Our last portion of the ride was through several cattle farms and Amish country.  The barnyards gave off a pungent odor of cow dung as we passed and as I thought of the suffering of residents because of the odor, I was reminded of the saying “if your nose doesn’t leave, the rest of you get acclimated to the smell”.  I suppose so… Speaking of real suffering, we witnessed some emaciated young steers today that were likely being “raised” for the veal consumption trade. I’ve given up veal for this very reason.. .eating inhumanely underfed and under-exercised beef does not bring to mind the rationale I re-called from the 60’s by Alan Watts (or even Native American hunters) on meat eating; to the effect of: “Kill and Consume them with Love and Respect”.  Lots of Amish carriages and more surprisingly, cyclists on two and three wheeled rigs.  Nothing fancy and they weren’t wearing helmets, but Brian noted that he thought he was back in Holland where so many people travel on bikes.

 

The evening was supposed to be a meal prepared by the rider cook teams.  Kathy and I had planned to make pots of vegetarian and meat chili for the riders, but that was nixed in favor of  lunchmeats and air bread.  Even though Bob Dumke barbequed some ears of corn, Brian and I couldn’t stomach the thought of cold sandwiches for dinner after a “century” ride and instead we opted for the local Mexican restaurant for tacos, tamales and Dos Equis on tap.

 

 

The ride itself was interesting as Brian and I started with Iron Mike, who had lost his cue sheet on the way out of camp.  Mike rides a “Seven”, a custom made, titanium bike and he is most serious about his riding pace and progress…though he peels off for coffee and snacks regularly(!).  As we rode to the first water stop, we noticed the devastation of some of the soybean and corn crops as well as a fallen tree, overturned tractor-trailer and some trees containing some two dozen vulture-like birds. Before we saw the tree and trailer damage, we speculated that locusts had passed through as the bean plants appeared to have chew bites on the leaves. Once we saw the rest of the damage and the birds, I thought of how such an occurrence in a rural environment could lead one to be closer to their God and pray for relief or divine intervention.  I also thought of Egypt and Moses’ seven plagues…We then came upon normal fields and a family walking along the road.  They told me the damage was caused by a hailstorm the week before with devasting winds and seven inches of rain.  Not sure how government crop subsidies will help these folks, but it was a hard result to witness.  On the way, we saw our first passenger train today as this route has east and west bound tracks and lots of traffic.  When we got to the first water stop Mike, as expected, peeled off to ride with a faster group.  

 

Brian and plodded along, enjoying the local sites and folks.  In the town of Bryan, Ohio, we stopped at the local Quick and Go (as opposed to the competitor, Come and Go) for some water and powerade and a rest.  There we met Linda, the store manger, who was thrilled with our ride and waxed poetic about her time as child riding 5 miles each way on hot summer days to the pool with her friends. I encouraged her to keep at it even for a few miles. Then we met a customer in the parking lot with a raspy voice who asked about our ride and the cause, and who informed us that she biked and worked out, but that she loved the smell of cigarette smoke and that her lungs were “clean”.  We did not proselytize about the evils of smoking and wished her well… She said she was going to California to mine for gold ore… When I told her it was pretty much gone, she told us she had a nose for it (and tobacco smoke) and she’d find it.  Cynics that we are, we speculated on the likelihood of her realizing her “dream” based on our brief encounter and cursory evaluation.

 

The evening was spent at the Henry County Fairgrounds in Napoleon, OH…seriously just down the road from Waterloo, OH, (we didn’t cross through Wellington)…but of course, that old R&B cross over song from the 60s came to my lips.  Local county inmates were doing maintenance work on-site, though the use of the labor did not seem to be the most efficient use of time.  I suppose this was a relatively good gig for them if they could find shade, but I observed as many handlers and prisoners, so I’m not sure it pays.  Another song came to mind that Brian and I hummed and sang…see songs of the road.

 

Dinner was catered by another previous Big Rider and restauranteur who served up fried chicken, scalloped potatoes, mac and cheese, green beans and salad…food, food and more food for my riders!.  Another local ice cream shop owner spotted riders during the day arriving in town and vowed to, and delivered, soft ice cream for the camp after dinner. It was a hot and humid night and we were serenaded by local honking horns and “yoots” (remember My Cousin Vinnie?) yelling to us (memories of Gillette, WY) and a mocking(?) bird with a trill that did not thrill us throughout the early morning hours!!

 

 

 

The ride into Cleveland was very interesting and pleasurable. I hooked up with Iron Mike and Rodney for a 25-mile stretch as we navigated awful city roads – see my earlier rant about cities and roads.  At one point, the road was six lanes wide and we “expropriated” the center of our three lanes as it had relatively complete pavement covering it.  Cars passed us no the left and right side and some honked in anger, but we pressed on to the check-in.  Our stop was “heaven” for this city boy.  It was the first Starbucks I had seen in a couple of weeks, and the first I’d entered since Spokane in June. In addition, they had maple nut scones!!...So an iced mocha, a scone, and the New York Times in an overstuffed chair was absolute heaven.  I “decided” to wait for Brian, who got a late start and stayed on for 45 minutes.  He still didn’t show so I put the word out for him to kick it in gear, and headed off into the city.  I later learned that he was having an off morning and when he finally got to our check-point, decided to go with others to the local Indians baseball game, where he could snooze in the shade and catch a few pitches.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the city of Cleveland with its downtown high rises, the rock and roll hall of fame, the waterfront, the evidence of past industrial power, diverse neighborhoods of ghettos to super rich and all in between.  I got lost and found and discovered parkways, monuments, universities, and chic little boutiques, neighborhood theaters in gritty hoods and nice people on the street from joggers, cops, and the down and out.  

 

I transitioned into the suburbs, which became less interesting and then, I entered the hell of the 14 miles of rolling hills to Burton.  It was 1pm “ish” and it was as hot as Hades and now I had to deal with narrow shoulders, busy roads and climbs.  I wanted to hydrate so my stops were for water and powerade drinks and what should have been perhaps an hour of  climbing and descents was doubled…and still with the delays I was in before the truck was opened and unloaded. at the county fairgrounds.  And the ace up my sleeve was to have reserved a room at the local inn for Brian and me.  It is a little bit of heaven with AC nice view of the hills we’d all climbed, and it has a jacuzzi bath to soothe sore legs.