Day 31: Indiana (Wed June 25th)

Hit the road about 7am. It was a nice cool morning, no breeze which made the going easy. Passed through Cambridge & Dublin, neither would compare with their more famous cities. A couple of miles outside a town called Knightsown a thunderstorm broke. I had seen it approaching for the previous half hour & was just getting my rain gear when the thunder started. There was a house near by so I went over to it to get some shelter as lightning strikes were coming down all over the place. First I stood under a tree in the front garden but I just didn't feel safe. You could feel The loudest thunder rattles in your chest. There was nobody home so I just stood under a veranda around the side of the house. Shortly the couple who lived there returned but they didn't mind me being there. The storm didn't bother them at all. They quietly discussed so & so down in the village as lightning fizzed down all around. I was quietly on my knees with the rosary beads & banged out the first glorious mystery in double quick time!!! I could here the wife quietly whisper to her husband "Another bloody Irish Catholic!!". Soon enough the storm passed & I hit the road.

The couple had told me a tornado had passed through the area a week previously & done some damage. Sure enough, a couple of miles down the road the damage from the tornado was obvious, with trees shredded & knocked down. 45 mins later I was running for cover again with another heavy downpour, but this time it was only rain.

The rest of the road to Indianapolis was straight forward a couple more downpours dodged & I got a room on the eastern edge of the City. I had felt good & strong through the day & knocked out 60 miles in 6 hours which was good & steady for me. However 15 mins after getting in to the room my energy levels vanished & I felt really sick. I don't know why. I had no appetite, the thought of food made me feel sick & I only had a bowl of cereal & fluids that evening.

Days 29/30 Mon/Tues 23rd/24th

(Guys, thanks a lot for the comments, its great to get them, at least it means somebody is reading this. Keep them coming I look forward to seeing them)

Two Days off at the Golden Inn on the Ohio side of the State Line at Richmond. The owners were Jeff & Leanne Golden, a lovely couple who were very good to me. My laundry was done, I was given a laptop to do up the bog. I was made to feel very welcome. I didn't do much for the two days. I found a pasta buffet, all you can eat for $6. I literally rolled out of there twice. I had a quick look in Richmond on Tuesday but there wasn't much to see. (A lot of towns I've seen have the commercial area on the road into town & the town centre is merely an administrative centre.) Apart from that I rested a lot.

Announcements June 24th

First of all, happy Birthday bro, hope its a good one. its 5.50am with you so if Danny's up early you might be reading this soon enough. I've got the loan of a laptop so I'm doing as much as I can on the blog. Hope the lads and Val are keeping well. Also a belated Happy Birthday to Damian G , I've missed it by a couple of weeks but Happy Birthday all the same.
Congrats to Ronan Clancy who got married recently, and also to James Moore of Lots who got married at the weekend, I think. Anybody from Lots reading this post a comment below and let us know how that session went.

Day 28: To the Indiana Border (Sun Jun 22nd)

I left the motel at 8am. The ride across Springfield was bland enough, perhaps it was just the route I was taking. On the edge of town 2 dogs made a run at me. I was off the bike in a flash, a triple pike and I nailed the landing!! Then I noticed the dogs were behind a mesh wire fence so I goaded them like Clint eastwood, Thats right, punk. then I mounted up like John Wayne and rode West.
It was a nice morning, no breeze, easy cycling. Outside Donnellsville the road was closed but I pushed on and got the bike around a trench that had been dug across the road. Further on I passed through a town with the curious name of Phoneton.

at Vandelia I passed by Dayton international airport where the Wright brothers made their first flight. I had lunch under a tree at Englewood in 30c & watched the local fire crew work on their ire engine. After Englewood I found the going tough. The headwinds blew up again and my energy levels sank. Just outside Lewisburg I stopped for a cold drink & a bar. I actually staggered into the shop. I chatted with the owner while I drank. He was from Bombay & ran two businesses in the area. He was happy to chat about India but hadn't been home for a few years.


