Start: 7:46 AM

Finish: 3:32 PM  

Saddle Time: 5:51

Ascent: 468 feet

Descent:  424 feet

Miles: 77

Total Miles: 3,148

Highlight: The first 30 miles was mostly bike lane with some dedicated bike path.

Lowlight:  Realizing I probably took the wrong route into the city yesterday.

Cyclemeter:  Follow this link to see the data I’m collecting with the cyclemeter app. You can see gps information, speed, elevation, distance, cadence and heart rate. Better viewed on a computer where it’s easier to play around with the graphs.

Good ride today. The weather continues to cooperate with dry weather in the 80’s. I followed bike path and bike lane along the lake and out of the city for a good 30 miles. It was a very different experience from yesterdays ride when I wondered why Cleveland didn’t do a better job with bicycle infrastructure.  I was probably just on the wrong roads.  Perhaps if I followed the northern tier to Lake Erie west of Cleveland I could have rode into the city on some of the same trails and bike lanes I rode out today.

I started with a really nice hotel breakfast.  Yes, those two words are usually not used in the same sentence but this was restaurant quality food: eggs, bacon, biscuits, and sausage gravy plus the usual continental fare. I really like this hotel but I’ve been staying in Super 8 and Motel 6 so my standards are pretty low.

I wondered what todays ride out would be like.  I really didn’t want a repeat of yesterday with many miles of sidewalk riding in the suburbs. I much prefer riding busy streets in the city. Google and the northern tier overlap for most of today until I defer to Google later in the day making my way more inland to my hotel in Conneaut. The route follows the Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway for about 10 miles. I joined the path at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, would have been nice to visit but I didn’t have time.

The bikeway is on a combination of dedicated bike path or very quiet side roads that make their way through old estate neighborhoods. It was very nice riding. I noticed one of the houses was for sale so I looked it up on Zillow. For $1.1 million you can get a 7 bed, 5 bath, 6,200 square foot house on the lake just miles from city center. While a million dollars is a lot of money, in northeast metropolitan areas it will buy you not much more than a normal house.

After about 10 miles the bikeway ended but bike lanes continued along the lake.  I say “along the lake” since that’s where I was but the lake was out of view, hidden behind houses. Most of my lake views were early on closer to city center. Once out of the estate neighborhoods I rode through areas with shops and apartments in old 2-3 story brick buildings. I’ve only seen a sliver of Cleveland but I like what I see.  Everything looks clean and well kept.

I saw signs for something like the “Ohio Lake Bikeway” but right now I can’t find any information online.  Regardless of name, it seems to be a bike trail that follows roads along the lake which is probably why I rode on so much bike lane. 

Eventually I  left the shore and headed inland towards my destination in Conneaut. While the town is on the shore I’m staying in a motel just off the highway several miles inland. Today was very different riding from the last couple weeks.  While I’m still seeing some corn and soybean fields they are quit rare.  What was once farmland  are now housing developments. The terrain is more rolling hills with many more trees than previous days. I often thought the area looked a lot like New England.

My motel for tonight is Oyo which was a Day’s Inn years past.  My northern tier map shows it as a Day’s Inn. While it’s likely a chain, I’ve never heard the name so I went to Google.  Apparently Oyo is an Indian company which is interesting because I’ve noticed once out of the all white northern plains most motels seem to be owned and/or operated by south asians. I haven’t traveled much within the US for a while so maybe I missed this trend or maybe it’s just regional.

The location is just an exit off the highway several miles from the actual town so there’s nothing here except for two truck stops.  I don’t want to ride the few miles into town and back so dinner tonight is truck stop food and a couple tall boy beers.

Start: 7:28 AM

Finish: 4:50 PM  

Saddle Time: 6:44

Ascent: 312 feet

Descent:  224 feet

Miles: 83

Total Miles: 3,071

Highlight: The first 50 miles was almost all on rail trail.

Lowlight: The last 30 miles was a lot of suburban and urban riding without any dedicated bike path.

Cyclemeter:  Follow this link to see the data I’m collecting with the cyclemeter app. You can see gps information, speed, elevation, distance, cadence and heart rate. Better viewed on a computer where it’s easier to play around with the graphs.

