Monday, June 7th
The day of our first century. Of course, it was ironic that we were met with the up-and-down roller coasters of Cedar Point the night before which more closely mirrored the hills of Pennsylvania. Thankfully, those dreaded monstrosities were not to be seen the following day. Instead, Ohio’s flatlands would give us our first opportunities to try our trade at pacelining but also enjoying some leisurely conversation and enjoyment of the relatively unchanging Ohio landscape. Of course, the best-looking group – Henrik, Kristen, Kieran, and Adam – sped off into the distance early on as they sought to break the world record for beginner paceliners. Others, however, meandered their way on route 20, and Krystina, Meagan, and Dana’s group found Country Ice Cream a relaxing and calorie-loaded respite from the massive headwinds seeking to destroy all human presence in the state of Ohio. Dan, the dairly-allergic fellow that he is, was nearly driven to consumption of their largest soft-serve cone simply to escape the Sahara-like winds.
In other news, some people found the wind less of a problem than was their own sense of direction…namely, Kristine, who somehow found her way onto every road in a five-mile radius of SR_20 except for the one we actually wanted. Thankfully, her escapades put an end to the ongoing game of Clue the team had begun to narrow down who had been tampering with the team directions for the past six days of riding. The 4K team escaped her traps with their unparalleled common sense, however, and did an amazing job on the road to Fayette: population 1200. Unfortunately, Mariadina’s knee was acting up again, but the rest of the riders were able to close out the day nicely, some of whom went to Amigo’s Pizza: Mexican Restaurant for their first two courses of unadulterated fat and grease upon entering Fayette. As true champions, most of the riders pedaled down alleys and across town beforehand to truly fulfill their first 100 mile day, instead of wimping out at the direction’s pathetic 98 mile total. When the van picked up Mariadina, Jose immediately sped off to reach Fayette (having waited gentlemanly with Mariadina), slicing through and punishing the wind for the harm it did to his team all day long.
After a relaxing shower at the nearby campgrounds, the exhausted but confident and relieved squad enjoyed their home-cooked dinner in the Methodist Church basement, where over time confusion appeared to develop among the residents about what type of pie a host had baked – be it peanut butter or butterscotch? Krystina and Mary delivered one of the most fascinating 4K presentations to date, and the 4K team overall had a great time with the residents of this quaint little town, complete with their stories of trips to other towns and cooperation between the varying Christian denominations in town. What mattered most to our squad, however, were the efforts the people made to welcome us to into their small town and offer us a place to stay, food to eat, and above all else, conversation and company on another night of itinerancy. I believe that on this night, many of us gained a new understanding of the 4K’s purpose, and a thankfulness for the people with whom it continues to bring us into contact.
-Kieran Coleman
Showing posts with label Ohio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ohio. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Day 6 and 7: Youngstown to Cleveland, Ohio
Friday, June 4rth; and Saturday,June 5th
Well, despite a few bumps we finally made it into Cleveland, and our first day off. Day 6 started off great, with a wonderful breakfast in Youngstown. The whole team made it to the first water stop in about an hour, a record time. And we were all riding along enjoying the beautiful Ohio countryside, the cool weather, and the fact that the road was flat as far as we could see. This was a welcome change from the Appalachians and Pennsylvania. Then as we left the second water stop, my riding group got our second flat of the day. We pulled over, changed it, and kept enjoying the flatness of Ohio. We got a third a couple miles later, but still thought nothing of it. Then suddenly, we went down a hill, and Kevin and Kieran both yell out simultaneously to stop. As we pulled over, we realized that Kevin had gotten his second flat of the day, and Kieran had somehow managed to pop both his tires at once, a difficult feat, to say the least. And as we’re sitting by the road, changing their tires, we realize that we no longer have any spare tubes without holes in them. So we bring out the patch kit, and are sitting there patching and changing tires. Meanwhile, we see every single other riding group, all twenty other riders for the day, ride past us to get first crack at lunch. At this point, the day had passed the point of annoyance, and just turned to comedy. We started joking about attempting to set the 4K record for most tires popped in a day. Finally, after about half an hour of tire patches and changes, we get back on the road and follow Jose and his rubber ducky socks to lunch. The rest of the afternoon went fine, although both Kevin and Kieran each managed to get an additional flat tire. And all the groups still managed to get to Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland in record time, where we settled into private rooms in the Phi Delta Theta house, preparing for our day off.
