I slept great – 9 1/2 hours uninterrupted. Back felt great. I did my morning routine and packed up my clean clothes that I had washed the night before. There wasn’t any breakfast at the hotel (their restaurant is being renovated) and nothing in town was open on a Sunday morning. So I ate half a Cliff Bar and was biking at 7:30.
It was a little foggy for the first hour. But it was 56 degrees, which I find to be a perfect temperature to ride in.
After six miles on the trail, I had to bike on roads for eight miles to get to the next section of trail. It was nice to see some of the farmland, and there was very little traffic that early.
It was paved trails most of the rest of the day, which was a joy to ride on. Here are some pictures.
I’m planning on attending church on Sunday’s during this trip, but today I had a special service to attend. My old colleague and good friend, Kat Harris, was receiving her ministry license at St Luke’s in Charlotte and she had invited me to attend. So, at 10:00 I tuned in on YouTube to watch. I put it on my cellphone, turned up the volume (I don’t have any headphones with me), and slow peddled while listening/watching. It was a great service and I wish I could have been there in person. Kat is an amazing person and will be a great minister.
As I was about to enter the town of Mount Vernon, a cyclist with panniers named John pulled alongside me and asked me where I was going. It turned out that he was a member of a 7-man team that was biking across the country to raise awareness for soldiers returning from combat in hopes of getting them to get out and exercise more. I had heard of these guys during my first few days on the C&O trail. I must have gotten in front of them somewhere. John told me that they had been hearing about me from people for the last few days. Funny how that works. They are following the Great American Rail Trail route as am I. I lost John in Mount Vernon – he seemed to be on a mission. I hope to run into them again down the trail.
After eating two lunches and replenishing my snack supplies, I was back on my bike. It was starting to get hot. The temperature was forecast to get to 88. At least it wasn’t humid, and the trail was mostly shaded. The Cottonwood trees were sending out their seeds today. You had to keep your mouth closed, or you were going to eat some. The seeds were all over the trail in spots.
I didn’t get a chance to dry out my tent from all the rain two days ago. A hotel room with antique furniture isn’t a good place. So today I found the perfect place. I stopped mid-afternoon in the town square in Sunbury. I laid my tent and ground cover out in the sun and sat in the shade on park bench while the sun did its thing.
Later in the afternoon, as I was biking into Westerville, I noticed a Trek store. I’m still trying to find a pair of sunglasses to replace the pair I lost after day one. I went in and found a great pair of sunglasses! Glad to be able to stop using the cheap pair of Walmart sunglasses I had been wearing.
In Westerville I decided to find a place to stay. I was able to book a room in the Embassy Suites in Columbus, OH. After washing my clothes I went down to happy hour and met a group of four cyclists who were biking the Ohio to Erie Trail that I was on today. They were going north, so I was able to give them my insights and they were able to tell me about my route tomorrow. They were very interested in my journey across the country, so we connected on Strava and I shared this blog with them.
Overall, it was a great day on the bike. Great weather and great trails. No issues on the ride and my body continues to feel great. I rode 80 miles with 1,444 feet of climbing.
So happy you got to get dried out! Also happy you were well prepared for all the biking and are not feeling all sore from so much peddling.
Sounds like a great day of riding Jim.
That is co that your are creating a “Jim Farr” lore on the bike trail.
Glad all is well. My curiosity finally peaked so I checked out your ride at their website. I take back my suggestion on tools. All it did was show my age. Bay humbug! You are really fueling my desire to do the same. God willing someday. Talked with Joanne today she says “Hi”, Love Dad.
Beautiful Ohio, where the golden grain
Dwarf the lovely flowers in the summer rain.
Cities rising high, silhouette the sky.
Freedom is supreme in this majestic land;
Mighty factories seem to hum a tune, so grand.
Beautiful Ohio, thy wonders are in view,
Land where my dreams all come true!
From BEAUTIFUL OHIO by Ballard MacDonald
Hey Jim, I’m playing catch up today on reading your posts. Really have been loving hearing your tales of adventure and all the wonderful people you are meeting along the way. Sure wish I would have seen this post earlier as I could have highly recommended you stop in at our cousin’s beer garden called Gemüt Biergarten in Columbus. Fabulous beer (I say because they’ve won international awards for the beer they make not because I’m bias) and it sounds like you could use a “cold one” after some of your days. Bonne continuation ! Bonne route !