Day 54: An easy recovery ride to Defiance, OH 

Last night, another cross-country cyclist (Emily) stayed at the same Cyclist only Lodging that I was using in Monroeville, IN. Today, after a whopping big breakfast at the Blueberry Cafe, we rode together to Defiance, OH (state #10!). Emily was continuing on but I was staying in a WS house about 10 miles south of Defiance. I rode with Emily into Defiance, we had lunch at Subway and I helped her to figure out a route to her destination this evenimg. On the ride into Defiance we were in a construction zone and I tried to move over to give a big truck more room- unfortunately, my tires hit a steep curb edge and the bike and I went flying. I landed mostly on grass and just had a few scrapes but my front tire was not spinning freely. After lunch I rode about a mile to a bike shop and those guys did an emergency repair job (the front wheel shifted a bit and was binding in the disc brake) and a quicky tune up and lube job and wouldn’t take any money for it! R Bikes in Defiance Ohio is the place- what a great shop and great guys. After they got me all fixed up I rode south into the country to my WS house and met my host Ken. What a great guy he is- he is taking me out to dinner at his favorite place tonight! One act of kindness after another… I have been so fortunate this trip. Daily mileage: 51, trip miles: 2,911.

My riding buddy, Emily. She is a very nice young lady and lives in Portland, OR:

The obligatory Welcome to Ohio photo:

Some of the pretty roads I was on today:

Here’s a real life action shot in typical surroundings:

 

The soybean fields are beautiful as they ripen and the leaves turn yellow:

Crossing the Auglaize River coming in to Defiance: