Holly and I had driven to Portsmouth, Ohio over the weekend in an effort to find the best way to get through the town and on to Shawnee State Park to its west. The roads leading out of town and over the Scioto River were all four lane highways and not cycling friendly. I had discovered a long detour to the north, but the roads were winding, narrow, and busy. I decided a call to the town’s service department might be in order and I struck gold when I reached the director, Bill Beaumont. I explained what I was trying to do and asked for his advice.
“Well…that
is a little bit of a problem. You could
take State Route 139 or 335 north, but those roads are crazy and I wouldn’t
want to ride a bike on em,” he said.
“I
drove them and I know what you mean. How
else can I come through the tow and get over the river though?” I asked.
“You
could just ride up the ramp on Highway 52 and head west to State Route
125. It’s where you want to go and you
wouldn’t be on the highway too long. It’s
not a thruway so it isn’t against the law, either,” he said.
As
he spoke, I was studying google maps on my computer screen. I couldn’t see any other way either. “I’ll have to drive back down there and check
that out. I’m not crazy about driving on
a highway, but I don’t want to miss that part of the state so I may have
to. Besides, there’s probably a big
shoulder,” I said.
He
told me to call if I had any other questions and that he’d be glad to help in
any way he could. Nice guy. And I’m guessing I will need his help some
more as I continue to plan the route for Tour Ohio.
I
went to the park for a Survival Workout following a heavy downpour. The trails were muddy and with the humidity
and heat, the mosquitoes and deer fly were flying and biting. I reached Clear Creek to find it swollen and the
rock bridge submerged. I hadn’t cleaned
my running shoes in some time, so I plunged in and continued my workout. On the return trip, I met several hikers
taking off their shoes to cross the creek and acting squeamish about it. Dakota and I plunged through again as they
watched in amazement. When I reached the
secondary creek where some delinquent had tossed one of my lifting rocks a
couple of weeks ago, I entered the water and retrieved it. Walking in squishy, soaked shoes is kind of
refreshing on a hot day.
I
did 23 sets during the workout, including biceps curls and swing set
climbs. The elbow continues to feel
sore, but only mildly so. As always,
time seems to heal my wounds, though more slowly as I age. Well…it beats the alternative of being
inactive so I’ll just keep working through them all.
Survival
Workout: 60 minutes.
Training Heart
Rate: 100-150 bpm.Calories burned: 600.
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