Day 11, 12 and 13 The Gee Brief: Epiphanies and True Confessions

STATS

Day 11
Miles Cycled: 83 (Saybrook, OH to Brunswick, OH)

Total so far: 739

Miles to go: 2524

Weather: Hot

Road: Mostly berms and swales

Physical: Not as exhausted as yesterday. Flattening out the seat angle helped a lot.

Day 12
Miles Cycled: 93 (Brunswick, OH to Upper Sandusky, OH)

Total so far: 831

Miles to go: 2307

Weather: Hot, but overcast. Cooler than yesterday

Road: Absolutely lovely 10 mile downhill to start the day. After that, tiny shoulders with rumble strips most of the way

Physical: The new seat angle is perfect, but the pads are too wide, bringing back the pain in my right tush.

TRUE CONFESSIONS

Several years after my second long distance bike trip, I discovered the beauty of full suspension mountain bikes. You could ride them ANYWHERE, and they were very easy on your body. I vowed to never go back. I consistently scoffed at skinny tired, spandex wearing cyclists. I felt they were pretentious and looked silly.

Well.....once we decided to actually take this trip, I realized that three thousand miles on a mountain bike would take a LOT longer than the same distance on an actual road bike. So, I bought Jenard.

And although I have prided myself on never wearing spandex shorts with padding, I finally caved today. Here's why:

The Spongy Wonder (my seat) does a great job of protecting my reproductive organs, however, SOMETHING on your body has to touch SOMETHING on the seat, even if it's a Spongy Wonder. That "something" in this case is my right and left butt cheek. So, the price I'm paying for keeping my gonads happy is the increasing indignation that my right butt cheek is starting to express at "carrying the burden" for the rest of my body. The cliche that an army travels on its stomach is quite true. Another cliche that should be out there is that a cyclist travels on his butt.

So, after 831 miles and an impending wildcat strike by my right butt cheek (apparently the left one is made out of tougher material), I broke down and bought a padded pair of Specialized biking shorts. For the record, they are only 15% spandex. The other 85% is nylon. Come to think of it, telling people that I'm wearing "nylons" doesn't sound any better than I'm wearing "spandex", so let's just drop it, and hope that the army does not go on strike tomorrow.

EPIPHANIES

NICE PEOPLE - The people of Ohio, especially the drivers have given me a new purpose for this trip. Make no mistake, I LOVE the people of upstate New York, especially Fulton. Starting with the Fulton Riverfront Hilton, the reception we received by every Fultonite and thereafter every upstate New Yorker was just wonderful. It echoed the loving send off that we had received from our friends and family in Portland, Maine.

But then came Ohio. Here's where the epiphany part comes in. I've had a lot of time to consider what the factors are that make people "nice". I don't wear earphones, so the only sounds I hear are the road and my bike. And when neither one of those are talking to me, I get to listen to my own thoughts. As scary as that can be, one of the more pleasurable thought journeys I've taken is into the essence of "nice".

Here's what I've found. It is possible to excuse New Hampshire drivers their rudeness due to the lack of space for both cars and bikes on their roads It is then also possible to attribute the kind ans sweet nature of upstate New York people to the wide open spaces and low rolling mountains that grace their geography. Most of the roads I traveled had ample shoulder space and their were few issues with road ragers.

But then came Ohio. Now I'm REALLY going to tell you the epiphany. The people of Ohio, do NOT follow the extrinsic definition of "nice". By this, I mean, their roads are every bit as annoying as the roads in New Hampshire. The shoulders are cramped AND they have rumble strips, which make it hard for me to actually stay in my little 1 foot designated area of the road.

But Ohio people are INTRINSICALLY NICE. I mean, they just ARE! They don't beep at me, flip m the bird, or scream obscenities at me as they pass. What they do, is slow down, and give me as much space as they can when they pass me, even if I've gotten a few feet into their lane.

Even without verbal signals, it's completely possible to tell the mood of a car's driver just by the sound and closeness of the car. The gunning of an engine, or the complete LACK of brakes as a car wizzes by you, inches from your left shoulder. 

On the other hand, you can also hear PATIENCE. You can hear the sound of a driver that is one with him/herself and the universe. A driver that put's himself neither above or below the other living beings but rather WITH them... along side them.

Politeness and courtesy is not the exception in Ohio, it is the norm. And it has taught ME to be more polite. This is sort of a true confession and an epiphany here, but I have not always been the best at stopping at red lights on my bike. But the people of Ohio have cured me of that, but not through screams and angers. They cured me through patience and courtesy. Their way of being is so infectious. I just want to give the whole darn state a huge hug and tell them YOU GUYS ARE JUST AWESOME!!!

But back to the red light thing. As calm and easy going as the drivers are here, I found them to be even MORE calm and easy going when I stop at red lights, even if there are obviously no cars coming. Doing this helps me to get the lay of the land and I can just HEAR the drivers behind me increase their already ample courtesy and politeness when they pass me after the light turns green.

I mean, it's all good here!!! Click here for a video showing the nice roads, birds and people.

Final epiphany - The people of Ohio have given me a theme for this trip. J and I have constantly struggled with what to say when people ask, "What is he riding for?" It seems that you just can't ride a bicycle across the United States anymore just for the heck of it. Those days are long gone.

Well, just between you and me, I really AM doing this just for the heck of it. I simply love riding my bike. And I love my wife even more for giving me the opportunity to do it this far.

However, the people of Ohio, have given me a cause. From this point on, the name of this tour is Portland to Portland, A Cycling Dream Come True: The Nice People Tour!

Like Diogenes with his lantern (see statue pic at top of this section) , searching for an honest man, J and I are traveling from here to Portland in search of nice people. And you know what? We're finding them!!

Ps. Thanks to Emerald and the Red Lobster for providing such great service! And thanks to Jim and Nathan at Spokes bike shop for providing excellent advice and products. If you're in the Upper Sandusky area sometime and need some awesome lobster or great bike service, give them a call!

Jim, owner of SPOKES

This is a gif  of me eating wheat from the Amber Waves of Grain

Most of Day 11 and 12 looked like this

Jenard ready to go, Rootbeer on deck

On Day 11 there were still a few serious hills left.