I planned on following the northern tier all day today, it mapped out a few miles shorter than Google, but upon further inspection I noticed Google included a significant amount of rail trail while the northern tier headed to Lake Erie west of Cleveland after about 10 miles of trail.  I will gladly take longer ride with more rail trail.

After a hotel breakfast I set off heading back to the North Coast Inland Trail that I came in on last night only about a mile from the hotel. The trail will eventually link Toledo to Lorain over about 100 miles.  The span I road on covered about 50 miles between Clyde and just south of Elyria with a mix of paved and packed stone dust. The trail continues on all the way to Elyria but Google had me exit for a better route into Cleveland. Over the 50 miles I could see farm land give way to suburbia with some relics of the past mixed in like grain elevators or barns that haven’t been used in decades.

Once off the trail suburban and urban riding started right away. The roads were fairly busy with little to no shoulders. Eventually I started seeing sidewalk so I moved off the road. Some areas prohibit bikes on sidewalks but usually more so in city centers.  I was still a ways from the city in a suburban environment. Riding on sidewalk sounds better than it is. Like most suburban sidewalks this was not in good condition with a lot of shifted plates making for a rough ride. I think builders often do a poor job installing sidewalks just to meet code requirements. My sidewalk riding went of for a good 15 miles.  It was a rough, slow ride but kept me off the busy streets.

I left the sidewalk as I entered a more urban area. City riding isn’t bad. Traffic is slow and most cities have bike lanes which I was able to ride for most of the remaining miles, much better than sidewalk riding.

Riding into the city I passed through a lot of old neighborhoods, everything looked clean and well kept. I crossed over the Cuyahoga River on a very large bike lane and into the city center. Downtown Cleveland is like any other city with lots of activity and traffic but it looked very clean and less hectic than a place like New York.

On this ride I choose hotels almost solely based on price. This is long term travel not a vacation so nice isn’t required, just acceptable. Downtown hotels in any city are often $200+/night with Cleveland no exception but I found a $100 room at a Holiday Inn Express, can’t be too bad. Half price hotels are either good deals I happen to stumble upon or a sign of problems.  I was pleasantly surprised, my room was large with what looked like original hardwood floors, probably the nicest place I’ve stayed all trip.  The building must have been some other hotel in a past life. 

While riding I had a couple people stop me today wanting to know about my trip.  One guy pulled into a parking lot ahead of me, jumped out of his car, ran over to me riding down the sidewalk and asked “are you on a big trip?”. I stopped and talked for a while, he told me about other cyclists he’s met doing cross country rides.  Another guy slowed down next to me in a pickup and yelled something out the window. I heard “do you want a ride?”. But what he actually said was “are you on a big ride?”. I stopped and talked with him for a while as well. Finally while eating ice cream down the road from my hotel before checking in a guy noticed my touring bike and asked if I was on a tour. Turns out so is he, heading from Oregon to New York City.  He stopped in Cleveland to visit a friend.  We exchanged numbers and may met up at tomorrows destination.

I passed the 3,000 mile mark today but forgot to note it with a picture. I was somewhere on the bike trail, probably just outside Bellevue. The trip is winding down now with only single digit number of days left.  The next two days are really the last of the unknown.  I consider Buffalo onward to be familiar territory since I rode the Erie Canal five years ago and I also ridden a good part of the route south of Albany. 

Tomorrow will be about a 75-80 mile ride to Conneaut. Now time for dinner at Southern Tier Brewery around the corner.

Start: 7:15 AM

Finish: 3:30 PM  

Saddle Time: 6:15

Ascent: 0 feet

Descent:  84 feet

Miles: 82

Total Miles: 2,988

Highlight: Finally getting my rear wheel issues addressed at a bike shop.

Lowlight: Very cool morning.  I shouldn’t complain considering the weather I rode through on this tour but temp was in the 50’s this morning.

Cyclemeter:  Follow this link to see the data I’m collecting with the cyclemeter app. You can see gps information, speed, elevation, distance, cadence and heart rate. Better viewed on a computer where it’s easier to play around with the graphs.

When I started this trip one expectations was to be done riding between 3:00-4:00.  Early on that wasn’t happening, days were long as I was climbing in Washington. Now I feel like I’ve hit my grove and can dial in the distance and time more accurately. Flat terrain certainly helps. Today was a good example of a solid distance but finishing comfortably early.