I found out Richmond was 14 miles down the road which, to be honest, felt like a long way away. I struggled for a few more miles & then noticed dark clouds, low on the horizon coming out of Indiana. 30 mins later the clouds were building up and, again, I forgot how tired I was as I upped the effort in a race to Richmond. To be honest I felt I would be beaten this time. I passed by an old guy out mowing his lawn who pointed at the clouds. I nodded. He pointed again. This time I shrugged and kept moving. What the feck was I supposed to do? go home?

I really started to push as It was completely open where I was. Then, in the distance, I saw traffic lights so I hoped there might be a petrol station or shop where I could get shelter. Pushing hard down the road a motel suddenly appeared on the left and with a good rate I was happy to stay. It turned out I was only 1.5 miles from Richmond. (actually the storm wasn't big at all, but they got it big furter down the road.)

Day 27: Columbus to Springfield (Sat June 21st)

Mid-summers Day. A quick look at a computer at reception before getting out. Checked out Cov's fixture list for the new season. Norwich at home on the opening day & a tough looking last 3 games: Forest (a), Ipswich (h), and Watford (a). For non sky-blue fans we usually check the end of season games first. If you don't know why? then you don't know you're football!! Old habits die hard.
I got out and n the road fast. I had to cross Columbus and on the way into the centre I couldn't help feeling a rough edge to the place. In the centre I missed route 40 & got slightly lost but didn't take too long to get back on track. Actually, Columbus had a nice centre. There was a big masonic parade taking place which almost felt like an Orange parade on the 12th so I didn't hang around too long.
The suburbs on the West side again had that rough feel. I stopped to take photo of a bail bonds office. As I went back to the bike two druggies came around the corner towards me. I thought to myself 'Aw Jaysus here we go, Laurel & Hardy'. One was a tall black guy with wild eyes, the other a short squat Hispanic. They both watched me as I took hold of the bike & I looked straight back at them. The black lad mumbled something to me which I couldn't make out. He repeated it saying 'Would ya do a fava for a brutha'. I just smiled and said 'Ara yer grand!' Thankfully they didn't follow me.

That was my cue to get out of Columbus. Soon enough the shopping plazas and fast food outlets of the western suburbs passed by and shortly after that the traffic lights ended. What really signalled the end of the city limits though was the first mangled, unidentifiable rotting corpse of some animal that stank its way into my nostrils & an old farmer with a big smile, a wave and a shouted good morning. These were sure signs that I was back in the country. 9 miles down the road I stopped at West Jefferson & had my best meal so far. Pasta & a grilled chiken sandwich ad a Sam Adams.

40 mins later I was back on the road which ran arrow straight and was totally level. For the first time it disappeared in the distance into a watery mirage. After 1pm I began to encounter the first real headwinds of the trip & had to drop gears. As the afternoon wore on I began to tire. At a place called Harmony, about 8 miles from Springfield I stopped for a drink. Coming back out of the shop I felt like the heat & humidity had suddenly jumped a few notches. back on the road dark clouds suddenly appeared dead ahead, coming from the West. Its funny how you stop feeling tired when a big storm is approaching. I started pushing it as I didn't want to be caught out in the open. As I approached a petrol station I knew I was close to Springfield but a sharp gust of wind and a rattle of thunder made me scuttle for cover. 5 mins later the storm still hadn't broke so I made a run for it & about 4 mins after that I was on the edge of town. I saw a cheap Motel checked in. As I opened the door in to my room the heavens opened.

Day 26: Cambridge to Columbus (Fri June 20th)

Hit the road at 9.30am. Was awake at 6am but too tired to move. The road really began to level out today. This morning on two more occasions dogs ran out at me but I was better prepared this time & saw them coming. No worries. I passed through Zanesville of which I have no recollection. I just cannot remember anything about that town, fatigue must be giving me blanks. I do remember that after Zanesville the road ran absolutely straight for mile after mile. It undulated, slightly, up and down but didn't turn left or right. Large firlds full of crops passed by on either side.

To be honest I can't remember much, or anything of the small towns I passed through on that road. What stands out is the view of the road stretching away in the distance to a crest of a small ridge a couple of miles away. Each ridge was used as a target and if the road slope downwards you just pushed to keep the speed up.

