Hello, West Virginia!

Saturday, August 3, 2013
Day 28 - Circleville, Ohio to Parkersburg, West Virginia
101 miles
3,442 feet of climbing

Today we said farewell to Ohio and rode into the state of West Virginia.  We woke up to rain, but, since we were at a Holiday Inn Express, we were able to have breakfast inside, where the topic of conversation at every table was . . . yup, having to ride in the rain today.  This rainy day was not nearly as soaking as the one we had a few days ago.   I started the day dressed for rain - rain jacket, helmet cover, shoe covers and rain pants.  I wore my rain pants with the hope that they would keep my shorts dry.  For the record, they did not keep my shorts dry.  It really only rained steadily for about the first 30 miles or so, and then it let up significantly, and eventually, the rain stopped.  Today's route consisted of some steepish climbs and rollers - mostly in the first 60 or so miles.  By the first rest stop at mile 30, I was sweating from all the climbing and, although the threat of more rain remained, I ditched my rain gear.  It was a very pretty ride on back country roads through small towns and farming areas.  I saw another freshly dead snake on the side of the road and freaked out accordingly.  Just like last time I saw a freshly dead snake on the side of the road, I was all by myself at the time - I thought to myself, geez, another perfectly good scream wasted.  You just can't replicate that type of horror movie scream.  After lunch at mile 74, we had a few more steepish rolling hills until we got on the highway, at which point the route we had highway hills - long, gentle rolling hills.  We entered in to West Virginia at mile 97 of today's 100-mile ride.  To enter the state, we crossed over a big bridge, from the top of which hung the "Welcome to West Virginia  - Wild and Wonderful" sign.

Did you know West Virginia was the only state that lies completely within the Appalachian Mountain region?

After having ridden several days of 100+ miles, today's 100-mile day seemed relatively short!  We rode into Parkersburg just before 2 p.m.   Fellow rider Jonathan was sitting in the patio of the McDonald's right near our hotel, so we stopped and joined him for a refreshment.  From there, it was a quick half-mile ride to our hotel.  Whenever we ride in the rain, it always takes a bit longer to clean the bikes because there's so much more dirt and grime that sticks to the bike frame and components.  We went to dinner at the Omelet Shoppe, a small restaurant adjacent to our hotel, where they serve breakfast 24 hours a day.  Art & I both had breakfast for dinner: Art had a western omelet and I had a waffle and eggs.  PAC Tour crewmembers John and David joined us and we had a fun time talking about the day.  The waitress gave us 10% off because we were staying at the hotel, which makes this the best value meal of the entire Tour (not including Subway).  The waitress made a comment about us being with the bike group, and I asked her how she knew we were with the bike group, was it because we ate so much food?  She just laughed politely.  : )  West Virginia is known as the "Mountain State" - and tomorrow, we will be getting up close and personal with the Appalachians! 

Elevation profile of today's ride

Bill, me and Jill getting ready to ride off in the rain this morning

Riding under cloudy skies

 

Rode about 6 miles on a bike trail

Although the sky remained cloudy, we skirted the rain in the afternoon

Getting ready to cross the Parkersburg-Belpre Bridge into West Virginia

 

The Ohio River

Nice sign, West Virginia!

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

Ohio: The Land of Better Pavement

Thursday, August 1, 2013
Day 26 - Coldwater, Michigan to Lima, Ohio (including a brief stint in Indiana)
129 miles

