Mile 3854.4 - A completely unstressful day

I started the day needing to recharge my phone. For a good 45 minutes I sat reading under a tree near the laundry room on the campground while the phone was plugged in. A sticky patch of tree sap I didn't notice sitting down made it harder to stand up.

I had breakfast, and as I was cleaning up a gray-haired woman walked up and asked if I had ridden my bike in. Thus I met Kathy, a hiker who had plenty of cycling experience. We talked about my trip and hers, comparing war stories of rain and wind, and we looked at the map to get the local roads recommendation. We ended up talking until early afternoon, but as I did not have very far to go today, I was glad for the company. We had walked to her campsite then came back to mine; I found that a squirrel had ripped up/apart/through the bag of trash I had left on the picnic table. It didn't touch the pannier full of food that lay open five feet away from the table, but it sure did destroy the bag of trash. I gathered it up and deposited the mess in the dumpster. As I was getting ready to leave Kathy offered me some cash, the first time that's happened on this trip. It was not expected, but certainly appreciated.

My goal for the day was another state park that I could camp in just outside of Canton. From there, tomorrow I would get into Canton, find a motel and a storage space for Penny, so Friday morning I could fly to the wedding in Boston. I had just over 50 miles to go, not a taxing day at all.

Not far out of camp, I got to mile 3800, about 700 miles left to go to get back to Brooklyn. The first town I came to, I stopped for lunch. I found the Farmer Boy Restaurant, sat down and ordered and again plugged in the phone. It can go through a lot of battery in one day. I had my lunch and getting up to leave, one of the three seniors sitting at the table behind me asked if I was a cyclist of just dressed like one. I had the attention of every diner in the smallish room as I told them about my journey. The old man laughed and said he was impressed that young people still challenge themselves like that. He wished me luck as I left.

The day was a bit warmer than yesterday, on the humid side with only a half-hearted breeze. The hills were starting to get more serious, the warnings about what awaited me across the next state line. This was emphasized when I got up almost to 40mph for the first time since the black hills.

Traffic was getting more suburban and in a couple of spots, the shoulder was less ample than I would have liked. I made it down to Portage State Park and started to ride around looking for the camping area. I found the boat ramp, the picnic area, the playground, the beach. No camping area. Finally I asked an old man who I believe was dumpster diving if he knew where I could camp. He gave me directions to the park with the campground, about 7 miles around on the other side of the lake. The hills here seemed steeper and longer than most of the ones before, but at least I found bike lanes around the northern end of the lake.

Here it was pretty obvious where the campsites were. But I wouldn't have gone to the western side of the lake if I had known the campground was on the east. Anyway, I found a site and was soon encamped and making myself dinner. Across from my site was one of two tall tepees that one could rent. There was no way to get Penny inside the door, so I didn't even consider it. But I did go back later and check it out. Surprisingly roomy.

Dinner was some polska kielbsa I had picked up at a gas station an hour earlier. I should have grabbed some bread too, because all that good grease was just going to go to waste. I soaked it all up with a piece of paper towel which I threw into the firepit. That gave me an idea. I gathered some of the dryer sticks laying around and set them up with the paper towel in the center. It was really surprising how well a single oil laden piece of paper towel keeps a flame. Next time I'll try it with newspaper and used cooking grease.

I sat at the table back at my site and was reading as the light started to fade. I looked up and saw a guy on a bike roll by clearly looking for a spot. I jumped onto Penny and was just getting to the roadway when he turned around. He said he had noticed that there wasn't a car at my site and wanted to know if I wanted to split the site with him. Sure! This site was $20 as it was, so I wouldn't mind making back half of that and getting to hang out with a cyclist.

Brett is a resident of Austin, TX, but was currently riding his bike from Rochester NY to Bloomington, IN. He told me about his various long-distance trips he had taken, and I told him about the joys and struggles of my journey. He slung up what was basically a covered hammock among some trees. I wondered how this piece of camping equipment would work in the plains. We ended up talking long after darkness had settled. The next day was going to be the easiest scheduled of my trip and I settled into a comfortable night's sleep.

Day 62, Findley SP, OH - Nimisila Campground, OH
56.4 miles in 4:17:11 for a total of 3854.4 in 290:53:52 and a high speed of 38.1