I knew I needed to do at least one more trip to the western part of the state and a final reconnoiter of the route I would be riding. I’d laid out something several weeks ago, but was unsatisfied with the route because of the high speed of the traffic on the primary route I’d traveled. I felt if I looked at some of the County roads instead of the primary State routes, I might have better luck. There is less traffic on the County roads, but the trade is usually poorer condition and less of a riding shoulder.
I
drove to Oregon, Ohio, just east of Toledo where I met an old friend, Mike
Searle. Mike had been the manager of the
Cleveland Athletic Club in the late ‘80’s and I had served as his Assistant
Manager and Athletic Director. We’d
remained close over the years and he was interested in Tour Ohio and helping me
pick a route that would take me safely around Toledo. He’d grown up in this part of the state and
knew the roads well.
After
two hours of pouring over maps and a great dinner at ‘The Freeway’, owned and
operated by a high school buddy of Mike’s, I pushed on to find camping for the night. I drove to Harrison Lake State Park where at
1 a.m., I pitched my tent, threw in my sleeping bag and crashed. I had been in extreme discomfort throughout the
drive from my aching left buttocks. The pain
was radiating down my leg and I was seriously questioning if I’d be doing any
kayaking at all in seven days. I’d
scheduled a long kayak in the Upper Cuyahoga for Sunday morning as the final
test.
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