Many grocery stores and a movie theater

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Yesterday was a slog. I had felt pretty good on our 88-mile day and thought a 69 mile day would be straightforward. And it would have been were it not for the headwind. The weather forecast had predicted winds coming from north-north-west but this felt much more like west. Just west. Head on. We traveled a mile before stopping at a grocery store for a snack. Then we pedaled another 10 miles before running out of energy again and stopping at another grocery store. Mike visited the in-store Subway for a breakfast sandwich and found some kettlecorn. I eyed some fudge made locally by Amish people. Unfortunately it was sold in one pound tubs which is a dangerously large amount to be alone on the road with.

The best stop of the day was in a small town called Grand Rapids (not the one in Michigan). We had a spectacular view of the Maumee River and bought treats from Rita's Dairy Bar. Just so everyone is fully informed: I had a butterscotch milkshake, Mike had two scoops (one of butter pecan, one of "cookie monster") in a waffle cone. The "cookie monster" ice cream had both cookie dough and cookie bits in it, and was dyed bright blue. I think that freaked out Mike a little. We stuck our feet in the river before continuing our fight against the wind.

Around 50 miles we visited our second Subway of the day to use their bathrooms, refill our water bottles, and to lament how many miles were left. The shop was playing country music both inside and out. There was no escape. The wind died down as we rode to the town of Defiance and we made a final stop at a grocery store for beers, dinner, and snacks before heading to a motel.

Today was a glorious rest day. We are really enjoying having rest days in motels with air conditioning, wifi, and television but this is an expensive habit. I think we'll try to make our stays in motels an occasional - rather than a weekly - occurrence. We specifically picked this town and motel because there is a movie theater showing Jurassic World 2 nearby. We watched the trailer some time ago and I remarked "That looks dumb but I'll watch it". So watch it we did. The film was ludicrous, preposterous, and absurd. I enjoyed it immensely.

Tomorrow we ride again. How far? No-one knows least of all ourselves because we have done no planning. We'll see how that goes.

Yesterday's miles: 69
Today's: NONE

Gardenburger water tower

1 mile into the day

Rach's handlebar bag

Mike gets a new book

The fields of Ohio

Not a good sign

The skies

The Maumee River in Grand Rapids



Comments

  1. the Old GuyJuly 18, 2018 at 9:10 PM

    It's all about the journey. When you get anywhere is not important.

    A one pound tub of fudge does not sound like enough. Next time, go for it!

    The wind is the enemy. Always has been, always will be. It will never be your friend. Push through it. Curse it. Hate it. You will endure, but it will be miserable. Nothing to be done about it.

    Country music? Horrible, but you can always turn it off or just leave.

    Hang in there. If it were not for the tough days, why would you enjoy the rest days? You will overcome.

    Thank you, thank you, thank you for your updates. You are making us all happy to be on the road with you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. CheriJuly 18, 2018 at 9:53 PM

    Glad to hear you had a rest day. You have earned some recuperation.

    Ride safely.

    Cheri

    ReplyDelete
  3. Debbi StevensonJuly 20, 2018 at 12:33 AM

    Bad call on the fudge Rach, go back and get some! You could have shared a little bit with Mike. Xxx

    ReplyDelete

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