Traveling at Mach 0.012

Tuesday May 20, 2014

Start – Monaca
Destination – Streetsboro
Day total miles – 81
Journey total miles – 640

Losing 40 pounds overnight (great diet, get rid of 3 panniers and most of the weight in the 4th), made a world of difference. Joe and I were off at dawn and riding the last parts of PA to Ohio. Our intended goal is West Branch State Park for a night of camping. More on that later.

I actually got my bike into the largest chainring and was pedaling easy. Up the highway we went and onto a part of the road with construction. This was a 4-lane divided highway and one lane was sectioned off with barrels. The road was smooth and no real construction apparent. We maneuvered through the barrels and had our own expressway. At some points we were passing cars that had slowed for lights or turning vehicles. 5 miles of our own lane – all for a bridge construction project near the end. Even that was passable for us. I think we averaged over 20mph for that stretch. Into OH, we stopped for the pictures and found EK. Next challenge, breakfast. EK found the M&S Truck Stop, not sure what town. Interesting place, not the atmosphere for the draw or the ambiance. But there were lots of cars and the dining room busy. One waitress covering about 15 tables and she was keeping up; been doing it for years. Good meal and then off again. The rest of the day would see rolling hills and some surprises.

First surprise was my front shifter was not doing its job. could not shift into the larger chainring anymore. Now that I have new found speed, really need the extra gears on the higher end. Some on the road adjustments allowed for the use of either the middle and larger or middle and smaller chainrings. So, for the moment, I choose the larger. Off we go again.

Let me diverge a little more on a criticism of the mapping program. While it is easy to use and pretty flexible, it does not give any indications of the road surface (prefer paved to unpaved) or the kind of bike trail (paved, gravel, or my favorite – mountain bike). Into the park we go to try to meet EK. He has scoped it out and we have some options for the night. The forecast is for rain and storms, so a campsite may not be the ideal. The alternative is 10 extra miles and a hotel in Streetsboro. We go for it. America’s Best Value Inn and Suites – may be more of these in our future. Not extravagant, but so far have been clean and convenient. Oh, yeah, into the park we go and the “trail” is really a dirt trail intended more for hikers and mountain bikes. And, the bridge is out, meaning we have to go for a work around. The flat parts reminded me of the C&O tow path. But the hills… and remember, no little chainring thanks to the shifting issue and my makeshift solution. Thank goodness for no heavy load. The detour is the next challenge. I think Joe’s comment summed it up. “DO you think your bike can swim?” Backtracking to a point to meet EK we went. More hills and a tough climb, but made it. Stopped at a place with cell service and rerouted my directions to end up in Streetsboro. Rolled in around 2 and hit the showers. Clean, but having a less than ideal bike, the next job was for a repair.

Eddy’s Bike store in Stowe OH was the place. I should have gotten his name, but the mechanic was great. Fiddled and poked, prodded and adjusted. A new cable some turns of screws and there you have it… the shifter is fixed. I have failed, well only sort of, in being able to do my own repairs. The only sort of part was that I was able to keep things going. I think the mechanic summed it up “that was one way to fix the problem, not how I would do it, but it got you where you needed to go” Also, had him change the rear tube, which had an apparent slow leak issue. Picked up a helmet mirror too (more on that later).

Back to Streetsboro, dinner and then to bed. My sleeping patterns are now get up or at least wake around 330 and then to bed around 8 or 9. At least I feel rested each day.