I was debating following the northern tier which mapped a 90 mile day and Google which came in at 73. Google’s route went due east for most of those 73 miles without going through a town.  I can carry enough water for that distance, I did out west, but I’d rather not plus I was a little uneasy with the possibility of running into dirt road so I made a compromise between the two.  I will use Google to Bowling Green which is on the norther tier route then Google from Bowling Green to Clyde. The two routes overlapped in couple places but I spent a lot of time on remote, paved country farm roads. These days are soon coming to an end so I should enjoy the peace and quiet.

I made good time arriving in Bowling Green around 10:30 with 40 miles in the bag.  The bike shop in town was open so I stopped in to have them look at my rear wheel which I thought needed trueing, feels like I’m running over something with each revolution. Apparently the issue is not the wheel. When I fixed my last flat the tire did not seat properly in the wheel. The mechanic had a hard time getting it to sit right so I felt better, wasn’t just me. I wanted to replace the tire since it’s getting worn but they didn’t have anything my size. He thought the tire should last the rest of the trip. We will see.

With that done and still early I decided to have a real lunch at a restaurant for a change. I went to a local burger place up the road. Bowling Green is a college town so you would expect good burgers. I had an excellent burger with pulled pork on top that fueled me for the rest of the ride.  I complained about burgers and steak every day in the northern plains but this was a welcomed changed to what I’ve been eating lately, gas station food for lunch with rice and beans for dinner.

Feeding while on the bike is a balance.  You can just go with Cliff Bars but on long days I end up feeling run down.  Restaurants often take too much time making my day longer but if I don’t overeat I feel strong for the rest of the day. The middle ground is a gas station where I can get sandwiches, pizza, or something frozen. This is fine but it’s gas station food after all.

Google sent me back out on the farm roads directly to Fremont where I joined the northern tier on a bike path to my destination in Clyde. I took a detour to DQ but even with all those stops I made it in by 3:30. I’m staying at a Red Roof Inn several miles from town with nothing around but gas stations and fast food. I planned ahead with rice, beans, sardines, and of course beer. I ended the day with a gatorade and canned Margarita from a local gas station.

Cleveland tomorrow.

Start: 7:50 AM

Finish: 2:20 PM   (crossed into eastern time zone)

Saddle Time: 5:02

Ascent: 0 feet

Descent:  78 feet

Miles: 62

Total Miles: 2,907

Highlight: Riding for 17 miles through Fort Wayne, Indiana on almost all bike path.

Lowlight: Getting attacked by a pit bull. Luckily he just bit my bag.

Cyclemeter:  Follow this link to see the data I’m collecting with the cyclemeter app. You can see gps information, speed, elevation, distance, cadence and heart rate. Better viewed on a computer where it’s easier to play around with the graphs.

I started the morning in southwest Fort Wayne several miles north of the northern tier.  Todays ride heads northeast to Defiance, OH so rather than dropping down to the northern tier then backtracking north I following Google directions to the same destination which made for a great ride.

My bad experience with Comfort Suites ended better this morning, they had a full breakfast, well eggs, sausage and potatoes but it’s better than the typical waffles and such most places offer. It’s good to start the day fueled even though today will not be difficult, about 60 flat miles.  The temperature is again great with low humidity and better air quality than yesterday. I had headwinds today but it wasn’t too bad.

After about a half mile of riding on a very busy 4 lane highway I ended up on a bike path that led me 17 miles across the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana.  The only exception was about a mile in downtown mostly in a bike lane.  Fort Wayne has done an excellent job accommodating bicycles, you can criss cross the city almost entirely on paved bike path.  City riding isn’t bad.  Most cities now have bike lanes and some like Fort Wayne have extensive bike paths. Traffic moves slow and drivers are alert so it may be safer riding than many rural roads. You also get to see some really nice old neighborhoods.

The route roughly followed the Maumee River which snakes its way from Fort Wayne through Defiance and on to Toledo and into Lake Erie.  Part of todays ride was on the old towpath of a canal built parallel to the river for easier navigation.  The canal is long gone but in some places you can see the dried out remnants through the woods.

Once out of the city I was back on to country farm roads.  It’s been a long, quiet ride the past week or so but I suspect it will soon come to an end.  I’m still seeing corn and soybean fields but less and less as I head northeast as houses and woodlands take over.

