Velowander

Day 14: Geneva on the Lake, OH to Cleveland metro, OH

(I added a lot of new pictures for days 12-14. The blogspot site seems to be letting me submit pictures now and is accessible.)

Maggie couldn't suppress her shudders of revulsion at the decrepit state of Ralph's campground, so we set the alarm for 6 AM so we could rise and get out without having to endure its squalor anymore. It was a shame to leave the beautiful Lake Erie, though.

We broke camp without breakfast, briefly at least copying the habits of more disciplined touring cyclists that rise early and cycle before breakfast, putting in quite a few miles in before the midday heat.

By the time we reached the vicinity of Perry OH we were both hungry (we hadn't had breakfast and we didn't cook that much for dinner at the campsite the night before) and when we passed the Best Friends family restaurant we went in and ordered 2 complete breakfasts each (she ordered the sirloin steak and strawberry pancake platter, I ordered a 3 egg omelet and a toast/egg/ham/buttermilk pancake platter).

As usual, many of the restaurant patrons noticed my recumbent bike and one couple in particular engaged me in conversation about it, the usual questions about comfort, "it is easier?" and so on. Maggie was cleaning and lubricating her chain while waiting for breakfast to arrive, and I went out to do some things on my bike too. When I returned to the table, the waitress told me that the couple I had spoke with earlier had paid for our breakfast! We both ate all the food on our plates. As usual, I tried to steal some of the food from Maggie's plates while she defended her food vigorously.

We encountered a loaded touring cyclist heading the other direction, perhaps in his seventies. He said he was doing 75 or so miles a day, substantially more than our own effort. Maggie and I agreed to set our alarm for 6:00 AM consistently to try to raise our daily mileage from around 50 to 60.

Tonight I am staying with Jerry, a friend of one of Maggie's cousins. He has a beautiful home in Shaker Heights, a quiet neighborhood in Cleveland metro. Maggie and I have showered and soon we will take the train into town for some dinner and people watching.

Labels: Bike Touring, Hospitality

posted by David @ 3:21 PM