Week 10

Day 64 Monday, August 2

Michigan

Brighton to Woodhaven 

We got started around 8:30 this morning.  Thanks again to Tim and Colleen for taking care of us this weekend! 

Today was almost all bike paths. Some were very bumpy, but I didn’t get “bump angry” this time. I was having trouble with my right hand going numb all day. I tried to not hang on so tightly, but with the huge bumps it was hard to relax. There were good parts to the trail tho too. And the last 10 miles was on a good road. I’m enjoying the flats! There are occasional hills but they are short.  We met family for lunch on our way through the metropolitan area so we didn’t finish our 63 miles today until 4:30. 

Day 65 Tuesday, August 3

On to Ohio

Woodhaven to Maumee State Park

I was up at 6:30 and amazed that we were out of the hotel by 7:30!  We planned to go across the street to Tim Hortons, but were disappointed to find the inside dining closed and only drive thru available. On bicycles the whole drive thru thing just isn’t appealing. ☹️ I was so looking forward to my first visit to a Tim Hortons. Instead, we ended up at a Big Boy. Again, disappointed…

The ride went well today, we all stayed together and the roads were not too bad. They got bumpy sometimes, which irritated my still bruised hands. It was a pleasant surprise when we rolled into the campground at 55 miles. For some reason I was thinking we had 8 miles left, but no! Done around 4:30. We had decided not to get groceries and just use our camping meals that we have been carrying across the country. Showers, dinner, and a walk for ice cream from the camp store were all good!

Day 66 Wednesday, August 4

Ohio

Maumee State Park to Hudson

Not sure I slept the best. I know I woke up often, but I went back to sleep right away. It was a nice cool night for camping.  I was up at 6:15 and started packing up. There was dew again, so we gave the sun some time to dry things a bit. We left the campground around 8:30. Last night Terry and Ross mentioned a short day for today of 38 miles, but I was hoping we’d go farther. We didn’t make any reservations, so at lunch we decided to end in Huron, which made it a 66 mile day. With mostly flat roads, my legs have been feeling good. The wind was a problem the last 20 miles or so, but I stuck close to Terry and drafted. My right hand has really been bothering me, so I ended up taking my glove off and that helped a lot. We got in around 5 to our hotel which is on Huron River and after showering we had a nice dinner at the outside restaurant on the water. Laundry’s done and its time for bed…

Day 67 Thursday, August 5

Ohio

Huron to Cleveland

Another morning up at 6:15, ready to leave for a gas station breakfast at 7:30, out of town at 8:30. A little late because of a missing charge card but later found that it was left at the bar the previous night. Not me!

We had quite a few stops today and got into the hotel in Cleveland a little later than planned - around 1:45.  My Achilles heels are bothering me big time and I can’t figure out why. Today the pain worked it’s way into my calves too. The last 1/2 mile to the hotel we stopped to figure out where to go and it turned out we needed to climb a very steep hill with no lead way. I couldn’t shift into granny so I had to walk it, which really made my heels hurt. I was not happy and I was hungry since we hadn’t eaten lunch yet. Bad combination. It took some time, but I got over it. Terry and Ross went to the Rock and Roll hall of fame and I had some very much needed alone time.

Day 68 Friday, August 6

Ohio

Cleveland to Austinburg

Today was supposed to be a 55ish mile day. After breakfast at the hotel we got going around 8. My Achilles heels felt better today so that was good. We are back to following the Adventure cycling maps and it seemed to be full of turns. There were a few short climbs, with a couple that were fairly steep. We stopped for lunch with 16 miles to go to get to the Geneva State Park. It was much warmer outside after lunch, so lots of water to hydrate. We were hoping the stare park would have walk in sites for cyclists. They did not. Very disappointed. After calling several other campgrounds and discovering none of them had available sites for cyclists. All sites had to be reserved in advance. We found the only opening for a hotel at the Red Roof Inn in Austinburg, 11 miles away. I think there was more uphill in that 11 miles than the other 55 we had already done. We made it to our hotel but eating options weren’t the best. Burger King was dinner and we sat on the grass in the shade to eat since the lobby was closed. Getting really tired of closed lobbys. I did a load of laundry and we planned out the next few days. Leg cramps have been bothering the last 3 nights. I feel like I’m drinking a lot of water, but I’ll have to drink more.

Day 69 Saturday, August 7

On to Pennsylvania 

Austinburg, OH to Erie, PA

A short day today. For real! We got going around 8 after a bowl of cereal at the hotel. We got on a trail and enjoyed the 1st 10 miles to a gas station where we picked up beverages and breakfast sandwiches/pizza. It seemed to take awhile for my legs to get in the groove- I felt sluggish. There were a few granny type hills today and it reminded me that we have some mountains to climb yet before this adventure ends 🤨

We got to our hotel in Erie around 1 and I saw from my stats that my average speed was over 12mph. Perhaps that’s why I felt sluggish, I was going faster than my norm 😊

Day 70 Sunday, August 8

On to New York

Erie, PA to Dunkirk, NY

Today, I was the one that delayed our start. I got up and got going same as I’ve been doing. I packed my bags and put them on the bike and whilst packing I couldn’t find my Garmin watch. It didn’t really concern me too much since I figured it was in my bags somewhere; having not found it in the hotel room anywhere. I went down to the lobby to check breakfast out and had a cup of coffee. Not a good breakfast selection. When I got back to the room I started going thru my bags to see if I could find my watch. Ross suggested a find my device option which indeed found my device in one of my bags. We got going and went about 8 miles and stopped at a gas station for breakfast. They didn’t have public restrooms though, so in another couple of miles we stopped again for a bathroom break. The road was hilly today except for a very nice section of newly paved road that was mostly flat. My legs seem to be handling the hills better these days, although the longer ones still make my legs burn. Terry’s pace was pushing me a bit today but I was able to manage it for the 53 miles we did. I was getting tired by the time we got to Dunkirk, so definitely happy we were done for the day. It was another 12mph day!