Milford to Xenia, OH: That's Xenia with a

June 11, 2011

We started off in the rain, bt it ended soon and the day became hot and sunny.

The ride was along the Little Miama Scenic Bicycle Trail the entire day. Last night's storms must have been pretty bad evidenced by the debri strewn along the trail. Several trees were down and one blocked the trail.

The bicycle started making a creaking sound. On a tandem it is incredibly difficult to locate the source of sounds. I had visions of something important breaking and even thought about turning around and going back to Bishop's Bicycle shop to have it repaired. But, as we kept riding the noise diminished and then stopped. Days later, we again traveled through some wet areas and the sound came back again only briefly. I think some dirt or stone traveled through the frame to the bottom bracket area and made noise until it was ground into a powder. Since we installed Phil Wood bottom brackets last summer, I hope to not have the bottom brackets apart for a long time. When I do, I hope I remember to see if any foreign substance was located in the area.

Timing is everything! The small towns along the trail have developed nice facilities for trail users. While stopping at one we learned a farm tractor parade was about to start. It felt like a rural America show put on just for us (and the 50 other people watching).

Ahead on the trail we saw a husband and wife riding single bikes going the opposite direction from us. The husband swerved unexpectedly causing his wife's front tire to touch his back wheel. Down she went. She did not get up right away and I tried to remember where our first aid kit was stored. Of course, it was at the bottom of our bag. We used quite a few of the supplies including tape, gauze pads, antibiotic ointment, and antiseptic cleaner. Her arm was swelling up quite a bit by the time we were done, but she thought nothing was broken and planned to finish their ride. After this experience I decided to add more large gauze pads and sterile pads to the kit. When you are in the middle of nowhere, hot and sweaty, those pads and tape were just the thing. The patch work didn't look pretty, but it was effective.

At Xenia the railway station was converted into a nice visitor center with restrooms and water fountains.

While eating at the Xenia Wendy's several groups of young Amish men and teens cycled in for lunch. The had nice bicycles and were wearing straw hats and long pants. I'm not sure how they kept their hats from blowing off. We learned they were on a recreational bicycle trip down to a location near Cincinnati and somebody was going to meet them there and drive them back.

The motel we selected was not very nice, a reflection of our choice to stay at a cheap place. We bicycled to a Kroger store and purchased food items to stock up on food supplies.

Today's ride: 54 miles (87 km)
Total: 350 miles (563 km)

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