Days 20 and 21 - Mo' Flags, Mo Problems.

I have seen Lake Erie, and can confirm.... it is indeed pretty "great".



Day 20 continued...

I leave Panera Bread Co. and pedal back to the Krygowski home where I set up my tent and work on my computer while waiting for Frank and Peg to get home. I have to admit I am a little nervous to meet them... It's getting better, but my social anxiety still gets me pretty worked up from time to time. When they arrive, I hang out in their living room and we talk for a while about a plethora of different topics (Music, Bicycles, Europe, Community Development, Sociology) Frank is a college professor and both he and Peg seem to hold a very informed and progressive outlook. It's refreshing to know that you don't have to exchange your idealism for a republican registration and a wad of cash when you turn 40.

I go to sleep. Today was a good day... and an easy day.

Day 21:

I wake up at 7am, and the short day yesterday allowed my muscles an appropriate amount of time to rest. I am still sore as all hell, but I can actually walk without fear that one of my legs will give way at any moment. Frank makes us some breakfast and we discusse my route for the day. He shows me a way to head North that would allow me to go through the center of Youngstown, which sounds pretty awesome to me. I had no idea until now how experienced of cyclists they were... they pull out a state map with all the best roads (throughout the entire state of Ohio) to travel already highlighted. I tell Frank that i need to go to a bike shop to fix my seatpost from slipping while I ride. Its been a problem since the beginning of the trip... it drops about 3 inches every half hour; annoying. He takes a look at it, and determines that we can fix it with the tools he has on hand. CUT TO:

INT. FRANKS BASEMENT WORKSHOP - MORNING

The place is amazing, and he's able to fix the seatpost problem with little effort. This was going to save me over an hour of time. If you read this, Frank.... Can't thank you enough.

So... I head out; the plan is to reach Mentor On The Lake this evening where I will stay with another household from warmshowers.org

Youngstown is the perfect blend of old and industrial that I love. Factories, Railroads, Power Stations, Smokestacks, etc... can't get enough of them. Downtown Youngstown is practically deserted... which makes it all the more fun to ride in. I find a BW3's... and some cool looking buildings.




About 10 miles outside of town, I get to talking with some truck driver who keeps telling me that i am either stupid or crazy. I tell him that he is probably the crazy one, and make a joke about him ingesting massive quantities of speed. He doesn't laugh, but instead shoots me a look as if to say: "Your point?"


400 miles? Is that it? Dammit.

My next stop is a small town called Niles where President McKinley was either born or raised... i'm not exactly sure... but the town definitely has McKinley-fever. Their library is also a museum dedicated to the man, and there are statues and shrines, and peoples heads carved out of brass. I get a picture of me and Teddy Roosevelt. I had to choose between him and Taft... You know.... The cat that doesn't cop out when danger is about?
... He's a bad mother... (shut your mouth)
...But I'm talking bout Taft
(Then we can dig it).
etc.

I take a road that Frank reccomended (which was awesome... thanks again)... to Warren where they have some Giant castle-like structure in the center of town.... though I have no idea what purpose it serves... On the front was a sign for "Cafe Italiano".
Quite an impressive coffee joint, huh?

The town square has free wifi, so I caught up on some emails and contacted Mike Valentino, who is going to house me tonight in Mentor. He gives me a shortcut to take and I reckon I better hurry if I want to make it by sundown... Oh, and I get my bike computer to work... which means that starting tomorrow, I'll have stats for you!

The 2nd half of the day is really, really hard. It gets so incredibly hot, and also so incredibly rural that I am running out of water all the time. I stop at gas stations and buy entire gallons of water to tide me over until the next gas station. Normally I would stop and ask someone in some random house for water, but i am in Amish country, and I've got all sorts of inaccurate preconceived notions about them, that keep me from doing so... would they find my clothes too proud? Do they even have running water? Is my bicycle the devil's toy?
I find an "English" (read Not Amish) house where they are hosting a garage sale. I ask for water and they offer to sell me soda. I ask them if for some reason their house doesn't have running water... they look confused and go inside... they come back with a bottle of water.... I give them a dollar.

I talk to some guy who is really nice, and has aspirations of hiking the Appalachian Trail someday... but he ends our conversation with "May the Lord Bless You". I respond with....

"Oh... OK... um.... may he watch over you too... at the same time." ... and it sounded as forced as you might imagine. It's the "at the same time" that made it sound like I had no idea of about the concept of omnipotence.

There was an Amish a restaurant I could eat at, but I don't have any cash Do they take credit cards? Doubtful... So I didn't even bother. Also again.... I was a little nervous to. What if I asked for Mayo, not knowing that Mayo is the Devil's condiment.

I see a cluster of cows that are hiding from the sun in one small corner of their field... practically laying atop each other. They start to scatter before i can get the picture...

A few irritating, steep, and very unexpected hills later, I am in Mentor! This sign would inform you of that fact, but it's very backlit.
I get to the Valentino house... and Mike is a really warm-hearted awesome guy. His wife Genese seems very sweet, and we discuss the logistics of tandem cycling. Apparently its very difficult, and if you go below 4 mph then the bike tips over. In my head, I am imagining a not-very-suspenseful version of the movie SPEED. Jeremy Piven plays the Keanu Reeves/Jason Patric role.

Mike offers to cook dinner, but i have my heart set on some fast food joint with ridiculous portions. I settle on Burger King. Then I ride my bike a mile down the road to see Lake Erie at sunset. The Valentino house has AC, TV, Wi-fi, a shower... It feels so incredibly luxurious. I am the King of a very small Kingdom inside a bedroom above the Garage of the Valentino house. I think Mike has gone to sleep; and he leaves in the morning before I wake up, so I won't get to thank him one last time... so if you read this Mike.... I can't thank you enough... If you ever need a place to stay in Brooklyn... I'm your man.

This trip has really increased my love of other people. There's a lot more ambition, intelligence and character in Non-NYC America than I had previously assumed. But also I've noticed a strange correlation between poverty and the amount of American flags people display in their yard.... the more destitute the house, or town, the more flags they display. Kinda weird.... huh?

....Mo' Flags, Mo' Problems.
Tomorrow, I'm gonna go swimming in Lake Erie!

Today's Playlist:
1. Funeral by Arcade Fire
2. Dog in the Sand by Frank Black and the Catholics
3. Los Angeles by X
4. Wild Gift by X
5. Pleased to Meet Me by The Replacements
6. Blonde and Blonder by The Muffs
7. Evol by Sonic Youth
7. Pig Lib by Stephen Malkmus
8. Illinois by Sufjan Stevens
9. Twisted by Design by Strung Out

Money Spent today - $19 (food, water)