Back in Indiana I started noticing man made ponds in peoples yards, not little koi ponds I’m talking ponds the size of very large pools, maybe up to olympic swimming pool size with a dock, diving board and/or slide.  I’m seeing a lot of them now in Ohio.  They clearly are built for swimming and maybe paddling around but I haven’t seen anyone in the water.  With all the farming around here I think of the surface water as being terribly polluted so jumping in doesn’t look all that appealing. Maybe they also double as skating rinks in the winter. I’ve certainly seen man made ponds at houses but not this many, it’s almost like swimming pools at houses back home. I tried taking pictures but didn’t want to look like a creepy guy with a camera so they didn’t come out all that great.

I had my first aggressive dog experience.  Dogs have chased me before but nothing of concern, just barking loudmouths. A guy was in his front yard with two large pit bulls when both decided I had to go. The fatter of the two jumped right in front of my bike. I swerved to avoid him so he came around my side barking up a storm.  Not wanting to give him a target to focus on, my foot, I stopped peddling.  Apparently my bright red front bag caught his eye. He bit hard enough for me to feel the wheel move, glad it wasn’t my leg.  Looking at the bag now I can see teeth marks deep enough to puncture my skin. I have a small bottle of pepper spray in a pocket on my handlebar bag just for this situation. I was reaching for it when he bit my bag but it was over before I could deploy. Once he showed me who’s boss he backed off so I peddled away, quickly loosing the fat bastard.

Start: 8:02 AM

Finish: 12:45 PM  

Saddle Time: 3:50

Ascent: 193 feet

Descent:  228 feet

Miles: 46

Total Miles: 2,845

Highlight: Short day with favorable weather and continued quiet roads.

Lowlight: Getting to my motel early (Comfort Suites) but couldn’t check in early without paying a $35 before the 4:00 checkin (I didn’t pay).

Cyclemeter:  Follow this link to see the data I’m collecting with the cyclemeter app. You can see gps information, speed, elevation, distance, cadence and heart rate. Better viewed on a computer where it’s easier to play around with the graphs.

Today is a short day, it wasn’t intentional just how the route mapped out with accommodations. I could use a half day for route planning, anyway.  I don’t know where I’m staying after tomorrow so I’d like to plan out the rest of the trip.

Last nights hotel was far too nice for a bike tour.  It was just a Hampton Inn but much nicer than the Super 8 and Motel 6 places I’ve been staying, it was all I could find on a weekend.  I haven’t mentioned camping lately because I haven’t done any.  I was camping a couple weeks ago until the weather turned super humid. It’s cooled down and dried out now but the tour end is in sight so I don’t see myself camping again unless I have to.

Hampton Inn has a real breakfast with eggs, sausage and potatoes which was nice to start the day and I had plenty of time. After a good breakfast I set off around 8:00. There was a haze to the sky which was weird because it wasn’t humid. I looked at my weather app which showed the air quality as “unhealthy for sensitive groups”, must be smoke.  I can’t smell it but I can see it.  Otherwise it was a great morning, cool and dry.

I’m following Google directions again since the northern tier maps to 56 miles while Google can get me there in 43. I don’t really need to make a short day shorter but why ride extra miles? 

The ride was same as the past several days, super quiet and even more so since it was a Sunday morning. I even had some beneficial tailwinds at times. I made a change to Googles direction by stair stepping north then east rather than diagonal northeast which avoided a main road.  Turns out my route was of course longer but also on a small but heavily traveled road.  I should have just trusted Google.

I made it to the area of my hotel by 12:30 but stopped for ice cream then coffee at Starbucks just to kill time, don’t want to show up crazy early.  Almost everywhere I’ve stayed has allowed me to check in early if I arrived before the 3:00 checkin. I chanced 1:45, maybe I have to wait a little while. Apparently Comfort Suites only allows you to checkin early for a $35 fee and checkin is 4:00 not 3:00!  I’m not paying their extortion fees so I setup shop in their lobby, tore into my bags, plugged in my extension cord to charge my devices and work on my computer. It’s what I would do in the room anyway so really not a big deal just annoying.  At least I have a couple warm beers and a single serve wine in my bags.  Maybe they will get annoyed and let me check in early or more likely they’ll just call the police for public drinking. FOX news is on in the lobby and it’s just making me angry so I looked for a way to turn off the TV, more reason for them to just call the police. I need another warm beer.