Everyone enjoyed the welcome break from our 5:30 am wakeups to Natalie’s iPod, and got out to explore the city. I was able to visit with a friend from Hopkins who is a Cleveland native, and got to see parts of the city that I would never have experienced otherwise. And the team was able to make those much needed trips to Target and the bike shops, buying supplies and bike gear we hadn’t realized we’d needed. A group made a trip to Lucky’s Diner for lunch, featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, where they enjoyed the Reuben, supposedly made with homemade bread and real corned beef. And now I think I’m the only one still awake, it’s almost ten thirty and we are waking up at five am tomorrow so we can get our sixty miles done early and head to Cedar Point Amusement Park for the biggest roller coasters in the United States. Spirits are still high, and people’s legs are slowly getting less sore. It amazes me that a sixty mile ride is now a short day, barely a week into the trip. Hopefully that will prepare us for our first century coming up in a few days. Well goodbye Cleveland, the rest of Ohio, and rumors of a scavenger hunt, await.
-Dan Crankshaw
Well, despite a few bumps we finally made it into Cleveland, and our first day off. Day 6 started off great, with a wonderful breakfast in Youngstown. The whole team made it to the first water stop in about an hour, a record time. And we were all riding along enjoying the beautiful Ohio countryside, the cool weather, and the fact that the road was flat as far as we could see. This was a welcome change from the Appalachians and Pennsylvania. Then as we left the second water stop, my riding group got our second flat of the day. We pulled over, changed it, and kept enjoying the flatness of Ohio. We got a third a couple miles later, but still thought nothing of it. Then suddenly, we went down a hill, and Kevin and Kieran both yell out simultaneously to stop. As we pulled over, we realized that Kevin had gotten his second flat of the day, and Kieran had somehow managed to pop both his tires at once, a difficult feat, to say the least. And as we’re sitting by the road, changing their tires, we realize that we no longer have any spare tubes without holes in them. So we bring out the patch kit, and are sitting there patching and changing tires. Meanwhile, we see every single other riding group, all twenty other riders for the day, ride past us to get first crack at lunch. At this point, the day had passed the point of annoyance, and just turned to comedy. We started joking about attempting to set the 4K record for most tires popped in a day. Finally, after about half an hour of tire patches and changes, we get back on the road and follow Jose and his rubber ducky socks to lunch. The rest of the afternoon went fine, although both Kevin and Kieran each managed to get an additional flat tire. And all the groups still managed to get to Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland in record time, where we settled into private rooms in the Phi Delta Theta house, preparing for our day off.
Everyone enjoyed the welcome break from our 5:30 am wakeups to Natalie’s iPod, and got out to explore the city. I was able to visit with a friend from Hopkins who is a Cleveland native, and got to see parts of the city that I would never have experienced otherwise. And the team was able to make those much needed trips to Target and the bike shops, buying supplies and bike gear we hadn’t realized we’d needed. A group made a trip to Lucky’s Diner for lunch, featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, where they enjoyed the Reuben, supposedly made with homemade bread and real corned beef. And now I think I’m the only one still awake, it’s almost ten thirty and we are waking up at five am tomorrow so we can get our sixty miles done early and head to Cedar Point Amusement Park for the biggest roller coasters in the United States. Spirits are still high, and people’s legs are slowly getting less sore. It amazes me that a sixty mile ride is now a short day, barely a week into the trip. Hopefully that will prepare us for our first century coming up in a few days. Well goodbye Cleveland, the rest of Ohio, and rumors of a scavenger hunt, await.
