2011-06-09 Bowling Green to Huron, Ohio (70 miles)

Last night there was a thunder storm in Bowling Green, and we woke to wet pavement.  The heat had broken, however, and the overcast sky helped keep the temperature down all day.  There were many roads where we had tail winds, and of course, we just flew!

About 33 miles into the ride, we entered the North coast Inland Bike Trail from the town of Fremont to Clyde.  It was smooth, and often bordered by greenery.  There were many birds, including the brightly colored Red Cardinal, as well as yellow Finches.  We saw chipmunks and even a small animal that looked like a ferret!

Later the group had to cross a busy state road, and we had to come to a stop to wait for the many 18-wheelers and cars to pass.  This one had a slight uphill rise as we attempted to cross.  I got on my bike, started to cross, but in correcting my balance, my foot touched my front wheel, and down I went!  It was a complete surprise, so I did not even have time to catch myself!  The only damage was a road rash on my knee and the seat on my bike was turned!  Our sag driver, Sue, happened to be right there at the time, so after Lea helped my clean up and put on some band aids, Sue ran interference for me as I crossed the highway.   It could have been much worse, so I was lucky!

Later we came to a road that was so flooded there was a dangerous current, so we had to detour.  Now this can be tricky since we are not familiar with the area, and we were out in the country.  We ended up stopping at a fire station where the fire chief explained how to get back to our route.  Denise had told us where to ride, too, but there was an extra turn we had to make, so between Denise and the fire chief, we made it back on route just fine!

We rolled into Huron at 12:30...not bad for 70 miles!

We wanted to go out to lunch, and on the recommendation of the desk clerk, we rode our bikes a couple of blocks away to the "Costa Azul Mexican Restaurant."  Good choice!!

We thought we were close to Lake Erie, and Celeste told us we were only two blocks away.  Almost none of us had seen it before, so off we went!

We checked in and found we had some unique rooms!

We had dinner outside tonight, which is something we have not been able to do for a while because of the heat.

 It was Patty's last night as chef.  When we get to Cleveland tomorrow, she will change hats and become our ride leader.  Denise is going home, and we will have a new chef.

Tomorrow we head to Cleveland, OH, the half-way point of our ride.  We will be losing three riders, and gaining five more!  Only 55 miles tomorrow, and it is my turn to be Sag driver.  Temps will be in the 70's, with a 50% chance of thunder storms.