1,672 feet of climbing

Today rates as one of the best days of the Tour.  The weather was absolutely perfect - it was partly sunny (or partly cloudy, depending on your general outlook on life), with temperatures reaching only the mid to high 70's.  We traveled on quiet country roads for most of the route.  As we headed out of Coldwater, we were on some roads with bumpy pavement, which is not unusual.  Every now and then, we have to ride on roads with chewed-up pavement or chip seal.  At mile 18, we cut into the northeast corner of the state of Indiana, riding through the towns of Fremont and Angola.  Then at mile 37, we crossed over into Ohio.  Our route sheet actually said, at mile 31, "Ohio Border . . . better pavement".  And let me tell you, the pavement was noticeably better!  As soon as we passed the "Welcome to Ohio" sign, the pavement went from bumpy to smooth like a baby's bottom, and stayed that way all the way all the way to our lunch stop at mile 77, when we entered the town of Defiance.  Defiance, Ohio - what a great name for a town.  I had a lot of fun with that town's name.  We rode in Defiance, stood in Defiance, ate in Defiance, drank in Defiance, and finally, used the port-a-potty in Defiance.  I could tell Art was very glad when we rode out of Defiance so that he did not have to hear any more of my clever plays on the word "Defiance."  The remaining 50 or so miles of the day's ride was as pleasant as the first part, and actually went pretty fast, despite a quartering headwind that hit us as we traveled south.  At our final rest stop of the day at mile 105, we were treated by PAC Tour to an ice cream cone at a shop adjacent to our rest stop.  It was a nice treat to relax at the rest stop and enjoy some ice cream in the sunshine with some of our fellow riders.  From there, it was only 25 miles to our hotel in Lima.  We arrived at the hotel about 3:30.  We cleaned our bikes, collected our luggage and got into our room just before it started to pour. It only rained for about 15 minutes, then the sun came out and soon enough it was like it hadn't rained at all.  Art & I had a nice early dinner at Pizza Hut just a short walk from our hotel.  Looking forward to tomorrow's ride to Circleville, Ohio - my sit bones are really liking the smooth pavement of Ohio!
     

Elevation profile of today's ride

Art of the Corn

We rode on quiet, country roads all day

"Welcome to Ohio!  Enjoy our pavement!"

I rode behind Art a lot today

Art - riding in Defiance . . . Defiance, Ohio, that is!

Lunch in Defiance

    

The cornfield-lined road to Lima

It Rained . . . and Then it Rained Some More

Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Day 25 - Hudsonville, Michigan to Coldwater, Michigan
118 miles
2,468 feet of climbing

The weatherman said it was going to rain today . . . and he was right!  When we started our ride this morning, it was cloudy, but it wasn't raining - yet.  I made it to mile 25 before it started to lightly rain.   Thanks to Art's advice, I had started the day wearing my waterproof shoe covers, so my shoes did not get saturated.  There's nothing worse than wet shoes on a long bike ride.  But I had to stop and put on my rain jacket and helmet cover, which I was carrying in my jersey pocket (also, thanks to Art's advice).  At that point, the rain really started to come down steadily - not a huge downpour, and not a thunderstorm, but a steady summer rain that just continued for virtually the entire duration of our ride.  Although today's riding conditions were not optimal, it really wasn't that bad, in terms of rainy rides.  First of all, it wasn't cold out, which makes a huge difference in your level of comfort when riding in the rain.  I got a little chilly at the rest stops and after our lunch stop only because I was standing still.  Once I got on my bike and was riding again, I warmed up quickly.  Secondly, be it rain or shine, I am still on vacation, and I simply refuse to waste any of my vacation time being unhappy.  Thirdly, I did not get a flat!  I can't tell you how happy I am that I did not get a flat tire today, of all days.  I was wrong when I said there's nothing worse than wet shoes on a long bike ride - having to change a flat tire in the rain is much worse.  For the sake of full disclosure, here's a few things that I did not particularly enjoy about today's ride:  riding in wet bike shorts; having to wear my rain gear, which, in my opinion, is not particularly flattering, especially my yellow helmet cover, which Tom justifiably made fun of; and lastly, I was not able to work on my souvenir bike tan.  The very best thing about today?  Our fellow rider, Cowboy Ed's family is in town, and he invited Art & I to meet his family and share a delicious homemade pasta dinner they brought with them at their hotel, next door to ours.  It was wonderful to meet Ed's sister, Shelley, her husband, Ralph, Ed's brother Dave and Dave's wife, Jenny.   It was a fantastic dinner, with salad, pasta, homemade bread made by Ralph, home-baked cookies made by Dave.  What a treat!  We had a great time meeting and chatting with them. 

The weather forecast for tomorrow looks a little better than today.  I'm hopeful the sun will make an appearance.

Elevation profile of today's ride

Riding in the rain

 

Tom, meticulously cleaning his bike after a day of riding in the rain

Me - cleaning my great bike after the ride

Super Art at the Super 8