-gigantic houses.

The route took me in a roundabout way to Hoover Dam. It was okay as dams go but rather smaller than its big sibling out west.

Westerville was comfortably upscale and Worthington less so.

I was starving so I stopped at a Dairy Queen conveniently located on my route. There I made a reservation for a hostel in Columbus, about 8 miles away.

To get there I rode the Olentangy Trail, quite a nice bit of urban infrastructure, except for the noisy highway next to it.

Back on city streets I closed in on the hostel but was sucked in by the air conditioning powered tractor beam of a McDonalds. All you can drink for $1 totally works for me. (Yeah, I had a burger with fries too.)

As I dismounted The Mule at the hostel it felt like the ground was swaying. The heat and humidity had really cooked my brain. Good thing I quit when I did.

I had to disassemble The Mule’s load to get into the hostel. I am awaiting the arrival of the owner. I can’t wait to get cleaned up so I can pass out from exhaustion.

Today’s miles: 76.5

Total tour miles: 570.5