Hello Ohio. Leaving the valley view motel was a fun downhill to the Ohio River. The next few miles was a little unnerving along a very busy freeway. Super wide shoulder but there was no other option. Thank goodness it was a Saturday morning and the traffic was very light. Coming up on our river crossing we were stopped in our tracks with a sign that said
Bridge and sidewalk closed.
Uh oh. The bridge look perfectly passable for us maybe not structurally sound for cars anymore. What did that mean? Would there be holes in the bridge?
If we had to reroute from that point it would completely change the next several days so we ventured to squeeze pass the blockades and walk right down the middle of the old drivable bridge. The metal bridge, early in the morning was wet and slippery. We took our time, snapped a few pictures, and eventually found our way across to the other side. Clearly the bridge had not been used in quite some time since vegetation was growing up through the bottom on the far side. Walking the main road was the right answer because it turns out the sidewalk had some serious steps that we did not have to navigate with our bikes and gear.
From there the onslaught of hills began, up, up, up, and down. More up, some more down. We maneuverd through the urban center and eventually finding our way out to the country roads that we both love.
Today continued to heat up and the clouds moved away. As we came into a small town it was clearly depleted of services. This Old Town was tired but we were able to find a small restaurant with homemade food and had a wonderful lunch. The town was right off the trail which provided some much-needed flat surfaces for the next hour. The trail us a chance to rest but keep moving forward. As we approached our evening campsite the hills and steep climbs returned.
Eventually ending up in a massive campground with undulating ground and seasonal and daily campsites all over. We settled into our site and now it’s off to look for some food. Taking a look at the next two days we need to reroute to find the appropriate services. Tomorrow should be quiet and we’ll get an early start to ride during the cool of the morning.
