the past three days

Greenfield, IN to Marysville, OH 165 miles

This morning, we had great winds on our back to make up the mileage we got rained out on the night before. We made the first 55 miles into Richmond, IN where we were supposed to stay. Even though we said "never again," we found ourselves at the good old Pizza Hut lunch buffet. After lunch, we went through town which was about seven miles to finish up with what we should have finished the night before. By the time we got to the hotel we were supposed to stay at the night before, it was already 1:00 pm. Only 106 miles to go! If it weren't for the tailwind, we would have been hosed. We made it to town and immediately went to Applebee's. After dinner, we went to the Holiday Inn Express, and got a great room that we had no time to enjoy, because we didn't get there until 9:00...bummer. The only entertainment we had all day was making fun of the "Free Credit Report.com" commercials, and making up different lyrics, like we normally do. That was it for that night.

Marysville, OH to Wooster, OH 95 miles

Today started off like any other normal day. After about 15 miles, we stopped at a decent sized town to see if they had a bike shop. We got directions, and we ended up at a bike shop that looked great with a knowledgeable staff. We felt comfortable enough leaving our bikes there while I went across the street to play some guitar, and dad went next door to get a haircut. By the looks of it, I can understand why they had walk-in appointments available. Anyway, whatever the guys at the shop did to my bike, they somehow made it worse. Five miles up the road, we figured it couldn't get much worse, and we started messing around with turning some knobs and such. It works great now! I still can't get into first gear, but it is way better than after we left the shop. Then, we thought we had it made after 53 miles. When we got to Fredrickstown, we went to a gas station where there were a bunch a friendly people working. We were told that highway 95 would bring us right into Wooster, and it "is no further than 25 miles," according to one guy. We thought this was sweet, because our maps had us going another 50 miles. So, the 25 miles was easily 40, if not more. To add to the pain of it all, the last 20 miles of it were up and down on very steep hills. It was no fun. The pavement was very sub par, and I'm not sure if they have done maintenance on it...ever. The roads about rattled our teeth out. When we got into town, we went to this great Greek restaurant, and it couldn't have been better. With the exception of a lady with a very annoying laugh, and a two year old who I thought might end up throwing a fork into my eyeball, the experience and food were perfect. We got a kick out of watching the owner railroad his waitstaff for not being attentive enough. He runs a tight ship, let me tell you. We finally made it to the Best Western and called it a night.

Today, Wooster, OH to Niles, OH 95 miles

We had some great tailwinds today, but we went 70 miles before we had our first stop. 30 miles into the day, we were in the Akron area, but our maps took us around the city. Before we knew it, we were in the middle of nowhere. Dad asked a guy by the side of the road if there was anything to eat around the area when we were 50 miles in. He called it "the dead zone." We'd have to travel 20 miles before we would reach a golf course. We went into the club house and each ate a brat, some pretzels, and a snickers. After we left, we pedaled the last 25 miles into town. With about six miles to go, it started to downpour on us, but luckily we came by a pavilion in which we went under for a good ten minutes. It was right next to a church, and there was a sign out front that said, "Treasure and Trash Sale." With all the different stuff under there, it was 100% trash. We got into town and went to the Holiday Inn Express, where they wanted $119 for a smoking room king bed and a roll away. So, we called up the Fairfield across the street, and got a room for $60 instead. Not bad for a Saturday night, huh? Well, the reason we got the great rate was because the room has no TV. No biggie, we just chilled with the front desk manager, Earl, and watched the Preakness Stakes on the plasma screen in the breakfast room. We had dinner at the Outback steakhouse, and while we were waiting for the table, we got a kick out of a group of what we think were Amish 20 somethings all outside huffing down cigarettes. What was even funnier was that we think they were making fun of our outfits. I can't blame them...I haven't seen anyone brave enough to wear neon green jackets since I was about nine years old. And of course, we are still rocking the $1 flip-flops. So yeah, pretty uneventful days, but we have 138 miles tomorrow, and that will bring us to New York state. Goodnight.

Blake