-Dan Crankshaw
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Day 5- Butler, PA to Youngstown, OH
Thursday, June 3
I’m starting to realize that right when things are at their smoothest is exactly when things seem to fall apart. Today when my group first left Butler, we jokingly said we would be the first group out and last group in. Oh, how I wish it hadn’t come true. But I’ll get to that in a minute. My group was mostly riders I’d ridden with before, including Andrew, Charlie and Krystina. Terrence was back again as well, with his chain restored for the second time (talk about some bad luck). I also had the chance to ride with Kieran for the first time, which was nice because he’s one of the more experienced riders on the team and he gave us some good tips on how to make the ride a little smoother. I had been experiencing some knee problems from the climbs on the previous days, and some of Kieran’s tips about keeping cadence and saving energy really helped alleviate some of the pain. He also taught us how to paceline, and I started to understand how some of those professional teams can make it across the country so quickly just from working off each other.
Unfortunately, we didn’t realize the drawback of pacelining until it was too late: you become oblivious of the world around you (especially road signs). We powered through the first water stop, patting ourselves on the back on being halfway done without doing much of any work at all. Then we made the choice to keep on plowing on through until lunch, having misread the directions and thinking we didn’t have to turn for almost ten miles. It was only after we’d crossed all that terrain that we realized we’d missed a turn right out of the water break. What was originally supposed to be one of the easier days on the trip turned into one of the more frustrating days so far. Getting lost is never a great feeling- especially when you’re on a bike and you have to make up all that ground with your own legs (and slowly). I really have to give some props to my group for pushing on through despite our little setback. We managed to get in not too long after the last of the groups had rolled in, even after adding 20 miles to our trip. I’m just happy that this wasn’t a 100 mile day, and that the rain held off for the most part. The cloud cover was actually a bit of a relief in light of the blistering heat of the previous few days. I’m really looking forward to biking through Ohio; as much as I love Pennsylvania, I can’t say I’ll be missing the Appalachians or the bumpy roads. It’s crazy to think that a week ago I was graduating from college, and now here I am chilling in a church right across the border in Ohio, having biked the whole way. Can’t wait for the next adventure!
-Chris Tait
I’m starting to realize that right when things are at their smoothest is exactly when things seem to fall apart. Today when my group first left Butler, we jokingly said we would be the first group out and last group in. Oh, how I wish it hadn’t come true. But I’ll get to that in a minute. My group was mostly riders I’d ridden with before, including Andrew, Charlie and Krystina. Terrence was back again as well, with his chain restored for the second time (talk about some bad luck). I also had the chance to ride with Kieran for the first time, which was nice because he’s one of the more experienced riders on the team and he gave us some good tips on how to make the ride a little smoother. I had been experiencing some knee problems from the climbs on the previous days, and some of Kieran’s tips about keeping cadence and saving energy really helped alleviate some of the pain. He also taught us how to paceline, and I started to understand how some of those professional teams can make it across the country so quickly just from working off each other.
Unfortunately, we didn’t realize the drawback of pacelining until it was too late: you become oblivious of the world around you (especially road signs). We powered through the first water stop, patting ourselves on the back on being halfway done without doing much of any work at all. Then we made the choice to keep on plowing on through until lunch, having misread the directions and thinking we didn’t have to turn for almost ten miles. It was only after we’d crossed all that terrain that we realized we’d missed a turn right out of the water break. What was originally supposed to be one of the easier days on the trip turned into one of the more frustrating days so far. Getting lost is never a great feeling- especially when you’re on a bike and you have to make up all that ground with your own legs (and slowly). I really have to give some props to my group for pushing on through despite our little setback. We managed to get in not too long after the last of the groups had rolled in, even after adding 20 miles to our trip. I’m just happy that this wasn’t a 100 mile day, and that the rain held off for the most part. The cloud cover was actually a bit of a relief in light of the blistering heat of the previous few days. I’m really looking forward to biking through Ohio; as much as I love Pennsylvania, I can’t say I’ll be missing the Appalachians or the bumpy roads. It’s crazy to think that a week ago I was graduating from college, and now here I am chilling in a church right across the border in Ohio, having biked the whole way. Can’t wait for the next adventure!
-Chris Tait
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