Monday, April 27, 2009

Day 17 - Vermilion to Bowlling Green, OH




Mileage for the day: 40


Total mileage to date: 786


A solitary tear rolled down my face today from the never ending blasts of winds screaming at a mach speed of 35 mph. I spent the day with my head down doing everything I could do to move the bike in a forward direction and staying upright on the right side of the road as the wind was determined to push me into the road. I pretty much gave up when I hit a trip record - my slowest speed yet... 4.3 mph with serious effort! My bike even had trouble shifting from the middle chain ring to the smallest chain ring in the serious wind as if I were climbing a significant hill. I exercised my thumb and a certain Dave Morris pulled over to offer much needed assistance. Dave is a horse shoer and before he could give me a ride we had to visit one of his clients to fix the pony's hooves. The client and Dave roped me into herding the pony into the barn - it was a riot. Three adults running around a fenced in area to trap this feisty pony. I watched Dave care for the hooves of the pony and it was amazing to watch him work. We hopped back in the truck and made our way to Fremont where I was to meet a photographer of a local newspaper in Fremont, OH. We took the photo and off we went again in Dave's truck. Dave dropped me 10 miles before my destination and it took me 2 hours to bike the rest of the way to Lisa's (couchsurfing host) house in Bowling Green. Lisa and I really hit it off - she was a great host and we indulged ourselves at a local vegetarian restaurant for dinner. Tomorrow is calling for rain, but at least the winds are supposed to be in my favor. I will take the drops of rain over the wind any day!

4 comments:

  1. Good luck in Bowling green and the rest of your journey Brook. Sorry i haven't kept in touch as much as i had planned. You're still in my thoughts and i wish the best for you.

    Dan

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  2. ...at least you weren't fighting against the winds of a massive ogre farting in your face. Eh? Eh?

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  3. Hey, Brook-
    I am so proud of you! This is awesome! I'm hoping to see you between Ashkum and O'Dell, Illinois, on the 2nd on my way back from the triathlon in Champaign. I don't suppose you answer a cell phone on the bike. Email me your number and maybe we can meet up for dinner.
    Love ya,
    Holly

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  4. Good point Hilary - keep the "at leasts" comin!

    Love you!

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