At some point in the afternoon I knew I had to stop so I decided on Hebron a few mles down the road. The afternoon heat was building up and around 3.30pm I stopped at a bar on the edge of town. As well as a few cars parked outside there were 7-8 Harleys & I thought 'I'm gonna be a right sight in this place. Inside there wer tv's on. One was showing Croatia v Turkey. On a jukebox it was good old C & W. I ordered some food & ended up staying an hour & saw most of the 2nd half. I was wrecked & happy to sit down & watch the match.
An old guy came into the bar & pumped money into the juke box. Tom Jones, Tammy Wynette, Randy Travis and he told the whole bar little bits of trivia about each song. He was the Honky Tonk man.

Just before full tie in the match I left. I still had 20 miles to Columbus & I just wanted to get it done. Just beyond Kirksville, major roadworks reduced the road to a single lane but it was great for me because I could cycle on newly tarmacced road still closed to traffic this little piece of Ohion heaven brought me to the edge of Columbus & down to the motel I'd picked out.
To be honest I didn't like the place. The motel felt rough, it was in a dodgy area, there were dodgy characters hanging about. That night there were drunken arguments outside. I wasn't going hang about in this place

Day 25: I fought the law..... (Thurs June 19th)

Slept in & left at 10am on a gorgeous morning, bright but cool. It was downhill for miles through a narrow valley most of the way to Wheeling. Stopped 2 miles from town & treated myself to a lovely breakfast in a bakery/restaurant before making a sharp climb that took me into Wheeling.

Wheeling had loomed large in my mind for at least a week now. The gateway to the West, the jump off point for so many heading towards Californ-i-a. For me, over the last three days, it represented salvation from the torments of Pennsylvania. Now that I arrived, I couldn't be @rsed, I went through that town quicker than a blue-arsed fly. In the blink of an eye I was over the bridge into bridgeport, its sister town on the far bank of the Ohio river & in Ohio state. I was told it would be hilly to St Clairsville but that the land would level out after that & so it was.

After St. Clairsville the road did level out & the cycling became relatively easy. The countryside had flattened out with fields & pastureland on either side. Then all of a sudden a couple of miles outside a small town called Morristown route 40 came to an abrupt end. I was left with 2 choices. Double back up the road & take wide detour to Old Washington where route 40 recommenced, or, head on to the interstate (illegal) & go like the clappers for 10-15 miles to Old Washington. I took the interstate and flew, gloriously for 2 miles before a police siren ended my gallop. The cop got out of his car & said I couldn't be on this road. I told him I'd been following Route 40 but that it had come to a dead end. He agreed that it was weird but I had to leave the interstate & showed me the route to follow. I asked him if there was any chance of a lift down to Old Washington. He just laughed.

And so it was that the rebel without a cause turned meekly on his tail and, slowly with head bowed took the back roads for Old washington. From here the going got a lot Slower. With the law on my tail I couldn't take any chances now!! At Fairview a town with no shops & only one public building..... a penny opera, I asked an old lady for directions. She was straight out "The Golden Girls" with her blue rinse, cigarette and gravelly voice. She was sound though. She told me a shortcut down to Old Washington.

2 miles down the road I hit a gravel track which was the 'shortcut' This track passed through some real 'Deliverance country' really quiet & remote. The gravel track slowed me to a crawl. After what seemed an age, & a downpour, I came to a church & miraculously the road transformed back into tarmac!! As the land dried out after the rain I remember going downhill & getting the sweetest aroma from a flower I'd ever smelled, I don't know what plant it was but it was gorgeous in that fresness just after the rainfall.

At old Washington I rejoined route 40 and pushed the last 13 miles in to Cambridge. A couple of miles outside the town a large dog charged out at me. I jumped off the bike (which you have to do otherwise they'll knock you off) but I lost my grip of the bike and it clattered in to the road. Cars coming up behind me had to stop as I quickly pulled the bike up to keep it between me & the dog. thankfully the dog left me alone but it was a fright.

In Cambridge I went into a fast food place to get directions from a group of girls behind the counter. 15 mins later I had my room. It was about 8.30pm. A quick trip to a neary supermarket & I was sorted.
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