Day 126, 9/11/10 - Ashtabula to Conneaut, OH

Just the Basics: Just 20 miles today - riding conditions similar to the challenging ones we've had for the last several days - windy, hilly roads with no shoulders and lots of traffic. In addition, there's a big gathering of Harley-Davidson riders in Geneva on the Lake, a town in this area, and there have been lots of them on the roads in the last couple of days. Nice folks, careful of cyclists, and, as we've noted in the past, folks with whom we have some things in common - we love the outdoors, love to tour, and love the freedom of our chosen ways of travel. Indeed, a case in point - we stopped by a road to let traffic pass and consult our maps and a motorcycle rider saw us, turned around and came back to see if we were OK - he was on a very elegant Honda. That said, Harleys are SO noisy, especially in large groups if you are riding a bike as they pass!

This was really less than a half a day of riding. We didn't leave Becky's cousins until late in the morning, having had a wonderful visit, and barely got our rental car back to Enterprise in Ashtabula before they closed at noon.

We then took off for Ashtabula's Hubbard House, a museum focused on the Underground Railway - William and Catherine Hubbard, its owners, built it to house their family and business, but also with hiding places for runaway slaves who then went on to freedom in nearby Canada, embarking from the Hubbard family's warehouses on Lake Erie and carried by sympathetic ship captains - a really inspiring place.

According to their website (hubbardhouseugrmuseum.org): "It may never be possible to know how many slaves William's family helped on to Canada, as no written account has been located to date. However, it is known from an eyewitness account, that, at one time, there were thirty-nine slaves in hiding, as the gentleman stated 'thirty-nine slaves made short work of a barrel of pickles.' Other observers made note of the fact that fugitive slaves arrived day and night, looking for William and Catherine's assistance and protection."

We then headed out of town around 2:30 p.m - only to be stopped by a raised drawbridge over the Ashtabula River, which we had to cross. We took a picture and then stopped at a coffee house to wait for the bridge to be lowered and enjoy coffee, and shared treats - a cranberry muffin and a Russian Tea Cake with apricots preserves and almonds. YUM!

Right after we crossed the bridge we passed an amazing coal-loading station involving boats, trains, heaps of coal, and a huge overhead conveyor system - we really wish we had seen it in action. We then biked along under the conditions noted above, arriving in Conneaut around 6, where we are settled into the Days Inn and have just had dinner. Now we need to use the computer to work out lodging and such for the next few days.

Today's Photos: (1) Open Drawbridge over the Ashtabula River; and (2) The Coal Transfer Station at the Ashtabula Harbor - note the heaps of coal, and the bridge-like coal conveyor system.

Tomorrow: We expect to go about 42 miles to the Lake View on the Lake Motel on Lake Erie, about 10 miles past Erie, PA, where we will stay in a little cabin with Adirondack chairs on the porch.

For Those Who Want More: That's it for today.

Day 125, 9/10/11 - Mentor to Ashtabula & Chagrin Falls, OH

Just the Basics: Special Note: This is a quick update written on the evening of Day 125, (9/11/10) for reasons that will become apparent! We are falling behind on blogs so are going to leave it brief again!

41 miles of mostly tough riding. Lots of traffic, roads that tended toward hills, curves, and no shoulders - required lots of focus and urban-type skills.

Arrived in Ashtabula in time to pick up a reserved rental car and leave the bikes, and headed basically south to Chagrin Falls, OH, about an hour and a quarter away by car, where we spent the night with Becky's cousin Deb and her husband Larry at their lovely home in the rural outskirts of Chagrin Falls.

Becky and Deb had never met, so as you can imagine we had lots to talk about! We had a lovely, leisurely dinner and talked until after 11 p.m. In the morning we got up and took up where we left off, over breakfast at their favorite diner in town. It was a wonderful visit and a real privilege to find we very much liked cousins whom we had never met!

Day 124, 9/9/10 - Cleveland to Mentor, OH

Just the Basics: 36 miles, mostly difficult - varying kinds of urban riding, lots of traffic, windy, sometimes chilly, with a few hills. There were also some miles on bike trails but the overriding theme of the day was definitely highly-focused somewhat stressful urban riding. We passed Mile 3500 today and have less that 1000 to go!

