Day 10 - Ohio Menagerie

I enjoyed visiting with Martha and Gary last night. This morning, Gary made me a great breakfast and we spent some time chatting before I set off around 9:00. There was a light drizzle, so I put the rain jacket on from the word go. After winding my way back to the Little Miami Scenic Trail, I had to take a rain delay. As I got to the trail entrance, a thunderstorm popped up, so I got under cover at a picnic shelter and waited out the rain.

While under the shelter, I met a cyclist named Tom. We ended up riding about 25 miles together this morning before he had to head back home. He pointed me in the direction of some good places for lunch up the trail, and his recommendations came in handy. During the time we rode together, we saw several deer, a fox, a rabbit, and a couple of chipmunks, not to mention lots and lots of birds. I really enjoyed sharing some time and stories with Tom, and was sad to see him peel off.

I made lots of stops today, some to eat, some to chat with other cyclists, and some to see interesting things. One cyclist recommended I try the ice cream at Young's Jersey Dairy, then proceeded to lead me to it. It was well worth the detour, and my sundae hit the spot. The stop also allowed me to catch the last 20 minutes of the South Korea/Nigeria game.

I made it into Urbana around 7:00 this evening. Thanks to the early rain, I was none too clean, so after a quick clean up, I headed to the main drag in town to find a bite to eat. I missed the restaurant I was looking for, but found a local bike shop. I chatted with the owners for a bit, and they directed me back to Catfish Jack's. I headed over to eat, and a few minutes later, Missie and Jeff came in to join me. We shared a tasty meal and great conversation, then Missie invited me over to their house for dessert.

Jeff and I put my bike in the back of his truck, after I rode up the hill out of town, and stopped by Kroger to pick up dessert. Back at the house, we shared more stories and gave lots of attention to their black lab. With both Jeff and I starting to yawn, he offered me a ride back to the motel, which I gratefully accepted. Both Missie and Jeff were wonderful hosts this evening, and they gave me a good recommendation for breakfast tomorrow.

Tomorrow I head up to North Baltimore, another 80 mile day. Hopefully the weather will hold long enough for me to get up there. I suspect that I will be stopping a bit less tomorrow in an effort to get in before any late day thunderstorms can pop up.

Miles Today: 90.38 miles (including the ride back to dinner)
Max Speed: 28.0 mph

I did take some pictures today, but it's late, so I'll post them tomorrow or Thursday.