Day 37- Tuesday, August, 3rd
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Day 37- Tuesday, August, 3rd |
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Kendallville, IN to Napoleon, OH - 70 miles
| The challenges of a day on the Big Ride are not always in the road, the
wind, or the hills. Today was ideal in all three aspects. We had easy rolling
hills or flat land for the entire day today. After 26 miles, we crossed
into the state of Ohio, our 10th state. It was steamy this morning, starting
in the mid seventies, and rising into the mid nineties. The humidity seemed
to stay the same at approximately 100%. The landscape was, if not unremarkable, at least more of the same. The farms growing corn and soybeans, the towns sporting well fed Middle Americans, the roads alternating between gravel, chip seal and asphalt, the winds mostly behind us. The 70 miles we pedaled today wasn’t long by our standards. Scott and I rode much of the day with Chris and David, sharing war stories, family histories, and bad jokes. We gossiped shamelessly about other Big Riders, then told them about our gossiping as soon as we saw them. For the most part, we are managing to stay away from cliques, backbiting and “us and them” thinking. Still, today was a hard one for me. I miss my family, my own bed, my sweetie, and my grandkids. When we got into camp today at the county fairgrounds here in Napoleon, I set up my tent, put away my bags, and headed into town by myself, for some alone time. I wandered around, exploring the downtown and town streets in every direction, seeing houses, apartments, small businesses, and the inevitable Wal-Mart, I’m not sure what I was looking for, and pretty sure that I didn’t find it, but when I got back to our group, I felt relieved, and somehow, home again with our little traveling band. Tomorrow, another day on the road, another challenge, another day on the Big Ride. |
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I promise that both Scott and I wore our Lung Association 2000 club jerseys today. This is the border crossing into Ohio. |
Andrej rode ahead of us (as usual) through the morning humidity. |
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| Kendallville has an interesting Windmill Museum. We didn't have a chance to visit it, but did ride by early in the morning. | The air was so wet that sweat literally wouldn't evaporate. My skin is glistening with moisture on the morning ride. |
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| David devours some ice cream at an historic Big Ride ice cream stop in Napoleon before we get to camp. | The county courthouse for Henry County is an impressive structure that is being well maintained. It is the centerpiece of downtown Napoleon. |
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| Often, there is little to do but wait for the mail. | Heather was our waitress for dinner. She was a Navy Corpsman, stationed with the Marine Corp on an helicopter landing vessel, mostly in Southeast Asia. My Dad occupied a similar position during WWII. |
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Day 37- Tuesday, August, 3rd |
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The email I'll use this summer is brucesherman@mac.com. Send mail to this address to say hello and I'll be able to read it on the ride.