General Mills

September 21, 2023

It’s not just a cereal factory

After a leisurely breakfast and last look at the lake from the back porch of the Punderson Manor Lodge we got on the road.

Not sure why there was a concrete gargoyle, looking out over the lake, but he was rather impressive.

We anticipated an additional 1/4 mile of the milled road that we had entered the state park on yesterday.

Roads are milled as when removing old asphalt prior to resurfacing wit new asphalt. Sometimes they are milled because they know the Fritsch’s are going to cycle on the road the following day.

We didn’t anticipate that the road would be milled for several more miles in our direction. I was grateful that I didn’t have any functional molars to chatter loose in my jaw. The others in the party were not as fortunate. The traffic was constant, but for the most part vehicles gave us 3 feet of clearance, which was important, since in many cases, the shoulder of the road was impassible due to the milling.

Once we got through Burton, we got into smooth roads, with gentle up and down hills, and a large number of what appeared to be Amish farms. The cattle and horses took a mild interest in us as we passed. There were several push bicycles parked beside an Amish school with surprisingly bright colors. The children were out playing at recess so we didn’t want to stop and take pictures, what a shame it would probably have been an award-winning picture.

Several homes had elaborate bird apartment-condominiums. Many had thin rods in the shape of a cross above the roof. We don’t know what the purpose of these were, perhaps to keep hawks from attacking the birds.

We had lunch in “Pasta Diner” in Rock Creek. It is a small establishment, run by the owner and her fiancé. The food was tremendous, and they are obviously invested in doing a good job with the diner. We don’t remember it being open the last time we cycled through here, 10+ years ago.

The owners of the restaurant had conveniently placed shelves stocked from the local food bank when you enter the front door. I liked these people.

While the tandem was parked at the restaurant I immobilized the front wheel with a bungee type strap around the front brake.

This keeps the bike from rolling away while parked.

We started on a gentle grade and I was surprised how hard it was to pedal. I finally realized the strap was still on, squeezing the front brake. Margaret wanted to know how I was going to describe the incident in this journal. Several hours later I still haven’t figured out a way to blame it on Rhona. We joined the Western Reserve Greenway Trail and cruised into Austinburg, just short of Ashtabula.

Today's ride: 42 miles (68 km)
Total: 423 miles (681 km)

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