A Super Ride to Circleville

Friday, August 2, 2013
Day 27 - Lima, Ohio to Circleville, Ohio
119 miles
1,832 feet of climbing

It was another picture-perfect day of riding.  Partly sunny/partly cloudy skies all day with temps in the mid to high 70s.  If I had to complain about something, I'd say it was maybe a little on the humid side, which is something I notice because I can actually feel my hair poofing out under my bike helmet.  It was another relatively easy ride today - not a lot of climbing and generally descending terrain toward the end.  We rode a few nice Ohio rollers in the morning and prior to lunch.  But even though we had a quartering headwind, the miles clicked by fairly quickly.  We had lunch in a nice town park in London - the PAC Tour crew prepared freshly grilled burgers (and veggie burgers) for us, plus a variety of delicious salads.  For the last 23 miles of the ride, I rode with Art, whose specialty is riding fast on flat terrain.  Because our direction of travel at that point was more easterly, we had a tailwind, and that, combined with the slight downhill of the terrain, Art had us rolling at warp speed (for me), 22 to 25 miles per hour.  Personally, I do not care to ride that fast - I think it ruins the mood and ambiance of the ride.  Plus, it makes my legs tired to the point they could fall off.  But I made an exception this one time.  When it was my turn to take a pull, however, we slowed down to a nice, pleasant 19 to 20 miles per hour.  Notable event of the day:  Art saved the life of a cat.  At mile 104,  two cats - one chasing the other - impetuously ran across the road in front of us.  For whatever reason, they immediately decided to run back across the road from whence they came.  This time, however, a truck was coming the other way.  The one cat made it across, missing the truck's wheel by the skin of his teeth.  The other - the one that was chasing - was doomed to be hit and killed by the truck, were it not for Art's booming voice, yelling "You stay out of the road!" (in the same exact booming voice he uses to yell at our cats to "Get off the counter!")  Well, the cat stopped dead - actually undead - in its tracks, as the truck passed without harming him.  Hopefully, those two cats are still intact and totally fearful of ever crossing the road again.  I'm certain that at least one of them is now deaf.  My hearing is finally starting to come back.

We had a nice dinner at a bar/restaurant called Roasters, just a few steps from our hotel.  The food was great.  Art had hot chicken wings and beer, and I gladly assumed the role of designated walker.  At 7:30, we gathered for another PAC Tour ice cream social.  It was a fun way to end an exceptional day on the bike.  Tomorrow it may rain, but I'll worry about that tomorrow.  One day at a time.  Right now, I'm enjoying my sugar and endorphin high.  : )

Ed & me at the last rest stop of the day - both of us wore "power yellow" today

Art - the saver of cats - cruising down the road