Day 5: I've reached Cadiz OH - Frankly, I don't give a damn - It's Bigger! It's Badder! Is it too much for Mr. Incredible?

June 19, 2024

Day 5: I've reached Cadiz OH - Frankly, I don't give a damn

Today I once again made the decision to forego a free campsite to stay at a hotel. The challenge was there was nothing along my planned route so I deviated a bit so I could reach the town of Cadiz OH (pronunciation in previous blog entry) and enjoy the comforts of a bed, A/C, and a breakfast in the morning. And for that, the Microtel Inn didn't disappoint. $103 AFTER taxes so a really good deal, especially with all the hyper-inflated costs of hotel stays.

First, I roll out of my hotel room and make my way towards the towpath trail which contains the first 8 miles of the day's ride. During that ride, I discover two things - (1) the Fort Laurens museum is still closed as I pass it and (2) the spiders were very busy laying webs last night across the trail, and I'm breaking every...single...one. Spiders, I'm sorry I destroyed your ability to entrap insects but I really needed to get down this trail. When you rise up and take over the world please understand I respect your diet of getting rid of the "bad" insects.

I pedal up and over Interstate 77 and listen to all the commuters and travelers on the loud instate below before I head back into the woods on the other side

Possibly the only section the spiders had not built webs across the trail.

Four miles in and I detour to the village of Zoar. This was founded as a socially communal town settled by German immigrants in the early 19th century and was very successful until the turn of the 20th century. At just after 7:00 on a Wednesday morning, nothing was open, so I rolled through the town with the sound of my rear hub freewheeling the only thing to be heard at that time in the morning.

Would have loved to stop in and see more about the town, but I was racing the rising heat

Example of many of the homes still standing. And bonus - you can see evidence of spider web's content on my left cheek (didn't know it was there until later)

An hour into the ride I hit the wall. Well, it's not a wall but one of two steep hills on the route. It's a 7+% grade rising over 200' in a mile. Whatever it was it was an obstacle to get up and over. I decided to enact a strategy I used last September during a particularly hilly ride. If the grade exceeds 6% I walk. Simple as that. Not only does that keep my legs fresh for the reasonable climbs, but it also gets me out of the saddle and using different muscle groups. I don't feel that it makes any less of a bike packing trip, either.

This view was becoming all too common on this day. Climb, descend, repeat.

With climbs come downhills. Interesting to note how you can actually SEE the humidity in the valley. Holy cow was it humid at 8:00a this morning!

When I map out the route it usually shows me what surface I'm riding on - asphalt, path, dirt, gravel. But since I'm passing through some really rural areas in OH, I passed through some unmarked gravel roads. I didn't worry - that's what this bike is built for. I was riding on 700x42 tires and they rolled over the rocks/gravel like, "Hey, man, this is what we're built for - let's do this!"

I go so far into rural Ohio that I run out of pavement

After 8 miles of eradicating spider webs across the towpath trail, 22 miles of on-road and on-gravel riding, and maybe 1 mile of pushing the bike up grades exceeding my planned tolerance, I make it to the next trail on my route - the Connotton Creek Trail.

Sign indicates I made it to the next trail on my route. This will be my traveling companion for the next 10 miles (not the horse and buggy - the trail itself)

The trail is asphalt, which is somewhat surprises me because it's in a really rural area. I would have expected crushed limestone. I am not complaining at all because I'm rolling along really smooth pavement on this section of the day. Until I'm not. Because trees are down across the path in multiple areas. This leads to an interesting question. Why did the wind take down trees over this trail and the Sippo Valley trail a few days earlier yet didn't touch ANY of the roadways in between? What does it have against rec paths?

One of the trail crew workers stops and chats with me over the din of chain saws and snapping trees. He asks about my route and when I mention I'm going into Cadiz, he says, "What's in Cadiz other than a Chinese restaurant?" So I explain my plan, my hotel stay, and the reconverted church into café that I'm visiting.

If you think "Wait - isn't he just posting a picture from a few days ago when he had trees across the path?" Nope. Same thing here. It's like deja-vu all over again.

After 10 fun-filled miles, I turn my bike's heading south towards Cadiz. On my way I pass signs to the trail rider's campground which was my original destination. But the extra four miles means a hotel room and A/C which is needed in these times of heat waves.

In town, I make my way through the midday heat to Timi's Café. When looking for places to eat, this one stood out as funky as it's a repurposed church. I love these places that reuse older buildings so as to keep the charm of the original structure in its original habitat while using it for a new purpose. IMO much better than razing the original building and putting up a new franchise with parking and *gasp* drive-thru lanes. I had to make this a midday stop as they close at 2:00 so 12:15 for a tasty hamburger and fries was A-OK for this bikepacker.

Timi's Café in Cadiz. If I ever find myself in Cadiz OH again I'll definitely make this a stop.

I check into the hotel after lunch, and SURPRISE! the room is ready. They tell me that breakfast starts at 4:30 tomorrow morning. Yes, that's correct. They tell me they have a lot of oil and gas workers who stay at the hotel who work odd hours after I inquire if I heard that correctly. So that works well with my plan to put on 70 or so miles tomorrow and to get out before sunrise.

Looking over my route I find a third thing in Cadiz besides the café and the hotel. It's the birthplace of Clark Gable. You might find that you don't give a damn but I thought it was rather interesting.

The Microtel was perfectly suitable for the overnight stay. I spent several hours sitting in the window seat safely ensconced in my A/C room looking out over the landscape

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Today's ride: 48 miles (77 km)
Total: 344 miles (554 km)

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