Aug. 1, 2005 Wellington, OH (Findley State Park) to Lisbon, OH 96 miles

This morning was the kind of morning I love for cycling. Crisp air, 70 degrees, clear skies, and bright, but not burning, sunshine. Leaving the state park, I headed south and east and immediately noticed that things were not flat anymore. The hills weren't too bad and there was still a lot of flat. I got lost in one section and flagged down a truck only to find it was the county maintenance man. He pointed out where I was and pulled out his map to show me how to go. He headed off and I turned around to head in his direction to the intersection I had passed a half mile earlier. When I got there, he was waiting to tell me that the intersection I was heading for wasn't an intersection but an underpass and that I couldn't get on the highway from there. We straightened out the directions and again parted ways. How nice of him to wait for me, though.

Anyway, I got where I was going and stumbled on a bike trail that wasn't exactly on my route, but it was so hot and hilly that I opted for heading directly south to Massillon on the trail. It was a beautiful tree lined old canal towpath — flat and shady. I stopped in Massillon for a bite and then headed east to Canton and my original route. This was a thrill-filled ride — the kinds of thrills one could do without — potholes and rush hour traffic. Once I got through Canton, the hills of eastern Ohio that I had been warned about showed up. Up one hill, down another, then up again. And again. And again.

What kept me going, though, was a call from Sandy Dimento, a friend from the Lake Glendale sailing club who lives in Pittsburgh, that she wanted to drive over to Lisbon to meet me for dinner. After some misdirections and bad cell phone connections, we finally got together about 8:30 and had a quick but nice dinner and Sandy hit the road back to Pgh. While it was a short visit, it still was a nice surprise and a good boost on a day when my spirits were flagging. AND, I made 20 more miles than I had planned.

At the start of day 45, the temps are already in the 90s at 11AM and it's really humid. I've been putzing my way to East Liverpool, OH and am just about to get on the road to Weirton/Steubenville, and more hills as I make my way to McDonald, PA. There, finally, I'll be on the Great Allegheny passage rail trail. That, at least, will be mostly flat except for one known detour with a killer climb that will hopefully be my last of this trip. Guess I'd better get on my way.