Day 41
Day By Day Notes From The Road
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This document updated August 11th, 2004
Burton to Salem Ohio - 51 Miles
By Erwin:
The ride today was just too easy - I felt well rested, we had a tailwind, and the route was short. After about 40 miles through rolling hills, I had a great cappuccino in the little town of Canfield and after that it was just an easy 10 miles to camp. It felt great!
Once we got to camp, however, we got our fill of "the sketchy side of the back roads". For one, Big Rider Chris got bitten by the campsite dog! Also, Lucija and I saw some older guys roasting an entire pig on a stick and then light the animal on fire accidentally. Big flames were coming off it and one of the men shouted: "get the hose!" Also, we were kept up most of the night drag races that went on from 1am to 4am. Finally, when we left camp (I confess, I am writing this a day late) a local propositioned one of the female riders by offering her a ride under the false pretense that "the bond lady back there (one of the volunteers) said I should pick you up". Welcome to back roads USA!
Overall, we are riding through a pretty economically depressed area. This area was once strong in steel and other basic industries, but currently most of those industries have disappeared and little economic activity seems to have taken its place. Towns are run down, old industrial plants line the roads and most people seem a little ticked off.
Despite the somewhat depressing surroundings, the atmosphere among the riders and volunteers was great. This afternoon we held the long-anticipated "Big Ride Talent Show", where the riders showed off their entertainment talents in acts like "Big Ride Jeopardy", Big Rider Gray played the ukulele (purchased along the road). I wrote a (pretty cheesy) song and Lucija and I did a rendition of The Weakest Link. It was fun!
Tomorrow, we will ride about 80 miles through more and more hills. We've got 6 days to go.
By Lucija:
I discovered early on that when everyone else finds a day easy, I do not! Today I missed 3 turns and ended up biking an extra 7 or 8 miles. Not that extra miles on a 50 mile day are hard, they are just FRUSTRATING. It is hard to describe the feeling of disappointment when you discover that the last 5 or so miles you just biked were not useful in any way, and to add to your humility, you have to do them over again as you make your way back to the place where you went wrong. Oh well... better to make these mistakes on a 50 mile day than on a 100 mile day, I suppose.
Photos:
The sight of hot air balloons over the corn field were an early morning treat
Erwin sang a song at the talent show.