Days 23, 24, & 25: I'm a little behind.

So I leave Fremont and it is quickly confirmed that yes... something is wrong with my right knee. I find that if I position my leg at one specific angle, it hurts less. I also try overcompensating with my right knee... but in the end I just decide to cut the day short and stop in Bowling Green about 25 miles away. The entire way, I keep imagining the worst case scenarios... and it occurs to me that maybe I haven't expressed on my blog just how much I am enjoying myself. Despite my sarcasm and pessimism, let it be known that despite the ups and downs, this past month has probably been the happiest month of my life. I'm continually inspired and amazed by this country, and the human race in general. So... You can imagine how sad I was while I was dwelling over all of the worst case scenarios. Luckily the road was flat, and the scenery was nice.


ABout 10 miles before Bowling Green, I stopped in Pemberville to take a rest, but they were having their local fair that afternoon. So I got food and watched the festivities.




I continued on to Bowling Green and found a Panera Bread where I could use the internet. My plan was to get a motel for the evening, ice my knee and stay off of it as much as possible. While I was at Panera Bread, i was inches away from about 3 of the most nauseatingly cliche'd college conversations I had ever heard. Ridiculous. Do I hate College Students now? Am I that old?

I pedal North 3 miles to the hotel.... but apparently it had moved, and so then pedaled south 5 miles in the rain. I watched a lot of TV, Took a LONG bath and went to sleep.
In the morning, I rode out of town as slowly as possibly. In fact... that was the plan for the day... I had a long distance to cover (90 miles) but didn't want to aggravate my knee, so I planned on traveling 11mph for 8 hours and to forgo any long breaks in the day. Well.... It was a very warm day, and maybe it was the stress of not knwoing if my knee was going to snap at any moment, but I didn't much care for today's ride... I was counting the miles until Defiance, OH... when I could take a quick lunch.... The miles passed sooooo Slowly. You have no idea. The scenery was nice though.
and at last....
I ate a quick lunch at Quizno's and headed back out on the road... I decided to just travel at a natural pace, and to try not to worry about my knee. Well... somewhere along the line, all the pain subsided and I was riding again at full stride. I was making really good time to Monroeville, and the sun was overtaken by a thick layer of clouds. It was a great afternoon. I spent a half hour picturing myself performing a duet with Fiona Apple on SNL.... we were covering "I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts" by the punk band X. It was originally a duet with Kim SHattuck of the Muffs, but I'd be afraid her screaming in the middle of it without warning me first. Have you ever heard that woman scream? Its really scary and she does it about 10 times per song. Also... as the Indiana Border was fast approaching, I realized I had yet to listen to Carry Me Ohio by Sun Kil Moon... So even though its a bit depressing, I put it on... Seriously one of the best songs in a long long time.


Brad... of Payne, OH (population 956)... you are one very brave man.
This is my bike straddling the Ohio/Indiana Border....
This is Indiana.
This is Ohio.
And I've crossed into a new state!

I know I say this alot, but this terrain was gorgeous. I traveled mostly gravel roads through deserted landscapes, so I put on Springsteen's Nebraska... truly magical. Except something is up with my ipod.... it cut off the last 30 seconds of every song... and those who know Nebraska, know that many of the songs are narratives.... so it was really frustraing? Will he kill the State Trooper? Does Frankie go to Jail? Does the kid ever buy a Used Car?
I arrive to the pavilion where the town of Monroeville lets cross country cyclists sleep for free, and it turns out they are throwing a 3 day festival. I set up my stuff amidst the chaos, get some fair-food and try in vain to find a wireless connection. I try to get some sleep but there are way too many sugar-fueled children running about. Around 11pm... I am able to fall asleep. I wake up in the midle of the night, kinda sick from fair food. If I were to get the flu.... what would I do? Check into a motel for 3 days? Not likely. Hadnt thought of that.... I gotta remember to take my vitamins.


This is the corner of the Pavilion where i slept.

This is the cyclist registry dating back to 1990. It was really, really neat to look through.
Day 25...

I'm heading off the trail again to head up to Chicago.... just so you know the plan is: Friday = Warsaw, Saturday = South Bend, Sunday = Gary, and Monday = Chicago.

Ft. Wayne had a nice river path with a lot of cool bridges.
And that brings us up to date. Woo! I really hate it when I get behind in my blogging. I would sum up the past 3 days with some sort of theme, but i need to get back on the road. I've been holed up in this Panera Bread Co. for 3 hours now. I'm just grateful to be fully functional for now.

- Steve