Our hosts for last evening we’re fantastic. Dan’s sister and brother-in-law took care of us.
Warm showers, hot food, and time with family. We got an early push off because we knew the weather was turning. It didn’t take long, all of 10 minutes and the rain began.
For the next hour and a half we battled early morning sidewalks, roads, eventually winding our way to the cyclepath. We enjoyed a brief pause in vehicle traffic but that changed as we entered into the city of Columbus.
It was a beautiful town as we went past the event district where the Blue Jackets play. I had never been to Columbus and it was definitely a neat town. I was trying to imagine the energy in this area during a hockey game. Being from Michigan, and because the weather was not great, We did not drive by the other university. Maybe another time. Go Blue. We had to make another detour as they were doing bridge and trail reconstruction in the city. This caused us to add some additional miles and took up some precious time. Once navigating our way back to the trail, we we’re able to finally peel off of the rain gear. The temperature remaind good for about the next hour and a half, but then the humidity began to increase. As we came to another small town and a larger intersection, there was a beloved taco truck. So we took some time and had a second breakfast or a first lunch.
Moving on from there the trail flattened out and moved into some countryside with very little services. 2 hours later we were finally coming in to the outskirts of the town when we came upon a fitness gym where both of us decided we need to stop and get water and take some time inside to cool off in the air conditioning.
It was time for our second lunch. The drive-thru at this restaurant was packed, the inside was pretty desolate. Getting back on our bikes the trail straightened out almost too much. It seemed to go for miles and miles and miles without a twist or a turn. Just looking off in the distance the trail just faded away. That’s when we heard a tornado siren off in the distance and the winds began to pick up. Looking at the radar and not seeing any potential threats we continued on course. The clouds moved out of our way but the winds remained. For the remainder of the day we had a pretty stiff headwind 18 to 20 mph. When we came into clearings it pushed both of us around since our bikes act like giant sails. The wind and the temperature we’re taking its toll. We chose to stop at an inn trailside. This place was very bike friendly.
The owner checked us in gave us the $0.25 tour and made us feel right at home. Stewart even gave us a special menu for cyclist so we could get our breakfast served outside of the normal inn times. So tomorrow early morning our special request will be waiting for us while everyone else is asleep. I think today was a good prelude for the open plains coming in the days ahead. Planning for services, water, and the possible need for shelter will be critical in the future. All I can hope for is not direct headwinds and crazy storms. If that is the case the miles per day will dramatically drop. For now it’s time to manage a few navigational issues, a possible bike mechanical issue, and a business issue. We will see what tomorrow brings. It’s just one day at a time.