We also came our closest yet to getting lost, only about 4 miles from our motel - rain was threatening and we missed a turn and a very busy road with no shoulder stretched before us and it was getting closer to dusk. Then a kind motorist gave us alternate directions and we started off. However, the alternate route looked sort of dicey at first so we we pulled off and consulted our big Ohio atlas. Then Cyclist Bob pulled up to see if we needed help. He agreed with the route recommended by the passing motorist and accompanied us through the first two steps of it - the rest was easy. What luck!

Fun Stuff: We had Polish sausages with sauerkraut from a downtown cart and spent a couple of great hours at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. = ) = )

Tonight it's late and we are beat so we're going to sign off with what is likely our shortest blog ever!

No Photos:

Tomorrow: We go about 40 miles to Ashtabula, where we will rent a car and drive down to Chagrin Falls to visit one of Becky's cousins - whom she has never met! We'll have dinner and spend the night there, go out to breakfast in the morning, and then head back to trade the car for the bikes and head for Pennsylvania - which we will reach sometime in the afternoon!

Day 123, 9/8/10 - Cleveland

Just the Basics: Almost no miles. We rode to an Enterprise car rental place near our TraveLodge and rented a modern white VW bug. We have been to the natural history museum and the history museum and wandered through the Warehouse District of Cleveland and had a fabulous expensive dinner at Sans Souci. Tonight we are in a downtown Holiday Inn Express on the 13th floor (according to the desk clerk they are the only hotel which admits to having a 13th floor!) with a fabulous view of downtown Cleveland. More later!

Today's Photos: (1) Becky & our Rented VW; (2) Cleveland's Terminal Tower in the City Center at #1 Public Square

For Those Who Want More: Note on 9/9/10: Still to come!

Day 122, 9/7/10 - Vermillion to Lakewood, OH

Just the Basics: 37 miles. The weather is warmer but OK. We had a helpful tailwind much of the day – but UN-helpful gusts to 42 mph! We had LOTS of traffic much of the way but we made good time and arrived at our motel in decent shape but more tired than usual due to the intensity of the riding. That said - Riley no longer thinks it necessary for Becky to skip riding through Cleveland, as her cycling-in-traffic skills and comfort level have really grown of late - we had originally planned to rent a car and have her drive through while Riley cycled through. This makes both of us happy!

Aside from the riding itself, there is not a lot to report today. We had a nice visit this morning with Dick, our host at the Lakeland Lodges, and then made a quick visit to the Inland Seas Maritime Museum in Vermillion, where we particularly appreciated a series of displays on major shipwrecks in the Great Lakes and a very nice mural-with-narration focused on the last 100 years of boat types sailing on the Great Lakes.

We had lunch in Sheffield Lake at what looked like a hamburger stand but turned out to be a mini-French restaurant. We shared delicious crepes (one roasted vegetable and one ham and cheese), served on real china plates, for $5.29 each; and good strong coffee in real cups. The veggies were locally grown and organic. We also enjoyed one of the periodic conversations we've had with motorcyclists. You might guess that cyclists and motorcycle riders might not have much in common, but we find an overlap of interests: Both groups enjoy the outdoors, the freedom, and touring.

No Photos Today.

Tomorrow: We will stay in place here in the Cleveland area to celebrate Becky’s 64th birthday. We plan to visit museums, stay in a downtown hotel, and have a nice dinner out. Consequently, we may not blog tomorrow.

Day 121, 9/6/10 - Clyde to Vermillion, OH

Just the Basics:

NOTE on 9/7/10: We still have more to say about this day - but not tonight!

39 miles, mostly on fine roads at a reasonable temperature under cloudy skies. Tonight we're at the Lakeland Lodge just south of Vermillion, in a little duplex cabin not more than 100 feet from the shore of Lake Erie. We have a kitchenette and plan a fine dinner.

NOTE: Our Internet connection is having problems - Becky just finished a nice report on the day only to lose the connection and everything she'd written. = ( = ( We'll try again later, but right now we're going to go sit by Lake Erie and drink some Rose wine from Mon Ami Winery on Catawba Island, which is off the north coast of Ohio.

Today's Photos: (1) Becky in front of Lake Erie; (2) Riley in Lake Erie; (3) Becky kicking it up in Lake Erie.

