Coast2Coast Day 66:  Bowling Green/Fire Lake to Clyde, OH;  Early Ed, and Later Ben sandwiching a flat

Ed startled me this morning with a “good morning” while I was unlocking my bike for a bit of maintenance.  He inquired as to our experience with the van, as he is considering ‘downsizing’ from his camper-trailer.  He works in Bowling Green as an inspector, and would have ridden with me for a bit, except his bikes were away in his storage unit.  He has children in Bowling Green, and is a ‘seasonal’ resident at Fire Lake.  He’s a well-traveled guy, and has provided security to a number of elected officials.  very interesting discussion.

Off on my bike, heading back and through downtown/Main Street from the Slippery Elm Trail.  Skirted the Portage River, and cruised across village and roads between fields of corn and soy.  In Ohio, for the first time on the journey, there are a number of homes/farms with ‘personal gardens’ of edible produce in addition to the cash crops so prevalent.

Had my front tire come out of the rim, and the tube explode just after stopping.  Cathy found me to bring the pump to inflate a changed tube, and provide another to bring along.  The front wheel has come out of alignment and needs attention.  The plan is to switch bikes for the remainder of the trip, as we are approaching less than 1,000 miles of riding to get to the Maine coast.

Missed connecting with the North Coast Inland Trail on the first pass, as was confused by a ‘closed road’ barricade.  Saw I cyclist flash by on a ped/bike bridge, so circled back to pick up the trail.  Noticed the rider (in a bright green jersey) a bit ahead of me.  Eventually caught up to him, and we (of course) started a conversation.  He is a retired firefighter named Ben.  He and his son had crossed the US using the Southern Tier.  They started in June, since they were supported by Ed’s wife and daughter-in-law, who are teachers.  When crossing some of the desert areas in the Southwest, they would start biking at 3:00AM, and bike till possibly 10:00A to avoid the 100+ temperatures.  It was the timing that Ben suggested against, and hearing of their experience, I was glad that Cathy and I had not chosen the shorter, Southern route to transverse the Country.

I was reluctant to have to turn off the trail to get to our ‘home’ for the night.  It was a good day riding, sandwiched with some great conversations.