Day 8 – Recovery day at the Riverside RV Park in Vermillion, OH

After pure torture yesterday, we were very happy that today was a work day for Theresa and recovery day for Kevin and Zin! Sleep was in snippets interrupted by cramping in legs and feet, but with no alarm set all were able to accumulate enough rest. Breakfast was bacon, eggs and toast along with coffee. Theresa logged in and assessed what was awaiting her after the long weekend away from work. Since the 4^th is on Wed she was hoping it would be a slow week and she would be able to catch up on administrivia tasks that had been put on the back burner. She also spent some time charting out the remainder of the route adding up 50-60 mile segments and identifying potential campgrounds. The next bike day will be on July 4^th which will take us away from Lake Erie and into the heart of Ohio. There are few large towns which translates into no Walmart stops so we will be relying on state or local campgrounds to house the RV.

To minimize breaking camp every morning we have adopted a new logistic strategy that allows us to stay in one location for 2 nights in a row. We take the car 50 miles west then bike back to the RV, then we take the RV 50 miles past the car to the next campsite (day 1) and the next day bike back to the car and bring it back to RV, then on day 2 at the campsite we drive the car 50 miles west and bike back to the RV to stay the night and then repeat.... Theresa tried multiple times to explain the sequence to Kevin even a spreadsheet did not help, perhaps a diagram with arrows and little miniature vehicles will help. Or maybe not.

Even with all the detailed planning Theresa came up one day shy of making it to Muscatine, IA in the remaining days allowed for biking. This shortcoming even included a one 75 mile day that needs to be broke up to be able to survive the attempt. So the challenge for tomorrow is to turn one 75 mile day into two shorter ones and to find yet another day that will allow for the balance of work and play.

Dinner was Salmon and Cowboy potatoes on the grill with a salad and of course some wine. It was a beautiful evening so we eat out dinner outside. One more recovery day tomorrow before we start our 6+ days of riding in a row.

Later that evening Alise Cobb had texted Theresa that they were on their way to Elkart, IN where their parents and family are from and wondered if our route was near by. Theresa quickly Googled it and at the closest we would be 1-4 hours away and that would not be until July 8. Theresa texted Alise the towns we were going thru and some of the planned campsites. She responded back that a meeting was just not in the cards. RATS. It would have been fun to see them.