Tomorrow: We go about 33 miles to Lakewood, which is quite near Cleveland. We plan to have a layover day in Cleveland to celebrate Becky's birthday on the 8th.

Day 120, 9/5/10 - Bowling Green to Clyde, OH

Just the Basics: 44 miles in lovely weather. Early in the day we had a fair amount of traffic and then a lot of twisty-turny riding on roads along rivers which required frequent stops.

We stopped at a roadside farm and bought honey crisp apples and had a nice chat with the farm family.

We reached Pemberville, the first town after Bowling Green on today's route. There began one of the wonderful adventures that this trip continues to offer us. We were pointed to a great new route by a non-biking couple in the restaurant where we stopped for a mid-morning snack, then met Mike and Melissa who personally guided us along the first 10 miles of that route. Shortly after, we met Dave Lindstrom, who took us the next 8 miles or so. See For Those Who Want More for the details!

Dave actually rode in the first cross-country bike trip organized by Bike Centennial in 1976 to celebrate the U.S. Centennial! Bike Centennial eventually became Adventure Cycling, the folks who made the maps we use on this trip!

At the end of our biking day we stopped at Hall's Farm Market - a sort of farm stand/gift shop/garden store across the street from our motel. We bought some leaf and pumpkin cookies (Yikes - more signs of fall!) and a little package of Hall's honey candy (good to suck on while biking). When the owner/cashier heard what we were doing he insisted on giving us each an apple, saying "Bless your hearts!"

Today's Photos: (1) Mike and Melissa, of Toledo and Pemberville; (2) Dave Lindstrom, of Fremont - see For Those Who Want More for details!

Tomorrow: We go to Vermillion, OH on Lake Erie, where we will stay in a housekeeping cabin on the Lake and probably cook our own dinner and breakfast. Arriving at Lake Erie feels like a major milestone, somehow.

For Those Who Want More:

Going Off-Route: In Pemberville (around Mile 12) we stopped at Janelle's Cafe for a snack - coffee and a shared bread pudding and cherry Danish. A couple breakfasting at the next table asked if we were biking, where to and from, et cetera. Turned out they lived in the little town of Elmore, about 10 miles away.

Our Adventure Cycling Bike map called for us to bike from Pemberville to Gibsonburg and then on to Fremont, where we could pick up the North Coast Inland Rail Trail for about 8 miles to Clyde, where we'd be spending the night. They were really enthusiastic about having us instead bike first to Woodville and then to Elmore, so that we could ride on Elmore's recently-completed rail trail to Fremont. They told us how to get there but we were dubious - the road they suggested was the curvy one we'd just left. Then we noticed a secondary road running parallel to that one - yes, they said, that worked too and would be curvy but very lightly traveled and very pretty.

We set out but were a bit uncertain about getting to the parallel road. We were biking across a bridge in search of it when Mike and Melissa rode up on their bikes. They were headed that way and would guide us, they said! We rode along together all the way to Elmore and had a wonderful time. The road was curvy and there was some traffic but it was absolutely beautiful - farmland to our right and the lovely winding Portage River to our left. Mike is an electrician and Melissa is a nurse. He has done a great deal of biking, she is an enthusiastic beginner. We talked about our lives, about biking, about our work, this trip, health care reform - it was great. We all stopped for lunch in Pemberville, then they headed home and we started on the bike trail to Fremont.

After a couple of miles we stopped to get our bearings - and couldn't seem to locate where we were on the maps in our Ohio atlas. Feeling vaguely uneasy, we continued on to Lindsay - where Dave Lindstrom saw us again looking at maps. When he heard we wanted to get to Fremont and then to a different section of trail he announced "I will be your guide." He had been heading the other direction but simply turned around and led us back to the end of that segment of trail in Fremont and then on a tricky route through Fremont to the next segment of bike trail which would take us on to Clyde.

En route we learned that he had lived in our own Orange County, CA for some years and was familiar with biking there. He also told us a bit about the original Bike Centennial bike ride across the country. Folks rode in groups, some from east to west and others from west to east. He was part of a group of about 15 riding the west-to-east route - the group included an 11 year old girl and her mom! He also said he'd attended a 25 year reunion of the group in Missoula, MT, where Bike Centennial/Adventure Cycling has its headquarters.

What a wonderful day!