Yesterday felt so easy during the ride. 76 miles of flat, paved trail, who could complain? Well, our legs did this morning. Personally, I did not want to get out of my make shift bed. However, the show must go on! Brian, our absolutely amazing host, made blueberry pancakes for us to share this morning, making me think of PJ’s Pancake House on Nassau St in Princeton. It was so refreshing spending time with Brian and his friends on a college campus, it made me feel like an oldie reliving my college days. I feel really far removed from campus, education, and my friends at Princeton. Soon enough we will all be together again☺️ and I’ll have to start doing homework🥵.
We randomly decided to bike to Richmond, Indiana today given that there are 105 miles between Dayton, Ohio and Fortville, Indiana (our next rest day location). 105 would have been a ton to do in one day, so we divided it into a 45 mile day and a 60 mile day. We turned to WarmShowers to find a host in Richmond, and even on short notice Blair said we could stay with him for the night except we could not arrive before 6 o’clock. We decided to explore Dayton with our free morning. The Great Miami River is a promising attraction, however, it came across a bit disheveled with the path partially closed and the grass overgrown. When we biked through downtown, it was quiet, almost too quiet. I think the fact that it was Sunday and the fact that we loved Columbus contributed to Dayton’s underwhelming draw.
We packed up, said goodbye to Brian, and hit the road for Indiana. In order to leave Dayton, we followed a bike route with an unimaginable amount of glass. My bald tires survived the day, surprisingly (Getting them replaced on Tuesday). Charlie and I have concluded that although it’s fun to spend time in cities, biking in and out of them is a pain.
We proceeded to hop on a Rails to Trails path for about 15 miles. We took the fewest breaks today out of any day yet, but we had to make an ice cream stop when we made it to Brookville, Ohio. We shared a scoop of coconut almond and a scoop of cashew caramel: YUM.
We encountered a new, day-long challenge: headwinds. We knew that riding east to west may make things more difficult for us, but today we really faced the consequences for that decision. On completely level ground, we couldn’t break 10mph. It was so aggravating to feel like we should be flying on the open road but being unable to speed up. We tried drafting off one another without much success. We jokingly brainstormed reaching mid court (of the country) then cutting southeast towards Florida to gain both warmth and favorable winds.
With just a few miles left in the ride, we faced a road closure. Charlie generally thinks that we can sneak past given that we are on bikes. Today, that was impossible. There was a gaping hole in the ground, which forced us to hit some hills. The headwind and hill combo is something I wouldn’t even wish upon my worst enemies.
We arrived in Richmond, Indiana, which Blair referred to as a “quirky” town. We picked up dinner from a Mexican food truck in town. Blair explained to us that there are a few Oaxacan refugees in Richmond adding a really interesting culture to the area. We learned about Blair’s Quaker education and pursuits, which really made an impression on me. We’ve met so many fascinating people on this journey. What an experience already.
-Maddie
Miles biked: 802.9
P.S. The day wouldn’t be complete without Charlie falling! Today it was legitimately at our final destination!
