DAY 40 of 54: JULY 10: RICHMOND (IN) TO MARYSVILLE (OH)

Time Zone : Eastern (GMT -5)
Todays Distance: 106 miles
Cycling time: 6 hrs 59 mins
Average Speed: 15.1 mph

Today’s cumulative ascent: 2428 ft

Average Heart rate: 119 bpm

Distance so far: 2939 miles

Ascent so far: 92,900 ft.
Centuries so far: 9
Punctures so far: 7
Today’s Profile:

Today’s Route:
Dedication: Today’s century is for Felicia, Bantei and Shimbor and all the children in Providence who are so eager to learn and pleasant to deal with.

A special day today – another century and another state. Beautiful weather without the humidity of yesterday but worrying at the start.

After yesterday’s cycle into Richmond I sensed that my left knee wasn’t just right. Perhaps I had knocked it of strained it too much when the I felt the paceline slipping away. I applied ice and took some Brufen to reduce the inflammation but the night was uncomfortable. This morning when the alarm sounded it seemed too stiff and if I were at home I wouldn’t have gone out cycling. But in this situation it is different. For me, opting out is not an option. I spent a while massaging it and stretching it before breakfast and even up and down the stairs loosened it out. By loading time I felt more upbeat about the day. I told the other three I have been cycling with lately that I would go off on my own at first and spend the first six or seven miles warming up and loosening out the knee. We might team up later but I intended taking it easy on any hills and not to strain. As it turned out the knee was grand for the day and I intend using the same approach tomorrow again. Remember there is another fortnight to go still.

Within three miles of leaving the motel the Ohio stateline appeared ahead. The road was narrow but everyone as they approached had to have a photo. This is our ninth state of this trans-continental adventure. It is the 7th most populous state and often referred to as the Buckeye State after the buckeye tree. Stangely enough the state motto is ‘With God all things are possible’. It was that same excerpt from St Matthew’s Gospel that I came across in a Christian Bookshop in Shillong in 1999 that confirmed to me to actually bring Abbey students there. Is ait an mac an saol.(Life is strange) it will take us three days to cross this state.
Todays route for the most part is a designated bicycle route - Cardinal Trail Bicycle Route. It was so pleasant and quiet till we actually came within 2 miles of Marysville. Plenty of trees offering some shadow. Smaller farmyards than before showing some early morning activity with the associated smells. Felt homely. The timber frame dwelling houses surrounded by the barns and corn silo and all so tidy and well presented.

Yesterday I thought that I had nearly seen the end of corn. Not so, but it is in smaller fields. Today’s route was quite fragmented with many turns and often it meant cycling zig-zag through corn fields. The corn is quite developed here in comparison to further west but still showing no sign of a cob. Plenty of moisture in the ground and in places the remains of recent deluges were visible. Today I came across a number of good sized rivers that were crystal clear and so inviting in the heat – that’s a change from the silt-laden ones we’ve been seeing since Missouri. Still plenty of soya but at an early stage. Possible to confuse it with strawberry plants at this stage. With the south west breeze we got the full benefit of this spraying operation as we passed by.


CUESHEET
Today’s cue-sheet contained two pages of turns and directions. It helps better than any map especially when all the roads are named at each junction. Cycling on my own, it didn’t present any problem. On your own you tend to concentrate more than when in a group. Three lines from a cue-sheet looks like this:
Read as: 6.1 miles after the previous point, when the computer reads 103.1 miles, turn left into Maple Street at the STOP sign. Continue for 0.4 of a mile till the computer reads 103.5 miles and then turn right onto Fifth Street at the T-junction. After 1.5 miles on this street and when the computer reads 105 miles go straight through onto Hanna Road at the traffic lights.
An accurate cyclocomputer is a must to follow the sheet. These sheets and some extra route-relevant information are given out given each evening at Route Rap generally at 5 pm just before we go for dinner.



At the first SAG stop (41.2 miles) Gary decided to come with me for the rest of the trip and we moved along at a fine steady pace for the next 64 miles. The second SAG was at a cemetery again. I noticed 5 graves of Russell’s just inside the railing. The day was really heating up at this stage and the only way to combat it was to keep moving i.e create your own air-conditioning. I had consumed two bottles of water between the SAGs.

Traffic was heavy as we rode into Marysville and our motel was on the far end of town. Marysville has a population of 16,000 and is the headquarters of Miracle-Grow that is used for lawns and gardens. On the way in we passed by a major Nestle research centre located here and the smell of roasting coffee was uplifting.

Gary and I arrived at the motel at 3 pm and really appreciated the fruit salads the staff had waiting for us. We had completed the 106 miles in just under 7 hours cycling. Not a bad day’s work.
A day that turned out better than I had imagined at the start. Under no pressure out there and looking forward to another century tomorrow. Hope this knee subsides overnight.
Thank God for the health and thank God for the energy.

Heard Today: ‘Mathematics teachers …. the ones that really count’.