I bought a knee brace which helped the pain in my
knee, but left abrasions on the back of my knee by the end of the day. I had my
first real encounter with people today relative to my bike and my trip. I stopped at Pizza
Hut for lunch in Bryan, Ohio, and was just parking my bike against the side of the
building when a young Mennonite gentleman came out the door. "Where ya from", he
asked. "Barberton", I replied. "Where ya going?" "Out West."
No sooner had we finished that brief conversation, than a second young Mennonite came out
the door. "Where ya from", he asked. "Barberton", I
replied. "Where ya going"? The scene repeated twice more as two others came out
the door. The Mennonites are genuinely friendly and very interested in what I am doing. I
met more later in Orland, Indiana who had the same kind of curious interest.
First flat
tire – near Edon, Ohio. I found out it takes a while to fix one because I have to
unpack everything from the bike, then dig into the panniers to find my carefully stowed
repair parts and tools.
Toward the end of the day, I
passed through Angola, Indiana. It was already late (due in part to the flat tire) and I
was already tired (over 70 miles), when out of the gathering gloom in front of me appeared
a gray wall in the distance. I said it can’t be a big hill here in Northeastern
Indiana, but as I watched lights appeared on top of the wall and descended toward me. Oh
no, Mt. Angola – very unfair thing to do to a biker at this point in the day’s
trip. I stayed at Pokagan State Park, which is very nice except for the hills getting back
to the campground). That night I listened to rain on the tent top (actually the rain fly),
which is a very pleasant sound unless you think about breaking camp and riding in the
morning.
(Great
Adventures to Scenic Places)
